anyone else going to be limiting weight gain?

[whoabethy]

I worked really hard 2 years ago and lost 30lbs. before TTC - and kept it off! Now that my clothes are a little tight, I'm starting to feel a little panicky. I did not expect this from myself AT ALL. I was never a dieter, and to loose the weight I essentially just cut out alcohol and started biking to work. Since this is my first pregnancy, any other time my clothes starting getting tight I knew it was time to get back on track (literally!).

I am by no means a thin woman now, so the midwife said a 30lb. weight gain is just about right.

So, two things - for those of you who have been through this before - how did you deal with a changed body image (where body size is no reflection on how hard you are working).

And - anyone else given a low goal for weight gain by their health care provider?

[RoseRed]

I have anorexia, full blown about the time I graduated high school, but it is a constant struggle.

I have to remember that the easiest time in your life to loose weight is right after birth, your body is just primed and ready for it. And by withholding food from yourself you are putting yourself and you r baby in danger. I eat well but I never say 'I ate to much today'. I have to stay active durring pregnancy to keep my mind focused on 'I am gaining weight, but this will help it not to be too much.'

I also ignore weight restrictions or weight gain suggestions from doctors. As long as you eat right and exersice, you don't want to put anyone at risk.

I started my last pregnancy at 130 lbs, ended up at 200 and now I am 140.

[petit_bleuet]

My son's pregnancy was a surprise and came about 6 months after having lost 40 pounds. I was horrified that I would gain all the weight back. My m/w suggested I gain between 25-35 pounds and I ended up gaining a total of 31, right within the suggested range. Whew! Huge relief.

What I didn't anticipate was the amazing boost breastfeeding gave to my metabolism! My son was born late December and by mid-summer I was at my all time adult lowest weight! I wasn't actively working out (pedestrian in a city then so I did walk everywhere all the time) and I wasn't paying too much attention to nutrition.

I'm starting this pregnancy 11 pounds lighter than I was with the first one. I'm already food journaling because this past week my pants stopped fitting and when I got on the scale this week I'd gained 4 pounds in a week and a half! I have no idea if that's fluid, or if I gained quickly at first and then it tapered off with my son (I just don't remember) but I definitely want to keep my eye on things. I'm trying to eat around 2100 calories for now (that's 300 more than my normal) and 100 grams of protein.

My first appointment is the 18th and I'll see what the doc has to say then. I'm guessing he'll want a similar weight gain to pregnancy #1. I'll also see if he wants to advise me any differently on my food intake.

[Bubblette]

This is my first pregnancy, so I don't have previous experience, but I'd be hesitant to limit weight gain or suggest it for anyone else. I'm planning on eating healthfully and exercising healthfully and not worrying about weight. If you eat until you're full, not stuffed, and it's whole foods you should be alright. Physiology is a wonderful thing for most people. If you're limiting what you are eating, just to limit weight gain, you are also possibly,unless you're very very careful, going to be low on some vitamins and minerals. Plus, like already mentioned, breastfeeding is the best way to melt off those baby pounds!

[PaytonPlace]

I haven't met with my dr to hear her advice but I know for myself I would like to stay on the low end of 15 -20 lbs. I'm between 20 - 30lbs overweight to begin with so I would like to keep the weight gain to a healthy minimum. My main focus is eating a balanced nutritious diet while maintaining regular exercise.

[hakeber]

When I get into diet mode it is hard for me to stop, so for the health of me and my baby I won't. I will just try to eat healthy and exercise like normal, and wear loose and baggy clothes. It really does come right off again afterwards, at least it did last time.

I followed a diet from the WTEWYE book and ignored the fascist advice of my doctor who wanted me to gain no more than 20 pounds. Said he wouldn't want me to have to struggle afterwards and be fat for the rest of my life.

Yes...that should be my big concern when developing a tiny person inside of me that I might not be attractive to my 68 year old hair-in-his-ears-but-not-on-his-head, sweaty ass, 250 something lb, doctor. Thanks for the advice, doc. I hear cocaine and cigarettes help to keep the babyweight down too, how about give those a go? Sheesh!

I lost 35 pounds in the first trimester from morning sickness that just would not stop and gained 60 pounds in the second two. I was about 195 pounds when I went into deliver (I refused to look at the scale after it got up 180). After delivery I was around 180 and by the time I went back to work I was down to my pre-pregnancy weight. By the time the first year was up I was down to the weight I was at the end of my first trimester.

It's not hard to drop the extra weight once they start walking anyway...you won't sit down again for the next...ummm three years and counting.

