The Long Weight

In the first 7 months of my pregnancy I was totally obsessed with weight.

"Am I gaining too much? Am I gaining enough? Am I gaining it in the right places? Am I eating enough food? Am I eating the right kind of food? How much more can I gain now so that later I wont be a walrus? etc."

I must have read What to Eat When You Are Expecting cover to cover at least a dozen times.

Every single appointment with my midwives, when they would ask if I have any questions or concerns, guess what we talked about? Ding Ding. WEIGHT!
And no amount of reassurance could get my mind off this. I knew I was being nutty but I could not stop thinking about it.

It didnt even really affect my food choices. I still ate bubble tea and ice cream - I just suffered from constantly thinking about it before, during, and afterwards.

The worst part of all this is that I have never, ever, in my whole life been someone who thinks about weight. I have never been a calorie counter. I have never been on a serious diet. I have always thought about weight in the same nacissistic, casual way that most young women around the world do.

So imagine my surprise when pregnancy suddenly turns me into this scale-watching monster!

I was certain that this entire blog, up to the point of delivery, would be nothing but obsessive rantings about weight control.

Then, quite suddenly, I completely stopped thinking about it. I havent picked up WTEWYAE in weeks, except to check a recipe for oatmeal. I weigh myself at the gym once a week, but thats only because the scale is next to the shower. I still eat bubble tea and ice cream, except now I enjoy it. Imagine that!

I have no idea if I would have gained more or less weight had I not spent the first 7 months constantly thinking about it. All I know is that I am about fifteen billion times happier just eating (always striving to cut corners and eat a little healthier) and letting the body do what the body is going to do.

The real test, of course, is going to be the condition of my body after baby. Right now, Im banking on being pleasantly surprised!



***BONUS***

Ive learned a lot about nutrition from this adventure and I wont share all my insights here. But one of my favorite little cheats is rice or soy ice cream. Because we eat ice cream so infrequently, Mr A and I always buy the little pints and eat most of it in one night. (This tip wont work if you eat ice cream every day) I have discovered that soy and rice ice cream are just as delicious with a wide variety of yummy flavors - but the calorie, sugar, and fat content per serving are usually half or less of Haggen-Daaz or Ben & Jerrys. Which, of course, means that you can eat twice as much as you were planning on eating in the first place! Viva l'indulgence!