Hank Marvin

My hunger levels have shot up. I've been getting a bit paranoid over the amount of food I've been consuming - its been ALOT! I know that my weight shouldn't be a huge concern for me during my pregnancy, but at the same time I do NOT want to balloon.

I was thinking about it in bed last night and I think I've come up with something... I've cut down my protein shakes. I was previously having 1 a day on non- exercise days (for breakfast) and two on exercise days (1 for breakfast and one after exercise). I bet this is why I could eat a horse a right now.

So today I've scrapped my own decision and I'm back on to at least one protein shake daily. Its 10am and I've had my protein & porridge this morning and I'm not hungry at all! This past week I've been hitting the fruit or the vending machine by now, so I think this has been the cause. Hopefully I can get things back on track now.

I actually read something quite interesting this morning on netdoctor.co.uk

How much weight should a woman gain during pregnancy?
It is considered normal to gain 10 to 12kg (22 to 26lb).

For practical reasons the pregnancy is divided into three periods:
* the first period runs from week 0 to 12 where it is normal to gain 1 to 2kg (2 to 4lb). * the second period runs from weeks 12 to 28 in which it is normal to gain 300 to 400g (10 to 14oz) a week.
* the third period runs from weeks 28 to 40 and it is normal to gain 1 to 3kg (2 to 6lb) a month.

Where do the extra kilos come from?
* A total weight increase of about 11.2kg (24lb) is normal.
* A baby weighs approximately 3.5kg (7lb 11oz) before birth.
* The uterus grows to approximately 900g (1lb 14oz).
* The placenta weighs approximately 650g (1lb 6oz).
* The amniotic fluid weighs approximately 800g (1lb 12oz).
* The woman's breasts grow by approximately 400g (14oz).
* The weight of the extra blood is approximately 1.25kg (2lb 12oz).
* Water retained in the body tissues weighs approximately 2kg (4lb 6oz).
* The layer of fat beneath the skin weighs approximately 1.7kg (3lb 11oz).

Based on this I'd be looking at a maximum weight of around 10.5 stones - 11 stones by the time I'm full term. Basically back to where I started. But taking into account that a significant amount of that weight disappears in the act of giving birth, its clearly not something to get worried about. I wonder how I'll actually compare to this though!

I already think I've gained weight on my boobs. Mr H thinks Christmas has come early, they are enormous. It makes me really glad that I lost so much boob during my weight loss as I can only begin to imagine how uncomfortable I'd have been if they were still a 30H, they are bad enough at a 28F (well are probably a FF at least again now).

I got paid today, so I'll be heading to Tesco later to do a food shop and stock up on some sustainable munchies. I'm going to take into consideration all the 'superfoods' out there that are recommended during pregnancy and come up with some sort of uber shopping list that I'll share with you all next week.

Yesterday I was working in London and I made a trip over to Whole Foods in Kensington on my lunch break. It took me 2 hours... ooops!

It was amazing, it made the store in Picadilly look like a express store. Kensington was enormous! I spent a whole hour walking around and was in awe :)

I spent another £30 and got the following:
* Big tub of yellow split peas
* 2 x Clif Bars for Mr H (I can't have them now because of the Vitamin A in them)
* 2 x Nakd Bars (Banana Bread and Ginger Bread I think)
* 1 x Walnut Chocolate Brownie (slap my wrist!)
* 1 x box of mixed salady bits for lunch (yum!)
* 2 x packets of Ruby Popcorn and Black Popcorn
* Pita Chips
* Blue Maize Tortillas
* Chilli Chocolate
* Apple & Apricot/Pear & Banana Fruit Purees (ala Broad Bean to Runner Bean)
* A slab of Chilli Cheddar Cheese
* Another Jar of Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter

The store was amazing, once through the doors you were straight into the bakery section. The most amazing selection of fresh breads and cakes. If it wasn't chucking down with rain, I'd probably have bought more, but I didn't want everything to get soaked. They had a massive selection of cakes and desserts too. Heres a pic of some of the cakes they had

Seriously tasty looking right?

After the bakery section, I headed downstairs to the grocery section (passing a little florist on the way). The Fruit and Veg looked amazing, it was displayed so beautifully. They also encouraged to not use too much packing, so most stuff you could fill up bags of instead of buying pre-packaged. I didn't get a great photo, but here is one.

I just loved how everything looked like it had its place (like all those peppers on the top shelf). So after the fruit and veg there was dairy (and non-dairy alternatives), cheeses, meats, a chocolate counter, cookware, tins, packets, jars, powders, potions, lotions, just lots of stuff. I had a good wander and managed to resist from putting too much in my basket.

Back upstairs I headed for the ENORMOUS salad bars and filled up a box for lunch. It was expensive (£5.38 - based on the weight), but it was the most filling lunch I've had in ages. I had some roasted sweet potatoes, mixed bean salads, bean ragout, noodles, sauces, leaves, cheese, eggs, turkey, all sorts! Will definately consider this again for a London lunch, I usually spend a tenner on food on the days I'm in London, so this could be a switch and still within my budget.

Thankfully when I left Whole Foods it had stopped raining. I managed to get on the Circle line the wrong way though which meant I was really late back to work... though I would have been late anyway, but thats besides the point!

I was pretty pooped from the rushing around at lunch and the chocolate brownie didn't help matters. By the time I'd walked the 20 minutes to Waterloo to get my train in the evening I was shattered and consequently slept on the floor of the train because there were no seats. I can't wait until I look pregnant enough to ask people to give up their seats, until then - the floor it is!

I had a bit of a cooking session when I got home last night, not only making stir fry for dinner, but also making a squash/carrot/parsnip soup and also puree-ing down all the apples I got from my neighbours and another huge bag my Dad brought over at the weekend. I'm sorted for apple sauce for the rest of the year! :D

Oh and in other news, I found out this morning that the other lady in my team (junior to me) is coming back full time in January. It's making me feel really anxious about my job here as she is so fucking keen its untrue. We're having a meeting next month to discuss her expansion of responsibilities. I'm still planning on keeping this pregnancy quiet as long as I can. If I can get to January without anyone knowing, I'm going to try! I must keep myself as critically useful to the business as I can!