what a whirlwind my 1st tri has been! some mamas can’t hold anything down, some mamas can’t stop eating, and food aversions/cravings are typically at their highest levels. of course we do our best to eat nutritious foods, but sometimes it’s all about eating just to function and/or keep the nausea somewhat at bay. whew. hang in there, 1st tri mamas, and just do your best during this temporary stage.

these are my current prenatal vitamins! i finally realized Kosi kept telling me she had a baby in her tummy too cause she just wants some of my ‘candy’😂.

i took some IG-worthy images for my feed for you guys buuut my meals hardly looked anything like that, yall, lol. this was the sickest 1st tri i’ve endured yet and i was in bed daily for almost all of february and the first half of march.

that said, i have absolutely not been perfect with my nutrition this trimester. i can openly admit that as a pre & postnatal specialist because i always want to be completely honest with my clients, readers, and supporters. so, if you were/are in the same boat, i want you to know that all is not lost, ok!? do not throw the remaining trimesters in the trash because the first one didn’t go as planned in the nutrition (or exercise!) department. all my past 1st trimesters altered my mood, motivation, appetite, and persona into a whoooole new girl… and i don’t like her very much! ok, AT ALL🙅🏽‍♀️. i’ve written and blogged about my 1st trimester experiences in the past but this time i filmed several vlogs in the middle of the storm that i will post here, don’t worry! i’ve battled nausea & headaches (among other things… sensitive, bleeding gums, nosebleeds, shortness of breath doing anything, increased urination, constipation, swollen nipples and breasts) for the past 2 months and the combination was often times debilitating. so, so grateful for Sonny because the kids wouldn’t have eaten some nights😩. my cravings have led me to eat things i haven’t eaten in YEARS, y’all (or since my last 1st trimester, haha). a whopper, a burrito supreme, hot dogs drowned in mustard, and tons of subway turkey sandwiches were thrown into the mix… but i will say about 65% of my 1st tri days looked like the daily food log IG post below… just not nearly as put together😝. here we go:

BREAKFAST 8a

breakfast is always eggs and toast- it’s the one thing i actually crave that doesn’t turn on me. almost every time i’d crave something, i’d eat 2 bites of it, then HATE it immediately and not want anymore!! the worst. eating is still just not fun these days unfortunately. anyway, this breakfast choice is filling and nutritious and gets me off to a good start. i’d usually have 2 slices of 45 calorie sara lee multigrain delightful bread (or english muffin or tortilla) and either make an omelet sandwich or just scramble the eggs (2 whole eggs + 2 whites or just whites) and throw them on top.

SNACK 10:30a

yall, i haven’t worked out at 5:30a since the end of january unfortunately. i just couldn’t swing getting up at 4:15a most mornings and i’m forever grateful my early morning clients were so understanding. oh, and i can’t stand the smell of coffee🚫☕️ now and haven’t had any since the day before i found out i was preggo. some women have to wean themselves off of caffeine in the 1st tri but it was super easy for me to cut it out. i used to have a cup at 5a every morning on my way to train and 1st trimester fatigue + no caffeine boost took me OUT. these days, i workout right after i eat a small portion of my breakfast and never on an empty stomach. after my workout, i’ll make a smoothie that i split with my baby girl, Kosi. she reminds me it’s smoothie time only every day so i never forget! frozen spinach + frozen banana + unsweetened vanilla almond milk + 2 tbsp ground flax seed is my 1st trimester go-to! i used to do 2 tbsp of peanut butter but Kosi is allergic to them. you can sub almond or cashew butter if you have some though. if you aren’t feeling spinach salads in your first tri, smoothies are a wonderful way to get that needed folate for your growing baby.

LUNCH 1p

lunch is almost always a sammich or wrap with a pickle and something salty/crunchy on the side! my sammiches haven’t all been homemade though… but homemade is definitely the healthier, more cost effective route. Sonny has made quite a few Subway and Jersey Mike turkey runs because it’s all i really wanted and could stomach. keep scrolling to see those!

SNACK 3 - 4p

yeah, i don’t understand my current tomato obsession either guys🤷🏽‍♀️. there could be worse things lol! thankfully i don’t want sweets at all cause i do want and have been eating #AllTheCarbs 🥐 🍞🥖🥨🥔. hummus is the perfect snack because the briny salty flavor is what i’m feeling these days.

DINNER - 6- 7p

dinner is usually rice or pasta or potatoes + veggies + lean protein tossed in some sort of dairy-free or tomato-based sauce. i used gluten-free veggie pasta and pre-cooked lemon pepper chicken breasts for this particular dinner dish. super quick and easy. i sautéed frozen spinach with diced yellow onion and olive oil, added a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, the cooked pasta, and topped it all with the sliced chicken and some dairy-free mozzarella. so gooooood!

