Calorie Nazi Status Report

I thought about forgoing these during the pregnancy because um, hello, this is The Excuse to be taking a break from weight loss.

But the Calorie Nazi isn't just about weight loss, it's also about overall nutrition and general health. It's even got a pregnancy function that adjusts recommendations for nutrition during the different trimesters. So while I might not have been as religious as I was pre-pregnancy about logging every day's food intake, I have been pretty darn good about it. Especially when I was at my sickest in first trimester, terrified I wasn't getting enough nutrition to support the baby.

So here's where things are at:
Pre-pregnancy low: -55 pounds
Weight when pregnancy discovered: -53 pounds
Current weight (at 16 weeks): -60 pounds

Yep, you read that right. At a time when my beloved tri-mommies-to-be (TriSaraTops and JBMommy) are concerned about their baby weight gain, I'm feeling guilty for not gaining enough (in fact, for losing) and constantly wondering if the baby will be alright because of it.

And can I just tell ya, after fighting my weight tooth and nail every day of my life since puberty, being upset about not being able to gain is a straaaange new world.

Around 11 weeks I called the doctor sobbing because the inability to eat had been particularly bad for several days and at that point I'd lost 11 pounds in just 4 weeks (I've since managed to gain back 3 of those). I was begging for reassurance the baby wasn't starving.

She laughed and told me it was fine at this stage of the pregnancy. Then she reiterated our first conversation, in which she'd told me that her goal for me in this pregnancy would be to remain the same weight throughout. That is, for every pound of baby I gain, I'd lose another pound off my still-ample behind.

Obviously, this is not recommended for the average person. But she feels my healthy lifestyle, good nutrition habits and extra 85 pounds will allow this to happen safely and to the benefit of both me and the baby. Of course she'll be monitoring things closely to make sure the baby is getting what it needs, but after several visits she is still confident in this plan of action.

Personally, I thought she was nuts. Because all you ever hear is women wailing about how much weight they gained and how they felt like it was out of their control. And because all I've ever known in my life was uncontrolled weight gain in spite of my best efforts.

But I was game to try - I figured at worst I'd gain the max recommended for someone already overweight (15 pounds).

Who knew it would be so manageable? Actually, it's still been hard, but not in the way I imagined. Since I'm still all about food aversions and just last night battled nausea for hours, it's actually been something of a challenge not to continue losing weight. And that's with getting in a couple hundred extra calories a day than I was before (on the days I can eat, that is).

So, that's where things are at with the Calorie Nazi. It's helping keep me on track for the calorie recommendations my doctor gave me and keeping me on track for the goal weight my doctor and I set for my due date.

I'm finally starting to show a little (one friend said the other day "hey! you finally look pregnant!"), but in general I'm getting comments that I look great, I look like I've lost weight, etc. I must admit it's been nice. Just yesterday at the gym one of the staff (who met me near my heaviest) told me I'm looking amazing and that I was glowing... and the brief conversation that followed revealed that she didn't even know I was pregnant!

Score one for the Calorie Nazi.