It’s been a while since I did a pregnancy update! I just entered my 17th week of pregnancy, and I feel GREAT! The second trimester has proven to be far less dramatic and uncomfortable as the first trimester of this pregnancy. In fact, I hardly feel pregnant at all. TMI alert (wow, that was early in the post). I LOVE the 13-17th weeks of pregnancy because I don’t really look pregnant to most outsiders, but I have all of the good benefits that come from being pregnant. Ie: my girls are about 2 sizes bigger than normal and look great, my hair is extra shiny and full, and I have a great excuse to shop for some new fun leggings and shirts for the winter.

I started the Paleo diet/lifestyle a few weeks ago. I can honestly say that I absolutely LOVE it! Read more about Paleo here. I have a wheat sensitivity that started soon after I had Emma, and I have also been feeling like I might have some lactose intolerance. The Paleo diet is exactly what I needed to tighten up my eating and feel great for workouts and daily living. It is a high protein, high fat, low carb lifestyle. One of the best parts about trying this diet is that I have been cooking for the first time in my life. It’s fun to experiment with new foods and recipes. The best part is — I don’t feel guilty about eating the baked goods because I know all of the ingredients are clean. Check out some of the recipes I tried this past week:

• Dark chocolate walnut Paleo cookies
• Paleo banana bread
• Paleo pancakes (scroll down to the bottom of my post)
• Paleo breakfast casserole (see below)

Another TMI alert! One of the worst parts of my first trimester (besides the nausea and exhaustion) was that I was extremely constipated. I mean like awful. And you can imagine all of the *other* fun things that come as a result of being severely constipated. But here’s the deal — ever since I started Paleo, I have been very regular again. It was like a switch turned on and my body started working properly again. Praise the Lord! That was not a fun couple months.

I mentioned the Paleo breakfast casserole above. I have made this twice so far, and my second attempt tasted a lot better. Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

• Sweet potato
• 9 eggs
• Turkey sausage
• Bacon

Directions:

• Soften the sweet potato in the microwave. I usually put a wet paper towel around it and spear it.
• Peel and shred the sweet potato
• Cook and chop the turkey sausage
• Cook (almost all the way) and piece apart the bacon
• Whisk the eggs together
• Combine everything
• Place in a 9×9 greased pan.
• Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees

I have really enjoyed my breakfast casserole. It’s a great way for me to start the morning!

So, what have my workouts been looking like for the past few weeks? Here is my normal weekly routine:

• Day 1: 3 mile run outside
• Day 2: 2 hours of cardio machines, plyos, and strength training with clients
• Day 3: 3 mile run outside
• Day 4: 3 hours of cardio machines, plyos, and strength training with clients
• Day 5: 3 mile run outside and ab workout
• Day 6: 2 hours of cardio machines, plyos, and running with clients
• Day 7: 1 hour of cardio machines with a client, and 3 mile run outside

So far, I haven’t had to scale back my workouts or modify anything. This week, I did a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout at home, and strained my back a bit. I think that was due to lack of warming up versus being pregnant though. I’m feeling good and really taking advantage of it now in the gym! I hope this intensity level lasts for a while!