Eat what you want

I've just been inspired by Nicola to think about the principles and how I'm doing. I've come to realise that the one I struggle with the most is 'eat what you want'. I really don't know what I want a lot of the time. I don't know how to change this.

I'm sure it's a bit to do with being pregnant (surprise surprise) as I've been going off food and actively disliking random food like chicken! Unfortunately I haven't had cravings (which is a bit disappointing) and a lot of the time don't want anything or just something sweet.

I'd love to know how other people manage this one as I just can't seem to decide what I want to eat (especially at lunchtime).

A strange problem

This is the first time this has ever been a problem, but I'm losing weight. Since BC I've lost a stone I was 17 st 10, then got weighed at the docs on finding out I was pregnant and was 17 st 7, and then weighed myself in between and had lost 1/2 a stone. Normally I'd be delighted, but I'm actually a bit worried that the baby will be hurt in some way. I was sure I'd put weight on but weighed myself on my parents scales and was down to 16st 10!

Obviously I'm still obese but I don't want to lose a lot of weight whilst I'm pregnant (now 4 months). It's not been on purpose, in fact i'm probably eating fattier foods than before. I was talking to DH about it and he said that I was eating less at mealtimes and having smaller portions.

So I'm in an odd position. Should I be worried? I'll talk to the midwife about it, but I really am not that hungry or at least not every day. Maybe I've finally 'got' intuitive eating? Or maybe I'm eating in a dangerous way? What do you think?

Bonjour mes amies. I've come back from our holiday in France. The weather was 'changeable' in that it kept raining and then was sunny for a bit and then rained again. We stayed in a farmhouse owned by a friend of my parents. They kept saying how it was rundown and very basic.

It was actually rather nice in a rustic sort of way, with bullocks on one side of us (definitely bulls, we checked!) and horses on the other. The farmhouse could have been gorgeous if someone spent some money on it, it had loads of extra 'cellars' or barns that could have been turned into further rooms.

As it was there was a kitchen/lounge (decent sized) bathroom, separate toilet and then up steep windy stairs to 3 bedrooms, 2 a decent size and one little one. We picked the big bedroom as the other one was a bit dusty.

It was so nice just to be able to relax and sleep a lot. I hadn't realised how tired I actually was. I was in my bed around 10 most nights and up at 10 in the morning and slept the whole time! We travelled round Normandy, visiting the local villages, shops, abbeys, churches and chateaus.

They eat so well in France, I'm jealous. The bakeries had the most wonderful biscuits, chocolate meringue cakes, lemon tarts and succulent apple tarts. I managed to have at least one ice cream a day (it's my aim on holiday). We ate a lot of pork for some reason, local sausages and smoked pork. I also tried... snails! They were actually okay, they tasted of nutty mushrooms with the texture of shellfish. I'm not sure I'd make them myself but did eat them all.

I also had some seafood (though not as much as I'd have liked!). Lots of mussels, big luscious prawns and scallops.

I managed to be very sensible about booze. I had some wine (a small glass) or some cider (again a glass) every other night. I'm going to avoid alcohol for the next week just to get my body back to normal. It was very odd being in France and so meagre with the alcohol but there was a good reason and i was okay about it.

Now we're back home and I'm craving vegetables, we had quite a lot of fruit, even if it was in cakes or ice cream but not enough vegetables.

Holiday

I'm off on holiday for just over a week (back on 10th) to France. Doubt I'll have time or access to the computer so Au revoir mes amies!

Back on track

I'm struggling a bit at the moment. I either seem to be avoiding eating because I don't fancy eating or snacking when I'm not really hungry. It's silly as I'd sort of got to a point where it was all coming together.I've tried snacking on fruit rather than the chocolate box at work (which is my main downfall at the moment) and it's working a bit.Anyway, I think I need to get back on track.

I'm going on holiday to France next week and am going to work really hard at eating intuitively as I'll have the time to choose when and what i want to eat. In the meantime I'm going to re-read Beyond Chocolate and re-invigorate my interest.

I think I'm struggling because there are different expectations when you're pregnant- when else can you legitimately be putting on 1lb a week and be being healthy? Or know that you will have a big belly and this is a cause for celebration not embarrassment.

I don't like healthcare professionals asking my weight or having to think about it and find it a little off-putting. It's odd knowing that I can (sort of) eat ice cream to get more calcium and feel less guilty about the fat in it. And I've had to give up any ideas of losing weight or 'controlling' it as this might hurt the baby.

To some extent you just HAVE to accept your body and how it's growing.I'm glad I'd done the work on accepting my body (or at least no longer hating it). It would be even harder if I was at war with it. But I'm not 100% comfortable with all the changes, it's a bit like going through puberty again, with bits growing and new sensations and you don't know quite what will happen next!

Anyway I'll post how I get on and get back on track

alive and kicking

Woohoo, 'Sprout' is alive and kicking. I've just come back from my scan. The good news is that all is well, however, my due date has changed to the 20th December, so the baby has been nicknamed Sprout as it's bound to come in the middle of my xmas dinner! I'm 12 weeks and 4 days not 14 weeks but I can live with that knowing that all is okay.

As you can see, Sprout is waving!

Highs and lows

I was supposed to have my 1st proper midwife appt this evening and Dh and I both got home early to wait for her (due after 6pm). By 9pm there was still no sign of her and I was pretty annoyed as we'd both been waiting since 5.30pm and I was really looking forward to Dh getting to hear the hb and a confirmation that all is okay. Anyway, it turned out that the 2 messages that had been left for a Samantha should have been for me instead. She'd got my name wrong.

She's rearranged the appt for friday evening instead when DH is away but never mind, at least it'll all be sorted for monday. Her colleague was off sick and she had to cover a parentcraft class.

IE wise, bizarrely, I'm currently off food except for home made fruit smoothies which I'm eating ridiculous quantities of. But woohoo, I've got to my 2nd trimester, roll the end of morning sickness!

I'm tired so I'm going to bed now, it's been a heavy day.