weight control during pregnancy - help and anyone in the same boat?!

[utopian99]

Hi, few stats - this is dc2, managed to stay bang in the middle of recommendation for weight gain with dc1, and was back in most old clothes within about 2/3 months although weight not back to original for about 6 months. I was an 8/10 top and 10 bottom before dc1, and again by the time dc2 was conceived, 5'6" but weight 10st (fairly muscular and did a lot of gym/running - very feminine! Ha.)

This time round I'm really struggling - 22 weeks and have had a really stressed couple of months which has stopped my filling in mfp (have done it as a check, rather than weight loss for the last 4 years, very helpful. ) Have just weighed myself and am 9lbs over recommended weight gain. I can't get to the gym as we've just moved and work still really busy so no time, don't know where I can go, plus looking after dc1 has basically stopped me doing a lot of the exercise I used to. Much of the gain is down to poor self control in terms of snacks - I'm not denying it.

Ideally I would like to lose the 9lbs and get back on track, but if not feasible for the baby, stop any further weight gain until this is within recommendation again.

I hope I'm not the only one, and know all the bumf about loving yourself as a baby making miracle etc but frankly that's not the point of this thread. Anyone care to join me, or should I go and moan elsewhere?

(Not posting in weight - loss as 99% there will not be pg too)

[ilovepowerhoop]

is there a recommended weight gain for each stage of pregnancy?? I dont think you have that much control over weight gain as most of it is extra fluids, placenta, baby, etc

A general rule of thumb is
if you are overweight aim for no more than 1 stone weight gain
if you are normal weight aim for around 2 stone weight gain
if you are underweight weight gain could be around 3 stones

I think you should stop worrying so much over 9lbs and just try to eat well and make good food choices.

[User54565644578]

Prob not what you want to hear, but weight loss in pregnancy (unless there's a medical reason) is a real 'no no' in my view. What are you looking at as the recommended gain? I understood from my pregnancies that there really wasn't one, as so much weight can be fluid retention. I know the US are quite hot on maternal weight gain but it was never mentioned by my midwife (I have a similar build to you and put on a lot in the last months of pg1, but most of it was swelling - yuck!)

I tried to think about optimum nutrition for the babies in terms of what I ate during my pregnancies, so any weight gain was in pursuit of making a healthy baby and making sure I wasn't too depleted by the pregnancies and ready for months of feeding.

Having said that, in pg2 I was more careful about things. If you want to slow the gain my advice would be to cut back on sugar (jam, sweets, cakes etc.) and other 'empty' carbs like crisps. They don't have a nutritional purpose apart from to deliver calories. Eat lots of full-fat dairy, oily fish, satisfying protein snacks like nuts. Cutting sugar made a huge difference to me.

Worth noting that once I finished BF DC2 I lost 1.5 stone in ten weeks with MFP with not much effort (running around after 2 didn't leave much time to eat!) Whatever you gain, you can shift it. Just enjoy your pregnancy

[utopian99]

Thanks - I am normal weight so aiming for 2 stone by 40 weeks, therefore 1st 9lbs by 22 weeks is why I'm worried.
A lot of the rubbish snacking I've been doing is exactly that - 'empty' carbs, so not helpful to the baby or me, just eaten because of tiredness. Will try to be more mindful. The stupid thing is sugary stuff actually makesme worse than meat and veg.

[ohthegoats]

Just cut back on the crap from now on in. Especially if you know that the crap is the problem!

[Heatherbell1978]

I was quite conscious about weight gain when I fell pregnant - size 8/10 normally, 5'5 and 9 stone. To be honest I feel like its been taken out of my hands! I've not eaten any more in this (first) pregnancy than normal and my diet is pretty healthy, I eat chocolate etc but not every day and don't binge. Kept as active as I can which means loads of walking and yoga. I'm 36 wks and put on 2 st 4 lbs now. I wanted to stay within 2 st too but I honestly think your body has it's own opinion on that! I'm not stressing cos I tend to lose weight easily so I'll worry about that afterwards. Sounds like you lost the weight quickly after dc1 so I round just hold into that thought and relax a bit. Cut out the crap if you think that's the main culprit though.

[BabyMarmoset]

I'd echo the above that you shouldn't aim to "lose" the xtra you've put on. Just try to be more healthy for the remainder of pg. The amount you've gained really isn't setting any world records - even if you do feel like it's more than you want.

Just watch your diet more now, and as you've a history of exercise think about whether you can add any back in (non gym stuff like running or yoga).

[ClaretAndBlue30]

I'm 30 weeks and have gained 2st 5lb - from a pre pregnancy weight of 10st and 5ft 7, good BMI.

