A new beginning

I created this blog about 1.5 weeks ago, intending on starting it when I got back from a 10-day vacation. It would be about how I was preparing myself for pregnancy if and when the time came, and how that fit into being a formerly overweight person. If you knew me from my old blog, Adios, Fat Pants, you know that the husband and I decided to start trying for a baby this year. I went off the pill in March after nearly 6 years on it, unsure of what would happen but generally feeling pretty good about things. I was even tentatively planning on training for a full marathon in September.
Well, it looks like that preparation is going to happen a lot sooner than I anticipated…
I had been off the pill about 4 weeks by the time we went on vacation. I took a pregnancy test the morning before we left, and it was negative. I figured as much, and planned on having a few drinks while vacationing. The whole week I felt like I was about to start my period, but it never came. I figured my body was still trying to work things out and didn’t think much of it. I was 99% sure I wasn’t pregnant, but towards the end of vacation, I started feeling really sad and anxious about life in general. Very moody and on our last night of the trip, mentioned to my husband that I was feeling really sad that my childhood was over. We’d visited my parents and spent about 4 days where I grew up, and it brought back a lot of memories of being younger. I felt like I was for some reason saying goodbye to being a kid. I was also a little down because I felt like my eating was a little out of control and was feeling fat (!), despite running a 9 mile run and two 3-mile runs, plus lots of walking while on vacation.
I was a week late, and figured I would take another pregnancy test when we got home from our trip. It was positive… VERY positive. Didn’t take long for that second line to show up!
I am pregnant! I still can’t believe it happened this quickly for us. I am in shock – it feels surreal, exciting, terrifying – like one big rollercoaster all at the same time!
So this blog will be about my pregnancy to start out – and how I am going to survive it as a former obese person. I have been reading a wonderful book called Exercising Through Your Pregnancy, which details the many, many benefits of regular exercise while pregnant.
Um, guess what? I also have not one, but TWO half marathons in May! I plan on running the first one – it is all downhill and I plan on taking it easy. The second will just depend on how I’m feeling. I’m not afraid to run or exercise. I have plenty of workout videos that I still plan on doing throughout – did you hear me, Jillian Michaels??
I will be carefully monitoring my calories – when I visited the doctor for a physical in March, we discussed me being at a higher risk for gestational diabetes given my family history and my own history of being obese. I will discuss more with my doctor at my first appointment next week, but I do have a general number in mind as far as what should be ideal. Not placing limits on myself of course, but I don’t want to gain 80 lbs and be back to where I started, either. I’m not sure anyone will really get this unless you’ve been significantly overweight.
On  that note, I celebrated my one year anniversary of maintaining my weight loss. Here it goes in the other direction for the next 9 months!
PS – if we are friends on Facebook, please don’t say anything just yet! We are waiting a bit to announce it to everyone. :)