[MrsAngelic]

I struggle with the weight issue also, but each pregnancy it has been better. My husband and I TTC eight months before our first and I think I was not able to get pregnant until I got my weight up to 120lbs. Was about 95lbs before - I'm only 4'10" so that was not underweight. But at the beginning of the pregnancy I had the hardest time getting myself to eat and saw I was losing weight. I remember just sobbing over a bowl of cereal because I poured myself an actual serving size and couldn't finish it, even before morning sickness hit, usually I would just have like half an apple for breakfast. And that is when I first realized I had food issues. Really I just thought of my baby and made myself eat. But then I went to the opposite extreme and gained a good 40 lbs. eating anything I was offered, coworkers loved buying the pregnant woman lunch from KFC, and was paranoid about doing any exercise and m/c-ing so that when my little guy was actually born I had almost no muscle tone at all. Holding him more than a few minutes made my arms, neck, shoulders so sore the first couple months. This also left me with bad eating habits. Like I used to not be able to stomach more than a few bites of cake (too sweet!) or sips of soda (too sweet and too carbonated!) and soon has eating half a cake and a couple sodas at a time.

The second time around I didn't have the weakness problem because I was up and doing things with my toddler all the time. And eating was easier, especially since I was on a raw diet when he was conceived and while I didn't stay on it for pregnancy I was more aware of what healthy foods I needed to eat. Gained about 35 lbs with him.

And after that I have realized that it is normal for me to lose 5-10lbs in the 1st trimester and make it up later and it didn't freak me out as much in subsequent pregnancies. Also, every time I lose the pregnancy weight and get back down to about 120lbs, I get pregnant again right away! I have become much more in touch with what is going on in my body. Like if I do crave KFC, which I don't eat fast food now in general because of animal abuse and low health standards, I am able to step back and figure out that what I'm really craving is protein and salt. So I make myself a big bowl of beans with plenty of seasoning. My taste buds are appeased somewhat and the craving goes away. I have a chart somewhere that I will try to dig up that shows if you're craving something specific what nutrients your body most likely wants, it's pretty neat.

I feel more like a kid. I was a picky eater, but not really on whim. I avoided foods that didn't make me feel good. Such as white bread, milk, milk chocolate and sugary foods - my parents thought I was an odd child. Come to find out white flour sends my blood sugar up rapidly and then drops, and I have problems with the casein in milk. I do eat these foods still on occasion, but am not surprised when I don't feel good later. So I think I've found my middle ground.

Sorry this is so long. My changing relationship with food and weight is fascinating to me, and hopefully not too boring for you. I'm still disappointed that I still didn't get back into my old clothes this time between pregnancies either, but very excited to be given the responsibility to nourish my new little one!

[sept15lija]

I am already a large person, and I gained 55lbs with DS...I was finally in a good place, taking the weight off again (I've lost 30 lbs) and here I am pregnant again - which of course I am ecstatic about, I had thought it was going to take a lot longer!! Anyways I am very determined to not gain much if any weight during this pregnancy...I really don't need to, I am 5'4" and I am almost 70lbs overweight at this point. I know I totally let myself go with my first pregnancy, so I am not going to do that again.

[Lizbiz]

Interesting question - I also would like to keep the weight gain under control without being overly obsessive about it. I'm about 5 pounds lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight with DS at this point. And when I got pregnant with him, I had just run a marathon and was in excellent shape. So, that tells you that breastfeeding and just being a mother (not sitting down EVER!) really does burn quite a few calories! I'm amazed by what I can eat and remain slim.

That said, my eating habits have really changed since becoming a mother. They were pretty good beforehand, but now I really don't eat any fake sugar, no soda, almost no sweets at all, very little dairy, and I just try to load up on veggies and fruits and good protein, fats, and carbs... I've just figured out that when I eat this way, I feel really good. I'm sure this has helped as well in the past year especially, and I plan to continue to eat this way throughout my pregnancy.

I also want to mention that every woman is different. My sister gains about 45 pounds with each pregnancy, and then drops it quickly afterward. I didn't gain nearly that much, but it took me longer to get back to my pre-prego weight. So... don't worry too much if you are eating well and exercising with moderation. Your body knows what to do. And truly, I've often heard it said that it's better to gain more (eating healthy of course, not gaining more from Doritos and Coke) than less... better for baby.

Just my two cents. It is scary to see that scale go up after having worked so hard to make it go down... but this baby is a worthy cause... and the weight will come back off. If you did it once, you can do it again. And make sure to enjoy yourself! There's nothing quite like pregnancy eating - it's really satisfying!

[Kidzaplenty]

I never listen to weight gain advice from my HCP. I eat as healthily as I can, cut out sugars, and the just leave it up to nature to run it's course.

I usually gain very little during a pgcy, and most of the time I actually loose weight. One pregnancy I actually lost 40 pounds. Not by trying, just by changing my eating habbits and activity levels.

I have lost 40 pounds now since I had my last baby. I am really hoping for no weight gain this pgcy either.

But will not stress out either way.

