Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

Weight gain in pregnancy - what helped you control it within healthy guidelines?

29 replies

Lizzer · 12/05/2007 13:47

Hi there,I hope someone can help me with this as its causing me great concern..... I'm v tall and 'broad' and usually weigh around 13 stone and don't look too bad for it.

Ok, so I crept up to 13.10 ish over the winter which wasn't great but was sure I'd get back down for summer (as is usually the case) Now I am pg, 10 weeks, and my weight is..... 14.6!!!! Already!!!! I am gutted. I went up to 17 stone with dd and struggled to catch my breath up stairs, it was awful and I really don't want to be that big again, its just not healthy and puts a strain on my body, my back is hurting already...It took a long time to get off and I was much younger then...

So I'd like to know what you did to manage your weight if you went through a similar thing, did you make a concerted effort to control your eating? Is there any guidelines or a plan you can follow to get the right levels of nutrients for baby without piling it on yourself? Is anyone going through this too?!

I feel like I'm eating differently, lots more milk and bread but the morning sickness makes it hard to overeat. What sort of exercise did you do? (I'm trying to walk and swim but feel so tired it sometimes slips, plus I'm working and on my feet for 5 days a week)

Any advice greatly received

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
ledodgy · 12/05/2007 13:49

I'm 6 weeks pregnant and have been doing Slimming world since August and I can still do slimming world whilst pregnant in fact i've lost 5 1/2 pounds since i've been pregnant. The plan is healthy and it will hep you (and me) just put the right amount of weight on for baby placenta etc without piling on the extra pounds.

Original poster
Lizzer · 12/05/2007 13:56

Is this the red/ green days thing ledodge?

OP posts:
ledodgy · 12/05/2007 13:57

Yes I do all green though you can still eat meat as a healthy extra as well as lots of carbs like pasta, rice, veg etc. You can stay on the diet throughout pregnancy and then when you breast feed you just need to increase your healthy extras.

Original poster
Lizzer · 12/05/2007 14:01

Wow I'm at your loss, its not as if I'll ever be compromising the baby's growth because I have so much extra weight to start with. Can you buy the plan without going to the meetings because I really can't be doing with them...?

OP posts:
ledodgy · 12/05/2007 14:03

You can go to slimmingworld.co.uk and join there I think. I am in a group and it really is fab and cheaper than doing it online you could even go just once to get all the stuff then follow it on your own this way you'd only pay £4.50. It tells you on the website where your nearest group is. i've been doing it since August and have lost nearly 4 stone. There's also a support thread on here you cna join once you start.

Original poster
Lizzer · 12/05/2007 14:13

No way, 4 stone! I'm just put off the group thing cos I went to ww twice and I felt so pressured to buy their crappy choc bars and biscuits (which I don't eat a lot of anyway) and the woman was sooooooo patronising, it really was like Little Britain! And it did seem to be one big sales pitch. I like the idea of having a structure though as I'm so useless at choosing food at the mo it would help to have boundries... Right then, thanks ledodgy, 'm going to investigate website

OP posts:
ledodgy · 12/05/2007 14:16

Oh God it's not at all like WW no pressure to buy anything honestly! We have a laugh at our group i've done ww before and hated the groups and the diet for the same reasons as you.

Original poster
Lizzer · 12/05/2007 14:23

boo, can't join online cos I'm pregnant but there was advice. guess I'm just going to have to keep to the healthy things and keep off the bagels The diet looks good though, I like the idea of unlimited foods.

OP posts:
ledodgy · 12/05/2007 14:27

the starter packs are on ebay that is all you need! {

Original poster
Lizzer · 12/05/2007 20:14

Well I never! Thanks LeD!!

OP posts:
aviatrix · 12/05/2007 20:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

RGPargy · 12/05/2007 23:05

I have no idea how, but i've only gained 3lbs since i found out i was pg (i'm 11+4). I should point out however that this 3lbs is purely my boob weight as they seem to have doubled in size lol.

Before i was pg i was following a low carb diet, i.e. cutting out pasta, rice, bread and spuds and just using alternatives instead. had much more energy and got down to my mini-goal after losing 17lbs. It's very healthy way to eat and so very not "unhealthy" like so many people think, purely because they haven't done the research into what you can actually eat!

RGPargy · 12/05/2007 23:06

Oh and i forgot to say that i am totally not low-carbing at the mo

Which is why i cannot believe i've only put on 3lbs!

ELF1981 · 12/05/2007 23:08

I lost weight when pregnant with dd but only due to terrible morning sickness

I somehow put it all on AFTERWARDS - so much for b/f helping shift the weight!

Good luck with your pregnancy

Original poster
Lizzer · 13/05/2007 23:35

Thanks for your msgs guys, I weighed myself today and haven't put on as much as I thought, phew....