I've endlessly worried about it and know a lot of it's down to the stone I gained in the first trimester, warding off sickness with stodgy food

I don't look massive by any means (I don't think!), and my measurements tend to stay the same which reassures me - baby must just be making bump weigh more and more....

If you are sensible after birth I strongly believe we'll all shift the weight!

[mrsnec]

Hi,

This is me a bit too. I lost 22kg with mfp before I got pg. I'm 30 weeks today and I've gained 10kg. My bmi was still a smidgen over before.

I had a bit of a love hate relationship with mfp though it triggered obsessive behaviour in me and my 'friends' on there got very competitive instead of motivational. When I gave it up before I got pg I didn't put on anything in a few months so I figured I'd cracked it.

I didn't want to worry about my weight in pg and I have been careful because I had a warning from one of the 3 doctors I've seen. One told me my weight was fine and the other didn't even mention it.

Having said all this after weighing myself today I'm in a position where I don't want to gain much more going by what the scales say and the guidelines for my weight bracket but I put on a normal size 12 dress the other day and it fits so that tells me I can't be that huge. I want to keep an eye on things without having to log it all though.

[ImBrian]

I've tried to be sensible and put on 9lb at 22 weeks but I'm hoping to try and keep it under my usual 21/2 to 3 stone weight gain. I've put on most of this in the past month and I know it's because I've been eating crap again.

I don't see why you can't do a healthy diet with no crap to try and keep your weight steady. That's what I'm going to do if I can develop some will power!

[schopenhauer]

I'm 19 weeks and have put on more than I wanted to - over 1stone . I have actually lost two pounds this week though with just cutting down on snacks and eating sensibly. I really don't think doing that can be a problem. Have also done a bit more exercise -just walking though. You definitely shouldn't go on any kind of crash diet - sure you know that - and don't try to cut out anything eg carbs, but cut out the snacking and eat healthily and you should be fine

[SlicedAndDiced]

I've only put on three pounds so far, 14 weeks gone.

BUT that us only because of the terrible sickness I've had....which is now wearing off. I fully expect to be the size of a small country

Well I'm going to try to aim for just a stone on, that's what I managed with dd last year. But I am already overweight so conscious of not going overboard.

[splendide]

I've put on 13lbs at 27 weeks. I really want to try to hold this gain for a bit now. Was overweight to start so this is too much really.

I really can't see how to keep steady without running the risk of losing some but I think for me that's probably OK. I'm eating ryvita and peanut butter for lunch, salad and fruit in the day and then a dinner with some protein, veg and carbs.

I put on 4lbs in two weeks which really frightened me.

[SlicedAndDiced]

Sorry that was meant to say, I've LOST three pounds so far

It would have been pretty easy sickness if I'd managed to put three on ha ha.

[mrsnec]

I'm wondering if the speed that you gain it at is more of a concern sometimes. Up to 15 weeks I didn't gain anything. But I had very severe sickness. The only things I could conrol my nausea with were sherbet lemons and full sugar coke things I never touched even 4 stone heavier! I was also living off cereal and sandwiches so I gained the first 5kg between weeks 15 and 20 and the next 5 kg between weeks 20 and 30 so I think I spiked my sugar which is what made the first doctor give me a lecture and as my nausea subsidised and I got my tastes back for slightly healthier food the gain got slower but I still think I don't want to gain much more although I know I will lose it again I'm just not sure how yet!

[Cariad007]

I put on about 10lb, 8.5 of which was baby but I had an uncomplicated pregnancy and was able to remain very active, exercising right up until the end and doing a lot of walking. I was careful with my diet too which probably helped. Don't get me wrong, I didn't eschew cake and chocolate but I had everything in moderation and I think it definitely helped as I was back in pre-pregnancy clothes within a fortnight.

[weeblueberry]

I'm going to be following this thread with interest.

I gained 3 stone in total when I was pregnant with DD. I've since only lost 14lbs so I'm still 2 stone heavier than when I got pregnant last time.

I'm now pregnant again but am utterly determined not to put another 3 stone on this time or else I'll be seriously and morbidly obese.

My thinking on this though is that if I'm very strict about eating properly (I'm planning to cut out refined sugar and as much sat fat as I can...) then I'm bound to just naturally lose weight aren't I?

[utopian99]

Heartening to hear schopenhauer! I have so far, spurred on by this thread, had no snacks at all today (normal breakfast/lunch.)
Don't worry I've got no plan to crash diet or do anything that feels dangerous like cut out food groups but definitely could cut back on some carbs/sugar combos and hopefully just by being sensible might get somewhere..

[mrsnec]

I'm not sure if cutting out snacking is wise to be honest. I'm doing a very lose version of what the doctor told me when she gave me my gd scare.

