Anyone else trying to keep their weight in check this time?

[beccabus]

First time around, I thought it was my job to eat everything and anything I wanted and ended up gaining between 50-60 pounds! The extra weight caused hypertension which resulted in me being bedridden during labor, possibly the worst thing ever!!! So needless to say this time around, I'm aiming to gain a reasonable amount and weight, stay healthy and go completely au naturel!

Just thought if there were others in the same boat, we could support each other, swap yummy recipes, etc!! : Cheers!!

[Thalia]

Yup. I gained about 55 pounds the first time around, although I can't say that it really caused me any problems. No GD, blood pressure fine, felt great, good labor.

I'm only 5 pounds above where I was when I first became pregnant with #1, but in the meantime I have discovered that I am a compulsive overeater. I have recently joined Overeater's Anonymous, and I think it should help me this time around. I did very well with my weight in my first and second trimester last time, but near the end I started eating too much sugar and just wasn't as healthy as I could have been.

This time I am going to see a nutritionist (which is something that is recommended in OA anyway), so that I can't lie to myself about how much I really should be eating.

[Mommy2Austin]

Most definitely! I gained 60+ lbs with DS2 and although I have lost all of that and some, I'm not looking to repeat the process. So far I've been maintaining 200 lbs (sometimes a little more sometimes a little less.) I'm trying to stick to the maintainance phase of the diet I was on before I found out I was pregnant (Suzanne Somer's)

I'm not perfect, but much better than I was with DS2.

[mamasgirls]

I gained way too much with my first two pregnancies and have spent the last year losing over 60 pounds. I really am conscious of it this time and want to stay as healthy as possible! I'm hoping to keep it around 20-25 pounds this time.

[HoldensMama]

I'm with you! I gained way too much the first time around. I was eating for more than 2 the whole time. I ate a lot of junk too, because I couldn't ignore the cravings I was having. I didn't have any complications due to my weight gain but I sure have a lot of extra skin and stretch marks on my tummy. This time my plan is to not keep any junk in the house at all and try to snack on veggies, protein and dairy.

I don't get first tri nausea and my appetite has ramped up almost immediatley, so I'm hungry ALL THE TIME.

[NicoleS]

Yes. I've never gained an inordinate amount of weight (25-45 pounds, though I was told by my doctor to gain 45 with my first because I was underweight) but I've not quite lost all the weight that I gained with each pregnancy. So my goal is to keep the weight gain to about 20 pounds this time around. Just watching how many calories I eat and making healthier choices (or at least trying to).

[beccabus]

Gaining only 20 pounds seems like it would be impossible!!! I guess that's because I gained so much last time.... 20 pounds would be less than half of what I gained last time..

how do you all plan on resisting everyone around who tells you to "eat for 2?"....nevermind resisting your own cravings??

[Grace24]

Yes, she says through a mouthful of chips and cheese sauce. Yes I want to do things differently this time. And until yesterday was doing ok... kinda let myself pig out on frozen pizza a couple of times.

I'm so glad you started this thread! I gained a lot with my first pregnancy (not sure how much, but at 2 months post-partum I was still at least 45 pounds heavier than when I started). I dieted on and off and lost most of it, was within 10 pounds of pre-pregnancy weight. Which was a heavy weight to begin with. So I'd say I'm starting this pregnancy at about 20 pounds overweight, uck. Oh well. Anyhow, yeah I'm hoping to eat better. So far I haven't been to McD's once. If I can just figure out what to do with my cheese/chips craving...

Anyhow I'd love if we could support each other. It's all too easy to say "Oh, I'm not on a diet anyway, I can have Chinese for lunch" etc.

Thalia congrats on your recovery in OA. I've been to meetings too, and I think my emotional eating is much much better... but it is very triggering, like I just said, to feel like I'm going to gain anyway, so what the heck.

[NicoleS]

Originally Posted by beccabus

how do you all plan on resisting everyone around who tells you to "eat for 2?"....nevermind resisting your own cravings??

The only person that I really have to contend with is DH. He's not home for breakfast or lunch, so I can eat lighter for those meals. Then for dinner I eat what everyone else is, just keeping an eye on portion control. For snacks - I'm trying to find "healthier" versions. Like if I want chips and dip, doing baked tortilla chips and salsa. Those 100 calorie packs are great for sweet cravings (I have a stash of the oreo cakester ones hidden in my pantry).

Today I had:

Breakfast: Omelet made with 2 eggs and veggies and an 8 oz can of Coke (helps the m/s)

Snack: raisin bran muffin

Lunch: Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with light miracle whip and romaine lettuce, fresh cherries

Afternoon snack: oreo cakester (100 calorie pack)

Dinner: Kashi TV dinner (kids and DH had mac and cheese, I don't care for it)

Snack: another muffin


I get a bunch of those single serve low calorie water flavorers and drink that throughout the day.

