(Pregnant Wo)man vs. Food

I am SO hungry!  SOOOOO hungry!  Like, it's crazy.  And, I sometimes feel like I am going to pass out from hunger immediately.  The onset comes without warning and then I have to shove in as much food as possible to even stop the dizzies.  I don't remember feeling like this with Max either.  Could it be all of the calories that Baby M is burning?  The last time I felt like this was when I did the AidsRide in 2001.  We cycled for so many miles, I could not eat enough to keep up with the calories I was burning and it made me crazy hungry/sick.  I did the ride with my friend Tamar.  We laughed for many years about when I almost passed out on my bike and told this woman who stopped to help me that I was "so hungry!  All I had for breakfast was eggs, cereal, hash browns, fruit and two Cliff Bars".  "Oh Sweetie!", the woman replied, "You poor thing!  You must be starving!"

When I go to the gym, I always seem to catch an episode of Man vs. Food on the tiny television attached to my treadmill.  At the end of the show, the host has to tackle a food challenge.  A gigantic four pound burrito or a gigantic plate of cheeseburgers and french fries.  The payoff always sucks - like $100 and a t-shirt or something.  He does it for bragging rights (and ratings).  I often think, "I could do that.  EASY!"   I could too.  I could take down pounds of crazy "challenge" food.  No problemo!  What's wrong with me?  If I think I had trouble losing the baby weight after Max.  I might be in big trouble this time around.  Ted definitely got more than he bargained for with this lady - literally.

Also, there is truly something to be said for comfort food.  After Ted and I left the cemetery on Sunday, we were on our way home.  We were quiet, we were feeling broken and so sad, and he said, "Should we get ice cream?" "Definitely", I replied.  There is a drive through Baskin Robbins on our corner.  We both got 31 below soft serves with Oreos and other yummy stuff mixed in.  It helped to ease the pain for the 10 minutes it took to eat.  We go through a couple of dark chocolate bars over here each week as well.  The sweet things take an edge off and are especially helpful for me -since I can't drink.  I also decided early on not to take any anti-depressants.  The sweets aren't the same thing as the extreme hunger issue that I described above but it probably isn't helping me to stay in the recommended "in the range" weight gain.  If you knew me before, you knew I don't (didn't) even really have a sweet tooth...though, while I was pregnant with Max, I got hooked on frozen yogurt.

I don't know what I am telling you.  I could use $100 and a t-shirt (XXL) as much as the next gal.  So, If you happen to find an ice cream sundae challenge in the area- sign me up.  I am good to go and I'm sure I could take down any worthy opponent.