Are you serious?!

You know how a lot of pregnant women get cravings?  And some of those cravings are for really strange things?  I don't get the strange things cravings, but I do get cravings.  With my son, it was Taco Bell.  With the twins, it was chicken and mashed potatoes.  With this kid?  It's SUGAR.  That's right.  I constantly want sweet food.  It's annoying, really, because if I'm not careful, I could end up getting gestational diabetes.

Oh, and every woman gains weight while pregnant, even if only a few pounds.  That's pretty normal.  With my son, I gained 40.  With the twins, 15-20.  With this kid?  30, and we're not even halfway through the pregnancy.  Honestly, I stepped on the scale the other day, saw that number, and almost cried.  I know it's my fault, because I haven't made the best food choices and I haven't been exercising as much as I did before I got pregnant.  Honestly, I'm always tired.  The baby is still sapping all of my energy from me.  But, that has all changed.  Yesterday, we did our big grocery shopping and at least 90% of it was healthy food.  I'm cutting sweets out and tracking my calories.

A great tool I love for tracking my calories is MyFitnessPal.  I used it when I was trying to lose weight and it really helped to see what I was getting from each food in terms of daily amounts of fiber and protein, etc.  Now, I use it to make sure I'm getting the correct amount of nutrients.  Unfortunately, there's no option to say "I'm pregnant", but I know how many calories I SHOULD be consuming, so I just add that number to the number they've already given me.  I started tracking today and you know what I found out?  I don't even eat all the calories they give me, much less any extra.  I'm going to have to start eating more, as long as it's healthy.  Fruits and veggies are delicious and will become more of a staple in my diet than they already are.

I've also decided to go back to my exercise routine that I followed while trying to lose weight.  I won't be focusing on increasing my speed or anything since I can't run, but walking for 30 or so minutes 3 times a week and then a 5-mile walk on the weekends will do me a world of good.  My biggest problem will be maintaining all of this while I'm up in Ohio for Mother's Day.  However, I'm confident my friends will help.  :-)  A lot of this is a mental thing and I just have to keep at it.  I didn't quit when trying to lose weight and I'm not going to quit now.  This is too important, especially for the parents.  Their baby deserves the best care I can give him and gosh darn it, I'm going to do the best I can for him.  If you have any recipes that can be made up to a week in advance (for meal planning), please pass them along!  I would really appreciate it!