This month was hard.
I wasn’t able to complete all my scheduled workouts.
At the beginning of this month, I thought that Esben and I had come down with a tummy virus. He projectile vomited at random times without a fever or any other symptoms. So naturally, I became worried. I didn’t throw up but I too experienced a sour tummy and a low appetite. Because I wasn’t able to eat properly, I knew I wouldn’t be able to workout effectively. So I skipped several workouts.
Because of that, I started becoming discouraged and frustrated.
After several failed attempts at eliminating certain foods and drinks, my hubby and I realized it was a supplement I was taking.
Every so often, when I felt wound up at bedtime, I would take a Zinc supplement. I’ve done this on and off for years and it has helped me so much!
What I didn’t know is that high protein foods are naturally high in zinc (which explains why I get amazing sleep in general) but also explains the overdose symptoms I was experiencing.
What’s crazy is that I didn’t take it every day. It was very sporadic. Even then, cutting out the zinc supplement immediately fixed the majority of our problems.
But I still experienced acid reflux type symptoms when I ate eggs, cheese, greek yogurt, red meats, or the Vega protein powder. Even though Esben wouldn’t throw up, he would get irritable, hiccup a ton and his food would try to work its way up. Turns out those kinds of foods are high in Zinc. Because my body was still trying to flush out the excess, I also needed to stay away from these foods. Of course, mom guilt started creeping in. Thoughts like “I should’ve consulted the supplement with my doctor first, why am I such an idiot?!” kept making their way in. I’m actually still struggling to shake it off. I know it’s unhealthy for me to continue feeding the mom guilt monster. I’m working on owning the consequences and moving forward.
Breastfeeding is so amazing. But it’s so challenging when I have specific fitness goals I want to meet.
Right now my breastfeeding relationship is much more important than my fitness goals. This setback was a great reminder of how delicate it really is. I’m thankful I’m able to nourish my baby and understand what my real priorities are.
This doesn’t mean I’m adopting an all or nothing approach. This just means I need to be careful and realistic about my monthly goals.
And even with this setback I’ve made significant progress you can see and can’t see.
I’ve gotten a lot stronger in my core and in my legs thanks to my deadlifts and squats. My butt and quads have grown so much I had to buy new pants. In general I feel really strong. But aesthetically speaking, I’m not excited about the way I look. I STILL struggle with wanting to lean out to look fitter, versus keeping a higher body fat to grow stronger. I know I can’t have both though. Honestly, I really should be thankful that my body is actually responding well to the bulk while breastfeeding. It’s a job to eat that many carbs most days!
Anyways, I still weigh somewhere around 120 pounds. My body fat is a bit higher, maybe somewhere in the 26-27%. My goal this next month is to build more muscle in my shoulders, core, back and arms, but obviously with priorities in check.
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