Wake up call

At 24 weeks pregnant I had a wake up call. I went into my dr and even though I gained very minimum the first months, I gained 20 lbs in 2 months. WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT? I totally do not see it on myself, but really who does?   I was told I needed to watch my weight and basically not gain much more. What? Wait? I watch everything, I work out daily to intense work outs, I lift weights, I am confused, how could I have gained this much weight and not notice. My maternity pants are fitting the same, my pre-pregnancy skirts and dresses still fit. I am confused.  So I took a good hard look at my diet and discovered a few things.

Even though I was within my calorie budget, looking back over the past 2 months of my food logs (see this is why you keep a food journal), I was able to see I was in-taking the WRONG calories. I was letting myself have that thick crust pizza or that slice of cake, because it was oh so good and fit in my calorie budget. I also noticed I was eating my heaviest meal at dinner. I would end up going to bed bloated and feeling just full. I would even wake up in the middle of the night and still be full.  That is not good at all. Your digestion slows at night and being pregnant it is even slower.   I was bloated from the foods I was choosing and if I am being honest (which I am) my gas was out of control. I thought it was just due to being pregnant, but I realized that it was worse on the days I ate processed crap.  I was also forgetting to log in dinner most days and just estimating the calories in my head, which is not so smart.  Over the past 4 days since that fateful day at the doctors office, have gone back to basics. I have been eating the right calories, not stuffing myself at night, definitely not eating past 7/7:30 (meaning my meal is completed), I'm logging ever morsel including drinks and making sure I am drinking tons of water.

So my game plan is to stick with my back to basics plan and see if I cannot shed a little of this weight I gained so quickly or at least stay the same weight. That is it, I am not going to cut my calorie intake, as I need them for the child, however I have noticed that with me going back to basics, I am not meeting my calories for the day, yet I am completely satisfied and not starving.  When I was not eating the right calories, I was STARVING even though I was eating constantly and totally hitting that calorie goal, so that says something about eating the right calories and not the wrong ones.  You need less of the right ones and more of the wrong ones since your body is craving the good ones. I am eating good carbs like fruit and starchy veggies instead of thick crust pizza (mmmmmm). I am going to keep this post as a draft for a week or two and see where my progress is. It is like a fun science experiment but one I think my hypothesis will be correct.  So my plan, eat good calories, do not eat processed crap, keep working out like I am with adding more weight lifting into my program, eat less at night, drink tons of water and do not go to bed stuffed!  Fingers crossed this works!

This morning is Sunday, so 6 days later, I weighed myself and am down 5lbs since my appointment!  Whoo hoo!  I'm a little excited because even though I chose bad fried things Friday night for date night, I have done a good job of watching  everything I eat, eating the right things, eating at home which means cooking from scratch, going to farmers market for tons of fruits and veggies, drinking water, and not eating late at night or a heavy meal (even Friday night I did not get stuffed and went to bed with a empty stomach).  I'm excited I saw results immediately. I did not expect that at all.  But helped me motivate myself to do T25 and Chalean Extreme!  My muscles are exhausted but it feels nice and I know it will help me continue this path! I'm excited to see how I do from this point out.

So it has been a 4 weeks since my appt.  and I am still stagnant with my weight gain, so my going back to basics worked, as the baby is constantly gaining weight and I am not.  I am definitely seeing my muscles are more toned as well.

So the moral of this post is, do not just watch the amount of calories you input into your body, but the kind of calories. Make sure you are choosing the right foods for your body. Small changes like fruit over french fries or baked over fried goes a long way. Make sure you are incorporating weight training along with your cardio for maximum results. If you do not see the results you want to see, step back and look at that fitness journal I know that you are keeping so that you can see what you can adjust to meet your goals!

You can do this! I know you can.   Small changes, determination, and dedication can take you a long ways!

Have a very fit day!