I realized the other day that I haven't been keeping up on my posts as much as I could have. I've got good reason though. I'm in school full time getting a 4.0 and I'm pregnant. I'm also working full time. This leads me to another dilemma.

Weight gain.

I've gained 10 pounds over the last year, and I haven't been taking care of myself. This was very apparent to me when I announced my pregnancy to the ladies in the front office of the school I work at. The first thing the attendance lady said to me? "You look pregnant. We knew you were."

The problem? I was only 10 weeks along. I wasn't even showing yet. YIKES!!

A complete stranger looks at me and assumes I'm pregnant because I'm not model thin? What is this world coming to? I mean, talk about rude!!

But! It was the wake up call that I needed. My doctor says that I should be between 145 and 150 based on my height which is 5'7''. He also said that I should gain 30 pounds or less with this pregnancy.

So! The game plan:

Give my baby all the nutrients it needs while preventing excess weight gain. First step is the Food Network's January Health Challenge.

Week One: Eat breakfast every day. This is not hard for me, since I can't function in the morning without a little fuel.

Week Two: More Whole Grains. This is going to be the most challenging week, I fear. I don't really know what a whole grain is, let alone what is made with whole grains and what isn't completely processed out. I did buy a box of Frosted Mini Wheats though....

Week Three: Cook at Home. Well, the husband and I were doing great at this! But we have kinda gotten lazy and relied a bit on Papa Murphy's pizza to bail us out. Since I am on vacation right now, I am planning to go back and hit this one strong with menu planning and lots of crock pot stuff that I can prepare the night before and cook while I am at work.

Week Four: More Fruits and Veggies: This is a must for myself and for the baby. Fruit I am good at eating. It is the vegetable area that I struggle with. Here's hoping I can find more veggies that I like to eat.

Week Five: Stay on Track!! Self explainable. This is the biggest challenge I think. At least they didn't have six weeks. Week six I bet would be called: Get Out and Move!