My Chubby Brain is Blown

Never before, in my entire life, have I been told to gain more weight. If anything, I’ve always been told I need to lose a few pounds. I’m overweight, and have crossed the line into “obese” a couple times.  But now?  I'm an overweight pregnant woman.


So, it’s just so utterly baffling to this chubby chick that my OB tells me I’m not gaining enough so far in my pregnancy.

Me? Not gaining enough? Unheard of!!!

Oh. Wait. That was before I had to count carbs and avoid too many really high fat foods.

I’m not restricting carbs or calories at all, except that I don’t choose to sit down and eat three breadsticks then order and eat a giant bowl of pasta with artery-clogging sauce. One breadstick and half a giant bowl of pasta (then maybe another half breadstick!) will do, thanks. And that’s usually already more calories than I’m “supposed” to eat in one sitting.

I am not a conservative eater by any means and, though I know better than to “eat for two” and double my food, I’ve felt sure that I've been eating more calories a day now that I’m pregnant.  I mean, I'm always hungry!!!

The nurse (or medical assistant?) who wrote down my weight at today’s weigh-in at my OB’s office said, “Just half a pound. You’re going to have to come back and weigh again next week.”

"Really?!" I said. "This is just the first day of my second trimester. I thought a lot of women don’t gain in the first trimester!”

“Maybe if you’ve gained two or three pounds by next Thursday, she won’t make you come back in. Just go to Braums every night until then!”

Braums is a regional fastfood burger and ice cream joint… really known for their ice cream. A twinge of annoyance passed through me as I remembered my last stubborn high blood sugar that happened despite a carefully calculated bolus. “Yeahhhh, that’s a little tough for a diabetic.” I got a look of sympathy, but no further suggestions.

I’ll be trying to add in more calories, but there will be no milkshake prescription for this mother-to-be. How frustrating that I need to gain weight right when blood glucose control is both more important than ever and more difficult than ever.

Not. Fair.