Weighty Issues

Weight has become a constant topic during pregnancy, whether I like it or not.  It is usually because someone thinks I am not showing at all or I am gaining too much weight.  I actually hear the latter more often. 

Like most women, I sometimes feel the pressure to weigh less.  To have less fat.  To look more like an elite athlete.  To judge my success on how fit I look when I race.  I feel this pressure, but I am usually stronger.  (but not always...I fail too). I attribute my ability to not always play the "weight game" on my years as a soccer player.  Wear a baggy uniform your whole life and get tackled by women 20-30 pounds heavier than you, and you won't really care much about losing weight either.  It was NEVER made a priority by my coaches or peers.  Thank goodness for that.  

Plus, I just try to stay out of the media and into health, spiritual, intuitive knowledge which allows me to let go of the pressure. I KNOW better than to fall into the "weight" trap.  I don't own a scale.  I don't weigh myself constantly.  But, if I am not careful, the trap will be waiting around the corner for me, and I sometimes stumble. After all, we are bombarded with messages about weight constantly, and we race with our butts hanging out of bathing suits.

My friends know that when women constantly worry about weight, it bugs me.  When I worry about weight, I bug myself!!!!  I just don't think talking about it frequently is worth what brain cells I have left.  And honestly, who complains about their weight?  Skinny people, right?  And that bugs me too because I think it is insulting to people that really do struggle with weight.  Moving on....

So on to that first trimester of pregnancy..

If you do a little reading, most books and articles suggest that you don't need to gain a single pound your first trimester.  The baby doesn't weigh a thing and nothing has really developed that involves mass.  So, within the first trimester, I was already faced with this "idea" that I shouldn't gain any weight.  Plus, I had many friends that LOST weight their first trimester, skinny bisatches that they are. 

Also, as an athlete, I thought I would just keep my normal body for many months until a little baby started poking out.  Don't ask me where I got this notion.  Maybe it is because many of my friends did not show until 6 months?  Because you see cute little pregnant women racing and you can hardly tell? Maybe it is because my mom only gained 14 pounds with me, and I thought I would be a small gainer.

Well, well.  Here is the reality for me!  And since talking to friends about this, I have found that many of them had very similar stories. 

• Bloating and constipation early on.  Feeling a little chubby?  Yep, happened to me by 5-6 weeks.  Could not go to the bathroom.  Started looking swollen all over. 
• Vegetable aversion? For real? As in I will puke if I even smell them? What am I supposed to eat?  Oh, bread?  That is all I can eat?  And starchy things sit well?  And I must eat a ton of it because I am constantly hungry, yet nauseous, and if I don't eat I will get even sicker?  (and to this day, I cannot eat kale, one of my FAVE veggies...because I smelled it during those first few weeks)
• Huge boobs!  I swear I gained 2 pounds per boob easily.  And, I thought it would look sexy to finally have a pair, but honestly it just looks gross. 
• Oh yes, and can't exercise.  Don't forget that!

So, all of a sudden I:  had to eat frequently, eat only carby food, sleep half of my day away, no exercise and lots of nausea, while not being able to go to the bathroom, with massive bloating, and huge boobs. 

That does NOT sound like the cute little pregnant athlete I thought I was supposed to be!!!!  I look like a marshmellow!

Oh, and then I start going to the doctor and guess who is gaining weight in their first trimester?   BAD PREGNANY LADY!!!  PUT THE FORK DOWN- is what all of the articles and forums say. 

So, much like the guilt I felt when I couldn't exercise, I felt GUILTY when I wasn't eating healthy, but didn't know how to force it.  I felt GUILTY that I was gaining weight.  

To top it off, PEOPLE- STRANGERS-MEN!- ANYONE WITH A MOUTH (So it seemed)- told me I was "too big" for my first trimester.  That I was "showing too fast."  I remember the day one of my patients (150 pounds overweight, mind you) told me that I was too big to be 4 months and that I better start watching me weight.  I went to my car and *almost* cried, but then I got pissed and wondered why people pick on each other for weight?  I exercise and eat healthier x 100 that any of the people that were making comments.  I toughened up, turned on my selective hearing, and am happy as a little pregnant girl can be!

I also spoke with my doctor who was HAPPY I was gaining weight first trimester.  He was THRILLED he didn't have to deal with an athlete that had "mommyrexia" that only focused on staying thin during pregnancy.  He knows my athletic history from all of the way back in high school, and he thought it was just fine that I was gaining weight. 

Because the truth of it is, and read this x 1000000 if you are pregnant or getting pregnant.  The principles are simple.  They aren't easy, but they are simple.

• Eat as well as you can.  Lots of veggies and healthy fresh foods.  And if you can't, you can't.  Do your best, and get back to it when you can.
• Exercise regularly when you can.  When you can't, rest and be peaceful!

For me, it was a SOLID 3 months before I could really exercise again and eat more veggies.  Have I gained weight?  You BET I have.  I will give you a number next week when I go to the doctor.  I will write them all down- I am not ashamed!  It is much more than any of my friends. 

And here is another truth.

If you are an athlete and exercised/trained a lot before pregnancy, you probably WILL gain more than you thought- not only because you may have started out super lean, but also because your exercise will be so dramatically reduced, your body is forced to respond. 

Now, there is the other side to this coin.  Some women cannot eat.  Some women puke the whole first trimester.  Some women are just fine exercising.  They may be the women that lose weight during the first trimester.  Both sides are okay as long as everyone is healthy.  You just cannot predict how your body is going to respond.

Here are my reading/listening recommendations for some fun, smiles, and truths about pregnant athletes:

5 things every runner should know before getting knocked-up
I laughed at this one, especially how she thought she would look as a pregnant runner, and how she really looked.  She nailed it!

Jen and Liz Podcast
I haven't listened yet, but I am going to go out on a limb and say that this is probably awesome.  It is not a far stretch to think it will be :)

Gaining weight in runners
This was one of the first posts I read that helped me get in tune with the connection between weight gain and athletes. 


So, again, I hope this will just be one of those archived-type posts that helps someone in the future if they face similar symptoms and circumstances as I have during that first trimester. 

And PS- not only did I wake up an go to Masters' swim yesterday for the first time in 7 months, I also went to track practice for the first time 6 months.  HOLLA!!!!  That blistering 8 min mile pace was enough to put me DFL and I didn't care!!! I was so pumped to be out there!!!!

xoxoxo