Pumping and needing iron
Someone hasn’t been able to start her day.
She’s laying on the couch until she feels like fully waking up 😉
The Pilot and I slept in a little –he flew late again last night so I’ll stay up until he’s on the ground safe, and then hang out when he gets home- and then hit the gym this morning.
It was legs day <— a day I always kind of dread, but feel soooooo good when it’s over!
Friday Frenzy Legs Workout
[Check with a doc if you plan to try this routine on your own]
| Warm-up | 5 minutes, elliptical (moderate) |
| Right leg lunge | 15 with 8 lb weights in each hand |
| Bodypump-style squats | Down for 2, up for 2; down for 3, up for 1; singles up and down (5 of each) |
| Left leg lunge | 15 with 8 lb weights in each hand |
| *Repeat lunges, squats, lunges 2 more times for a total of 3 of each exercise | |
| Side-laying leg raises | All the way up, halfway down (10 times), pulse 15 times, circle to the front and back each 10 times (3 sets on right and left leg) |
| Calf raises | 50 |
| Plie squat with stability ball squeeze | 3 sets of 15 |
| Cool down and stretch |
I’m saving cardio for later today- I tend to get a better workout when I split up weights and cardio, especially when the weather is nice and I can go outside, or take a class at work.
When I got home, I settled down with a cup of minty hot chocolate
and started to plan out the day.
We have a lot of fun stuff going on this weekend (squadron party, fall festival, making another baby meal, birthday BBQ for that one guy I’m in love with), so I just have to run some errands and get things ready. Hoping I can sneak in an acupuncture appointment in there, too 🙂
Breakfast:
A 2 egg-rito with a little butter melted into the tortilla + salad. It makes me think of my childhood- madre would hand me an egg-rito to eat on the way to school. Good stuff.
I’m out!
See ya laterrrrr <3
xoxo
Gina
Something to talk about: How are your October goals going? We still have a little over a week to crank them out! I still need to plan a picnic and do a 5k- the rest are in the works 🙂
Also, can anyone recommend an iron supplement that isn’t too horrible? I just got my blood test results from last week, and normal iron levels are 11.5-16.0, and I’m at 11.2 :/ Looks like it’s supplement time over here.
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I find that a few tablespoons of blackstrap molasses is more easily digestible than some of the pills. It has to be blackstrap though!
i need to pick some up!
Did the doc/midwife recommend a supplement to you? And what dosage? If not, I second the comment above about eating more of it from food for now.
i’m waiting for her to call me back. i called the office and talked to one of the nurses, who said i would need to supplement, but that the midwife would call me back to go over it
Ohhh that leg work out does seem like a doozie! So … I think I may have to try it 🙂
I’ve been taking an iron supplement since my first trimester lab results showed I was slightly anemic. I take CVS’s brand of Slow Potency Iron with vitamin C. I take it at night so if it were to upset my stomach, I can just sleep it off. It hasn’t affected me negatively. Good luck!
I also take Kroger’s generic “Slow FE” and have not had problems. Oddly, the only ones I had problems with (burping up a nasty iron taste, extreme constipation) were the samples my OB gave me! Either way, you may want to up the fiber in your diet….
I use Vitanica’s Iron Extra, and I only take it in the evenings. It’s better than some of the other ones I’ve tried, and it was designed for women by a lady Doc. Gotta appreciate that!
http://www.evitamins.com/iron-extra-vitanica-11502
“squadron party, fall festival, making another baby meal,”
I totally read that as “making another baby” and was like, wait, what?! HOW!? Haha.
hahaha! omg i’m laughing so hard
that is what I read it as too. Had to read it a few times before I got it 🙂
That would make for a great blog post. Fitnessista discovers how to get pregnant while pregnant! Haha 🙂
oh man, i just came down to the comments JUST to say that. i was thinking ‘this one isn’t even done baking yet!! how is that gonna work???’
I’ve been making egg white breakfast burritos with a little bit of Trader Joe’s spicy black bean dip and pineapple salsa, avocado, and spinach!
I’ve eaten this meal everyday this week and was craving it so much that I had it for dinner one night!
What about just adding more spirulina to your diet? 10x more iron than spinach! 🙂
Blackstrap molasse, 1 tsp a day and you will be fine!
Numedica has a really good iron supplement. It was recommended to me by several naturopaths, is high quality, and I’ve never had any side effects (and I am the queen of side effects!). You can find it here: http://www.numedica.com/Product_detail.cfm?Fname=NM198
Floradix is a great option if you don’t need too much iron. I need more than that, so I love the Gentle Iron that they sell at Whole Foods. I can’t remember the brand but it has a goldish label. It’s great and hasn’t given me any of the usual iron-related stomach problems.
