second trimester pregnancy update

Doesn’t it seem just like yesterday I announced I was pregnant and here we are already finishing up my 2nd trimester geez time is flying way to fast…

If you read my first-trimester blog post then you know how brutal it was for me. I lost a good amount of weight, barely had any energy to breathe, and was at what felt like a very low point. Thankfully at 20 weeks, I woke up and all my nausea just disappeared- just like that! I’m still not completely able to eat everything like meat and seafood is not my first choice, but food is tasting delicious again which I’m thrilled about!

What I’ve been eating

Since this seems to be the most asked question from you guys let’s just dive right in. My diet and portions have remained pretty much the same since my nausea has disappeared. I’m not eating for two and I’m very aware of what foods I put in my body. I’ve always been a healthy eater, but during pregnancy, it feels like my body (and maybe my mind) wants me to eat even healthier. I always dreamed I’d be stuffing my face with Taco Bell during pregnancy but the thought of fast food grosses me out so sadly that dream is long gone lol…

Here’s roughly what my meals looks like:

Mornings:

  • Greek yogurt with tons of hemp seeds, chia seeds, fiber powder, berries, and cinnamon. (I’ve been eating this seven times a week my entire 2nd trimester it’s the only breakfast I eat cus I love it!)

Lunch rotation:

  • Salad with a veggie patty and tons of fresh vegetables (no dressing)
  • one avocado toast on grain bread with an egg and melted Mexican cheese
  • Egg scramble with bell peppers, onions, ground chicken, spinach, salsa and cheese.
  • Veggie sandwich with avocados and a fried egg
  • Ground chicken taco with lots of lettuce, onions, salsa, cheese, and avocado.

Dinner is always different but here are a few meals I make regularly:

  • Cauliflower fried rice with tons of veggies, kimchi, and eggs.
  • Mexican style salad with ground chicken, veggies, salsa, black beans, cheese, avocados.
  • Gluten-free chicken strips I’ll cook up in my air fryer with a side salad
  • Asian Gluten-free noodle soup (soy sauce broth) with bok choy, ginger, spinach, carrots, and eggs

Dessert:

  • Dark chocolate (I’m obsessed with dark chocolate)
  • Homemade dark chocolate and raspberry cookies
  • Huge bowl of fruit (my fave is oranges and peaches)
  • a scoop of vanilla ice cream w berries

I snack a lot throughout the day:

  • I always make a huge protein green smoothie every day (recipe saved on my stories) and drink it all day long
  • organic cheese sticks
  • Grain bread w almond butter and jelly
  • Gluten-free cheese crackers (from whole foods)
  • Popcorn

Feel free to judge my diet all you want, but I have a nutritionist and Dr who monitor my baby and my healthy regularly so what I eat works for me. I’ve definitely become more of a vegetarian during pregnancy because baby Hong really doesn’t like meat so I find creative ways to fill my meals with tons of proteins with superfoods like Chia seeds, hemp seeds, beans, eggs, etc. Now don’t get me wrong there are days where I’ll cook up french fries in my air fryer or Postmates something not healthy but I’m fully aware that eating unhealthy and poorly can cause a lack of nutrition for me and baby so it’s rare that I’ll have a terrible meal. An unhealthy snack (love hot cheetos) happens more often, but an unhealthy meal, that’s rare.

Weight gain so far

So far I’ve gained 10 lbs overall. My Dr and nutritionist again are monitoring everything. The team has set a weight goal per week so that I’m in a healthy range for delivery and post-delivery. Again doing what’s safest and what my Dr recommends. Before I was pregnant I was a little scared that I’d gain like 100 lbs by eating too much Taco Bell and being too tired to work out but I realized for me it’s also the mindset I came into my pregnancy. Right when I found out I was pregnant I made it a priority to eat nutritiously so that the baby could grow and develop the best as possible and exercise so that I would feel mentally and physically strong during these next nine months plus I hear exercise will help tremendously for labor and post-birth, so I’m doing everything I can to help in that department ‘cus I’m terrified of labor and post-birth…

Working out schedule

I’ve been working out years before pregnancy so obvi, I’m gonna continue to work out during pregnancy and yes, I have Dr approval on everything I do. Here’s my weekly routine:

  • Private reformers pilates 2x a week
  • Private strength training 1x a week
  • Walk-on my compact treadmill for 30 mins-60 mins 3x a week
  • Hike every Saturday with John and dogs

I set aside a budget for a personal trainer early in 2019 because health is one of the most important things to me. So I’ve been saving up for a year to ensure that I could train privately while my body was prepping before, during, and hopefully after baby.

Overall second trimester feelings

Since entering my second trimester everything’s been pretty normal. My energy levels are through the roof, I’m sleeping like a log, body feels stronger than ever before, food is finally tasting food again, not needing any naps throughout the day, I would say overall my second trimester has been pleasant. It’s also been very interesting waiting for my belly to pop. I look like I just ate too much pasta in most of my clothes so that’s been fun but also not stressing over bump size ‘cus I realized everyone’s body during pregnancy is so different. One downfall that I have been experiencing is pregnancy acne. OMG my forehead is out of control. I know that people get pregnancy glow but no one warned me about pregnancy acne. But other than that I’ve been feeling great and getting more excited that we’re getting closer and closer to meeting our little baby boy. People say the third trimester really flies by so here’s praying for another smooth trimester!

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