Don't hate me, need serious suggestions on gaining more weight.

[odinsmama]

Hi there mamas,

The short story is I have an IBD (which keeps my weight low to begin with) and one of my meds (can't go off it) also happens to be an appetite suppressant.  I just don't have the awesome pregnant appetite this time around (wasn't on this med during previous pregnancies).

Diet restrictions:

No soy, wheat, eggs, milk (can eat cheese and yogurt), processed food, oily/fried food.

I am eating plenty of granola, peanut butter, yogurt, cheese, rice cakes, beans on top of my normal dinner stuff (usually chicken or fish plus veggies and rice).

I also do veggie juicing and smoothies with protein powder occasionally.

Any other good food/snack ideas to help me get some extra pounds on here?

[JamieCatheryn]

You don't *really* need to gain much weight if you are getting the protein and nutrients and energy you need. But lotsa protein has shown some correlation with lower rates of certain complications, so the fish, chicken, beans, nuts, and peanut butter all sound like good options, plus all the vegetables you can get. Add a yummy sauce, make it a one dish thing like a casserole or Mexican, Asian, Creole, or Italian meal. Or stews. Make stuff in big batches and freeze so it's less work after the first meal of it. Make baked goods like muffins or cookies lightly sweetened and filled with nutrition boosters like whole grains, nut butter, ground flax, etc, and snack on those with almond milk or hemp milk. Oh my weaknesses whenever in my life I didn't want extra pounds and got them anyway have been pizza and ice cream. Any version of those you can get ought to do it (coconut milk ice cream?).

[pokeyAC]

Avocados are yummy and fatty but have no cholesterol.  You could also add flax oil or something similar to your smoothies to boost the calories. 

[odinsmama]

Thanks, ladies!

I have to go easy on coconut and avocado, too. Maybe too rich for me? But I could definitely have them in small doses.

I was thinking I could do my smoothies with a milk that is higher calories than rice milk, will try the almond or hemp and see how I do with those.

[odinsmama]

Oh, and just yesterday I ran across a pizza recipe that uses cauliflower as the crust! It is mixed with one egg, but I could tolerate one egg every once in a while too I think. Will definitely try that at some point.

[loveandgarbage]

Hey fellow DDCer. I also have GI issues (though no diagnosis as of yet) and struggled with weight gain this pregnancy. I'm doing fine now on that front, but only because I'm able to eat wheat/gluten. If that was taken out of my diet I'd be in your shoes for sure.

I agree that it sounds like you're getting enough nutrients in your body for your baby and weight gain in and of itself shouldn't be an issue. But if you need to gain, have you pinpointed what makes you gain weight in general? For some people it's carbs, other it's fats, etc. Maybe swap rice for other grains that have more calories? Like oats, barley, millet, or quinoa.

[odinsmama]

Hey there, familiar face!  :)

Yeah, I just recently quit wheat and I'm sure that's contributing to the slow weight gain.  I was a baker of breads and cookies all the time.  

So, between that and the flare up of my IBD, I ended up losing a couple pounds and have since gotten out of the flare and gained them back.

I would guess carbs cause me to gain more than fats, but maybe that's just because I really can't overdo it on fatty things or I'll end up with GI issues.  I could definitely try millet and I am making lots of granola lately.  I have tried cooking it several different ways and I just hate quinoa.  :-/  I really *want* to like it!  I believe barley has gluten in it??  

The other thought I've had is to actually start eating wheat again.  It was just something I was trying, to see if things would get better, but ultimately I had to start a new med to get out of the flare.

However, my boys' behavior has improved (slightly less crazy :) ) since cutting it out so I'm hesitant to reintroduce it....

Anyway, thanks so much for your thoughts.  I also have to remind myself that I've only been out of the flare for about 2 weeks, so it's very possible that my body will just start to gain now that I'm well again.  And maybe I can just sneak some cookies here and there and hide them from my boys.  :p

[josie423]

I don't have much advice, I'm in a similar boat minus the GI issues. I am mostly grain-free and have lost 6 lbs in the last 8 weeks, which is totally new for me. My midwife isn't concerned, but I'm a little paranoid. We sound similar in that carbs cause us to gain weight. I'd suggest upping the carbs, which it sounds like you are doing and another thing that helps me is eating more later in the day. The more I eat from the afternoon on, the more easily I gain. (But right now, I'm not doing that since my m/w isn't worried about my weight and eating more later in the day makes me feel sluggish.)

[odinsmama]

Yeah, I'm trying not to worry too much and realize that a lot of it is just making sure I'm getting enough nutrients/calories.

