Games of the Psyche

Unbelievable!I feel great in my pregnancy, I'm fitting in workouts, eating healthy overall, and I just let a scale number completely throw me off my game! I'm sitting at the OB's office and I officially gained 12 pounds! I'm 21 weeks (~5 months) and the sensible part of my brain tells me I could be right on track. However, the emotional part of my Psyche is worrying... have my workouts decreased? Am I eating to much ice cream? Should I start a food and exercise journal?

I decided to write about this today because I preach the dangers of the scale on a daily basis and now I'm experiencing the mental games. What do I mean? I believe everyone has one of two reactions to weighing themselves, motivating or hazardous. I, for example, react completely wrong to weight gain. Instead of watching what I eat and exercising more, seeing a higher number starts to shut me down. I feel overwhelmed, I eat poorly and find more excuses NOT to exercise. I do understand that other individuals get motivated by weighing themselves, but if you're anything like me, the scale is not a good accountability system.

What's my plan? I talked myself through all of the things I'm doing right and got a silly number out of my head. I also decided to start journaling if I start to feel unaware or out of control with my body. I truly understand the importance of a healthy pregnancy, which means WEIGHT GAIN, but I also don't have to watch the number creep up on a weekly basis!