mercurial scribe

Obviously, some things have changed since I first made my declaration back in February of this year.

First, an injury to my left leg in April (torn plantaris tendon, torn calf muscle and sprained hamstring) that took me both out of work and off my feet which is STILL healing. From the lack of mobility and the good food my Mom cooks, I gained another 15 lbs to put me at a whooping 220 lbs which is a lot for my medium 5′7″ frame.

The next surprise was our unplanned blessing of Miriam Rose (due April 17th for those of you not paying attention), which brought a horrid bout of “morning” sickness that made me lose those previously gained 15 lbs before beginning to put on the pregnancy weight.

I am currently 215 lbs (up 10 lbs from the “pre-pregnancy” weight of 205 after the “morning” sickness took its toll), which is on the low end of what I should gain by this time in the pregnancy.

While dieting is OBVIOUSLY not a good idea while pregnant, I have been careful to not overindulge by “eating for two”. In truth, a pregnant woman only needs about 300 extra calories a day to be properly nourished. Basically, that’s a bowl of raisin bran granola crunch with low-fat milk or a few slices of cheese in a whole wheat tortilla or even two extra glasses of low-fat chocolate milk (Ovaltine anyone?). All I’ve done is tried to eat as nutritionally balanced as possible and frequently. What works in my favor is that I’m very short waisted, so Miri is pushing my stomach up and limiting how much I can eat in a sitting which is now about 1.5 cups of any given food within a two-hour span.

I have to say this all was very disappointing for me. I had this image of being an active, healthy pregnant woman who would still be running and doing yoga. However, this just isn’t the case. I’m overweight and injured but still having a healthy pregnancy - thank God!

But good news came during my last visit with the orthopedic doctor who is treating my injury. Dr. B gave me the go-ahead to walk more. No stretching, no exercises, just small and comfortably paced 10-15 minute walks a few times a day on top of my normal wandering around the apartment. This makes me enormously happy. Not only will my weight gain be curbed by regular exercise, but 1) my pregnancy, health and baby will benefit from my increased movement and 2) Zoë the dog will not be so restless after several walks a day.

Though I can’t focus on weight loss right now, I’m still focusing on my health. My homemade vegetarian minestrone has been a staple for me as it’s one of the few things I can always eat. (With spinach, eggplant, legumes, tomatoes, onions and garlic, what’s not to love?!) My love affair with milk is going strong (even organic when we can afford the $2 per gallon difference). So let’s just say I haven’t forgotten that I still want to be down to 145 lbs by my 26th birthday, but I also realize that is a lofty goal given my circumstances.

What can I say? I like to aim high.

In the meanwhile you can follow this story by checking in on the first Tuesday of the month for the round-up of Fat Tuesday HERE.