Is it possible to get healthier and lose fat weight during pregnancy

[CouldBeAGreatMum]

I'm just 12 weeks and have had a horrible first trimester, mainly due to a flu lurgy I got at 6 weeks and then only recovered from just before Christmas. I was in bed or lying on the sofa for a couple of weeks and then lacking in energy and I stopped my usual exercise and swimming altogether. Because of this I feel deeply unhealthy and have also gained weight (actual fat weight rather than baby).

In my normal pre-pregnancy life I ate incredibly super healthily (no refined carbs, processed foods, sugar or junk) lovely fresh Mediterranean food, water, and exercised daily - but the nausea followed by flu in first trimester meant I have completely changed! . I started off super healthy for the first few weeks but then I just couldn't stomach fresh vegetables, salad or fish (my usual staples) and the only thing I could keep down were carbs like toast. Then with the cold & flu I drank a ton of ribena as I had a horrible throat and couldn't take anything for it. Finally at Christmas I felt better but my body had got used to all the sugar and carbs and so I've had two weeks of chocolates, cakes, and salty snacks. I haven't done any exercise apart from a couple of walks.

Is it going to be possible to get healthy again on the new year at the start of my 2nd trimester? Could I lose the fat weight or is this unrealistic? I expected to gain normal baby weight but felt sure I'd stay healthy on my diet and exercise and feel awful this hasn't happened as I wanted.

Following op as I'm the same was super healthy before all I've ate is Carbs and sugar I'm now 26 weeks really need to stop this or I will have a huge challenge after baby's born to lose it.

You can definitely exercise and eat healthy again when you get the OK to do so in the second trimester - especially if you were active before.

They don't recommend taking up NEW exercise - but totally healthy and encouraged to continue being active with normal previous routines.

I think they say the baby only requires like an extra 200 calories max a day to non-pregnant women so there's really no need to change diet.

I was a serial dieter before falling pregnant, and up until 6 weeks I was eating how I always have. Then the nausea hit, and the thought of vegetables was horrific (I'm 10 weeks now)

Luckily, I am completely off anything sweet, but I had a week where I couldn't eat anything but plates of pasta. Mortifying.
Now I'm eating fry ups every morning, albeit healthy fry ups.

I'm averaging about 1600-1700 calories a day, which is a few hundred calories more than I would normally eat but I've lost half a stone since week 6.

I'm extremely cautious about weight gain in this pregnancy, I would like to gain as little as possible. I don't think it would be healthy for me to gain 2-3 stone. I've done heaps of research and believe that watching my weight and food intake is the best thing for baby and me.

I'm really hoping in the second trimester I can be more active and improve my diet (veggies, fruit, fish etc)

You can definitely exercise - I am in my second trimester now and have been going to the gym at least twice a week since entering this trimester as I physically couldn't do anything in the first due to being so tired all the time! I wouldn't recommend doing any new exercises though but stick to what you know. I would also recommend going out for walks as well. I'm Good luck :) x

I'm confused - what's the difference between gaining fat weight and baby weight? Baby weight is your body laying down extra fat and is perfectly natural, normal and healthy.

Unless you've got a big weight problem I really wouldn't be thinking about your weight / figure during pregnancy. I put on 3 stone (first stone on by 10 weeks!) in my pregnancy and I promise you by 6 months postpartum I was back down to 9 stone without trying.

Talk to your midwife is my best advice.

I’ve been rubbish in my first trimester too (currently 10 weeks) - so sick and exhausted all the time I haven’t managed to exercise beyond walking the dog and can only keep down bread! I’ve only gained 4lb though, so constant morning sickness is good for something 🙄
Hoping to get back to normal next trimester when the fatigue and nausea wears off 🤞🏻

P.s. various sonograohers and experienced midwives confirmed my 3 stone weight gain was completely healthy and normal and everyone basically said the opposite of what you've been researching.

Sorry op ignore my last comment! I'm sleep deprived!

It is possible. My best friend started slimming world as soon as her morning sickness subsided and she could eat a range of foods again. She maintained her weight from a certain period onwards even as she grew bigger from her pregnancy.

I managed to loose about 1.5 stone during pregnancy. I just choose what I ate carefully and I had GD which made me more conscious of what I ate. Put it back on after I had DS though 🥴

@CouldBeAGreatMum if you were active before it's perfectly fine to continue exercising as you were previously whilst listening to your body and adapting if you need to. There is also nothing wrong with keeping an eye on how many calories you are eating since it appears you don't need a huge amount more when pregnant. I wouldn't suggest you take up any NEW form of exercise. If you're concerned then speak to your midwife first but, depending on your pre pregnancy weight, it's not advised to gain a lot of weight during pregnancy (there is guidence as to how much they recommend gaining depending on your BMI etc)

You can certainly exercise during pregnancy, just use common sense.

However, if it makes you feel any better, some of the 'fat' might be water retention. During the first 12 or so weeks of my two pregnancies I only wanted to eat carbs and lots of fruit, and ended up feeling quite bloated. After 12 weeks however, I went back to my usual healthy diet (but with extra fruit!), the bloating went away, and I felt great. Hopefully it will be the same for you!

You definitely can! I was quite active pre pregnancy and then had bleeding and sickness first trimester so barely did anything. Picked it all back up (plus added a bit more) once I hit the second trimester and felt the healthiest/fittest I've ever been. Stopped in the third trimester because of tiredness and hip pain but I'm looking forward to getting back into a good routine once the baby is born.

Thanks everyone. I was v active before the pregnancy, and so I'm planning on returning to basically the same routine if I can, which is swimming weekdays, long walk 2-3 times a week and daily yoga. I hope my reliance on carbs subsided as well so I can get back to fresh salads abs veg.

@firsttime what I meant by "fat" weight as opposed to baby weight is that I'm worried I'm putting on unnecessary and unhealthy weight as a result of increased sugar and refined carbs- so not the normal expected weight of the baby or pregnancy. Sorry but I don't feel that gaining a stone in the first trimester would be healthy at all! My BMI is in the middle and I want to stay fit and healthy. I know it's different for everyone and weight gain is normal, but I also know that my diet and exercise has vastly changed for the worse since being pregnant for the reasons I outlined- hence my desire to reverse that.