To think I can improve my bmi whilst pregnant?

[mameulah]

And if you have improved your general fitness and figure whilst pregnant then can you please motivate me by telling me how?

This is my third pregnancy so obviously I know that, all going well, I am going to get huge. But I also figure that if I exercise and eat well then my overweight bits might decrease a bit? Perhaps?

I got gestational diabetes so I had to really watch my food (not so much calorie counting as eating no sugars/carby rubbish and spreading it very carefully over 5 small meals a day) and had to go for a brisk walk immediately after each meal to help with my sugar levels. I gained a faiy small amount of weight and was below my prepregnancy weight by 2 weeks after the birth.

Actually I think the main benefit of all that walking was I stayed really mobile and comfy all the way through and - although this might not be connected - had a very easy and fast recovery. I had to have a c section and was pretty nervous but felt fine after - checked myself out of hospital after 2 days and felt pretty much normal after 10 or so.

I ate really healthily when preg as I wanted baby to be fed well! I was overweight but didn't put much weight on for ages and it was all bump. I put on about twenty pounds in the end. After birth I was a stone lighter and within two weeks breast feeding had got rid if the rest. I didn't improve my bmi but I stopped it getting worse and now I can concentrate on getting rid of the rest that I had pre preg!
Btw I did continue with exercise but very gently and stopped completely at 28 weeks because I was tired by then. I did work up to forty weeks tho so that kept me moving.
Be sensible and healthy!

I followed SW when pg with DS1 and continued to lose weight until I started being hospitalised frequently for pre-eclampsia (hospital food did not help!).

With BFing I was back to pre-pg weight (healthy BMI) quite quickly. Same with DS2.

Follow SW - it's approved for pg women :)

I found it quite tough... had slimmed down to healthy BMI pre TTC. For the first 16 weeks or so weight stayed exactly the same - although meat/vegetables made me feel really nauseated I was mostly eating carbs but having at least 1 (usually 3 bouts of multiple vomits a day).

Then once the vomitting stopped the weight started creeping up & total gain by the time I gave birth (at 37/40!) was about (stopped weighing myself!) 60lbs/just over 4 stone. I didn't want to feel like I was 'dieting' but probably became less active, especially as I seemed really quite swollen - cankles, bilateral carpal tunnel & high levels of amniotic fluid.
Sort of fitting with this within days of having a 7lb baby I'd dropped 40lb total!

So just having 20lb/1.5stone less wouldn't have been too bad... but then managed to gain another stone - doh. Which I think was mostly due to reduced activity (sitting on sofa trying to BF sleepy newborn & being apprehensive about going out as too much screaming) & comfort food one handed as I was ravenous! Very envious of my SIL who needs to gorge on chocolate while BF-ing or she 'loses too much weight'! Since baby has started weaning/settled on a combi feeding ratio I've started dieting again.

Now thoughts are turning to TTC #2 (& possibility of a 5 week longer gestation being possible!) thoughts are:

• Get to well within healthy BMI before TTC - dieting easier without worrying about foetus.

• Weigh self regularly & try not to start carb overloading even if vomitting - not sure how to manage this one.

• Weigh weekly once vomitting stops to keep self in check. If I seem to be fluid retaining again then probably 'allow' about a 40lb gain max.

• With newborn try to be active (toddler might help with that) & think the supposed -500 calories/day BF uses up does not apply to me & so try to keep eating in check!