Keeping a Healthy Weight!

[Millie Ivy]

Well, I am sure this is a goal for all of us, so how about we have a thread to talk about the food, exercise, and general stuff about keeping fit during this time?

My story--
I was 19 when I got married and pregnant with my ex. It was awful from day one (The marriage, I was pretty durn happy being pregnant!!!) And that, coupled with the fact that I have always had overeating issues, left me going from about 140 at 5'3'' to 190 after my first preg. (I really always have eaten very healthy foods, grew up a crunchy, granola hippie, just ate TOO MUCH and didn't work out consistantly)
Got preg with ds at 6 mo PP weighing 185. Decided I didn't want to be 240 after this, so I started walking again, eating way more fruits and veggies instead of sugary, higher fat stuff and generally was more careful. I got down to 173 ish during 1st tri, and peaked at 206 at ds birth. I was 190 1 month pp. (I love all the weight and health stats, so bear with me.
When I was 5 months preg with ds, btw, left my ex, went through a divorce and moved home to my awesome family!

When Riley turned one, I had reached 120-125, ( I lifted weights, counted calories, walked, and generally became a fitness addict...)and kept it off until meeting dh last year, it's creeped up to 135, but that's ok.

From not drinking a beer every night : and drinking copious amounts of water I actually have hovered around 132-134 right now.

So short story longer.... While I am not going to be a slve to the scale, an healthy pregnancy it top priority, I would like to not be a size 18 ever again! I would actually not like to be a 12 ever again either. I am hoping to not gain more than 25-30 lbs.

I plan on keeping my walking, and some weights, and my yoga practice up and consistant, drinking plenty of water. Ignoring any person that tells me "go ahead! You are eating for two!!!" because unless my nb babe will weigh fifty lbs I don't need 2000 extra calories a day!

Who's with me?

[koofie]

I am!

My problem is that I am at the weight I wanted to be at 9 mo pg, so I will be trying to eat better and not lose or gain weight. DH will be trying to lose weight, so hopefully that will help. luckily, I usually eat really healthy, just too much!

[MoMommy]

I'm not too worried about the weight, but I am really going to try hard to exercise. Even something like taking DD out for a walk every day would be great, I think. In addition to being good for me, I'm hoping it might make my pregnancy (and maybe the birth) easier.

Has anyone ever taken a prenatal water aerobics class or something similar? I've always thought those sounded kind of soothing.

[mother_sunshine]

I am too.

I ate very healthy and swam through my last pregnancy (10 years ago) so I felt wonderful and fully loved being pregnant. Except for the 1st trimester I was so sick I lost 15lbs. But from tri2-on it was wonderful.

I want to make the same choices this time. I'm off to a good start. I just lost 17+lbs on a healthy diet and I'm eating better than I ever have. I just need to keep it up and start swimming daily again. Swimming is my sanctity while pregnant. It's the most wonderful feeling of weightlessness and serenity. I recommend it to all pregnant mamas.

When I was pregnant last March-May I made a huge mistake and ate everything I wanted (lots of fast food ), and I paid for it. I won't be doing that again.

[Millie Ivy]

It's not really the temporary weight gain that is a problem for me, it's the unhealthiness that led to it, you know? And even though with my homebirthed son, the birth was awesome, I had high blood pressure and just wasn't as healthy as if I was at a better weight.

Today I napped for about 30-45 minutes or so. Had a really hard time getting to and staying asleep, even though I could barely keep my eyes open. Go figure. I hope the sleeping gets easier, I never really had this with my last two, I don't think.

[Millie Ivy]

Ate ok yesterday. I have had an insane craving for Rosemary Olive oil Triscuit, which isn't so bad, but I am trying to keep my sodium down, and I probably had too much yesterday.
But lots of little snackie/meals and my nausea wasn't too bad. I had indigestion/gas really bad last night, but I am better now.

Slept in until 6.45!!!!! And dh bought me a mountain bike yesterday so I am going to start getting out on that soon too.

[Truvie]

Weight gain is a huge issue for me with this pregnancy. Over the past year, I've lost 70 lbs. I planned to lose 30 more and then consult with my specialist (I developed a rare medical condition last year), before deciding whether to have baby #3. We were being really careful, so finding out that I'm pregnant was quite a shock!

