Weight gain « Back to Group Discussions

[GoBecGo]

Urgh i hate that i am even posting this.

I did WW online last June for 27 weeks and lost alllll of my babyweight, lazyweight and complacentweight, and got down to my goal weight of 161-168lbs (i'm 5'11").

Now i still weigh in every friday, and i've switched my scale to read kg to try to feel less "attached" to it all, but it's still hard to see those lbs piling back on again.

I'm not eating crap (junk food actually makes me fell really REALLY terrible) i'm just eating healthy stuff to appetite, but i've still piled on, between fat, water, bloating and good ol' constipation, about 9lbs already.  :(  I'm only 10 weeks!  I keep telling myself that even at this rate i will be the same at term as i was a YEAR after having DD2, but i still hate it.

On April 1st next year i'll be re-joining WW online for sure, and by my birthday (mid-October) i want to be 161-168lbs again.

Sorry for this, i know i'm growing a person, this is my 3rd baby, i should be "over" this aspect by now, but it just feels like my efforts and success in losing it all was so recent, i can't believe how fast and easy it's going on again.

[Pogo0685]

I completely understand how you feel. I got up to 220 when I was pregnant with my DS (in 5'4"), when he was 2 years old (February) I was still in the 180's I worked my butt off and by the end of August I got down to 133 pounds, although I still had a poochy tummy that refused to leave I was so excited. I had surgery 1 week after that and gained 40 pounds in 3 months while recovering and I just had not been able to lose any of it again before I got pregnant with this baby, so I am going into this pregnancy starting at about 170 and I just feel like a whale. I hate feeling like this about myself but I just can't help it. My husband says that its ok that I am bigger, that the baby will need the extra pounds I have put on when I breastfeed, and while it helps a little bit, not much. Once I have this baby I am going to again work my butt off and hopefully get back down to the 130's. At my midwife appointment on Tuesday I also found out that the "hernia" I had surgery for was not really a hernia it is actually just diastasis, so the surgery that I had was completely pointless and I could have avoided it had I known the truth, that really made it so much worse that I am this big right now when I don't need to be. 

[broodymama]

I completely understand!  After DD2 was born (my third) I went on WW and lost 60 lbs.  I felt great, better than I had in years.  Then I gained a ton of weight when I was pregnant with DS2 (part of it due to me overeating, part of it due to a medication my neuro had me on during the pregnancy).  He's turning 2 today and I just never got the weight off, so I started this pregnancy at a very unhealthy weight for me.  I tend to gain a good bit during my pregnancies, though I don't weigh myself (it's better for my mental health and my midwife is fine with this).  

After this little one is born I will hopefully be joining WW again.  I used it online the first time and it started great, but then after DS2 was born the website wouldn't work correctly.  Tried 3 different browsers and 3 different laptops, their tech support was useless, I was so disappointed.  Hopefully it will work for me the next time around, I want to get down to around 160-ish again, that was a good weight for my height.

[kawa kamuri]

I weigh myself every single morning. Being pregnant completely warps my perception on weight gain and doing so helps me stay on track. I've gained between 3 and 5 pounds and will be 13w (woah!) tomorrow. I feel like I've gained twenty pounds. The way my weight is redistributed, my squishy tummy, not feeling tip top. 

[almadianna]

i felt like i had gained 20 pounds before i even found out I was pregnant. it is kind of awesome how our bodies start changing almost immediately. i have not gained weight yet but my body has changed. my core isnt what it used to be and it is starting to pooch out a bit. i am sure I have lost muscle already as well... but I am trying to not worry about my weight as long as my weight doenst go that crazy. i gained 40 with my last pregnancy... so i hope to gain roughly the same.

[cierra159]

I weigh myself every morning too, have since I was pregnant with LO .ive too only gained abou 4-5lbs and feel like its been 10 lbs and feel I can really tell in my body where I've gained it. It's sorta grossing me out bc I'm not eating as healthy as I was/have been. Sweets have found their way into my house every week, and with terrible morning sickness carbs are all I've been wanting - bagels, sandwiches, pickle sandwiches LOL, cookies, lactation bars to keep my supply up but with choc chips, peanut butter, uh. I never used to even eat carbs, total veggie freak but during that morning sickness phase I didn't buy ANY Vegetables! So as morning sickness is slowly fading, and me joining a gym to ride the bike, hopefully this weight will even out. I bought more veggies this week and fruit so hopefully I'll get back to my old routine. glad I'm not alone though

[kawa kamuri]

At 16w I'm up about 10-12 pounds. That's really difficult for me! Of course I understand that I'm pregnant and have very likely gained a good deal of that weight from muscle as I started working out again when the 1st tri barf-o-rama ended, but still tough to see. My breasts are giant. That too. It's especially bothersome because before this (surprise Paragard!) pregnancy I was well on my way to my goal weight and should have been there by now. ANYWAY.      

