May 19

Maternity Belt Review馃槉

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So I have previously mentioned that I have been experiencing some back pain, hip pain, & knee pain when I run since becoming pregnant. I have always had back pain bc several years ago I herniated my disc not once but twice. 聽I tried to deadlift very heavy & I lost grip on one side which is how I initially injured myself and the second time I believe I just pushed myself too hard & flared that injury up again. I had to go through several rounds of steroid injections in my spine to help this injury both times which was not really fun plus I had to really minimize my activities bc I physically just couldn’t do them. 聽I could barely walk or stand at points so it was no joke!

 

Since then I have been very careful about any back pain I get. 聽Now back pain and pregnancy is very common so I am trying to make sure I do not push myself too hard for my health and also for my little guy. 聽The pain I am experiencing while running is nothing severe so let me get that straight right away. 聽I am just more sensitive to any back pain bc I have learned my lesson to take it seriously! 聽

 

So bc of this pain I have cut my running pace down and my mileage per week. 聽Currently my exercise routine consists of 3 days of strength training (1 upper body specific, 1 lower body specific, & 1 that is a mix of both plus core exercises with all of them). 聽I will post a more in depth breakdown of exactly what I am doing sometimes soon. 聽I do not have any pain while doing any strength training routines. 聽I am also running 2x a week logging about 9-10 miles. 聽Generally one 4 miles run plus one 5-6 miles run at an easy pace for me (10-11 minute per mile). 聽I was experiencing some minor back pain running so that is why I sought out a potential remedy.

 

So I found this Gabrialla Maternity belt posted on a few blogs and read comments about other users using it for exercising. 聽I do not have any pain generally just walking and doing normal activities btw. 聽This may change but atm it is only when running. 聽So I decided to try this belt out for running. 聽I got the strong one in size small. 聽It was about $40 from Amazon.

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I like to to wear this belt fairly tight. 聽If you have been following me for awhile you know I love Sweet Sweat and their ab belt. 聽I really think having some compression on my back helps my back and makes me feel more supported during certain exercises. 聽Obviously I cannot wear my Sweet Sweat belt or use it while pregnant so this is a pregnancy friendly solution. 聽I will advise you not to wear it too, too tight though bc it will make you feel like you have to go to the bathroom lol!

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This belt is very easy to adjust and wear. I have no problems sitting and stretching in it after running. 聽It does go very high up your back (see pic above) so if you are petite or have a very short torso you may not like this. 聽Also it is distinguishable under clothing which I don’t mind but you might. 聽If you are just buying this for back support around house or everyday activities you may want to just get the medium support. 聽It is cheaper and not as tight.

 

For the record I have used this 4x so far which I think is a good enough trial to post a review. 聽I really like it for several reasons. 聽One it does help with back pain!! 聽It is not perfect but my back feels pretty darn good while running with this on! 聽Two it also helps with that jiggling feeling in your tummy. 聽Maybe that’s a weird way to explain it but since my belly popped it feels like my stomach is bouncing up and down when I run which is a very uncomfortable feeling and makes me feel like I have to pee (maybe TMI but whatever hahaha!). 聽This really helps with that! 聽I would definitely recommend this belt to anyone with a similar situation.

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On a side note for my hip and knee pain I have really found that compression sleeves or socks help a lot with that! 聽I have been wearing these Run Forever compression sleeves (pic above) since before my half marathon and have noticed a major difference since wearing them. 聽Highly recommend those also for running while pregnant. 聽Also purchased on Amazon (slight obsession with that site lol!)

 

Hope you enjoyed this review!! 聽I will be posting a more in depth 6 months pregnant blog post soon along with comparison photos of how I am progressing & struggles, successes, etc. 聽Thank you all so much for all the love & support so far on this journey!! 馃挆馃挆馃挆

 

 

Apr 28

Baby Brockner 5 Months (Oh the Ups & Downs of Pregnancy!)

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So I am now at 5 months pregnant with my sweet little boy and I am not going to lie 聽it has been a roller coaster of emotions since I last blogged. 聽I want to be as transparent as possible bc I feel like I know I cannot be alone in some of this (& in fact I know I am not based on private conversations I have had with other moms). 聽I realize this does open me up to criticisms and negative comments but I am ok with that. 聽I think it is worth it if a I can make someone else feel comforted that they can relate.

