Obese? Really?

Yesterday I had another Dr.'s appointment, it went something like this:

The nurse had me drink a gallon of water so I could leave my prized pee specimen and then immediately weighed me. I was seriously tempted to strip down to my skivvies before getting on the scale. The scale did me no favors at 170 lbs. After the weigh in I went to the little room where the doctor came in and asked me how I was doing. She listened to the baby's heart beat, 150 beats per minute, poked my belly a few times and said I was looking and doing great. I asked her a few questions to which she gave lousy answers and as she was leaving the room she looked at her folder and realized my weight.

She started in on me about how much weight I have gained, not paying any attention to the fact that most of it was in my first trimester and that in my second trimester I am right on track. She pulled out a BMI chart, Body Mass Index chart, circled my weight and explained to me that I am obese, that's right, OBESE, and then she shuffled me to another room. In this room she pulled out another chart showing foods, actually salads, I should be eating and then told me about all the harmful things I could be doing to my baby by being obese including diabetes and hemorraging when I give birth. She knows, and I reminded her about my exercise regime and she said that the difference between a muscular person and a fat person weighing the same amount is 5lbs (which I don't believe) and then she left the room.

I sat there stunned for a few moments before I checked out and made my way back to work. On my way their I just kept going over in my mind the facts of my pregnancy. I gained 15 lbs in my first trimester trying to calm my nausea and because I couldn't exercise as regularly as I used to because I was exhausted. I sound like a broken record but I exercise 2 ½ hours a day, five days a week. Since I can't run anymore due to a heavy baby in my belly, I am back doing P90x, 5 days a week followed by an hour-and-a-half of yoga. I am as strong as I have ever been though obviously not as skinny. Nothing about the way I look or feel lines up with my being overweight.

I stewed over this for a few hours while at work before I googled BMI. My monster of a doctor used a BMI chart for a normal, non-pregnant person when she explained my obesity. Are you freaking kidding?! Even if I was not pregnant and weighed this much the chart does not say I am obese. I was so angry! I wanted to march down there and give her a what for! I decided on a more subtle method of communicating her ignorance and sent her a fax with a copy of her BMI chart and explained that the chart was created for a person that is not pregnant. I also sent her a sheet that showed the appropriate weight gain for a pregnant woman. While I have gained more weight than I should have I am not in any danger.

Kyle says I never have to go back to her and that he would love to have a talk with her, though I don't think that's a good idea. His first comment was, “doesn't she know you never tell a pregnant woman she is fat?! Seriously, everyone knows that!” He was as outraged as I was.

I am in the process of finding a new doctor, one that is not a monster and that can answer my simple questions. This lady couldn't even tell me if it was ok for me to be running at 5 months pregnant or if I could lay on my back or even sleep on my back- she told me to Google it. The only thing she has been concerned about or even seemed knowledgeable about is my weight and clearly she is no expert on that.