Shakeology While Pregnant & Nursing ~ Is it safe??

Ok.. so.. Shakeology while preggo! I am NOT a doctor.. obviously! These are just my observations, research, and opinions! I am always open to new credible info too, so if you have anything feel free to leave a comment below or send me a message. I also have a video on this topic added to my to do list since it seems to come up A LOT! I have been running around all day and even snuck in a nap so you don’t want to see my face on camera right now lol!

For those of you that don’t know I have two wonderful princesses and a third on the way! I am currently 22 weeks along with said third princess. :) If you want more information on my pregnancies histories and issues I’ve had with them I have a post coming your way and you can also leave me a comment below!

Ok Enough about all that.. let’s get into what you came here for..

The average pregnant woman should have NO issue drinking Shakeology! This obviously does not include high risk pregnancies (depending on the risk factors), specific health issues, or allergies! Let’s just assume we are using common sense here! Do read the paragraph further below marked with an * on Vitamin A since that is the concern I hear most often! In fact in a normal pregnancy Shakeo is better for you than a lot of things you might already putting into your body.. fast food, ice cream, soda, “eating for two”, etc! (I too am guilty of all of those things at one point or another!!!) Shakeo is actually going to help you with a lot of that by curbing cravings and giving you & baby really good nutritional value. Even though I eat pretty healthy most of the time these days my shake is still the quickest, easiest, and healthiest meal of my day!

You might be wondering what Shakeo has done for me that has me soooo in love with it… to the point where I refuse to miss a day drinking it!
My top 5 personal benefits (This could go on for pages upon pages if I didn't limit it to the top 5!!):

#1 Morning Sickness & Nausea!! It made a HUGE difference in my morning sickness! To the tune of I could maybe keep on meal a day down and barely any water… I was sooo miserable and could barely function. I was so dehydrated that I almost had to go into the ER multiple times. Within a couple days of drinking my shake I was able to not only keep it down but keep down about 75% of my meals and function mostly normally again! If I stopped drinking it for a few days my morning sickness would come roaring right back. ( I did begrudgingly test this twice just for curiosity’s sake… let me tell you it was not pretty!)

#2 Nutrients!!  I still can’t keep my prenatal down so Shakeo gives me the majority of what I need to be getting. I add in Folic Acid (This is KEY! All pregnant women or women trying to conceive should be taking folic acid daily. Shakeo has folic acid but not up to the recommended level for pregnancy.), high quality fish oil, and iron ( I hemorrhage quite a bit after delivery so my doctor watches my iron levels like a hawk. For most women this probably wouldn't be an issue.)

#3 Digestion! The next biggie for me isn't something a lot of people want to talk about but if you struggle with this especially during pregnancy it is something you want an answer to! Digestive issues! I know.. gross.. but the struggle is real my friends! I have terrible issues with this during pregnancy and Shakeo has seriously changed my guts for the better! I have not had a single discomfort or issue in this department since drinking my Shakeo daily.. not one! I have tried so many things with very limited relief so I was soooo happy to find a solution. (This got tested when I would stopped drinking my shake for the few days  I was testing the nausea factor as well.. same outcome!) I also suffer from extremely bad heartburn and acid reflux and was on daily meds + my max dose of tums.. I was still very uncomfortable. This symptom has been cut in half or even more actually. I was able to half my dose of daily meds and rarely take tums now.. and I’m rarely uncomfortable!!

#4 ENERGY & SLEEP!! You preggos know what I’m talking about!! Especially if you are chasing other kiddos around and/or have a busy schedule! I am not doing caffeine this time around so finding ways to help boost my energy in a more natural way has been so key for me! (I didn't do caffeine with Jocalyn and tried out limited caffeine with Alaeyna. Needless to say I’m sticking with no caffeine or extremely limited amounts for this pregnancy and any future ones!) Just to be clear I am not talking about icky jittery fake energy bursts or “energy” with horrid crashes and withdrawals! I have general and consistent higher energy levels daily. It doesn't take off right after I drink my shake like coffee would.. I just notice it anytime I’m awake. :) Don’t worry this won’t make it so you can’t sleep! I actually sleep 2-3x better than I used to too!

