Overweight and pregnant

[Memsahib]

Just found out I am expecting and am a hefty size 20 and 15 stone - about 4 stone overweight.
Not sure whether I should be dieting or just trying to stay the same size...

any suggestions?

Hi Memsahib,

I am currently worrying about weight gain in pregnancy and found this tool which helps you to estimate how much weight you should be gaining dependant on your pre-baby weight and height.

weight gain calculator

AFAIK if you are medically judged as 'overweight' when you get pregnant, you should aim to put on less weight than someone who is within the 'normal' range. Equally, if you are underweight, you should aim to put on more than the average. I don't think dieting per se is what would be recommended, but if you're worried, you could try talking to your midwife about it - she may be able to put you in touch with a nutritionist or give you some guidance on your diet.

Hope this helps & massive congrats by the way.

Your midwife will advise. My SIL was several sizes bigger than you and was advised on her diet, I think ideally they would have liked her not to put on on any weight.
The most important thing is probably that you eat a healthy diet for babies development and to try and avoid gestational diabetes.

No, don't diet, just eat as healthily as you can. I am bigger than you and have not gained any weight in my pgs- not through trying but just how it's gone. I think your body knows what it needs.

You can't not put any weight at all on though. Not unless you are actually losing weight and so it balances out, but you can't really diet as such. You need the energy. And it affects you more when you are larger if you start making massive cuts, so you just have to try and eat more healthily :)

Hi. I weighed the same as you when I got pregnant (having lost a couple of stone over the previous year ). I had quite bad nausea, but not hyperemesis, in the first trimester and lost over a stone. I'm now 33 weeks and have started to put on some weight, but am still about half a stone lighter than when I got pregnant. All along MW and consultants have been ok with my weight and with my weight loss, and there's been no talk of any need for any special considerations at labour. I did have GTT at 20-something weeks but don't have gestational diabetes.

I didn't set out to lose weight and my nausea wasn't terrible. I guess something about being pregnant (hormones?) triggered some weight loss. I do have PCOS so it may be that something hormonal shifted there with pregnancy but who knows.

I guess what I'm really saying is that my weight hasn't been an issue through pregnancy putting on weight isn't inevitable.

Congratulations and good luck!

Should have read: AND putting on weight isn't inevitable.