I'll Take What Mommy's Having... SHAKED NOT STIRRED

This is the second article of my 3 article series about Consumptions during pregnancy. The first one was about drugs and pregnancy. Last fall I was driving down a highway and saw an advertisement on the billboard. A child stood there was a drink in his hand. The advertisement said something about it being ridiculous and so don't drink while you're pregnant. This is common sense, I would think, but unfortunately it's not. Apparently there are a handful of mothers who think an occassional drink would not harm them nor their fetus.
According to the March of Dimes website, each year up to 40,000 babies are born with "festal alcohol spectrum disorders" (FASDs). Any consumption of alcohol can effect the baby but not many mothers consider that. Alcohol breaks down slower in a baby's body because they are not fully developed and can cause from moderate to extreme damages to the development of the child. This includes mental retardation, behavioral problems, heart problems and more. Some babies might be even be stillborn because of it.
There is an article on the Discovery webpage starting that it is okay to do some light drinking during your pregnancy. They stated that a couple drinks a week wouldn't harm the child. But their definition of a drink is "a small glass of wine, a half-pint of beer or a single serving of hard alcohol." To be honest most people have a hard time measuring out just a little of something and keeping to it. What will stop a mother from pouring an extra glass or redefining the definition of a drink? If you are pregnant think about making positive decisions for your child.

Maximized Living : Advanced and Core Plans

Ok so for the past few weeks I have changed my diet slowly but surely. I have cut out sugars, a lot of grains and processed foods. Which it is amazing how much of it is in the grocery store. It's near impossible to just walk into the store and find things that fit right into your Core plan for Maximized Living not to even mention Advanced Plan. My Advanced plan breakfast has been the green 3 gods Greed Organic Yogurt mixed with my Maximized Living French Vanilla Protein Powder and my Dynamic Greens. Then to sweeten the deal for myself I put in frozen berries and I throw it into the freezer so the whole mixture is a bit more palatable. And I won't deny not feeling less as complete without sugars and grains. There are days I go without grains and even so I'm full I feel deprived. It's hard but you have to work at it and try to cut it out.

It's like when I crave pizza when my brother buys it. I drink a whole bottle of water and then I snack on some frozen fruit. It tends to help but it takes time. Amazing enough a few months ago when I started cutting out processed foods little by little I was amazed how my taste buds changed. I went to Dunn Bros with some coworkers for a meeting and saw a "fruit" smoothie. I got excited and ordered it... blah!!!! It was like drinking syrup, I never realized how much sugar was in it. Put it this way my taste buds had gotten sensitive which is a good thing. It was that moment I realized that there are so many foods out there that has been dumped in sugar that we don't need but because we are so used to eating and drinking it our taste buds don't know the difference. Did you know that my first encounter with soda/pop was in a hospital when I was sick? The nurse gave me coke so that it will help me lower my high fever. I hated it, because I never had it before. Now after growing up I'm used to it and every once and awhile I crave it.

Today, think about three processed foods that you like then go a week without it. The purpose is to be healthier but also it's a self realization that it is very very polluted with things we don't need. Lunch today I am going for an Advanced meal which is chicken wrapped in spinach. Yummy! I'm slowly accepting the lack of grains with my meats but as I said before it takes time.