[Thandiwe]

Hoping to watch my weight this time. But honestly, I think every pregnancy is different. I've eaten the same through each of my (now) three pregnancies. First one, I gained 45# and had an 8# 4 oz baby. Second one, I lost 20# initially from extreme morning sickness and went on to gain a mere 17#...had an 11# 3 oz baby. Go figure; I ate the same each time, but had different results. I'm trying to stay more active this time than before, which isn't too hard with three under three. But I'm consciously trying to get out to exercise more and eat more fruits/veggies. As for snacking?? Can't say I'm doing too great *limiting* myself. We'll see in the longrun. So far, this pregnancy has been much easier than the last one; I'm not nearly as sick as I was last time.

[starshine1001]

I've always gained 30-35 pounds, and I hope to keep it under that this time. I use sparkpeople.com as often as I remember. They have a sister site called babyfit.com, but I don't like the layout as much. At sparkpeople you can track any dietary value that you want...I track my calories, fat, carbs, protein, iron, calcium, folic acid, and fiber. You don't have to use it to lose weight, and it's great for keeping an eye on things...even if you just use it a couple of times a week, it's good to see the values of what's going into your body so you can keep it in perspective.

[Grace24]

Jess, how many calories are you aiming for?
I was using Livestrong when I got pregnant, so continued to use that for a little bit but ate around 1700 cal/ day which was enough to maintain. (Actually I lost .1 pounds) The cal's they say for me to maintain is 2200 which seems like a lot! Plus more if you exercise! So I am just not counting anymore. It's all too confusing. I think if I stay away from the chips and cheese sauce I'll be ok (If this morning's nausea is any indication, I'd say the cheese is done for awhile)

[Thalia]

Originally Posted by Grace24

Thalia congrats on your recovery in OA. I've been to meetings too, and I think my emotional eating is much much better... but it is very triggering, like I just said, to feel like I'm going to gain anyway, so what the heck.

Yes, I totally agree. I know it must have been God that got me to my first OA meeting 2 1/2 weeks ago, because that's right when I got pregnant. I just didn't know it. Before that, I wasn't ready to stop the compulsive eating, and I wasn't even ready for a second baby. After going to my first meeting and reading a lot of the literature, I finally felt ready to TTC, because I felt hope that I wouldn't eat like a crazy person throughout the pregnancy, because there is so much support in OA. Little did I know I was already pregnant! I know if I weren't in OA, I would have been either conflicted about this pregnancy (and eating those feelings) or "celebrating" (with lots of food).

Originally Posted by beccabus

how do you all plan on resisting everyone around who tells you to "eat for 2?"....nevermind resisting your own cravings??

The only way I'm going to be able to do it this time around is through OA. I finally admitted I really need the support, and the accountability. in my last pregancy I did fine the first two trimesters and then gained a ton in the third. I just couldn't do it on my own, even as motivated as I was. In OA, it's recommended that you eat three meals a day with no snacking in between. This would obviously not work for every pregnant woman. But so far it has been working for me. As I mentioned before, I'm going to see a nutritionist to make sure I'm getting what I need in those three meals. And if I end up having lots of morning sickness, I'll add snacks in as necessary.

Originally Posted by starshine1001

I use sparkpeople.com as often as I remember. They have a sister site called babyfit.com, but I don't like the layout as much. At sparkpeople you can track any dietary value that you want...I track my calories, fat, carbs, protein, iron, calcium, folic acid, and fiber. You don't have to use it to lose weight, and it's great for keeping an eye on things...even if you just use it a couple of times a week, it's good to see the values of what's going into your body so you can keep it in perspective.

SparkPeople is great! They have a good strong community there, too: you can find a lot of support with the SparkTeams. I also don't like BabyFit, although I do have their article of the day sent to me every day. The BabyFit forums are not very crunchy, so I don't even bother going over there.

[NicoleS]

Originally Posted by Grace24

Jess, how many calories are you aiming for?
I was using Livestrong when I got pregnant, so continued to use that for a little bit but ate around 1700 cal/ day which was enough to maintain. (Actually I lost .1 pounds) The cal's they say for me to maintain is 2200 which seems like a lot! Plus more if you exercise! So I am just not counting anymore. It's all too confusing. I think if I stay away from the chips and cheese sauce I'll be ok (If this morning's nausea is any indication, I'd say the cheese is done for awhile)

You only need to add 300 calories to what you normally eat.

Here are a couple of calculators:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/tools/calories-burned (I got that I need to eat 2300 calories for the first trimester)

And this one asks a lot of questions: http://www.dietitian.com/calcbody.php It put me at 2450 for calories.


Keep in mind I'm also 6 ft tall and about 10 pounds overweight.

[beccabus]

Originally Posted by Grace24

Yes, she says through a mouthful of chips and cheese sauce. If I can just figure out what to do with my cheese/chips craving...

