Becca is now 27 weeks into the pregnancy and she is – as they say – “showing.” All things considered, the pregnancy is going well. At Becca’s last doctor’s appointment, they determined that she has gained 9 pounds since her first appointment. That discovery in itself is not particularly noteworthy. Rather, I was dismayed when I compared her weight gain to my own. Since we found out about the pregnancy, I have gained 10 pounds. Ugh! 10 pounds in 27 weeks.
I’m at a loss for excuses. There is no small human developing in my belly. I’m not a method actor gaining weight for a movie role. Nope, I’ve just been lazy. I haven’t been eating as healthy as I used to and my workouts have dwindled to one per week. That’s my take on things, anyway.
A few of my friends have offered an alternative explanation. They suggested that I am suffering from sympathy weight gain. Basically, because Becca is gaining weight with the pregnancy, my body has decided to do so as well. That sounded like a bunch a hooey to me but – ever the diligent geek – I Googled the subject. As it turns out, they weren’t making it up. There were dozens of articles from reputable sources discussing the phenomenon and lending credibility to my friends’ theory.
Alas, this discovery didn’t offer any real comfort. Digging into those articles a bit further, I found that the “symptom” of weight gain was often explained as a side effect of increased caloric intake and decreased activity. Wow, who would have figured? To be fair, they seem to credit the increased calories to aligning your eating habits with your wife’s and the decreased activity to…well…decreased activity.
Has anyone else out there experienced this theoretical sympathy weight gain? Care to offer your two cents on the matter?
All other theories aside, my physique is mine to control. I’m a big enough man (10 pounds bigger than normal, in fact) to admit that I’m at fault and have taken steps to turn this around. My goal is to be back down to a lean, mean 180 pounds by the time our son is born in December.
Random Movie Quote (TV Edition)
Peter Griffin: Oh, you people can kiss the fattest part of my ass.
Family Guy
Filed under: Health & Fitness, Musings
