Gained too much weight - only at 22 weeks

[felabela]

Hi All,

This is my second pregnancy. I am only at 22 weeks and have gained too much weight. I didn't have this problem in the first pregnancy. My doctor has said that I need to slow down but I am finding it extremely difficult. I am hungry all the time, as if I have a big hole in my stomach. I am worried and desperate because I don't want to become overweight and have problems after the pregnancy. It is making me depressed.

I would be grateful for any advice.

Thanks

Hi Felabela,

I've got 1DS and despite being super fit/healthy I got massive during my pregnancy! I had the same where I was either starving or had morning sickness and the only way to get through it was to graze. I put on about 4 stone and I'm not going to lie...it was tough to lose and a shock as I was naive to think it would all 'drop off' once I got back exercising. In then end it took me about 9 months to loose most of it but I'm still not back to my old dress size or shape and im now 5 weeks pregnancy with #2! It got me really down first time and I feel anxious about it this time around. My advice (this is my new mantra too) is to try and make healthy snack choices and I'm trying to exercise as much as possible. For me walking didn't cut it first time so I'm going to try and keep running and swimming front crawl for as long as possible. Could you try 4 smaller healthy meals a day rather than 3? Can you find time to do some exercise? Good luck!

I gained 5 stone in my first pregnancy. I was lucky as I lost it all and a little bit more without trying at all within 8 months. This pregnancy I have only gained 2 stone and am ready to pop, but I can't say I have done anything differently. I think each pregnancy your body reacts differently. You may find the gain slows down a little now too. I certainly can't eat so much since baby got so big as I just don't have the room. Your midwife might be able to point you in the direction of some help if you or they are worried? When I advised I was concerned early days this time due to my weight last time it was mentioned there might be someone who deals in nutrition i could speak to.
All the best, every pregnancy is different

Try and do more exercise - going for long walks (always carry plenty of water with you though), or pregnancy workouts or whatever low impact, pregnancy suitable stuff you can find on youtube. When you start burning fat, your hunger goes for a while as your body has another source of fuel.

I guess the only other thing would be to eat small meals at regular intervals, but only eat very healthy foods, with no junk.

You might have to put up with feeling slightly hungry most of the time, but you shouldn't be ravenous.

It could also be that you have just put on most of your weight at the beginning of the pregnancy, and it will slow down from now.

Sometimes people put on a lot of weight, but it's clear that it's almost entirely with "the bump" and they haven't gained much weight in other areas. I think if that's the case, then you should be okay. But if you are putting on weight everywhere, then that's a problem.

Really, people here can only advise on what worked for them or what worked for their friends. Could you speak to your doctor or midwife and ask them to help you come up with an eating plan?

Try Slimming World, it is very safe to do throughout pregnancy and you can eat TONS - totally unrestricted amounts of certain food, whilst monitoring others.
I'm a real convert

what helped me with the hunger attack as actually .... 1. eating plain boring rice cakes - they filled me up and had next to no calories, 2. eating a tic tac when hungry. for me that took the hunger away too. and 3. drinking loads with 1 so that the stomack would feel full quicker.

It's so hard as Ive felt ravenous at various stages and only wanted unhealthy food!

1. Try not to be idle because, for me, that was when I started to nibble.
2. Herbal teas are a good distraction
3. Instead of soft drinks, squeeze a lemon or lime into sparkling water.
4. I was obsessed with crisps, choc, soft drinks and sweets. I said to myself you can only have one of them daily (choc).Dark choc is better as less sugary and hard to over eat.
5. Pudding is only allowed twice a week and small helpings!!!
6. Snack on things like cheese, nuts, hard boiled eggs, cold meats, raw veg, hummus etc if poss (hard when you feel sick)

Just seen this after posting something similar. Missed it before. Have no advice myself as am very glutinous at present. Thanks for others advice.

Dear All, Thanks for the advice. I was quite sick for the first 3 months and a half and was in bed for most of it, I could only eat white bread or crisps, everything else turned into a sickly taste in my mouth and would make me vomit. It is only now that I have started to eat fruit and vegetables again. I will def buy nuts and herbal teas. I already drink a lot of water because I am thirsty all the time. Now that I am a bit more active again I hope that will stop me from eating so much. Walking for exercise is not really an option, as I have started having some painful hip problems, I even had to stop yoga!