So if you've read the introduction to this blog, you know that my pregnancy with Cage wasn't so great. Not because of morning sickness, sciatic pain or the general "blah" feeling I had for 9 months. Because I gained 50 pounds and it didn't come off. Because I didn't really take care of myself while I was cookin' that little bun. So I determined that the next time I got pregnant, I would do everything in my power to do it right. To eat healthy, not stuff my face with extra brownies, and exercise (basically, everything I didn't do with Cage). Because I have to be healthy for not only the baby, but myself too! My hope is that because I have already implemented these virtues in my life, it will be easier for me to continue them for the next 9 months.
There is another reason I'm making these changes for pregnancy #2. When I got pregnancy with Cage, I blamed everything on my body. I truly believed that if my body was going to gain 50 lbs, there was nothing I could do about it. That's genetics and that's my body. I thought the same thing when my sister gained only 14 lbs her whole pregnancy and hated her for it. I scoffed and said, "Well, that's just her body." And while there is some truth to that theory, in the sense that everyone has different bodies that react differently to pregnancy and weight, I don't think it's entirely correct. *gasp* Did I just say I was wrong?! I think that to an extent, we can control our bodies in pregnancy. We have powers over certain elements that will keep us (and the baby!) healthy. So here's my new theory: That by maintaining a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy, we will not gain an excessive amount of weight and it will be easier to return to post-preggo weight afterwards.
So you guys now have a duty! To follow my pregnancy posts and judge for yourselves if my new theory ends up being right. If I'm wrong, you can totally rub it in my face (as much as is possible in cyberspace). We all know that a health plan requires goal setting at the beginning. So I'm going to use this post to set goals for my pregnancy (besides the goal of trying to have this baby in July, haha). Every trimester, I will compare Cage's pregnancy to my current one, to evaluate how my methods are doing. And then the hope is that you can use these same goals for your own maternal benefit. So here they are:
WEIGHT: Now, in pregnancy your weight goals are the exact opposite of what your previous weight goals were. To gain, not lose! It's a whole new mindset, one that's not easy to get use to (especially since women in our society base their self-esteem on what the bathroom scale tells them). So obviously, my goal here is to gain. But how much? Is all weight gain good or is there a point where it becomes excessive? I knew my 50 lb gain had been excessive, even while in denial. And it turns out that there is a goal for weight gain in pregnancy: For someone with a normal weight and BMI (19-25), you should gain 25-35 lbs. If you were underweight, 28-40 and overweight, 15-25. So by the end of my pregnancy, I should be in that 25-35 range. And remember, these are just general guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Like I said, my sister gained only 14 lbs and her little girl came out perfectly healthy!
BODILY APPEARANCE: I think as women, when we want to analyze how good we look, we start with the stomach. Is it nice and flat or do I need to run a little more? Obviously, that doesn't apply in pregnancy so I'm going to keep an eye on the other areas of my body. I remember with Cage that I was swollen everywhere! Particularly in my face, arms, and legs. So will a healthy lifestyle keep me from looking like a balloon? We'll find out!
DIET: My Cage pregnancy diet comprised of whatever the heck I wanted to eat. No rules, no limitations. I could eat whatever I want and as much of it as I want. You always hear about "eating for two". That is such a lie. During pregnancy, you are supposed to only eat an extra 200-300 calories per day. For crying out loud, I wish my doctor had told me that with Cage. I feel like so many pregnant women are under the misconception that you eat twice as much when you're pregnant and it's perfectly acceptable. So my diet goals are to eat that extra 200-300 cals, continue to eat according to the my plate plan, consuming plenty of produce.
EXERCISE: As I previously stated, my exercise regimen was non-existent with Cage. So my goal is to exercise 5-6 times a week this time around.
I'm putting a picture here of what I looked like at 8.5 months pregnant with Cage. I will take a similar picture at my 8.5 month mark with baby #2. Being healthy is not based on what you look like really, but how you feel and what you can do. But a picture does provide a nice comparison, so that's the reason I'm showing it. So we'll see if there is a difference in appearance this time and, if so, what it is. If you guys have any tips about staying healthy throughout a pregnancy, I would LOVE to hear your ideas.
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| 8.5 months |
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