Weight Gain!!!

[Free Thinker]

The not so pretty side of being PG :LOL I was wondering how you all plan to manage your weight gain, or if you have any specific weight goals.

I hope to gain about 25lbs, or so. With DD I was sick and lost 10lbs the first 20 weeks. I gained that back, plus 16lbs. This time I am starting about 8lbs lighter than I was then, so I'm hoping to keep my ending weight about the same. I try to eat healthy things, not junk food, and I am already starting to try to eliminate fat from my diet b/c I had bad gallbladder pain last time. So far I am STARVING and craving good foods, fruits veggies, ect. Oh, and I'm still nursing, so that may hinder my weight gain too??? I'm not sure, but I know I am needing to eat alot, and so far haven't gained any (6weeks).

[letabug]

I am last time I lost 25 lbs while pregnant I hadn't gained hardly anything until 32 weeks when I got put on bed rest and then I gained almost 20 lbs for until I had ds at almost 36 weeks! I hope to gain slowly and NOT be so sick. I keep telling myself your NOT going to puke after EVERY meal, and I have been going through the wintergreen gum...the only thing that sometimes surpresses my urge to puke. So we'll see so far I was only blindly sick for about an hour yesterday and then I was better, but that was the first day I took an actual prenatal and vitamin b so we'll see.

[happymamajenni]

I can honestly say that I have thought more about the weight issue than the baby since I found out I was pregnant. Last time I gained 50 pounds, and I was already overweight to begin with, so it was a horrible thing. I have only lost 30 of the 50, and now I'm pregnant again. I just didn't have the motivation to keep going with the weight loss. This time I am going to go to the gym to walk as much as possible, and I am going to be more strict with my diet. Last time I ate as much of whatever as I wanted, and now I have already been practicing better eating habits, so hopefully it'll be better this time. My goal is to not gain more than 15 pounds if possible, and if it's healthy.

[mehndi mama]

I'm not even going to weigh myself this time. I just want to concentrate on eating to hunger, and making sure it's all quality food. I think I gained about 40 lbs last time, and didn't lose any at the beginning, which was a first. But I also ate a lot more junk than I really should have.

[TwinMom]

I gained 26 pounds with my twins and 16 pounds with my singleton, so I'm not too worried about gaining weight. In fact, I've already lost about 3 pounds even though I've only vomited once . I think maybe it's because I'm not eating junk (it was vegan, but it was still junk!) food or drinking alcohol now. Plus I've been making a real effort to exercise. I think if you eat quality foods, satisfy your hunger, and do your regular exercise, you'll gain the perfect amount of weight for you and your baby.

[Periwinkle]

Yes, I plan to carefully manage my weight gain. I gained 68 lbs with my twin pregnancy and it took me almost 2 years to lose it (well... I started late, but still). I weighed 218 at 2 weeks post-partum and felt like death warmed over -- I was soooo sluggish and really had problems with energy. OK, so maybe that was twin newborns!

I am 5'7" and just under 170 today (169.5 to be exact) and this puts my BMI at 26.5 which is the very upper end of normal/healthy, but am a size 14 and think I certainly qualify for "overweight" at my height/build(medium). Sooo.... I do not want to feel terrible this pg like I did last one (towards the end anyway) and I want to do what's healthiest for me AND the babe. I aim to gain <30 lbs. Ideally, I'd like to gain around 20, but we'll see.

I have long since cut out all caffeine, sugar, grains, and starches (bananas, carrots..), which has done wonders for my ability to lose weight and I think is also responsible for regulating my previously irregular cycles. I do not intend to change that now that I'm pregnant - since I'm eating beans, nuts, and tons of fresh veggies and most fruits, I'm getting plenty of carbs. Trying to keep the meats to healthy/lean protein and eggs... not too much dairy either. That reminds me, I have to find a good calcium supplement! I just found - brace yourself ladies - a great canned salmon at Whole Foods which makes a pretty tasty fish salad. Ugh I can't believe I'd ever eat something like that, but I swear it's really good (and healthy!).

[jorie]

Heart in my throat

I have to say, anytime I hear a pregnant woman say she is watching her weight, my heart jumps into my throat!!! Don't do it!! Yes, you shouldn't eat junk, but in no other way should you restrict your eating. Regardless of where you start, you should gain a min. of 30lbs for a healthy preg. You have to eat for the baby to grow. It can't live off your fat stores. So, eat to appetite, eat well and exercise. Weight gained from brown rice is going to come off much faster than weight gained from twinkies. Please focus on the fact that a human is growing in your body. Your body is beautiful! Worry about the weight after the baby is born.

[TwinMom]

You don't HAVE to gain 30 pounds to have a healthy baby (see my post above) BUT you shouldn't be trying to lose or maintain weight while pregnant. The growing baby NEEDS carbs. There's a nutritional difference between white rice and brown, white flour pasta and whole wheat pasta, you know? I don't see how you can have a healthy pregnancy without eating grains and starches, it just doesn't make sense to me, but I guess it doesn't have to, right?

[mehndi mama]

The diet page on www.blueribbonbaby.org stresses to a GREAT degree that you should never try to slow your weight gain by eating less than what your appetite dictates. Going any significant length of time without eating something nutritious can be damaging to the baby.