[sapientia]

I don't typically gain weight real early-I have to stuff myself to gain 20-25lbs over the course of the pregnancy. Drives my midwives (or myself) crazy. HOWEVER breastfeeding..that's when I gain. I'm trying to figure out why. I figure I don't eat enough (but i do!) and my body holds the weight...I can't imagine that I eat too much.

I'm 14 wks and have gained about 6lbs which is really good for me.

[hotsauce]

I feel like I retain a lot of water while pregnant and it just makes me look... puffy.  I'm trying to stay more protein focused and to drink more water to see if that helps.  I'm 14 weeks and don't really look pregnant at ALL, just chubby, lol!  I'm used to being a small, fit person so embracing the back fat and full, round arms, plus the enormous breasts takes some effort.  I am not the person who loses it all in the first few months, either.  With my son I gained 60, lost more than 30 by my two week checkup, was down another 35 by the time he was eight months old and lost another 15 around the time he weaned at two years.  So, all told, although I put on a whopping 60, the entire process of birth and breastfeeding took 80 pounds off me.  Remembering that helps me keep perspective when I'm feeling particularly 'fat'.  I do admit to feeling envy for those of you who are 'all belly'.  My breasts completely overshadow my belly until about eight months so I just look big, not pregnant.  And I gain it all over.  I got really annoyed the other day when my DP said he read something about how you should measure your upper thighs because they should stay the same throughout pregnancy.  HA!  I went from a size 1-2 to an 8 in pants with DS.  I'm anticipating a similar state of affairs this time. :)

[Clarasmama]

Originally Posted by hotsauce 

 I got really annoyed the other day when my DP said he read something about how you should measure your upper thighs because they should stay the same throughout pregnancy.  HA!

Oh no! He does not get to talk any more!! I gained all over too, my thighs definitely did not stay the same...I have the stretch marks to prove it!

Kawa, I was so close to being back to normal too, like 6 pounds left to go until I fit back into my happy size pants...then everything started getting tight again and BAM, preggo! Oh well, one day I'll get to wear my cute clothes again :/

I'm up about 6 pounds at 14 weeks, so not too bad. Definitely eating too many sweets still, but I'm trying to get more veggies in my belly.

[GoBecGo]

Originally Posted by hotsauce 
 I got really annoyed the other day when my DP said he read something about how you should measure your upper thighs because they should stay the same throughout pregnancy. 

D'you know, i actually read that in a Sheila Kitzinger book and i was like "noooooooooooooooo, twins at home, YES, empowered birth choices, ABSOLUTELY, but thin legs throughout a whole pregnancy!?"  But i guess some people just don't gain much fat on their thighs.  Personally i already HAVE fat on my thighs and so any water weight expands them too (because it's the fat cells that hang onto the water).

I'm now about 8.5lbs up at 14 weeks - i realised i'd been 2lbs up from my goal when i got pregnant, so though i'm 10.5lobs over goal, i can't blame the baby for 2 of them.  Without me doing anything different it's slowed way down the last few weeks, so i guess a bunch of it was water and metabolic things (i.e. food - i am soooo constipated, i know it's a TMI but when i had my scan last Friday the sonographer couldn't see my right ovary as my bowel was full there.  I didn't "go" until the next morning - 22 hours through the large intestine!?).  I can still get into the looser "normal" clothes if i rubber band the waists, but maternity wear is more comfortable.

And i'm totally sympathishing Hotsauce with the roundness issues.  I don't mind having a big belly so much, it's the big butt, huge boobs, chubby little face, fat fingers that get to me....

[birthjunkiemom]

I'm actually up almost 15 pounds at 12 weeks.  But- a lot of that is because I usually take ADD medicine which I obviously stopped as soon as I found out I was pregnant.  Those meds decrease your appetite, so in the next few weeks I gained 10 lbs almost immediately.  That 10 lbs only took me to 120, but I am short, so that's as high as I ever like to be not pregnant.  Thankfully, I'd gained that 10 lbs before I went to see the midwife at 7 weeks. Although, I imagine she's still not going to be thrilled when I show up in a few weeks and have gained whatever it will be by then.  Oh, well. LOL

[Tbutton]

I totally totally understand not feeling like you can "get over" gaining weight. The first time, I gained 60 pounds total, and I was going to a regular OB whom I grew to detest (this all ended up contributing to my going with a midwife and homebirth this time!), and every visit his nurse assistant would say cutting remarks when she weighed me like "Wow, looks like somebody had a good month." The OB told me "well, just remember, if you're not back to your pre-pregnancy weight by that 6 week postpartum checkup, then that's all on you" As if, losing all your pregnancy weight happens in 6 weeks!! Oh my goodness, I was so self-conscious. I just looked so fat and not so pregnant! If I gained anything in my belly, than I gained it in my arms, my face, and my thighs. What's so ridiculous, though, is that I ended up losing every bit of that 60 pounds by the time my daughter was around 5 or 6 months old. Then I went on to lose another 20 pounds, and that was just from breastfeeding. I fluctuated a bit after that, but nothing too extreme.

