I have no idea what has changed, but I have seriously been soooo famished the past few days! I don't know if this is a growth spurt or not, but my appetite has been relatively insatiable. It's getting a little out of hand, it's not like I haven't been eating, and contrary to popular belief I am not eating for 2!! Well, technically I am, but the second person in this equation is teeny tiny and only weighs in at around 11oz. LGR does not need an extra 2000 calories a day, he actually only needs an extra 300 in addition to my normal consumption (1500-1800, so a total of 1800-2100 a day!). I do work out so I know I have a little leeway, but I'm terrified I'm going to gain like 5 pounds in the next 2 weeks (which I definitely do not need to do), instead of maintaining or going up a pound or two max.
I know that a lot of people think that when you're pregnant, it's the one time you can eat whatever you want whenever you want and not worry about weight at all. For me, I feel like it's the complete opposite. I am more concerned about what I eat now than I was before (and I was pretty conscientious before hand) - I want to make sure Baby Peks is getting good nutrition and I don't want to eat things now that I wouldn't feel comfortable feeding him if he were actually able to eat solid foods. Plus, since I know that he's now able to decipher tastes from my amniotic fluid, I want to try to eat healthful things so he develops a taste for them (and hopefully so that he'll like lots of vegetables when he's little and will save us the trouble of trying to hide zucchini in his meatloaf later on down the line:P). I also feel very very strongly that pregnancy is not the time to stuff your face to your hearts content. It is definitely important to eat enough calories and the right types of calories, but at the same time it can be just as dangerous to eat too much. Mothers that gain an excessive amount of weight during pregnancy are often at risk for complications during labor and delivery, and babies have a higher risk of being born too large (also resulting in complications).
There's also that whole issue of losing the weight after LGR arrives. I know that a good 10-12 lbs will get lost as soon as I give birth and my uterus contracts, but whatever is left is going to have to be worked off. After losing almost 30 pounds nearly 3 years ago, I can tell you that this is not something I am looking forward to doing. It's really hard to lose weight, and it was hard when I was single and could work out for an hour a day 5-6 days a week. I know I'm not going to have that kind of time once LGR arrives and while taking care of a baby is a lot of work, I know my body. I know my body needs serious cardio and weight training to get into the shape it was in before. I've read and been told that for many women, the weight just melts off while they're breastfeeding, but I have an inkling that my body just isn't going to do that. That, on top of the fact that I'm not going to be able to work out for approximately 6 weeks postpartum and that I'm going to be extremely sleep deprived leads me to be very very fearful of gaining more than the recommended 25-30 pounds.
What really concerns me now is that I have definitely been watching what I eat and been very active since the late part of my first trimester. I go to the gym 4 days a week for 45-50 minutes a day (about 15 minutes of weight lifting and 30 minutes of cardio). I am very cautious about what I eat - generally I start the day with a banana and half an arnold thin with 1 tbsp natural organic peanut butter (no salt or sugar is added). I usually have a snack of some sort of vegetable with 3 tbsp hummus. Lunch is usually a lean protein and a big salad with balsamic vinegar. After lunch I have a couple (6-7) chocolate covered raisins, and then later in the afternoon I have a piece of fruit and maybe a serving of cottage cheese. Dinner is usually a veggie of some sort (lots b/c I LOVE my veggies), a lean protein, and a tiny bit of starch. Dessert is either an orange or a piece of fruit or 1/2 a cup of lowfat frozen yogurt or sometimes both (yes - I actually measure all of these things out...ask Eric, it annoys the crap out of him:P). I try really hard to watch my sodium intake as well, and I drink 100 - 120 oz of water a day. I swear - I'm really really trying, and it's just getting so frustrating to see the scale go up in such large intervals. I would love it if I could just maintain my weight until the start of my third trimester, then gain the recommended 1 lb/week. It doesn't help that I started this pregnancy about 5-7 lbs heavier than I wanted to because of all the weight I gained on our honeymoon!
I guess to point of all of this was to just get out all of my frustration and vent a little bit...I'm definitely not opposed to gaining the weight I need to make sure our baby is healthy, but I'm just tired of hearing about how I need to eat for two and it doesn't matter what I put into my body and that all that excess weight will some how magically come off as soon as I deliver our child b/c I just don't believe it!!OK - vent over. For those moms out there, what's your take on this? Any advice or experiences you can share?
I remember feeling the same way when I was pregnant, especially about the changes in my body. My doctor advised that if you have cravings, it may be your body telling you that it needs whatever nutrients are in the food you want, even if it is something that you don't think is healthy, like ice cream. It's not always easy to embrace the experience, but it is such a short and special time. Also, keep in mind you may not need to wait 6 weeks to exercise; it probably depends on the individual birth. I was jogging 2 weeks after Sebastian was born. Knowing how important it is to you, you'll probably be up in no time.
ReplyDeleteRenata - that is seriously some of the best news I've heard and it's so nice to know that I'm not the only one that has felt this way! And it's super encouraging that you were jogging 2 weeks after birth:) Hope all is well with you and your new family!
ReplyDeleteyou sound just like me! i was really uptight about the gaining weight/eating/exercising portion of pregnancy. i walked 4 miles every single day on the treadmill up until the day i delivered. even though i did that, i still gained 45 lbs. i think as long as you do everything as healthily as possible, your body will know what it needs. plus, it's true--the majority of the weight comes off by breastfeeding and healthy life habits. it's the last 5-10 lbs that were harder to lose! for me, i couldn't lose them until i was done breastfeeding just because any major exercise would affect my supply...and obviously you can't really cut calories when you nurse!
ReplyDeleteanyway, i think the fact that you are thinking this through & researching everything is a good sign and will TOTALLY work out in your favor in the end.
ps: i was back on the treadmill 1-2 weeks after delivery, too. i didn't get the chance to get on there as regularly as before at first, but now i get my daily time :)
Liz, thanks for the encouragement! I'm glad to know there's someone else out there that worked out and still gained weight, and managed to take it all off afterward too!!
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