Nutritional Stress

I have been vegan for 6 months. Well, it'll be 6 months exactly tomorrow. It was a decision that I made mostly for the health benefits and I've never looked back. In the past 6 months my energy has increased, I've learned how to cook and I am overall more involved with what goes into my belly. My decision to continue on my vegan journey is no longer limited to just the health benefits, but it involves ethical reasons as well. Now that I'm pregnant, I get a lot of extra attention to my choice of eating habits.

There is absolutely no medical proof that I need to eat animal products for the well being for my baby. Everything I need I can get from a vegan diet so long as I eat correctly. Same can be said for non-vegans. Stuffing your face with a double cheeseburger from a fast food joint doesn't mean you are meeting your protein needs for the day.

I have zero intention of changing my lifestyle now just because the majority of society seems to be close minded about the way I choose to eat. I struggle with this when I go to the doctor or every time I tell someone new that I'm pregnant. The only nutritional value that I cannot obtain from a vegan diet is vitamin B-12, which I compensate for in my daily multi-vitamin.

With all of that said, I have never been so aware of everything that I eat as I have been since the moment I found out I was pregnant. The first few weeks I did exceptionally well, eating fresh fruits and veggies every day in between meals. The further I've gone into my pregnancy with the nausea and the discomforts kicking in though, the more I worry about if I'm eating well enough.

Since this pregnancy was a surprise (a good surprise of course) I didn't get to prepare my body for pregnancy. Unfortunately, I am overweight to begin with and I've never been a super active person. I make it a point to walk as much as I can now to ensure that I am not sitting on my butt all day, but I feel that isn't enough. At the same time, I am scared to try jogging or other forms of cardio (which I've done before), since I'm still in my first trimester.

All of this is just stress building up which goes against my trying to stay positive throughout this exceptional journey I'm on. I am somewhat of a perfectionist when I want to be and this is definitely one of those times where I want everything to be perfect. I don't want to do anything that may cause my little peanut to be hurt in any way.

In the mean time, all I can do is try my best. Eat fruits & veggies, take my vitamins daily and walk around the block for 20 minutes. If I can do more than that I will but I shouldn't focus on it too much because it's emotionally draining!

My next prenatal appointment is in exactly 2 weeks and my next sonogram in 3 weeks and 2 days. I will occupy the time til then reading my new book and researching more earth friendly baby products. :)