Pregnancy and giving up
November 08, 2004 
6:32 am
Why do some women stop exercising or trying to lose weight when they become pregnant?
This is an honest question. I've noticed it time and again as I read different weightloss blogs... some women become pregnant but continue to eat healthily and exercise daily until their ob/gyn tells them it's time to stop. Other women seem to just use pregnancy as an excuse to give up their weightloss efforts. It's immediate-- as soon as that double blue line shows in the home-test window, the healthy eating is out the window and so is the exercise routine.
I don't mean to be judgemental, but this is something that's been in my head since I started keeping track with others' progress. It's not one or two people, it's a lot.
I see women who have been eating vegetables, rich protein foods, and sensible carbs, suddenly decide that they need to eat "normally" once they become pregnant. McDonald's and Pizza Hut are all of a sudden back on the menu. Excuse me, but since when is fast-food "normal" eating and 6 servings of vegetables and 4 servings of dairy protein not?
In my opinion, these women have found an excuse to give up and have done so. There's times, sure, when maybe the ob/gyn has said that exercising is a bad idea-- but eating right? How can that be bad when you have a living person depending on you to provide their nutrition day in and day out? How can someone consciously, and consciably, make the decision to eat crap because it's "normal"? A higher-calorie diet does not equal a mandate to eat whatever junk passes in front of your face, especially when what you eat goes directly to your child.
It bothers me. I always want to say something but I know it's not my place. Fortunately, this is my place, so I can rant a bit. :P
Jay and I have decided to not start a family for 2-3 years. Financially, it gives us a chance to establish a nest-egg and save for a downpayment on a house. It also gives him time to finish his PhD, which means that we'll know where we're going to be living once he's done and gotten himself a position somewhere in his chosen field. At that point, we'll get pregnant.
My goal is to not only be at my "ideal" weight when I get pregnant, but to also have maintained it for several months before trying to conceive. I need to have an idea of my body and how to nourish it properly before I even consider taking on the responsibility of nurturing a fetus. I want to know how much exercise is necessary to maintain a healthy weight, and I want to take classes to figure out how to continue that into my pregnancy.
I do not want to be someone who gives up, and use my baby as an "excuse" to do so. To me it's wrong, not only ethically (it violates my sense of fair play), but physically. I want to feed my child a healthy, balanced diet throughout their developmental years. Not junk. To me that includes when they're in the womb.
This entry brought to you by PMS week. Thank you, drive through.