I hear ya on chips and cheese! My hubby and I would eat it every night if it was in the house! Same with ice cream and peanut butter.. such vices! I think my way to avoid this is to really just keep the stuff out of the house...then I will only have the healthy options!

Originally Posted by NicoleS

The only person that I really have to contend with is DH. He's not home for breakfast or lunch, so I can eat lighter for those meals. Then for dinner I eat what everyone else is, just keeping an eye on portion control. For snacks - I'm trying to find "healthier" versions. Like if I want chips and dip, doing baked tortilla chips and salsa. Those 100 calorie packs are great for sweet cravings (I have a stash of the oreo cakester ones hidden in my pantry).

Today I had:

Breakfast: Omelet made with 2 eggs and veggies and an 8 oz can of Coke (helps the m/s)

Snack: raisin bran muffin

Lunch: Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with light miracle whip and romaine lettuce, fresh cherries

Afternoon snack: oreo cakester (100 calorie pack)

Dinner: Kashi TV dinner (kids and DH had mac and cheese, I don't care for it)

Snack: another muffin


I get a bunch of those single serve low calorie water flavorers and drink that throughout the day.

Same thing with me. For the most part, I do okay at home during the day. But my DH and I love to eat and we love to eat together! I'm hoping that maybe through this, it will encourage him also to get into some better shape.

Also, I really enjoyed seeing what you ate during the day. It's nice to see other ideas, etc. It'd probably be too tedious to do everyday, but maybe once in a while we could all post some days?

Originally Posted by Grace24

Jess, how many calories are you aiming for?
I was using Livestrong when I got pregnant, so continued to use that for a little bit but ate around 1700 cal/ day which was enough to maintain. (Actually I lost .1 pounds) The cal's they say for me to maintain is 2200 which seems like a lot! Plus more if you exercise! So I am just not counting anymore. It's all too confusing. I think if I stay away from the chips and cheese sauce I'll be ok (If this morning's nausea is any indication, I'd say the cheese is done for awhile)

How does one figure out how many calories to be aiming for? I'm totally clueless, besides knowing I should get 300 more per day in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters...

I'm so glad so many of you have responded, I think this is going to be a great support for eachother. Sometimes, it's a lonely world when everyone is telling you to eat up, eat for 2, etc, and as much as my darling hubby tries, he doesn't quite understand the same way

[NicoleS]

I think sharing meal plans is a fun idea, I'm always open to something new. : Turkey sandwiches are only going to work for so long for me.

[Mommy2Austin]

Well it appears I'm down like 5 lbs...and here I expected to have gained or at least stayed over 200.

Gotta love a good diet

[LisamommyRN]

me!me!me!

I'm definitely trying to keep weight in check this pregnancy- I gained 60# last time, and grew a big baby that ended up being born via c/s. I'm really trying to VBAC this time, and the one thing every provider has said is that I should moderate my weight gain this time. I know that it's not a guarantee either way, but it certainly can't hurt, right?

Oh, and I didn't have any nausea last time, and none so far this time, either--instead I'm just ravenously hungry all the time- maybe that's part of the problem? And I crave sweets and baked goods all the time: I can eat a perfectly balanced healthy meal, be happily full, and then crave chocolate ice cream like crazy!

Since I know dieting's a no-no during pregnancy, I'm going to focus a little more on excercise: jogging 30-40 min 3x/week, walking 45-90 min 3x/week. I want to try to do about 30 min yoga/streching on jogging days, and 20 mins weight training on walking days. So far this week I've hit about 50% of my workouts. (Most of the walking/jogging happens with DS in the jogging stroller: I walk to a far away playground, let him run around while I do squat and lunges, etc, then walk home.)

The nitty gritty:
pre-pregnancy (first time around) 152#.
On the way in to the hospital to be induced at 42 wks: 212#.
pre-pregnancy (this time) 143#.
Now (at 6 wks preg) 147#!

How does this happen? 4# in one week? Could it just be bloating? I'm feeling a little discouraged, 'cause I don't feel I'm eating all that differently than I have been, but the weight it piling on. (I dieted/excercised over the winter to get to 140# by March for a wedding and to prep to ttc- I was able to maintain for the past 3 months without counting/dieting.)

My goal was to maintain (not gain) in the first trimester: to be no more than 145# at my first prenatal appt at 10 weeks. So I'll stick to my excercise plan and nix the junk food for the next month and see what happens with the scale.

Sorry for the long post, thanks to anyone who read this far! I love hearing about everyone else's goals, plans, and strategies, I'll definately be checking out those webistes you all mentioned. (I used caloriecount.about.com when I was counting.) Let's keep this thread alive, I know we could all use the support!

-Lisa

[moondiapers]

I had gastric bypass over 5 years ago and I'm really hoping to keep my weight reasonable.

[starshine1001]

My calorie range was between 1700 and 2000. It's actually really easy to stick to.