This time around, I tried very hard to just anticipate the weight gain and feel better about myself. All the while, I'm thinking, "I can deal with it if it happens again, as long as I don't see a single person I know the entire pregnancy." Now I'm 15 weeks along, and I've gained about 10 pounds. I was 10 pounds lighter pre-pregnancy than last time, and I'm just not looking nearly as swollen. I'm not gaining everywhere like I did before, either. When I talked to my midwife about my weight gain last time, she assured me that as long as my diet didn't get drastically worse, that was just my body doing its job elevating those hormones. So I'm not feeling as bad about it as I did at this point in my last pregnancy. But. . .if I do end up gaining like I did last time, I'll probably still have just as hard a time dealing with it, even knowing what I know now.

Oh, and yes to fat thighs! Oh my gosh, I have such stretch marks from gaining weight in my legs, my butt, my back for crying out loud! Not a single part of my body was unscathed last time! Palmer's Cocoa Butter seriously owes me a refund!

[hotsauce]

Tbutton, you're making me think that *perhaps* the reason nurses and doctors are so tsk-tsk-y about weight gain is because in our culture it is NOT the norm to breastfeed and maybe we all need to add that into the equation?  Like you, I gained 60 and lost all of it PLUS with nursing, and I ate ice cream every damn day if I wanted to because I felt like my body was literally screaming for calories.  I get that I only need 300 extra calories while pregnant, but 500 or more when nursing.  When you're busy with a family and a newborn, who has time to sit around eating 2,500 calories or more a day?!  This time, I'm choosing to see my body as a supreme, intelligent force that knows exactly what it's doing without any criticism or interference from my ego.  If I gain another 60 I trust it's because I NEED that weight and those fat stores to make adequate milk.  Maybe part of the reason my milk was so abundant and so rich was because I gained that weight.  I know if I wasn't able to breastfeed that extra thirty pounds I melted off gradually with nursing would have been much more difficult to deal with.  I also like to remember that the healthiest woman I know, an herbalist who does yoga and gardens and who has four kids who all snack on seaweed.... gained 55 pounds with all four pregnancies.  It's hard to 'get over', and I readily admit to my own struggles, but damn if I don't  wish I could just embrace the changes with an all-positive attitude.  This pregnancy has me thinking that if I have a girl child I am really going to have to work on my own self-love and the way I talk about my body around her.  My voice will become her inner voice one day.  I want to make sure my voice is saying and affirming loving, positive things.  We are all goddesses.  And we should all really believe that.  

[GoBecGo]

See i think what's bothering me is that i don't know it'll all go after the baby comes.

With DD1 i was 216lbs pre pregnancy, 209lbs at booking, about 222lbs at term, and about 165lbs at 4 months PP because i had a scary thyroid condition that, combined with breastfeeding, just took all the weight off me.

With DD2 i was about 198lbs pre pregnancy (having slowly crept there from 165lbs in the 3 years since DD1's birth), 205 at booking, about 225 at term, and 211 a YEAR after her birth.  At that point i did ww-online and lost 42lbs, taking me to 168.

I am STILL breastfeeding, so i can't really tell myself i know i need the weight i might gain, if that makes sense.  My midwife is very disinterested in any weight gain that isn't very sudden and unexplained (and might therefore be a massive fluid retain from PE or something), and i don't see and ob.  My GP will weigh me but makes no comment until 6 months pp, and then he just asks if you want any advice on it, there's no criticism or pressure.  It's all in my head.  I'd gained again this week after a few weeks of not seeing anything go on, i wish someone could tell me "you'll be weighing xxx at term" so i could make friends with that number and get over it.

[UCmamaToMany]

I too gained 20lbs before I found out I was pregnant. I blame my kids and my inability to say "no" without a scale to follow. LOL Well they were the ones who broke my scale and it took me 3 months to replace. {{{sigh}}}

Thankfully I've lost 12lbs since getting pregnant, and in all honesty I hope I don't get back up over 200lbs too much at the end here. I was happily between 175-185 before my scale broke. Then one day at my chiro I checked my weight with all my clothes and shoes and was SHOCKED I had to move the 200bar. :( I was a little over 200 and KNEW then I had to replace the scale. Shortly after that I found out I was pregnant, which relieved me some, since I lose weight the 1st trimester due to m/s.