 

So to kick it off I will say everything is going great with baby. 聽I am actually considered high risk (I don’t necessarily think I need to go into full details on this) so I actually have two sets of doctors and 2 appointments a month at this point. 聽One is a monthly ultrasound so that is very exciting to see baby each month!! 馃槏馃槏 He is right on track and there are no issues at all so far.

 

I have been following what my doctors have told me as far as how much to eat, etc. 聽I am NOT perfect. 聽I am sure I go over or under & know I sometimes make not the best choices (candy, French fries lol!) but generally I am actually tracking my food and I am pretty aware of what I am intaking. 聽I have gained 10-11 pounds so far depending on the day. 聽So that means I gained 5-6 pounds in the last month. 聽Since I last blogged I also had some very rude people (who I actually know fairly well and see regularly) comment on I am gaining too much too soon. 聽I will tell you that this has really made me feel bad emotionally. 聽I sometimes struggle with not feeling like I am in control of my body. 聽I know I am eating well most days and exercising the best I can (more on that later). 聽I have no clue why my weight went up so much in one month. 聽I actually cried at the doctors office recently bc I was afraid they would say I had gained too much. 聽Thankfully my doctor told me I am doing perfectly. 聽They have me eating about 400 extra calories and he said I am right where he wants me to be & not to stress. 聽Everyone is different and gains differently.

 

As a personal trainer I know this and emphasize this to clients. 聽I feel annoyed with myself sometimes that I get upset and worry too much that I am gaining too much. 聽I know 100% that I am doing my best and that is all that matters. 聽It can definitely be a real struggle some days. 聽I also had no clue that rude & judgy comments are very normal for pregnant ladies. 聽After the second comment I had a little meltdown and posted about this on my social media. 聽I was amazed by how many beautiful moms said this has happened to them too!!! 聽I appreciate so much that I am not alone in this but it definitely makes me sad to know this. 聽I wish people wouldn’t do this but there are as many jerks as there are kind people so I guess it is to be expected. 聽I am feeling a lot better and more prepared for future rude comments however though lol! 聽Hopefully I do not sob and feel like punching someone next time! 馃槣

 

Also I do want to say that as much as I am struggling at times with gaining weight and not feeling in control of my body please don’t get it twisted I am very, very grateful to be able to carry a baby and experience this whole process. 聽I am not perfect and I am simply sharing these struggles to maybe make someone else feel better. 聽It is a process. 聽I am very happy to be going through this & I realize body changes are part of it!

 

As far as exercise goes I sadly have had to really cut back on my running. 聽Physically if I run over 5 miles I feel really bad and it takes me a day or two to recover. 聽My knees, hips, & back just truly can’t handle it anymore. 聽I love to run so this has also been a real downer to me. 聽I am however still running 3-5 miles 1-2 times a week but I am also walking more and focusing on weightlifting. 聽I am still planning on doing a 5K (or two) but we will see how it goes in the next month or so. 聽I am currently doing pretty much the same heavier weights I have done with medium rep range however the doctor did advise me last week to start dropping the weight and do higher reps for safety reasons 聽so I am going to listen to him. 聽I can still do a lot of things so I am trying to focus on those things instead of the things I cannot do.

 

So in exciting news Aaron finally felt the baby kick the other day!!! 聽He has been trying to feel it and has been bummed bc he just couldn’t notice it lol! 聽It was so sweet to see his face when he realized he can finally feel it 馃挆

 

That’s the journey so far! 聽Looking forward to seeing what next month brings. 聽Thanks so much for reading! 聽Much love to you all!!

Apr 05

Baby Brockner (1-4 months)

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So excited to finally be able to share some of my pregnancy journey with you all! 聽I am currently almost 18 weeks pregnant with my first child. 聽The first trimester was good and bad (mostly good!) so I wanted to share that with you all now.