SNACK - 9p

just before bed (ok, in bed) i’ll have a super cold whole lemon, grapefruit, or canned peaches w/ sea salt.

now! how my first trimester meals REALLY looked👀:

breakfasts:

chickfila’s egg white grill breakfast sandwich (sans cheese🚫🧀) was my go-to in between teaching my morning Femme Phix classes
oatmeal w/ cinnamon
malt-o-meal (i woke up one morning and randomly wanted some and the box we had expired in 2018 smh!!!)
grits
a small serving of the waffles & pancakes i make for the kids
eggs on wheat toast with tomato and sometimes bacon
breakfast tacos with flour tortillas, egg, bacon, and potato

lunches:

toasted subway turkey sammiches (no cheese🚫🧀) mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickles
toasted jersey mike turkey sammiches
homemade sammiches
a mustard whopper (no cheese🚫🧀)
a free chickfila grilled chicken sandwich
chicken pineapple MOD pizza (they are the only pizza delivery joint around here with dairy-free cheese!)
a bacon avocado wrap from Piada
Daiya tex-mex frozen burritos
hot bar chicken noodle soup…. I drank all the broth and left the meat & veggies before i realized the broth Is truly what i wanted

dinners:

Piada’s salmon salad
grocery store hot food bar - Kosi and i shared dinner there a few times
homemade potato salad (lots of mustard!!!) with baked beans & chicken
Salata salad
Chipotle burrito bowl
homemade 100% beef hot dogs
shrimp + sunflower crunch salad mix (my fave)
or breakfast again (eggs & toast)

snacks:

fresh jicama
plantain strips
cold grapefruit w/ sea salt
cold lemons w sea salt
smoothies (strawberry banana or spinach & banana)
low sodium popcorn
veggies (tomato or cucumber) & hummus
hot cornbread w/ dairy-free butter & strawberry jelly
dill pickle spears
cherry jello - i would alternate between hot broth and cold jello🤷🏽‍♀️
homemade tuna & ritz or saltine crackers

1st trimester dietary needs:

aim for balanced meals (healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, lean protein, leafy greens + fibrous veggies) do your best!
folate (folic acid) - folate supports the placenta and helps prevent neural tube defects in baby! about 2 cups of cooked spinach will get you the required daily dose (800mcg).
DHA - a type of omega 3 that is readily absorbed by the body. look for this in your prenatal pill, but you can also get it from salmon, sardines, whole eggs, and flaxseed oil. you’ll need about 1000mg per day.
Vitamin D - important for bone health and helps us absorb calcium from our diet.

what specifically helped me through my 1st trimester?

eating frequently. i’m talking every 1.5 to 2 hours some days. the longer i waited to eat the sicker i felt.
eating just enough. if i didn’t eat enough, i felt sick. if i ate too much, i felt really bad! i had to eat just enough at each ‘meal’.
i try my best to eat within 20 min of waking up to keep the nausea down. i usually keep a stash of crackers on my night stand and eat a few before i get up.
SLEEP. 1st tri fatigue is outta this world. i didn’t fight it and took tons of naps. i have never liked naps but had no choice but to submit! your body is working extremely hard to prepare a home for your baby…respect and honor the process. i was able to go to sleep for a full 8 hours that same night too, every time. that’s how tough the fatigue was for me!
incline treadmill or outdoor walking. anything too strenuous made me feel worse to be honest😩. just like eating, i could only do just enough, and doing too much derailed my entire day. i told myself to be patient and chill on lifting weights until the 2nd tri. no rush or pressure. however, if you feel like you can do more or even use lighter weights (5lb dumbbells etc) then listen to your body and go for it!
vitamin B6 - recommenced by my OB for nausea.
hot chicken broth + saltine crackers. sipping this often put my stomach at ease.

prunes for both digestion and constipation. about 2 or 3 per day, no more than that. mamas, our ‘indoor plumbing’ is basically being reworked in the 1st tri and this helps to keep things moving along.

ginger candies for nausea. these helped… but after i finished eating one the nausea would come right back. i finished an entire bag way too fast and had to go back for more.

ice water - if it isn’t ice cold i don’t want it! eating the ice afterwards was always a treat 😀. staying hydrated is so much easier when I fill up my jug and keep it with me at all times. at my very first appointment, my OB said my urine was a little on the rusty side (y’all know me and my water struggles😒) so i have been ON it! highlighter yellow urine color is always the goal.

sipping on seltzer water + 100% cranberry or apple juice throughout the day gave me relief as well. one of the ladies in my Praise & Pilates small group brought these sparkling drinks for us and they were delightful!