[geekgolightly]

I'm 100 pounds over ideal body weight so yes, I will be watching how much I eat and try and keep it in range. If I just let my body make decisions for me, I would eat steak and cake all day. With fruit and salads thrown in for fun, but I crave steak and cake, unfortunately.

I will not be trying to lose weight, but I certainly don't want to gain much at all. 15 pounds would be great and anything over 30 is probably excessive in my case.

[Vespertina]

I tend to lose weight during pregnancy so I don't have to limit much. I don't have a scale, and my midwife doesn't weigh her patients.

[Mz BeeHayvn]

I'm about 15 lbs heavy right now. After dd I dropped my weight very quickly, probably 2 months, but work, toddler, life, caught up to me. I've just started jogging and weights and trying to eat really well....I generally do eat well, it's the mid-afternoon carbs that sneak up on me, but I've managed to curtail that by increasing protein and veg consumption. I've been jogging about a month, I'm in moderately good shape. Does anyone think I should slow down? I'm pretty good about listening to my body, but after m/c this spring, I feel a bit gun shy. So... I hope to gain a good amount of weight for my body, but I am also hoping to really tone up and get some nicely developed muscle as well. I lost weight with my first tri/first preg b/c I suddenly started eating so well and exercising...I'm not hoping for the same this time, but I'd be ok with it Any other new runners out there who are newly preg?

[rsummer]

Well, I am about 12ish lbs up from where I started with Asa, so although I don't have any real plans to curb weight gain, I might try not to climb on the eating whatever I want train as early.

[Sharlla]

I've recently put on, my 8's no longer fit and my 10's are snug. I'm certainly going to eat healthy, be active and hopefully not gain any more than 20 lbs. I gained 90 lbs with the first one and 60 with the second one and don't want to go back down that road again. I think being with a partner that eats all organic and loves to be active will help me this time. DX was a junk food eating couch potato.

[Mulvah]

Edited by Mulvah - 10/16/11 at 6:11am

[kbuglove]

So from all the research I'm finding,
It's saying for a healthy pregnancy the average is to gain a pound a week,
averaging 40 pounds.

So, I'm completely SHOCKED that Dr.s are recommending half that for our babies now?

That being said, I have my own past body issues, that pop it's lame ego into my mind every now and then.

I don't get on a scale in pregnancy, and my midwife is fine with that, as long as we both can tell I'm growing just well.

I know I gained around 50-55 lbs. with my Ds. And I ENJOYED every moment of having my ice-cream and indulging in my pregnancy bliss even if I did feel like a walrus at times!

I doubt I'll have the time to do the same this go around chasing after my toddler, so I'll just try to eat as well as possible, and walk a lot.

My days of being free to spend as long as I wanted to go to gym and going to yoga/pilates classes are over with my lack of childcare.

My days of a flat tummy are over to ever wear a bikini again.

But it's ok, because my new formed body is that of a mom. I try to find the beauty in that. I just try to be proud of my body for working so hard and taking such good care of me and my baby... We're very lucky!

[BMG580]

I gained about 50 lbs. with both my previous pregnancies and aside from getting weighed when I saw my midwife I just didn't worry about it or track it. I ate when I was hungry and I have to admit I didn't always make the best choices (hello, ice cream!) but within 9 months post partum I had lost it all and was back to pre-pregnancy weight. I think being realistic helps with weight, don't expect to fit in pre-pregnancy clothing right after you give birth ( I know some women who do probably because they see so many unhealthy celebrities who manage this).

I think listening to your body and eating when you are hungry is the most important thing. With my first child I was so hungry during her pregnancy that I would literally get up at 3 a.m. and go get a snack because I couldn't make it all the way through the night without eating. I've always had lower food needs so this really shocked my husband!

[Sharlla]

I plan on eating when I'm hungry, just eat good for me stuff, not a bunch of crap food or eating at restaurants.

According to this http://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy-...gain-estimator I should gain about 15 lbs

Maternal:
Uterus0.79 lbs.
Breasts0.33 lbs.
Blood1.03 lbs.
Water1.38 lbs.
Fat2.75 lbs.
Subtotal6.28 lbs.

Fetal:
Fetus7.5 lbs.
Placenta0.53 lbs.
Amniotic Fluid0.65 lbs.
Subtotal8.68 lbs.

Total14.96 lbs.

Although I will most likely have a 9lb+ baby. Not sure why people think you have to gain 40 lbs. Most of that would be nothing more than body fat.

[jtrt]

I am concerned about weight gain this time because I do gain 40-60 pounds each time and I am starting out so heavy. This is my fourth pregnancy in 10 months and I am a solid 35 pounds overweight : If I gain another 40....I don't really want to picture that.

On the other hand, I am so thankful to be pregnant again and just want a healthy, live baby in my arms. The weight always come off and this baby is likely our last. Its all good.

Amy