Mae: Huh? Who is that? Mae? Mae who?

I'm back. Not that I ever really went away; Annie and I keep in touch regularly about the project, exercise, etc. I felt I needed to stop posting for a while in order to keep my little secret: I'm pregnant! I was worried about my workplace finding out (there is at least one casual reader of the blog who works with me) and wanted to keep it under wraps until I felt I was in safer territory. 

And here I am, 4 months in! 

Remember that wonderful cruise in February? Well, there you go. The mister and I had made a plan to set our sights on the next year or so for getting pregnant. Given my age (35), I figured that it would take at least that long, and never did I dream that it would happen this quickly. 

I was counting on it taking longer for a couple of reasons, but one of the main ones was that I wanted to get more of this weight off. There are days that I feel selfish, reckless and irresponsible for getting pregnant while this overweight. I worry about the risks that I may be putting this little person through because of my stupid issues and problems. Stories like this don't help: Should doctors refuse to treat overweight pregnant women? 

In other moments of emotional vulnerability, I feel like I've let the project down. I'm a super crazy type-A person and I had a plan: plans are to be adhered to in my crazy head, and when they're not, I generally get bent out of shape. But don't get me wrong, in my 'right' m ind I'm elated and feel very blessed and lucky to be having this experience and look forward to the next few months.

I have an awesome obstetrician. We discussed my pregnancy weight-gain, and I'm supposed to stay within 10-15 pounds total because of my starting weight. She was very straight-forward about how hard it will be to stay within that, and I've been trying my best not to gain too much. Since coming back from the cruise in February, I've gained 4 pounds. Not so bad so far, but I know the real challenge is coming. This is going to be harder than the Project! 

Anyway, I can't sign off without congratulating Annie on her amazing success throughout this Project. I am in awe, and so so proud of her for taking on her first 5k race this weekend. I will be attending a very boring conference Saturday morning, but will have butterflies (of excitement) thinking about her!

Mae: I'm back

Hellooooo people! I'm back to my native and frigid surroundings after what turned out to be a pretty fan-frickin-tastic vacation. I'll wait to report on my real weigh-in on Tuesday, but I did weigh within 5 minutes of getting home yesterday, and looks like I'm up about 3 or so pounds. I'm surprisingly ok with that, and in the end allowed myself to have a pretty good time (thank you Annie and Mo!).

I had two cupcakes from the exclusive 'Cupcake Cupboard.' I would normally want two a day!
Victory!

I made a trip to the very well-equipped 'Ship-Shape Center' (ha!) on the first afternoon to hear about the programs offered. Yoga and spin classes, for example, were offered for a fee, but I chose to take my 'cruise vacation nickle-and-diming' at the bar. I took advantage of the freely-available cardio and free weight equipment instead. I chose to go between 7:45 - 8:00 a.m. and could barely get into the place! It was packed. ALWAYS. This is the first time I've ever made my way to the gym on a cruise, and didn't realize that so many people actually go there. During the gym orientation, the head beefcake told everyone that most people average between one to two pounds of weight gain a day. Ok, so there was some additional motivation.

While there, I made an interesting observation. I noticed that the 'Ship-Shape Center' was full of fit people; people who were likely fit precisely because of their dedication to personal wellness despite a pretty decadent vacation. Hmmmm. It's easy for the snarky me to be fooled into thinking that all those skinny people around the pool are just blessed with good genes, when in fact, many of them were simply working their asses off in the morning before the hung-over masses even stumbled into the greasy breakfast buffet. I ended up going three times for an hour each time.
Victory!


Royal Caribbean offers an alternative 'vitality' menu in the evenings, which includes healthier choices complete with caloric information. I ate from this menu on most evenings and the food was still great. I didn't feel disgustingly full like I have on previous trips, and on some occasions we shared dessert instead of getting one each. I only ate three times a day, and not all day and night long. We did order room service late one night (because you can, and it's free), and it was waaaaaay too much bad food. I didn't eat any of the dessert, left my greasy artichoke/spinach dip appetizer on the plate, and ended up eating just a bit of chicken and drinking tea. Most of it went back out into the hall, and I didn't care in this instance about wastage. Better out there than on my arse.
Victory!


Now I obviously wasn't a saint because I did gain weight, and I drink a lot of colourful and delicious cocktails. However, I'm back on program today and looking forward to my Wednesday-evening debrief with Annie tonight.

Ta!