I second this. Blackstrap is also good, but can really go cray cray on a preggie lady’s blood sugar. I had almost lethally low iron when I was preggers. Try to avoid chromagen if you can. Also, don’t combine calcium and iron-it interferes with absorption, add vitamin c which enhances absorption. Also, I would suggest adding flax oil and more water/squats into your diet while you are increasing your iron to avoid constipation. A great recipe would be dark meat turkey with sauteed spinach, kale, pumpkin seeds and lemon juice. Iron+C+Iron+C. You get the point.
I find all the different pictures you take of Bella hilarious! Seriously, you get the craziest poses out of that dog!
Hi Gina,
I have low iron as well and I am taking FeroMax, I live in Canada but I am sure you can get it in the States as well!
Its a great supplement because it doesn’t hurt your stomach and also doesn’t back you up if you know what I mean,
have a great weekend!
These prenatals (http://www.nourishingfoods.com/garden-of-life-vitamin-code-raw-prenatal-90-capsules.html) are raw, vegan (no dairy or soy allergens) and gluten free. Thought they might be a good fit for you if you decide to go the pill route :). Molasses was to hard for me to eat, it hurt my stomach more than any pill did. These pills never gave me any trouble though 🙂
I hope you find a supplement you like– I know those iron supplements can be tricky 🙁 I might try this molasses idea myself!
I’m not pregnant, but I’ve had to take Slow FE iron supplements for months for other reasons. I’m pretty sure my doctors said it was one of the best ones. I love it – it’s very gentle (I personally haven’t had any iron “side effects” at all from it) and has helped make a BIG difference in my iron levels. Highly recommended! I had tried the Walgreens generic version and it wasn’t clear from the labels that the two are truly equivalent, and I don’t think my body responded as well to it. Normally I’m all in favor of generics, but in this case I think it’s worth it to buy the original Slow FE.
Fergon is a good one, and doesn’t bother me as much as others do (in terms of gi tract issues if you know what I mean). CVS pharmacy has their own (cheaper) version of that one too.
Ana
That leg workout sounds awesome!
Floradix is a great liquid iron option- the liquid form tends not to cause the GI side effects that iron’s known for. 😉
You’ve got me hooked on the minty-hot-chocolate. I’m making one now!
I had the same problem and a great natural way that your body absorbs the iron (often a problem with supplements, and especially so for iron ones) is to take blackstrap molasses daily. My acupuncturist/eastern medicine practitioner suggested it. So I take a tsp-tbs depending on my levels and it has definitely balanced things out for me.
I had to take iron after having my first, 12 years ago. (did I just say that?) It did not ‘sit well’ with me. Buy a bottle of colase JUST IN CASE. ‘Nuff said.
My prenatal has an iron supplement in it, and it’s been working great. None of the iron side effects I’ve heard about. Can you switch to a pre-natal with iron in it? Kill two birds with one stone? My vitamin was called Gesticare, but they just switched it to a generic called PNV-DHA by Acella pharmaceuticals.
I didn’t eat meat at all during my twin pregnancy (I do eat chicken & seafood normally but developed a major pregnancy aversion). Since a woman’s blood volume DOUBLES during twin pregnancy, I had to really stay on top of my iron intake.
I took Pure Encapsulations Pre-natal nutrients and ate 1-2 bowls of high-iron cereal per day and had no anemia issues whatsoever. It’s actually astonishing how high the iron content is in many everyday, cold breakfast cereals (20-45 mg/serving)! I stuck mostly with Total, Raisin Bran and shredded wheat, but I know that there are plenty of GF rice-based cereal options too that still fall in this range.
What kind of tortilla do you use for the egg-rito? They look yummy.
If the experts say you need a supplement, then I’m never one to argue with that. But just an idea to throw out there: I’ve read that cooking with a cast iron skillet can up your iron intake some. Honestly, I don’t know much about that stuff. But I just made the switch from nonstick cookware (ugh! I hate that I used it for so long) to cast iron. And I’m in love! But not completely sure if you can make that big of difference in your numbers. Just thought I’d throw out a suggestion. Enjoy your weekend!
the food-based “blood builder” from whole foods is the best!! I’ve been anemic all my life (runs in my fam), and that is the only pill I could stomach that made a difference! It doesn’t upset your stomach at all bc it’s made from real food, and I noticed a change in my energy levels after just a couple weeks!
