Healthy Eating in 2012 - Food Diary

I have always been really interested in health and maintaining a natural, healthy lifestyle and with all the reading and researching I have done over the past couple of years, I am aware more than ever of the importance of good nutrition, especially whilst trying to conceive.

While I didn't do too badly on the healthy eating front last year, this year I am totally upping my game! I am aiming for a diet which includes even more fertility friendly foods, fresh and organic as much as possible, and I am cutting out wheat completely (I found out I have a wheat intolerance at the end of last summer and have since made a few attempts to eliminate it from my diet, with mixed success).

Last year I found myself really lacking in energy, tired ALL THE TIME and having a lot of dizzy spells, as well as lots of digestive issues. Cutting out wheat has really helped with my digestive issues and I do have a bit more energy and feel less like I am wearing lead boots the whole time but I do still get the odd dizzy spell and feel a little lacklustre occasionally so I really do need to make sure I am taking in all the right nutrients this year, make an extra effort to stay away from my wheat, and try to eat at regular intervals and not let my blood sugar get too low (something I have been guilty of for a while now).

I always cook from scratch where possible and avoid processed foods. I have been taking a good quality prenatal multivitamin for a while now, and also various supplements. I may need to add in a couple more this year but will look into this carefully first. (I'll do a separate blog about my supplements soon.)

I have started a food diary to keep a track of what I am eating and will post this from time to time.

Here is yesterday's:

Breakfast: porridge with milk, tsp coconut oil and sprinkling of cinnamon

Snack: couple of squares of milk chocolate, a few almonds

Lunch: Jacket potato with butter, half can of sardines in piri piri sauce, rocket & chickpea salad with olive oil & cider vinegar dressing. Kiwi for pudding

Snack: 4 plain oatcakes and a handful of peanuts

Dinner: Chunky spiced winter veg soup with chickpeas & beans. Apple for pudding.

So it's not perfect but it's a start. I am a total chocoholic and while I'm trying to kick the habit, I know that denying myself completely is futile and won't help me to stick to the diet long-term, so for now I will allow myself a little each day.  When my Christmas chocolate runs out, I will only be buying good quality dark chocolate as it will at least have some nutritional value with all its antioxidants. Better still, I'll eat only raw chocolate - this stuff has lots of wonderful health benefits...guilt-free chocolate consumption = heaven!

How Our Journey Began (continued)

From a very young age, I knew I wanted to be a mother. I was an only child until the age of seven when my sister came along and as soon as I could walk and talk I would spend hours and hours playing 'Mummy' with my numerous dolls, tenderly dressing them, changing them and 'feeding' them, then putting them to sleep in their prams.

Real broodiness kicked in at the age of 15 when my cousin was born and my mother and I often helped out with the tiny, pink new addition to the family. I was in total awe and even at that young age, started to feel those pangs  - the biological urge to create my very own little miracle.

Despite this, I enjoyed my teenage years and put it firmly to the back of my mind, confident that some day I would meet the right man, settle down and that dream would be fulfilled.

In 2003, at the age of 19, I met that man, and in January 2004, we began dating. The only problem was that this man didn't seem to like kids at all and made it very clear he had no intention of having them any time soon! It did worry me a great deal but we were both young; we had plenty of time. Perfect in every other way, I knew I couldn't let him slip through my fingers and I felt sure that one day he'd change his mind. Until then I would have to be patient and we would enjoy ourselves, finish education / build our careers and wait until we both felt ready...

The years slipped by and our lives were full and happy and in time, he did come around to the idea (phew!). But he wanted to get married first, do it 'the proper way'  he said. To be honest, I wasn't too worried about 'the proper way', and was there even such a thing these days?!  Of course I wanted to marry him - I'd wanted this for years, and I'd waited so long for babies that I might as well wait a bit longer; so I consented - we'd wait until we were married. After all, we'd come a long way - he now wanted babies and at some point in the near future: this was progress!

On Christmas Day 2008 he proposed! Wedding preparations left no time for thoughts of procreating, and in  the autumn of 2009, we were married!

Let baby-making commence! (To be continued...)

How Our Journey Began

So, it's the start of a new year and I have finally decided that after a couple of years of being an avid follower of many blogs and Youtube vlogs, that I would start to document my own journey.

In the (nearly) two years that my husband and I have been TTC, I have gained so much in the way of knowledge and support from the Internet that now it seems right that I contribute something myself! And for selfish reasons, I know that just as the diaries of my teenage years proved a necessary therapeutic outlet for my emotions, these cyber-musings of mine will be just as cathartic, even if far more public this time!

So over the next few days, I plan to begin telling my story so far, piece by piece until the present day.