Blech...

I kind of stopped trying to eat so healthy. I was so happy to be able to eat almost whatever I wanted, that I didn't try as hard. I'm not doing anything extraordinary as far as exercising goes. Just normal walking and cleaning and child rearing. I can feel my clothes getting tighter. A few of my things have already had to find storage. I weigh myself maybe 2 times a week in the morning, and the number floats around the same. 236 lbs. I was feeling somewhat discouraged because the numbers are now going up instead of down, but when I really thought about it, I'm 16 weeks pregnant today. I looked up the average weight gain and it was 5 pounds from your starting weight. I'm still down 2 1/2 lbs from my starting weight. (Not for the competition, but for the pregnancy.) I have at least a pound of baby stuff right now, and if I can still say that I'm down a few pounds, that makes me feel pretty good. Not great, like if I won the contest and the prize money, but good, like I'm making good changes and they are still working in my favor.

One of the most frustrating things about being pregnant during a Las Vegas summer is that it's already hot, and my body is working overtime, which makes me hotter. When I'm hot, I don't usually eat very much. I do a lot of water, juices and fruits. Usually. While I'm pregnant, that isn't enough to sustain me. If I don't eat enough or often enough I get sick. If I eat too much in the summer when I'm so hot, I get sick. It's a horribly uncomfortable catch 22. If I could afford it, I would keep the A/C blowing constantly. But that's not really an option with NV Energy. They are ridiculously overpriced. I have to settle for cold showers, (they feel so good in the afternoon) and having a floor fan follow me around all day.

Enough complaining, Elizabeth. Time to look for solutions. Duh, fresh salads. They are filling, especially with a little chicken or eggs, and they are still light enough that I don't feel sick after eating a plateful. Stir fry and rice. Very filling and pretty light. Lots of good veggies, not a lot of fatty calories. I know there's options, I just need to find them. If you have any ideas, feel free to share. All in all I'm pretty happy about the lack of weight gain in comparison to my stage of pregnancy, and I know once I get serious about walking and exercising in general, things will get so much better. :)