Controlling my pregnancy weight gain

[user1467296110]

Hi All,

I'm sure i'm not the only person that is struggling or has struggled with this, but I am 17 weeks pregnant and I've found I'm putting much more weight on than everywhere says you should.. It's really difficult as I used to go to the gym regularly but have not had the energy to go until recently and I've been cautious about restricting what I'm eating. Does anyone have any tips? I've been shopping at www.farmdrop.co.uk for fresh fruit & vegetables which has really helped (now I don't solely crave beige food!), but wonder if anyone has managed to slow their weight gain down to a manageable rate!

Lx

It's very hard to differentiate between weight gain and baby weight gain. You have a baby, a placenta and another pint or so of blood in your system, so you are going to put on extra weight anyway.

Are you gauging your weight gain by the scales, or whether you feel like you've put on weight everywhere?

I started tracking what I was eating using My Fitness Pal. Not really restricting what I was eating, but it has made me more conscious of what I am eating, IFYSWIM.

I've tried to stick to 1800-1900 cals per day and that has really slowed down my gain. As my BMI was 26/27 to start with I was very conscious I couldn't afford to gain loads. I'm 25lbs up at 34 weeks so hoping that if I keep an eye on things it won't go over 2 stone by the end.

Some people will put weight on very quickly and then stabilise, others will still be microscopic at 20 weeks and balloon in the final 8 weeks. Everyone is different. What has your midwife said?

I'd suggest just trying to eat a normal healthy diet, the kind that medical professionals recommend. Recent scientific findings have also said that controlling your sugar intake is extremely good news for your baby's genetic propensity to obesity later so that [in my view] is a good tip. Not much fun if you are craving ice-cream though. Too much sugar is also linked to a higher birth weight which most people would prefer to avoid in their own self interest