I think my main concern is the increased risk of preterm labor in underweight mamas.  I really don't know how much of an increase in risk it is, or if I should even be worried.  But I am.  This appears to be my fear for this particular pregnancy.  (Last time it was a fear that DS would be breach.)

Preterm labor would mean NICU and there is no NICU on my island which would mean baby would be taken to another island and I would have to fly over separately and later.  I will be FREAKING OUT if this happens.  I don't know anyone on that island who I could stay with, don't know if they let moms sleep at the hospital, don't know my way around the island so I'd be taking a cab or bus, would have to go alone and DH would stay home with kids... Yeah, I just can't get started down this line of thinking or I'm just a nervous wreck.

I've got things on hand to help prevent as well as stop preterm labor, but also feeling like gaining more weight would help preventatively so that's why I'm working on that.

[loveandgarbage]

I'm sorry you're concerned about early labor. That's stressful! Especially given the island situation. Maybe remind yourself that once upon a time (in the lovely 50s/60s) OBs recommended that women gain only 15-20 lbs during pregnancy. I spoke about this with my MIL the other day-- even in the 80s (but in middle-of-nowhere Texas) she was berated by her OB because she gained 23 lbs with my DH. I don't know-- maybe that will make you feel slightly better!

Have you tried quinoa pasta? Just a thought.

[josie423]

Originally Posted by loveandgarbage 

I'm sorry you're concerned about early labor. That's stressful! Especially given the island situation. Maybe remind yourself that once upon a time (in the lovely 50s/60s) OBs recommended that women gain only 15-20 lbs during pregnancy. I spoke about this with my MIL the other day-- even in the 80s (but in middle-of-nowhere Texas) she was berated by her OB because she gained 23 lbs with my DH. I don't know-- maybe that will make you feel slightly better!

Ditto this! Obviously we shouldn't be working to restrict our weight gain.. But not gaining a lot doesn't necessarily mean IUGR or PTL or other complications. My husband's grandmother used to love to tell me how she gained 12 lbs with one of her babies. He was close to 8 lbs and she left the hospital at her normal weight. I think she liked to tell me that because I gained 45-55 with all my other babies. 

I can certainly identify with the worrying. My weight loss has me super paranoid about IUGR. If I let my mind wander too much I will have myself convinced in no time that I'll end up having a 3 pound baby. Sigh. The worry and fear can be pretty destructive in of itself, so I've been working hard not to dwell on that sort of thing.

[odinsmama]

Thanks, mamas!

It does make me feel better to know that low weight gain doesn't guarantee problems.

I still have that nagging worry, but will work on not focusing on it.

I can't imagine only gaining 12lbs during pregnancy!!  Sheesh, at least I've already gained 8!  

I also wonder about the "studies" done that supposedly show underweight-ness (like that word?) leading to an increased risk of PTL and wonder if they're also studying actual nutrition, if the women in the study are trying not to gain etc.

Must keep eating, drinking, adding electrolytes and distracting myself with the cute little diapers I just got (used, bamboo velour, at a crazy good deal. eek! too much cute softness!).

[josie423]

Originally Posted by odinsmama 

I also wonder about the "studies" done that supposedly show underweight-ness (like that word?) leading to an increased risk of PTL and wonder if they're also studying actual nutrition, if the women in the study are trying not to gain etc.

I think that is key right there! I would think PTL would be more prevalent in malnourished and restricted/ing women. I don't think you qualify for either of those labels!

[BabySmurf]

Yeah, I agree that nutritional value probably wasn't considered in those studies. 

I was grain free, dairy free, soy free, corn free, but I wanted to put on a little weight to try to spark ovulation, so I began eating rice and potatoes.  It worked, and we caught the first PP egg, but I am in your boat that my appetite is definitely down.  I am not too worried about it, because I do eat a lot of very nutrient dense foods, and despite not being particularly hungry, I do gravitate toward certain foods.  When I google the foods, they generally all have a particular nutrient in common, so I have faith that my body knows what it needs, and if you can learn how to listen to it, you should be fine.  Cutting down on grains or not eating them at all is going to make gaining weight more difficult.  So I would focus more on the quality of weight gain more than the quantity.  If you are eating foods you normally wouldn't or shouldn't just for the sake of adding pounds, you are probably doing yourself and the babe a disservice because it is going to cause you sickness and trouble, and not necessarily be adding nutrition or health to either of you.  Soo, I would keep the grains out if they are giving you trouble, and just focus on foods that are nutrient dense.  You can always rely on potatoes, yams, squash, or even bananas if you really want to increase carbs. 

That being said, sneaking on some almond flour cookies with coconut milk ice cream is a delicious and pretty healthy way to get in some extra calories!