She said to eat wholegrain cereal for breakfast then a piece of fruit mid morning and that everything else you eat should basically just be meat or salad with one portion of brown rice per day and that I should eat something every 2 hours and can have one treat a week. I was stuck for things to drink too as I was finding artificial sweeteners difficult to cope with and with an aversion to tea and coffee it's not been easy so she said every day I can have one glass of diluted freshly squeezed orange juice but nothing from concentrate.

Since I also had aversions to most meat and salad this was difficult. So I'm doing a bit of the above but I am allowing myself a bit of bread but only at lunchtime and 2 snacks of fruit per day.

I was on a gd thread for a bit but they disagreed with a lot of what I'd been told. It sounded like in lots of other diets too the key here is protien. I'm also off yoghurt too which doesn't help but I do eat eggs and cheese.

[splendide]

mrsnec, are you losing weight eating like that? I feel as though I would!

[mrsnec]

No, strangely I'm just not gaining it as quickly as I was! I have realaxed it a bit. I stopped doing that doctor's diet after another doctor told me I was fine and the baby was measuring 1 day behind and that nobody should diet in pregnancy which confused me no end hence trying to find a happy medium.

Today has been a typical day,

I've had,
2 wheetabix
A peach and a pint of diluted oj
A BLT
A banana and a diet coke
A small jacket potato with ratatouille and some cheese.

And about 3 pints of water because it's been 37 degrees here today and the mini magnums in the freezer are calling me but I know I shouldn't.

In my head I just keep thinking at least I'm still at least 10kg off what I was at my biggest but as my pre og bmi was 26 I was still classified as overweight so if you go by those rules I have gained too but it should really be a sliding scale. 10 kg I think is a bit more than 1.5 stone. If I was to aim for no more than 2 stone that's not giving me much room for the last 10 weeks. I'm finding it difficult to excercise in the heat though but I do swim when I can.

[alliemarg]

Invest in a Fitbit - a little device you wear around your wrist which monitors your activity. It's great - you set it a goal, say to burn 2000 calories a day. And then you sync it to your phone and you can see how near you are (and basically when you need to get off your bum!). The best thing is you don't need to go nuts - walking to the shops or going for a little stroll in the day burns a surprising amount. You can see how active you are just going to work or running around the house.

[shypetal]

I am 27 weeks and have gained 22lb, to begin with the gain was slower but it has sped up. BP I was 10st7 and very active, lots of running and weight training. I was worried because my gain has tipped over the top end of the charts, but have realised that the reduction in my training levels will have an impact - I just swim 3xweek and cycle once. My DH pointed out that I am in much better shape than when I was carrying DD (put on 5st by week 41!), and have just decided to let my body do what it needs to as long as I am following a healthy diet and exercising. I am not a naturally skinny person and always had to work at staying in shape. Lost my weight in 6 mths after DD from bf, walking and eating right.

Btw, what does MFP stand for?

[Missus2ndwife]

I was overweight at conception, am now 26 weeks and have put on 3kgs/ half a stone. My consultant would like me to lose weight, start exercising and get my body stronger - so I have started swimming (twice this week & will try get another in). I feel she is right, but that's me.

Whilst I agree people shouldn't diet during pregnancy - I am overweight, so cutting out the sweets and going easy on the pasta shouldn't be a hardship. I have made some changes this week which I do think are manageable and am hoping this will make a difference.

It's good to see that I am not the only person who gets obsessive with MFP. Whilst it's triggering some things inside, I do feel it's good for me to write down what I am eating so I see where I am going wrong.

I think for those ladies who feel they are putting on a lot of weight when they've always been slimmer - it's natures way of balancing things out.

Unfortunately we are surrounded by images of people losing the baby weight 'immediately'. It shouldn't be an issue. We are creating life and everyone is different.

[mrsnec]

Mfp is my fitness pal ap. It helped me lose a lot but I got too involved with interacing with people on it. I made the mistake of making my diary public and got criticism whenever I went over on something. I also had people telling me they felt my pain when they were losing 5lb to get into a size 8 for vanity purposes whereas I was losing 5 stone to not be morbidly obese anymore and because it was causing my health and fertility problems. Totally different battles to me but not to them but the attitudes of those people hurt me.

I think I might either start it again with a private diary and no interaction or find another ap that's similar. Any ideas? I also found logging quite time consuming especially when my dh and I have a no tech in the evening rule.

I swim whenever I can and I love it!

I'm still not sure if I need to be worried or not though. I don't think there is much consistency amongst doctors. Today they told me my baby is spot on, my weight is ok and my average weekly gain is ok yet that's not what the charts online say. I met someone today who put on 5 stone in her pregnancy and nobody batted an eyelid!

[utopian99]

Ooh, will look up the fitbit!

I know people who say they put on 5 stone and lose it again and it's perfectly possible, but I've always thought it bbetter to have less to lose the other side..