#5 Cravings!!! Ok confession time.. don’t judge me!!! For a while I was totally that girl that could eat 3-4 cupcakes and still be considering eating another one.. not to mention the ice cream and whatever else I wanted or that was around. This has been an up and down struggle with me for a very long time. I have had success controlling it in the past but typically that was sheer will power and proper diet.. but the cravings never really went away. I am not joking you when I tell you that my daughter will offer me a bite of cupcake or ice cream and I genuinely do not want it… say what!?! Honest truth! Once in a while I will want something but it doesn't feel uncontrollable or overwhelming at all. I couldn't believe what a huge difference Shakeo made in my cravings! Even more so that it wasn’t just for sweets but just for “bad” food options in general. It is so much easier to stay on track when I am not constantly battling the cravings and feeling deprived!! I still sometimes can’t believe what a difference it has made for me!

So there are my top five reasons haha… if you can’t tell I’m very passionate about my beloved Shakeo and I hope after reading my reasons you can understand why! It has made such a huge difference in my daily life and I cringe to think about going back to the way I used to feel without it.

*THE CATCH!!! Haha just kidding! The only thing I would say that you do need to be aware of and careful with while pregnant (concerning this) is your vitamin A levels! What am I talking about?? You definitely want vitamin A in your diet in general and while pregnant but too high of levels of a certain kind of Vitamin A can cause birth defects and other issues with pregnancy. Don’t freak out! Shakeo contains the beta-carotene version of Vitamin A which is not the kind that causes issues!!! I think this is a great thing to be aware of in pregnancy so I'll give you a little more info below if you want.
I tell all of my pregnant customers to do their research and do what they and their doctor feel is best. From my own research and talking with several of my own doctors I have found that depending on who it is (like just about anything in pregnancy) you will find a variety of answers. The huge majority of this research will tell you that you want to stay within a range of 2500IU and 10,000IU of Vitamin A (retinol or retinoids form) per day. If you are breastfeeding your minimum will jump up to 4000IU per day. As you are seeing there are different kinds of vitamin A. The simplest and easiest article to explain this, that I have found, is this one HERE I would encourage you to read it! What does this mean for you?? Prenatals combined with you daily Shakeo are completely safe with your daily limits for Vitamin A!!! I have looked at several prenatal labels and have yet to see one that would cause you to exceed the safe levels… now there could be one out there so check your own labels!
For me.. I prefer to just drink my daily Shakeo (especially since I can’t keep the dang prenatal down 19 out of 20 times anyways) and forgo the prenatal vitamin. I do add in folic acid since that is the only thing I don't quite get enough of vitamin wise for pregnancy with my Shakeo. This is completely up to you and your doctor.. whatever you feel comfortable with!   

While this has been a bit long I genuinely hope that it has helped you! If you are like me you want all the information before making a decision and so I have given you my 100% HONEST option! Yes, I am a Beachbody coach and I do “sell” Shakeo as well as other amazing products our company has to offer. That being said I would never use something or promote something that I didn’t 100% believe in and be willing to use myself. Not only that but I would never want you to use or try something that wasn’t safe or wasn’t something you wanted or needed. In fact haha when I signed up I decided not to mention a peep about what I was doing to anyone until I had a chance to form my own unbiased opinion. Not only did I discuss it with two of my doctors but I also did my own research as well as testing it myself for a whole month. To be honest I was completely prepared to cancel and get my refund with the 30 day empty bag money back guarantee!  As you can tell that didn’t end up being the case and I’m soooo happy every day that I decided to give it an honest chance. :)

Note: I also use Shakeo while breastfeeding for those of you that are wondering about that topic as well! I am actually currently still breastfeeding Alaeyna! My doctor and I also have 0 issues with this! I have also seen some great benefits in this area as well! If you would like me to do a post with more detail on this please just comment below and let me know!

Take care and thanks for checking in!!

-KK

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Post-Partum Fitness Plan - Week 1

Week 1

It is well past time to start getting serious about building my muscle back up! I used to be at the gym 5-6 days a week and absolutely loved it. I miss that. I worked out all the way through my pregnancy with Jocalyn but I had a difficult time really getting into my workouts again after I healed from the delivery. I have been off and on working out here and there ever since. I was really starting to get motivated to get my muscle back and starting working toward my fitness and body image goals about a year ago. We had been trying for another baby and when we got pregnant I didn't keep working toward my goals like I wanted to. I won’t get into all the details but I didn't work out too often throughout my pregnancy for several reasons. I really wanted to start working towards my goals again after healing from delivery. And here we are.. I am starting to heal and feel better from my delivery with Alaeyna. As much as it seems like a great idea to just get going full tilt again I know that isn't practical or smart for me right now. I want to build up to 5-6 workouts per week so that I can set myself up for success and avoid injury. I also want to give my body time to adjust so it doesn't affect my milk supply. (I am exclusively breast feeding Alaeyna and maintaining my milk for her is my number 1 priority in this fitness journey.)