My 2nd trimester I am usually stagnant, and then in my 3rd is when I start gaining. SO if I can stay at the 193 that I am right now until October I'll be super happy! What I am NOT looking forward to is the over indulgence of the holiday trifecta while being pregnant! (trifecta of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) I hope I don't use pregnancy as an excuse to eat and gain weight! {{{UGH}}}

Still, compared to my earlier pregnancies when I was 250-300lbs while pregnant and pre-pregnant! I am doing EXCELLENT! :D

[Ms Rabbit]

I am almost 12 weeks, and I can tell I've gained weight. My face is getting rounder than my tummy is! The scary thing is I don't own a scale, so I haven't been able to see exactly how much weight I've gained. I LOVE watching my tummy grow... my cheeks and calves, not so much :)

[Clarasmama]

Originally Posted by Tbutton 

I totally totally understand not feeling like you can "get over" gaining weight. The first time, I gained 60 pounds total, and I was going to a regular OB whom I grew to detest (this all ended up contributing to my going with a midwife and homebirth this time!), and every visit his nurse assistant would say cutting remarks when she weighed me like "Wow, looks like somebody had a good month." The OB told me "well, just remember, if you're not back to your pre-pregnancy weight by that 6 week postpartum checkup, then that's all on you" As if, losing all your pregnancy weight happens in 6 weeks!! Oh my goodness, I was so self-conscious. I just looked so fat and not so pregnant! If I gained anything in my belly, than I gained it in my arms, my face, and my thighs. What's so ridiculous, though, is that I ended up losing every bit of that 60 pounds by the time my daughter was around 5 or 6 months old. Then I went on to lose another 20 pounds, and that was just from breastfeeding. I fluctuated a bit after that, but nothing too extreme.

This time around, I tried very hard to just anticipate the weight gain and feel better about myself. All the while, I'm thinking, "I can deal with it if it happens again, as long as I don't see a single person I know the entire pregnancy." Now I'm 15 weeks along, and I've gained about 10 pounds. I was 10 pounds lighter pre-pregnancy than last time, and I'm just not looking nearly as swollen. I'm not gaining everywhere like I did before, either. When I talked to my midwife about my weight gain last time, she assured me that as long as my diet didn't get drastically worse, that was just my body doing its job elevating those hormones. So I'm not feeling as bad about it as I did at this point in my last pregnancy. But. . .if I do end up gaining like I did last time, I'll probably still have just as hard a time dealing with it, even knowing what I know now.

Oh, and yes to fat thighs! Oh my gosh, I have such stretch marks from gaining weight in my legs, my butt, my back for crying out loud! Not a single part of my body was unscathed last time! Palmer's Cocoa Butter seriously owes me a refund!

I had hospital midwives last time, so they weren't mean about the weight gain, but I could have written every other word of this! All of it! Gaining all over, being puffy, stretch marks everywhere. And this time it's been different too, not so much gain at first and almost ll in my belly.

Only difference is that it took a full 11 months to get almost back to normal, even though DD was nursing like a fiend! My period came back last December and about 10 pounds fell right off. I think I might have lost even more, back to my absolutely happy size after weaning, but DD is still going strong at 16 months and I'm pregnant instead My weight is definitely tied to my hormonal shifts. Maybe I'll get back to my happy weight after this baby is born.

[amberc727]

I know how you feel! This past spring I had actually hired a personal trainer 2x/week and was all set to finally lose 80 pounds (marriage weight) and get down to a healthy level.  I was doing really good and was so motivated, and then one day, realized my period was several days late, lol.  I wasn't planning this pregnancy so it really kind of got me down when the morning sickness hit and I wasn't able to go out of the house anymore, so I haven't worked out in over 2 months.  I haven't gained any weight yet, but I usually don't gain much during pregnancy since I'm a curvy mama to start with.  It can be unsettling though, even for those of us who have several children and have gone through all of this before.  The only thing I can tell myself is to eat healthy and do the best I can, and I'll get back on track with my weight loss goals after the baby is a few months old.  Hang in there!

[Pogo0685]

I am actually scared to go to my midwife on Wednesday, I know I will have to see how much I have gained. I have been eating as good as I can but food is still a daily issue for me. Luckily my midwife is very caring and won't make any rude remarks about my weight. I figured I have put on at least 10 pounds since I saw her last about 5 weeks ago. I do have one pair of pants that still fit me in the am, but by afternoon they are so tight.

Hotsauce- I feel the same way as you do about having to stop negative talk if I have a girl, I don't want my children to grow up with body issues like I have. Until I met my husband I thought getting my period was one if the worst, most dirty things ever and have always had a hard time dealing with it. When I was a teen I would take 6-8 months of birth control pills without taking the little sugar pills just so I would not have one. I really don't want to pass these issues on to a child. Even with my son I am finding that I really need to watch what I say about myself, I call myself stupid all the time and he is starting to do the same. It makes me sad. I want to feel like a goddess is my own body, not feel like I'm to fat or dumb to do anything.