My midwife has given me the okay to stay on my current diet (which is vegan; I eat tons of veggies, fruit, beans, and nuts every day) for the time being; I'm meeting with her in a couple weeks to review what I'm eating. I plan to lose some weight during the first trimester, and then gain only about 15. I feel a little guilty about wanting to lose weight during pregnancy, but I could have some serious lifelong vision problems otherwise. Also, since switching to this vegan diet, I've been losing about 3 lbs/week and my milk supply has gone way up at the same time -- so I think my body is getting everything it needs.

[Millie Ivy]

While I believe, obviously, that one shouldn't do drastic purging type diets during pregnancy- I don't there is anything wrong with a little healthy weightloss during the first tri if you are overweight to begin with. So many pregnancy "problems" I had and have seen in others is related to being overweight. It's not good for heart, it's not good for circulation. If you are eating enough and exercising and you lose a little body weight during first tri, good for you/good for babe!

That's what happened in the first tri with my ds. I felt great, too!

[grapejuicemama]

This is a great thread!

I don't mind the actual weight gain too much. I gained about 30-35 lbs with each of my pregnancies and lost it within a year. (yay breastfeeding!)

What I don't like is just that sluggish, icky beached whale feeling.

This time around, I'm going to keep running and going to a body buff class at the gym. I run about 20-25 mpw and I want to keep running for as long as I can, even if at the end it's only 10 miles per week or something. I ran my first 10 miler yesterday, the day after finding out I was pg. I won't go over the ten mile mark now, though. I'll probably swim too, once I get a little bigger and definitely if I can't run for as long as I want. I'll also keep rock climbing, which will keep me strong, though I'll climb easier stuff and probably move into the gym or my garage for that too. I don't think copious amounts of adreniline could be good for Peanut!

I eat decently. My vice is a DQ Burger every few weeks or something. And chocolate, but other than that, I'm ok. Not drinking alcohol will make a difference too. Already, I have a major aversion to alcohol. I was making beer batter onion rings last night and was gagging while stirring the batter.

All said, if I gain 40 pounds, I don't care, as long as I still feel good. The scale deceives.

Bella-have you ever made rosemary bread? I like to make rosemary cheese bread. Less sodium and kills the craving! Sometimes I sub lavendar for rosemary. I basically just take a regular bread recipe and add rosemary/lavendar and cheese to it.

[honestmomma]

This is the thread for me!

Last pregnancy, I gained 65+ lbs. It was bad. I had been training for a marathon when I got pregnant. Instead of being smart and maintaining my healthy habits, I listened to my medpro and stopped running. Looking back, I gained 6 lbs in the first two weeks after I found out. This time, I've lost 1.5. What a different three years makes, eh?

I'm not trying to lose weight. I'm eating lots of little meals. Nausea is kicking my butt. Walking every morning. Since I'm trying for an HBAC, I know I have to be as healthy as I can.

Anyone else following the Brewer Diet?

[CarolynnMarilynn]

With both my previous pregnancies I gained around 40-45 lbs, and lost it all within a few months. unfortunately, breastfeeding gave me the biggest appetite, and I gained a good amount of it back. After my son I gained about 20 pounds more than my pre-preg weight, and after my dd I gained about 30 more. After a really stressful 18 months when they were older I gained 20 more, 10 of which I have lost. So, I am starting this pregnancy 60 (!) pounds more than I started my first. Of course, I was 25 then, and really watched my weight. This time my goal is to gain 20-25 pounds and really fight off the screaming hunger that comes with breastfeeding. I am seeing a naturopath now and so she may be able to help me. I also make an overabundance of breastmilk -- it was a real problem after both babies. I wonder if the hunger and milk production are connected?

My strategy for weight stability is to say no to the cravings, like for ice cream, and other stuff, and do get some exercise in when I can.

[grapejuicemama]

I went to my body buff class last night. It's an hour of some intense stuff. Targeting all the muscles in your body. Usually, I'm so sore the day after, but yesterday was an easy class, so I'm not.

I was supposed to get up at 4:40 to run, but after my alarm went off, I decided I'm going to start running in the evenings again instead. I'm tired enough without losing two hours of sleep!