 

Thankfully I did not have any morning sickness!! 聽I wasn’t really hungry for the first 2 months which is pretty strange for me because I LOVE food and sometimes had to force myself to eat. 聽I was SUPER tired. 聽I am usually full of energy (some of that is from caffeine which I had to cut back quite a bit on) and I was not used to wanting to take naps haha! 聽It made my training pretty rough too. 聽I actually had a really hard time doing much cardio. 聽I was pretty strong still lifting weights but running in particular was very tiring. 聽BTW I just want to mention I was cleared to continue all my previous activities including training for my half marathon I just completed last week. 聽I was told to listen to my body and to go slower if I need to with all my normal exercising.

 

So anyways I did continue to workout throughout my entire first trimester. 聽I just only worked out 3 times a week generally bc I just honestly couldn’t find the energy to do my usual 5-6 days a week. 聽I typically only ran 1x a week too and usually around 5-8 miles. 聽Around the beginning of the 3rd month I did start to get some energy back and was able to run a couple days a week. 聽I tested out how I felt doing long runs (close to half marathon distance to be sure I felt comfortable enough to still run the half marathon I had planned. 聽The first one I did was pretty terrible! 聽I started with my usual long distance pace I used to run at (around 9 minute average per mile) and I totally died halfway through my 10 mile run ending up at close to 13 minute miles including walking some of it. 聽While I did finish it my hips and knees hurt so bad half ways through I thought I would have to throw in the towel on the whole half marathon race. 聽So the following week I tried a different tactic. 聽I started much slower than I normally would (10:30 per mile pace) and was able to maintain that pace for the entire 11 miles. 聽I did get a bit of hip pain and knee pain but I also am not taking any medicine (ibuprofen) and it was nothing I couldn’t handle. 聽So that is pretty much the pace I completed my most recent half marathon at. 聽I felt pretty good but I do think I am going to be dropping my distance as I gain more weight. 聽I am hoping to complete some 5ks and maybe a 10k throughout my pregnancy but will update y’all on how I feel and if I decide to pursue those!

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Also wanted to point out that I am not able to take any kind of prewokrout or BCAA’s per my doctor. 聽So recovery and energy is even more difficult if you are used to taking these supplements. 聽I highly suggest taking BCAA’s if you are not pregnant though bc I think that was one of the things I noticed most was that my recovery was much slower after I had to take that out of my diet.

 

Additional exercise/fitness updates. 聽I am currently back up to working out 5x a week and feeling great. 聽I have actually been able to maintain all of my lower body strength and most of my upper body strength. 聽I am focusing on lifting fairly heavy but with a lot of control and breaking sets up to keep an eye on my heart rate and maintain balance. 聽Along with upper and lower body weight lifting I am focusing on planks and vacuums for my core and at this point I am not doing anything that puts pressure on my stomach, no direct abdominal or oblique work (it can create more severe diastase recti or abdominal separation which can be very difficult & even require surgery to correct if too much separation occurs). 聽I am also running, incline walking, and also doing yoga. 聽More on how to do stomach vacuums here

Help Shrink Your Waist-An Easy Do Anywhere Ab Exercise!

 

Diet wise I am trying to eat healthy most days but the pregnancy cravings are hard haha!! I seriously am loving French fries, Mac & cheese, and sour things like & sour patch kids candy lately lol! 聽I am trying to space it out and not eat those things every day though! 聽 I have gained 5 pounds so far.

 

So that’s my update for now! 聽I will continue to blog once a month regarding physique, diet, and exercise changes along with other fun random posts and recipes. 聽Feel free to comment below & chime in with your own pregnancy tips!! 聽Thanks for reading!! 馃挆

Mar 26

Roasted Garlic Buttermilk Ranch Mac & Cheese (lower carb, high protein, quick, easy, super cheesy!)

I have a slight love affair with mac and cheese. 聽It is definitely one of my favorite dishes so I wanted to give you another fun variation to enjoy. 聽I have been somewhat in a ranch dressing kick lately too so this spin is sure to please all the ranch dressing fans out there too 馃槉 It is really easy to make and has only a few ingredients too. 聽I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

 

Ingredients:

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* 6 ounces (168 grams) uncooked Barilla Plus pasta (elbows, penne, or rotini)

* 16 ounces 1% cottage cheese-salt free (This recipe is best with the salt free version-you can always add more salt if you want later)

* 1 full package (1 & 3/4 cups) 2% shredded cheese of choice-Colby & Monteray Jack blend is delicious for this version

* 1 packet Hidden Valley Farms buttermilk ranch salad dressing & seasoning mix

* fresh head of garlic (or see other option below)

* chives (optional but delicious!)