Ah so much different iron advice already.. My iron was low too. My naturopathic doc here in Tucson has me taking Ferrasorb by Thorne Research. It has worked really well to get my numbers up, has never upset my stomach, and my digestion is fine. Another thing that might be good is to just get a small iron shot. I know you don’t like needles, but iron is absorbed so much faster this way. I did a series of them for awhile at first, but you may not need as many as me. Good luck!
I really like your circuit. I may have to try that out. I am ROCKIN my October goals this month. So excited!
Sorry no iron advice!
I have low iron/ferritin (iron stores). (I am distance runner/endurance athlete so it is par for the course) I have tried tons of different iron supplements and have had many stomach/constipation issues with them. The only one that doesn’t seem to cause me problems is bifera which has both heme and non-heme iron in it. I have tried to get my iron levels up with food but doesn’t seem to work for me. Make sure if you supplement with iron that you space it out from calcium containing pills or food b/c calcium inhibits the absorption of iron…which can be an issue if you choose to go the blackstrap molasses route b/c while it does have iron in it, it also has calcium.
Bifera is pricey for 30 pills but the website has coupons and right now walgreens (at least where I am) has buy one get one half off special until the end of November.
and heck Dean Karnazes is even on the website!!
http://www.bifera.com/index.php
Busy weekend, have fun!
Your meals are looking so good as always and I love the minty hot chocolate too… I have been hooked for a few years on that combo. 🙂
That looks like a great strength circuit! I just recently tried your september cardio/strength circuit and loved it, by the way! 😀
When I was pregnant…and eating mostly plant based, and a little bit of fish I made sure to get iron from blackstrap molasses (used anywhere I would use sugar…great in pancakes or raw desserts) and lots of beet juice and beet greens. I lived off beets!!!!! It helped my iron levels and I felt great 🙂
now I want an egg-rito!
hope you get that iron up soon, girl! 😉
I just wrote a post today about deciding whether I should get my iron checked because of the way I have been feeling! I’m excited to check out the recommendations on here for supplements in case I need one. I’m nervous about taking one because I don’t want to go from one extreme, having too little iron, to the other extreme of having too much.
Omg, just had to say I heart your pink computer 😉
Omg Bella is soo adorable! I just want to cuddle her in that picture! I hope you have a super fun weekend and that the pilot enjoys his birthday! I’m so glad you’re getting to spend it with him!
That’s so cute that your mom made you those as a kid, and you’re still making them today! 🙂 I love it.
Blackstrap molasses. Start making molasses cookies 🙂 Or eat more beets (roasted and with coconut or olive oil) they are like candy! Those are two big plant based sources of iron. I have heard some women have good experience with Floridix. It has less of the side effects so I’ve read than other iron pills have. Good luck Gina!
oooh i have beets in the fridge, too!
I love egg burritos! Such a great way to bring in some protein!
SlowFE! Hasn’t given me any constipation or anything.
I feel the way Bella looks in that photo after this week. haha
I used to take SlowFe and it didn’t upset my stomach. Your post just reminded me that I need to take my multi-vitamin. I’m so bad at remembering to take it!
right? me too, haha
Salus floradix makes a great quality iron supp! Its highly absorbable so wont cause nasty stomach upsets! I take it everyday and i feel awesome! Highly recommend it 🙂
I always get super sore after a full leg workout! I think I need to work them more. I feel awesome when I do though 😀 Bella is adorable!
Awww Bella looks so sleepy. I just started really trying to work out my legs more, and I always get so sore for days afterward. How do you like your iPhone case? I was thinking about getting that same one!
Slow FE ova here too! No side effects so far. I’m 29 weeks with twin girls (Ruby and Madelyn)! I think we share the same due date, but I will have a C-section at 37 weeks- it’s scheduled already (eek!) for december 13, which is my hubby’s b-day!
What a fun weekend you have planned! So busy! And that picture of Bella looks so cute – my Mum was looking over my shoulder and was like “what a cute little dog!” She is adorable – so sleepy and dozy!
That workout looks killerrrr- in a great way! I totally agree with getting a better workout when you spilt up weights and cardio – I find that while this is not always realistic for me, time-wise, I always have more energy to pour into each session when I split in half for two shorter, more intense sessions. Gotta try that circuit! <3
Best of luck with your iron boosting! Take care, Yolie xxx
That leg workout sounds fantastic! I can’t wait to try it, thanks!
i have perma-low Fe stores (i’ve been as low as 8 and 10), so my doctor usually makes me go on iron supplements for 3 months every other year. she’d also like me to take them for a week every month but i don’t.
i take pallafer (i think that’s how it’s spelled), which is over the counter and doesn’t seem to bother me as much as the regular iron supplements did. i am pretty sure there is also a women’s special version.