[HelloKitty]

Last time I think I used pregnancy as an excuse to pig out... : it was fun at the time but then I felt fat and gross pretty much right from the start. I would like to maintain a bit more self control this time

I've been on the South Beach Diet for the past few months and was in maintenance (stage 3) when I got pregnant. There is no restriction on calories or portion size - eat enough to feel full - it stresses good carbs versus bad carbs and good fats versus bad fats (brown rice and whole wheat pasta versus white, sweet potatoes versus white potatoes, that kind of thing). I was able to lose a good amount of weight and have been maintaining my ideal weight for about 3 months now. I think it's a perfect recipe for a healthy pregnancy so I'm glad I've already been use to eating that way and I'll just keep going with it through this pregnancy.

Kitty

[LianneM]

I'm going to play it by ear, I think. I'm starting out heavier than I'd like, but I'm not going to restrict anything because of that.

For right now, I will eat anything I feel like eating. I have absolutely NO appetite, and everything sounds awful to me. I can pretty much only get starches down right now, which gives me a great boost of energy, but doesn't last long. I just can't stomach much else.

Later, as my appetite comes back, I'll just concentrate on getting as much healthy stuff in as I can. I don't want to obsess over weight b/c I know it's something that could really bother me if I let it.

[firefly]

ohhhh, I feel so guilty after reading the above posts- I just ate two and a half pieces of peperroni pizza, a salad, and half a piece of chocolate cake for dinner.

I had this great idea that I would not gain as much weight this time as I did last. I gained 60 lbs last time. I was grossly underweight when I got pregnant so some of it I needed to gain. Well, this time around I am not underweight and do not want to gain 60lbs again.

The problem is I crave pizza, chesseburgers, choclate, ohhh and milk shakes. Inbetween these cravings I do eat whole wheat bread and pasta, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, beans, dairy and meat.

I'm still not sure how to have a healther diet without torturing myself.

[Periwinkle]

don't feel guilty.... go with your gut!

:

(baaaad pun, sorry)

[HelloKitty]

Originally Posted by firefly

ohhhh, I feel so guilty after reading the above posts- I just ate two and a half pieces of peperroni pizza, a salad, and half a piece of chocolate cake for dinner.

Don't feel guilty... I sounded all big and bad when I wrote that post (and I have really good intentions!) but I've been cheating on my rules left and right for the past few days! : I can't seem to help myself!

Kitty

[firefly]

Oh, I know you had the best of intentions; I also am striving to eat better.

I don't feel guilty anymore, I've been so sick with a migraine and nausea the last three days, that I wish I was craving pizza. Today is the first day I'm feeling human again.

I found a book at the library about eating for your blood type. I have never heard of this. Does anyone plan their meals according to their blood type? I don't know if I could do it, a lot of the meals sounded so disgusting, but they also seemed extremely healthy.

[mehndi mama]

There's an offshoot book of Eat Right 4 Your Type called Eat RIght 4 Your Baby or something like that - is that the one you were looking at?

Regardless, I'm not doing it. I read through some of it when our library got it in, and it sounded so much like a bunch of pseudo-science that I gave up. I'll stick with my Nourishing Traditions!

[TwinMom]

No way do I eat like the Eat Right for your Blood Type book. According to that I should be eating mostly meat instead of being a vegan. Ugh! :

[weesej]

Eating Well

I second the opinon that you should NOT be paying attnetion to the scale. Pregnant mommas should be eating lots of protien, veggies, fruit, drinking 2-3 quarts of water and using salt to taste. You will gain what you will as long is it is on good food it is what the baby needs. Trying to limit that is a recipe for trouble. Some women gain 40 lbs others just 20. Overall women should expect about 30lbs. Nearly every complication in pregnancy and birth can be linked to a lack of good nutrition. (Now this doesn't mean we need to ba anal, just eat good, have good foods in the house and don't try to limit our weight gain)

[ekblad9]

I weigh right now what I weighed when I had my third baby. Then I never lost it all after my fourth and never lost any of it after my fifth. I usually gain alot (like 60 lbs) which I can't gain this time! I think I would die. I had just started ww when I got pregnant and had done pretty well. I'm going to try to stick the pg weight watchers diet. I like the idea of not weighing yourself, though. I'm 5'6 and definately overweight. Anyway, I'm not going to obsess but I think I just need to eat healthier anyway.

[Periwinkle]

Just wanted to second what others were saying about being very healthy and aiming for health weight gain, because I think some people read my post and think I am advocating dieting???!!! No way. BUT... I ate a giant bowl of ice cream practically every day last time, totally pigged out trying to get lots of calories to my twins. I don't have to do that this time (I am almost 100% certain it's one baby this go round) and I am trying to ensure that I DO gain a healthy amount of weight - an amount appropriate for my build/history - which is around 20-30 lbs. If I gain more, I won't freak either. Just I don't take pregnancy as an excuse to undo all the great work re: nutrition and exercise I've done over the past 1+ years. Also, I get tons of carbs, just not from bread and pasta -- only coming from fruit, beans, nuts, and veggies. I think anyone doing Atkins induction during pregnancy (or BFing for that matter) is misinformed.