Big News

I’ve been keeping some big news to myself for a bit too long and today’s the day I’m unwrapping the surprise for ya.

Well, I sorta, kinda spilled the beans last week on the online workshop I taught (and with the members in my Real Food for Gestational Diabetes Course)… but I still haven’t really shared it. So it’s about time I fill YOU in.

To be honest, I’m not sure why this feels so vulnerable.

Scratch that.

I know exactly why.

I’m opening up about something that feels very personal and sacred to – not just the thousands of people on my email list – but the entire interwebs.

Butterflies aside, after a more-than-a-few gentle nudges from close friends and family, today’s the day.

OK, here goes.

My husband and I are expecting our first child.

Yep, totally preggos over here.

I’m still sorting out exactly how much detail I’ll be sharing publicly (I have never intended for this blog to be a TMI online diary, after all), but I can tell you I’m in my second trimester and so far, so good.

There’s something really strange about experiencing pregnancy first-hand. After all, I’ve individually counseled hundreds of women through this time (and my book, Real Food for Gestational Diabetes, has transformed the realities of pregnancy for thousands of women).

It’s like when I’d teach Pilates to someone with an injury. I was fully capable of safely teaching them movements to help alleviate pain and heal their injury. I could sympathize with the challenges of coping with less-than-functional movements. But I could only truly empathize (yes sympathize and empathize are different animals ← google it) if I had experienced a similar injury.

So here I am doing my best to practice what I preach – the food, the movement, the mindfulness – and finding out what works for ME.

Whether you know me personally or professionally or just from reading my blog, you know listening to my body is – and always will be – priority number one.

And there’s no better time to put that into practice (or, in my case, to keep practicing that) than during pregnancy.

hiking during pregnancy — Getting outside & hiking still tops my self-care list, even though I’m a little slower than usual.

There’ve been many shifts, compromises, and ups-and-downs so far.

For one, I can say the first trimester was not all smooth sailing for me (that topic alone deserves a lengthy discussion – probably enough to fill a small book), but even with that, we’re just incredibly excited to share our life with another human being.

If you’re a long time reader, you know I’m a research junkie, but all science-y knowledge aside, can we all just acknowledge how utterly insane it is that we (humans) have the capacity to create new life?! That all those little genes are being turned on – or off – by how I treat myself each and every day? That, even with less than ideal conditions, the default is for a woman’s body to make a functional little being with 10 fingers and 10 toes?

It somehow seems even more miraculous when you’re living it and feeling those first little kicks.

I have such inexplicable appreciation for how cool my body is for doing all this (facilitating all this?) without me even thinking about it.

Now, all wonderment aside, let’s talk about how this will impact you!

Baby = major change.

So I’ll be making changes to my business. The way I “see” clients and run my blog will be different, I’m sure, although I’m NOT sure exactly how that will look at this point.

My hope is that I can continue to help you, as my tagline says, “balance real food and real life,” and ensure I can do the same while juggling a newborn.

In some ways, this has made me think even bigger about how I can help you.

This is how (I anticipate) things will change:

For one, I will still post new blogs on a regular basis – maybe not every. single. week. as I have for the past few years, but let’s just go with “regularly,” shall we?
I’ll be limiting one-on-one clients significantly in 2016. My waiting list is about to get a lot longer.
I finally have the excuse (and the bump) to record some prenatal Pilates/exercise videos. These will be added to the exercise module of the Real Food for Gestational Diabetes Course. This course just keeps getting meatier!
I’m going head-to-head against the outdated prenatal nutrition guidelines by creating a series of (heavily evidence-based) continuing education webinars for my fellow registered dietitians.
I’ll keep working on the 3 (yep, I’m up to 3) research studies on gestational diabetes and prenatal nutrition that are in-progress. Getting my real food approach into the peer reviewed medical literature is the only way to truly change the atrocious “standard of care.”
And, if there’s enough interest, I might start writing a book on prenatal nutrition. I’ve had dozens of requests already, and while there’s a ton of great information in Real Food for Gestational Diabetes that’s applicable to all pregnant women, there’s so, so much more I can share.
At the very least, I’d like to compile the exact strategies I used to get through my first trimester and share them with you – again, if there’s interest.

Obviously, there’s a ton of goodness on the forefront and I’m taking full advantage of the energy boost the second trimester brings!

Of course, I’m only one person – err, do I count as 1.5? – so I can only take on so much (full disclosure: that’s not my full list #entrepreneurproblems), so before I set sail on these projects I’d love to hear from you:

What would you like to see most from me in the coming months – on the blog, in those webinars I’m planning, etc?

Your input is invaluable (and I’m open to more ideas).

Until next week,
Lily

PS – You get huge props for reading through this novel-of-a-post and thank you for sharing in the celebration. I’m prepared for an influx of emails, but I won’t be able to respond individually to all of you (gotta save my precious energy for my go-getter clients first), so do me a favor and share your thoughts in the comments below. 🙂

PPS – I’ll continue to share about my pregnancy here and there, but don’t worry, not all of my posts from here until eternity will be pregnancy-related!

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Lily Nichols is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author with a passion for evidence-based prenatal nutrition and exercise. Her work is known for being research-focused, thorough, and unapologetically critical of outdated dietary guidelines. She is the author of two bestselling books, Real Food for Pregnancy and Real Food for Gestational Diabetes.

Read the first chapter of real food for pregnancy for FREE.

Big News

To be honest, I’m not sure why this feels so vulnerable.

Now, all wonderment aside, let’s talk about how this will impact you!

This is how (I anticipate) things will change:

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