* additional low calorie ranch dressing (optional but delicious)

 

First step is to roast the garlic. 聽I am using this handy garlic roaster my sister Desi gave me. 聽If you don’t’ have the time or don’t want to purchase a garlic roaster it is super easy to buy already roasted garlic in a jar. 聽Trust me that it is worth the energy to roast it fresh yourself taste wise but it will still be delicious if you use the jarred kind 馃槉

Here are the instructions from my garlic roaster

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So you just need to set aside about 50 minutes to do this and you can definitely do this part a different day then just store the roasted garlic in container in fridge until you make the recipe. 聽Here is what it looks like after roasting

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To get it out you just squeeze the garlic cloves out of head (after letting cool enough to handle!) It should just slide right out really easily & look like mine below

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I am am using the whole head in mine but if you’re not as much of a garlic fan feel free to use less.

Next cook the pasta according to directions on package then drain and set aside.

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Spray a square baking dish with nonstick spray. 聽Add the cottage cheese, shredded cheese, ranch seasoning, roasted garlic, & 2 tablespoons of water to a blender or food processor.

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Blend until smooth and thick. 聽You will need to scrape sides down as you’re blending. 聽It should look like below.

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Add noodles and cheese sauce to baking dish, stir well, and smooth out the top.

 

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If you are making ahead just wrap up dish and place in the fridge at this point. 聽When you’re ready to bake heat your oven to 350 then cook for 25 minutes.

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To serve top with chopped chives and a drizzle of ranch dressing. 聽So yummy!!

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Makes 4 servings

Per serving

373 calories

13.0 grams fat

聽34.8 grams protein

聽40.0 grams carbs

3.0 grams fiber

This stores really well in freezer if you have any extra. 聽Then just let thaw in fridge and re-heat in microwave when you’re ready to eat 鈽猴笍

 

 

Nov 17

Skinny Creme Br没l茅e (low calorie, low fat, lower sugar, easy to make)

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I made this variation of Creme br没l茅e for my husbands birthday be he loves Creme br没l茅e 馃榾 I lightened it up by swapping out some of the fatty and sugary traditional ingredients for better for you options. 聽I came up with a delicious version that still satisfies the craving. 聽I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

 

Ingredients:

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To prepare you will need to give yourself enough time to allow custard to chill properly-at least 2 hours. 聽I made the custard the night before. 聽Preheat oven to 350. 聽Whisk all ingredients except set aside half (1/8 of a cup) of the coconut palm sugar. 聽Also make sure you use egg substitute and not egg whites be it won’t taste as nice.

 

Spray ramekins with nonstick spray. Btw I highly recommend using the real Creme br没l茅e ramekins-the shorter & wider ones-I’m packing and couldn’t find mine so my custard was a little undercooked. 聽If you use the regular ones your custard should turn out perfect!

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Pour custard mix evenly into ramekins and place in a larger cooking dish. 聽Carefully add water to the baking dish until it reaches about halfway up the side of the ramekins.

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Bake in oven for 40 mins. 聽Remove and allow custard to cool in the water filled baking dish. 聽Once the water is cool and dishes are cool remove, cover ramekins, & chill in fridge. 聽Remember to allow at least 2 hours in fridge before the next step.

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To to make the crunchy top evenly add the remaining 1/8 cup of coconut palm sugar to the top of the custard. 聽Using a cooking torch carefully toast sugar until it is browned. 聽You will be able to smell it cooking. 聽Just make sure you move the fire evenly around so it doesn’t burn. 聽I like everything supper crunchy & so does my husband so mine is just about as close as you can get before burning. 聽You can certainly cook yours a bit less if you prefer.

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If you don’t have a torch you can pop them in the oven under the broiler. 聽Just watch them very carefully until sugar looks toasted. 聽Remember it will continue cooking a bit longer so pull them out sooner rather than later.

It may seem complicated but it’s a super easy recipe. 聽If you have questions feel free to comment here or on social media. 聽Thanks for reading!

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