This morning, I decided to do yoga. I only made it through the sun salutations before I got bored. Now, my yoga video is playing and I'm just watching. Does that count?: I'll do some deep breathing.

These darn cramps just won't go away and they're making me want to be a slacker. Really, who wants to work out when they've got major cramps? And they don't go away with exercise like menstrual cramps. I'll just take it easy, I s'pose.

As far as diet goes.......I did eat a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner, but I also had some Flips (chocolate covered pretzels) and a Drumstick ice cream cone. MMMmmm........drumstick........

[Millie Ivy]

Well, I am counting the 2/3 of a mile I walked on Sunday to look at a bike at a garage sale as working out.

Nothing yesterday except for cleaning all day. And um, three pullups.

So I need to do something. I might take the kids to moms house so I can just walk on her treadmill. If not I will definitely be able to tomorrow afternoon, when the kids are at ex's house.

Eating pretty good still, no weight gain yet! Still down a couple lbs. actually.

[mother_sunshine]

I swam for 20 minutes last night. It felt soooo good. I've been really irritable at night and this helped calm me a lot. My midwife said to not do anything that overheats my body (running, any kind of strenuous exercise, hot tub, etc.) so swimming is perfect.

[Lila]

visiting from Nov ddc

Babe, I commend you for going out in this heat to excercise. I can't handle it. I have put on way too much weight. Well, technically not. I'm 23 weeks and I've gained 10 lbs, but I was 25-30 lbs overweight to begin with. I am sitting in this computer chair grabbing handfulls of flesh on each hip, and desperately wishing I could go out and walk. I don't know how you handle it. In spite of eating healthfully, I also eat abundantly. I guess I need to cut that out.

[grapejuicemama]

Got in a nice four mile run last night at about 9 pm. I had to go so late because I was at a vaccination information meeting that my midwife put on and you know what happens when you get a bunch of pregnant and new moms together, we can't stop talking!

It was only about 70, so that was nice, but I was really tired and had a stitch under my ribs the entire way. I ended up running it two minutes slower than usual, but oh well.

I missed breakfast, though, and had Taco Time for brunch. Now, I'm stuffed and feel icky, but at least I'm not starving anymore.

I've got Body Buff tonight, so I'm looking forward to/dreading that! My SIL and I nicknamed it boot camp!

[praying_4_3rd_at36]

i'm wondering what's safe for me to do besides walking-- i was on a pretty regular wkout routine before i found my lump and then went into a depressed self-pity funk-- i normally would do about 4/5 days cardio and 3 days a week strength training-- i don't want to pull anything out it's proper place there- know what i mean-- i'm still overweight even after losing 50 pds this last year-- i gained close to a hundred pds with my 9 yr old and would yo yo-- i only gained about 40 with my 2nd so my weight started out at 233 before starting to lose it last year-- since Jan i've been going up and down 10 pds or so-- long story short i'm starting out at a whopping 189-- i def. never wanted to see 200's again-- i'm not so confident in myself to get it back off again-- i really had to work hard--

Bella, ?? are those the only things you did to drop weight in first trimester-- i wasn't sure if it was safe to lose any but being i'm only 5'3" i am seriously overweight starting out-- any suggestions would be great-- thanks for all the support here!!

[grapejuicemama]

Hi mamas!

Christy-maybe you should talk to your care provider? It seems like some gentle weights and cardio would be ok, if you were doing it before. Maybe just listed to your body?

I got in a steady 4 miles last night. Felt way better than Tuesday's run and my time was back to normal, not that that matters too much anymore. Today is a rest day and then 3 tomorrow, hopefully 10 on Sunday.

My eating habits could be better, though! I've had food from the fair for lunch for two days and I just finished some mozzarella sticks and a cream drink. I'm looking forward to my drumstick ice cream cone tonight, if there are any left. :

[Christi2705]

I'm with you! I gained 45 lbs with dd and just got it off ~ 6 months ago. I vow to eat healthier and continue exercising!

[annettemarie]

I'm with you all! I have 75 extra pounds on me and I do NOT need anymore. Luckily (???? HA!) I tend to be very pukey and lose weight during pregnancy. I mostly want to focus on exercising and eating healthy foods.