Thanks to Twitter's Fail Whale, I have an accurate description of how I feel each time I have my weight checked at the obstetrician's office. I know that every girl (and possibly guy) dreads being weighed in public, however, many fellow curvy foreigners can attest to the fact that it's worse in Korea. Even though I'm only 5 feet tall and actually shorter than the average Korean woman (Koreans often get mistakenly grouped into the "all Asian people are small" category), I have always been a rather "healthy" weight and I have a set of hips and buttocks that can rival Beyonce's . Although Korean women tend to be at least 4 inches taller than me, if not more, the majority have mastered that beautiful willowy look that rivals Kate Moss. So I know that even on a good day, I probably weigh at least the same, if not more than the average Korean woman who is way taller than me. I was damned from the start!
Now that I'm pregnant (and eating like a horse), it's gotten worse and in keeping with my horse analogy, I need blinders to keep from looking at the scale. So there I am at every visit among those slim Korean girls who look like snakes who have swallowed beach balls, rather than "that" foreigner who looks like I've swallowed not only a beach ball but a set of floaties on my hips and an inner tube around my backside; "trying to blend in". Well, blending in doesn't happen when I'm obviously not Korean. So I get looks anyway and now I really get looks because I'm pregnant on top of it.
For the average person staring at me, I don't feel too self conscious because I believe that I'm somewhat of a wizard at manipulating clothes to cover the "problem areas" and show off "the assets". However, such magical masking never fools the scale. The first obstetrician's scale was brilliant, you faced away from it and the actual digital read out screen faced only the nurse. Although, it didn't block out the sound of her sharp inhale when she was obviously reading it. At the time I wasn't too concerned because it was very early on in my pregnancy and I was eating all the time because it was the only thing keeping my morning sickness at bay. Now it's hello second trimester, new obstetrician and a stupid normal scale that shows the number to the world. After not being able to look away my first time around, I vowed never to look at that thing again. A week later I was in for an actual scan and they weighed me yet again (which I thought was just cruel) and even though I felt the same and didn't look at the number, the girl weighing me did that intake of breath and actually said "oh, you gained". Well thank you very much! Just what I needed in my state of denial.
So although many Korean health care professionals are somewhat more direct than what we are used to at home, don't despair. Do what I do, in your mind turn the words "you've gained" into "you've lost" and unless your obstetrician expresses major concern about the rate you're gaining weight, believe me you're fine! Before wallowing in a litre of ice cream whilst lounging around in a mumu; just keep eating lots of fruit and veggies in between the chocolate and ice cream and keep up those preggo workouts. My workout recommendations are Kathy Smith's Pregnancy workout which can be downloaded (handy in Korea), although it's totally from the 80's with horrendous music and leotards, the exercises are still very good. My favourite has to be Denise Austin's Fit & Firm Pregnancy workout, although I have only found it on DVD so you will need to order it from overseas. The exercises are fun, the music is more up-to-date and the workout clothes are stylish. My only complaint is Denise Austin has one of the most annoying voices and accents I have ever heard (okay it's a bad American accent, sorry US friends, I am from Canada after all). If I hear "this will benefit you and your baby" one more time, I will scream. But this can be easily fixed by putting her on mute.
So there you have it ladies. Don't take the weigh-in comments too much to heart (there's a good chance the girl weighing you has never been pregnant, so what would she know about eating), stay healthy and don't feel guilty giving into those cravings. I know all too well how impossible it is to resist them. This is your pregnancy and no one can make you feel bad about how you are handling it. Everyone does things differently but don't forget that women have been doing this for eons and there isn't a right or wrong way to do things. Also keep in mind that celebrities are the minority and are absolute freaks when it comes to pregnancy so ignore those pregnancy magazines sporting Posh on the cover merely looking bloated when she was 9 months pregnant.
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