Yeah RGPargy, my boobs could be a 3lbs gain too LOL! I like the idea of the GI diet, and I obviously know that stuffing myself to the point of nausea everyday is NOT the way forward. Hopefully I can incorporate some of the slimming world stuff and eat well for my growing baby without going OTT

I did lose weight fairly quickly whilst b/feeding but then when dd started weaning I stopped losing the weight. I'm going to overload this baby with milk this time and express enough to feed quadtuplets

Thanks again for your relies

OP posts:
MrsMar · 14/05/2007 11:36

Lizzer - glad to hear your weight gain isn't as bad as you thought, mine goes up and down like a yoyo! A lot is down to water retention so don't panic if you weigh yourself once and it's a bit high. Keep a regular eye on it, weigh yourself at the same time once a week.

I'm a bit like you, I started this pregnancy at 13st10 (I'm quite tall, 5'10") so although it's overweight it's not unmanageable. I was terribly worried about weight gain, but found it absolutely impossible to control my hunger during the first few weeks. I had terrible nausea for the first 14 weeks which was only helped by eating starchy foods, so much for low carbs! I found it pretty hard to exercise in the early weeks, I swam a bit, did lots of long walks (10K) despite the exhaustion. I had a skiing holiday booked for when I was 15 weeks so I was really worried that I would be too unfit to ski, but it was ok as it turns out.

To my unimagineable surprise I haven't actually put on more than the recommended guidelines so far despite eating like a pig!! I'm currently 21+5 and I've put on just under a stone. My eating has gone back to normal now, and I'm even starting to find I can't finish a meal now as I'm running out of room in there! I guess things even out a bit in the end. I did read somewhere (probably on here) that if you're overweight at the start of a pregnancy you'll tend to put on less weight that those that are underweight or normal weight during your pregnancy. I don't know if it's true, but I've been pleasantly surprised, esp as a doctor once said to me I'd have to watch my weight like a hawk, because I really put on weight when I was on the pill.

Good luck with whatever route you decided to follow!

RGPargy · 14/05/2007 12:54

Just thought i would report in as I weighed myself today and i'm now back to my pre-pg weight lol.

I think it's because i've not got over that ravenous stage and even just looking at food now makes me feel full up. Nooooooo!!!

birdseed · 14/05/2007 15:58

lizzer, If you are looking to express lots of milk when breast feeding, you could look into whether your hospital has a breast milk bank. Don't know huge amounts about them, but I know they exist and think that they use the milk to feed some sick/very early babies.
might be worth looking into, as could be beneficial both ways.

Make sure you drink enough fluids though!

Nightynight · 14/05/2007 16:08

I actually lost weight with dd2, due to healthier lifestyle.
I ate what I wanted, but healthy, low fat sort of stuff, and took lots of exercise.

How very unfair to put on loads of weight and have morning sickness too

Original poster
Lizzer · 14/05/2007 21:19

Thanks again for your msgs, they're all so encouraging! MrsMar, that's exactly the same height/weight of me when I started this pg. Its reassuring to know you can keep a healthy ratio as I'm a giant weight gain person on the pill aswell! Amazed you were on the piste too I do a lot of walking but have dropped it recently - must try harder. At least I don't feel like its such a mission impossible now... I must get my swimming head back on also....

Right girls its health, health, health from now on (ooo why is dp eating french fries to my immediate left!! I had new pots and salmon though [saintly emoticon] )

OP posts:
Wintersun · 14/05/2007 22:11

Hi Lizzer.
I want to ditch the junk too and start being healthier - good diet and more exercise.
Maybe we could encourage each other? (kick up the backside?!)

Original poster
Lizzer · 15/05/2007 12:53

Hi wintersun, yes sounds good (sitting here smug after a rocket and egg salad with oatcakes for lunch) [saintly emoticon]

OP posts:
MrsMar · 15/05/2007 16:20

Hi Lizzer, don't beat yourself up about exercise, I've just spent the afternoon on the sofa dozing because I felt soooo tired, I must be going through a growth spurt! There are some days you just can't do it, so you shouldn't feel too bad. My other top tip, I don't drink anything but water now, no juices, no fizzy drinks (the occasional cuppa with no sugar) and I save loads of cals that way, because I'm a thirsty girl who can down a carton of fruit juice in one sitting!

Original poster
Lizzer · 15/05/2007 17:06

Mrs Mar, yeah good plan - I'm going shopping now so going to stock up on a lovely Evian as a treat - seeing as I'm saving a fortune on wine!

OP posts:
beckmo · 15/05/2007 18:26

As for excersise I found making myself leave the house for a walk everyday has helped and made myself feel better too. It feels like enough excercise to do a 3/4 hour walk a day and the weight hasn't piled on.When I was still working I changed the tube station I used to one further away which forced me to walk more. I'll be getting a pedometer once I've had the bambino (due in 3 weeks) and doing 10,000 steps a day with the pram to lose any weight I've put on.