I am going to start off just fitting in 1 workout a week and starting adding an extra workout to my schedule every two weeks. This sounds particularly slow.. and it is. But I figure that I can start off slow and if it is going well then I can always increase the speed depending on my results and milk supply. At this rate I will be fitting in 5-6 workouts a week 10-12 weeks from now or 2-3 months.

My goals are to; increase overall tone, work on my upper arms (damn that wiggle!), flatten my stomach, decrease the size of my waist, and I specifically really want to build the muscle back up in my legs and butt. This is a lot but you have to have big goals if you want any chance of big results. It may take time but I will get there!

I have decided to share workouts and updates on the blog to help keep myself accountable for at least 14 weeks and to help give ideas for those of you that are working on your own goals. Weight loss while exclusively breast feeding can be extremely tricky for me and I haven’t come across very many stories or suggestions for it. I’m sure they are out there but I haven’t found many. I will also posting my workouts on Instagram, Facebook, and Pintrest if you would like to follow along at any of those places.
I will be posting my workouts in three main categories; legs and butt, upper body, and cardio. I have a few other workouts in my previous posts here if you would like to check that out.

Lower body is what I want to start working on first and because they have always been my favorite workouts, we will start there! I really want to build a better booty! I was talking to my hubby about my workout ideas and he came up with this workout to help. Since I’m only working out once a week at this point the workout is a little more intense than I normally would want it to be for just getting started again. Also I will just be doing this workout with bodyweight except for the deadlifts in which I will be using a 5lb dumbbell in each hand. If you are more advanced than I am then you could certainly add weight to this workout.

Post Workout: It looked pretty straightforward but when I got done with it I definitely felt it! There were a few rough parts and I had to take extra rests to complete all the reps but it felt so good to accomplish this workout. I thought about workout out at home but instead the girls and I walked to the little fitness center instead. It was nice for them to get out and it added a 25 minute round trip walk for me. I made sure to drink an extra Nalgene of water (64oz) on the walk home and have a protein shake made with milk as soon as we arrived home.

Notes:

Please always check with your doctor when it comes to any kind of fitness or diet changes.

I am not a professional. This is simply my journey to achieve my personal fitness goals.

I welcome positive and encouraging comments. If you have any ideas, suggestions, or something that worked well for you I would love to hear them. Negative and rude remarks will be removed.

Thanks for checking in! - KK

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'Tis the Season - A Week of Workouts

It is so easy to get off track with working out during the holiday season. It is so busy and a lot of times you are either traveling or have company in town. Not to mention all of the delicious tempting food! I know that I’ve been not quite as good about fitting in workouts the past few weeks. My hubby set up this simple weekly workout schedule and I thought I would share! The New Year is almost here and with it all of those resolutions so hopefully this will be helpful in jump starting some of those fitness goals. This week has five workouts and two days off. You can do these workouts at a gym or modify them to do them at home / wherever you are staying. Try and eat a high protein snack or have a protein shake within thirty minutes of finishing your workout.

Day 1 - Lower body

Air squats, 4 sets of 15 with 1min of rest between sets #

Stationary lunges, 10 each leg #

Step ups, 2 sets of 10 each leg with 1 min rest between sets #

Wall sits, 3 set at 15 sec with 45 sec between sets

Toe touches, 20 slow and controlled

Hip thrusters, 3 sets of 10 with 30 sec rest between *

*Squeeze at the top of each rep 

#Stop an inch before lock out to keep tension

Day 2 - Upper body 

(If you don’t have access to a gym try using equally weighted objects around the house such as cans or water bottles.)

Shoulder rotations, 50 forward 50 backwards

Modified pushups, 25 reps

Shoulder presses, 3 sets of 10 with 30sec rest between each set *

Rear deltoid flies, 4 sets of 15 with 45 sec rest between sets  *

Bent over rows, 4 set 15 with 45 sec rest between sets *

*squeeze at the top off each rep

Day 3 - Cardio 

(I find it is best for fat burning if you do your cardio first thing in the morning, prior to eating anything.)

10 min, stair master

10 min bike

10 min elliptical

Day 4 - Abs

20 crunches

20 heel touches

10 leg lifts

20 crunches

Day 5 - Options

Day 1 again (If motivated)

30 min walk (feeling sluggish)

Thanks for checking in! - KK

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