RULES:
1. If you haven’t yet, join the challenge here: GET FIT and GET HEALTHY
2. Every Saturday come back to The Art of Making a Babyand ShutterMama to read the tips on how to be fitter, healthier and more confident.
3. Weekly write a post about your progress, following the questionnaire below, take a self-portrait (optional) and link up with us.
4. Don’t forget to grab the GET FIT challenge button on the sidebar and display it proudly on your blog or GET FIT post.
5. Link your post with Selfie Saturdays if you took your week’s self-portrait.
OMEGA-3S (fatty acids, DHA, EPA)
This week I paid more attention to my Omega-3 intake. It’s relatively hard to get enough Omega-3s in your diet especially if you are vegetarian and don’t eat fish.
The Daily RV for Omega-3s is about 2.5 grams and it needs to have a proportion of no more than 1:3 with the Omega-6s ( which are abundant in American diets, due to processed food). Omega-3s reduce inflammation, Omega-6s promotes inflammation. So it’s very important to have a good balance between them ( 1:3), and consider that msot America diets have a 1:24 balance instead.
Omega-3s are crucial for brain development and growth ( our brain is made up of those fatty acids exclusively). It promotes good cardiovascular health and reduces inflammation. It is CRUCIAL during pregnancy, as children of pregnant women who didn’t get enough Omega-3s have a high risk of developing eye and nerve problems as well as brain development issues.
The problem is the body cannot make those fatty acids, we HAVE TO get them from foods alone. And very few foods contain enough DHA and EPA to make a difference.
I get half of my Omega-3 intake in my morning cereal and another half but having an ounce or two of walnuts. Walnuts and fatty fish ( sardines,salmon) are probably your best sources of Omega-3s. Aim for a 1/4 of a cup of walnuts or tale a fish oil supplement.
To read about ALL the benefits of Omega-3 supplementation, go here
My entry for week 13
1. Height: 5’11″, weight: 134 lb
2. Your fitness challenge(s) for this week: 30 minutes of pilates every other day + 30 minutes of cardio ( rollerblading, running, swimming or treadmill) every other day+20 sit-ups every hour for 8 hours on cardio days. Special exercises designed for pregnancy to increase flexibility (daily) + Kegels (twice daily). A total of about an hour or more of physical activity a day.
3. Your health challenge(s) for this week: Continue eating whole grains, veggies and fruits only with a few servings of kefir,eggs or sardines daily (sardines are low in dioxins and mercury)
4. How well did it go:
- Fitness:I was pretty lazy this week and while I hit all my exercise goals, I felt I did them half-heartedly.
- Water: I’m back to my KleenKanteen bottle and being hydrated. When I don’t drink enough, I start getting sooo thirsty, almost like a withdrawal.
- Food: Food intake was perfect. Nothing to complain about.
5. Failures and slip-ups: I totally forgot about Kegels this week. I maybe did them for two or three days, but that sucks. I need to resume 100 Kegels a day.
6. Weekly challenge wisdom: I’m really proud of myself and those people who stuck with this challenge. It’s tough and it’s so easy to quit because I have no motivation, no weight to lose, but somehow I’ve been going. I feel guilty when I skip a day’s work out or eat more than I should ( never happens, but I can imagine I’d feel guilty). I love having this as a routine, as a part of my life.
7. Advice to fellow GET FIT members: Healthy weight, good nutrition and overall health is a lifestyle choice, not a temporary state. If you just want to lose a few pounds and go back to how you were eating before, then you might as well not try. It’s about being a healthy person, which means daily effort, make it a lifestyle, and your weight will come down as a result of that. It should not be about dieting, it should be about becoming a better person.
8. Self Portrait: FAMILY PORTRAIT (for more family portraits I took for this challenge, go to Selfie Saturdays)
LINK UP HERE
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I love, love, love your advice. It is so true yet feels so hard to do. Making life changes is hard, but so worth the risk!
I am a vegan myself and omega 3 is so important…. before I went vegan I would take fish oil capsules, though I always hated the very fishy aftertaste. I actually found out, that there is a veg-friendly alternative to fish oil. It is made of algae oil (which is actually how the fish get their omega 3 in the first place, interesting!! ), but it is quite pricy 🙁 – compared to fish oil that is. Also, most of the oil is stored in capsules – no expiration date, and I am sure that there is nothing healthy about rancid oil. I am currently using these anyway (I store them in my freezer), and I also make sure to include lots of nuts in my diet…. guess it is always better than fish oil capsules, as you don’t need to worry about mercury 🙂 (the algae is grown in tanks). Best wishes, gorgeous mama!