6.5 Weeks

I didn't mean to drop a bombshell with my last post and then not post again for a week. The basic mechanics of day-to-day living have completely exhausted me. Zac is on vacation in Pittsburgh with my parents and I've been coming home from work and napping for two hours, staying awake for a couple of hours, and then going to bed by 9pm. I haven't been awake enough to blog.

The fatigue is overwhelming. Compounding this problem is my diet and calorie restrictions. As I mentioned, I started an intense exercise program six weeks ago (I know...the irony). When I started, I wanted to lose 50 lbs and get to my goal weight of 135lb. I started tracking my calories on myfitnesspal and I realized that when I cut out the daily cheetos and diet coke, I was hovering around 1000 - 1150 calories/day. That explains how I've lost about a pound a week for the past 18 months without any form of exercise. So the problem comes in when I start exercising and burning 400-800 calories a day. Suddenly, I'm so low on calories that I'm struggling to exist. About three weeks I was complaining to my trainer that I hadn't felt any more energy as a result of working out. It turns out that I had a good reason to be tired, but I was making the problem worse by not eating enough. Even when I was eating, I was focusing on protein because I have such a hard time with carbohydrates.

So I started trying to eat more, but instead of eating crap, I was eating as much wholesome food as I could manage. I got up to about 1300 calories. Then I found out I was pregnant and I realized I couldn't go on the way I was. I went and saw a maternal dietitian yesterday. She wasn't worried about the baby at all because the baby will take whatever nutrients it needs and give me the rest, but she was worried about my health. She said my extreme fatigue was a direct result of not putting enough nutrients in my body to fuel it, especially since I'm continuing to work out while pregnant. She recommended I go up to 1800 calories. Coincidentally, I had an appointment with my bariatric surgeon today and he removed 1cc of fluid from my band to allow me to eat more.

I'm down five pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight, but trying to change the course. All I really want to do is sleep, rather than cook for myself or clean up afterwards. Without Zac being here, I don't have any excuse to cook whether I feel like it or not. I added an Ensure nutritional drink today to up my caloric intake and that's where I am right now. My first Ob Gyn appointment is Tuesday, August 7th. I can't really process how I feel about this pregnancy right now. I'm just trying to get up and go to work every morning and make it until I go home at night. That makes for horrible blog fodder, but an excellent way to continue being employed.