Weight Gain in pregnancy

[Swimgirl83]

Just found I am expecting our 2nd, currently 4+3.

I know weight gain during pregnancy cannot be avoided, but I am already getting a bit anxious about this.

I have always struggled with my weight and have always been heavier than I should. I lost a lot when we got married (and out it straight back on after, as apparently going to the gym 3 times a day and living on mug shots is not sustainable longer term! )

When I had DD1 i took the eating for 2 and not being very active a bit too far and put on an awful lot of weight. I don't know for certain but I do believe this may have attribbuted to not great labour and birth I had.

This time I have worked really hard to lose some weight, and all through lockdown have kept to a strict exercise routine and watched what I have eaten and lost just short of 3 stone (if i stayed on track would have hit 3 stone this week!)

So guess I'm looking for tips that everyone else might be doing to maintain a healthy weight gain in pregnancy rather than what I did before!

Thanks all!

Iim currently 6+3 and in overweight category. So you can keep on with exercise you did before, with only a few exceptions. I've been trying to hit ten thousand steps a day and running when I can (less energy in trimester 1 so sometimes having to walk instead), hiking, doing weights, pregnancy friendly and, some climbing (not recommended later on in case you hit belly).

In terms of eating, unfortunately eating for 2 is a myth! Try to stick to eating for 1, but accept it might be a bit more carby than hoped if you are trying not to be sick! I'm going to try not to just let myself have whatever I fancy and reminding myself that unhealthy things arent healthy for babies either.

Thank you for the reply

I wasn't sure about the running (have been following C25k plan over lockdown - 1 run left on the last week!) so have been walking uphill since finding out on Monday as we're lucky enough to have just brought a treadmill for home! I might try some short, slow runs tomorrow and see how I feel.

I'm doing the same, reminding myself that this is not an excuse to go and eat all of the chocolate in the house and actually I need to make the same healthy choices I was to get the 3st off.

I'm following slimming world whilst pregnant as I'm so scared of gaining lots of weight as already overweight.

I'm too scared to do anything heavy exercise wise so just swimming and walking after a miscarriage a couple months ago.

Slimming world is safe to follow whilst pregnant so could try that to maintain healthy weight whilst still eating very well?

Hi OP, congrats! I was the same, to say I have a turbulent relationship with my food and weight would be an understatement lol!

I had planned on losing weight to then fall pregnant straight away and was so worried as I'm in the obese scale :(
I spoke to my midwife who recommended Slimming World as they've worked with midwives to make sure its safe. They've said up until a point I can lose 3lbs per week but no more than this and after a certain point they expect to see weight gain x
Hope this helps!

I've calorie counted throughout this pregnancy. 33 weeks nearly now. 1800 -2000 a day. I've still gained but it could have been lots worse

I continued doing my normal exercise throughout pregnancy, so I ran several times a week, cycled to and from work every day, swam a couple of times a week and did some CrossFit. I ate a small packet of crisps most days at work, but that was the only extra food I ate. I put on

I’m pretty much at term now and weigh 2 stone more than I did at the start. Have done very little exercise as I felt so knackered to start with then had PGP, and have maintained a pretty healthy ‘normal’ diet, with the addition of gaining a sweet tooth for the first time in my life. Have eaten a lot of puddings!

Suspect I will lose about a stone when the baby arrives, and the rest will come off slowly, so hopefully back to my pre-pregnancy weight within 6-9 months, but who knows?!

You can continue exercising in pregnancy, you should limit the intensity to exercise that you can still hold a conversation at the same time.

I couldn't exercise in pregnancy - sickness, fatigues, and whiplash /bruised ribs sternum from a car accident. I kept my intake to my usual amount and weighed myself once a week to see that I was steadily gaining. This was useful when I started the 3rd trimester and needed to add an extra snack because I started to lose weight. I gained about a stone which I lost around 1 week post partum.

Make sure you have healthy food available for when you want to snack.

I would be happy with a 2 stone gain during pregnancy, I'm sure i gained about 4 in my last one. Definitely agree that it could be down to genetics as well though as I am not one of those people who lose weight easily even if I watch absolutely everything.

I will try some slow jogging tomorrow and see how I get on. Have been walking and I do intend to keep the exercise up as much as I can. also try and and swim on the weekends.

@Bl0ndi3 I've tried swimming world in the past but I always find it quite carb heavy (rice & pasta) although I might have another look into it.

I've been using myfitnesspal since the end of last year to track calories so I might see if there is a pregnancy mode for that.

@Swimgirl83 it can be carb heavy but I love my carbs so it's perfect for me haha but obviously you can choose what you eat on the plan so doesn't have to be carbs all the time. I would say find a way of healthy eating that suits you and exercise and you'll minimise your weight gain.

I'd like to gain no more than a stone - stone and a half personally but I know it's going to be really difficult and I'll just do what I can but I am getting a little worried about it as I'm struggling to eat atm with nausea and all that loveliness

@swimgirl83 I completely sympathise. I just try and not have too many carbs.
I know of one of the woman in my local class who only ended up gaining 10lbs overall on slimming world as she lost weight in the early stages 😊

There really is not enough advice available for weight management in pregnancy. When I first got pregnant I started reading up and just laughed at what I was seeing - don’t restrict calories, try snacking to help nausea, eat only healthy balanced meals at all time, but trust your body and eat what you are craving. Etc. But me, who has struggled with their weight, that just will mean I pile on the pounds.

I also used to run regularly but get out of breath really quickly now so already can see I won’t be able to stay as active as I would like. Just trying to be kind to myself and do a mix of my old weight management and adjusting if that helps with nausea or energy levels

I’m 8 months pregnant now and was exactly the same in terms of worrying about weight gain at the beginning. I have a high BMI so was really worried that it would be harder to stay active as i suffer from PGP. With the last two pregnancies i gained 3 stone which i was never able to shed, due to an unhealthy relationship with food and medication that results in weight gain. With this pregnancy I lost a stone in the first trimester through lack of appetite and remembering to eat little and often, rather than forcing myself to eat bigger meals. The second trimester i gained the stone back. I haven’t weighed myself since (and neither have mw which i find weird) but i still fit in my pre pregnancy clothes. I try and keep walking, which has actually helped with the pgp. I eat smaller portions (using a small plate is a good ‘trick’) and listen to my body in terms of eating when hungry rather than just because. It has helped that this pregnancy my cravings have included grapefruit, salad vegetables and tomatoes (which are normally satans work 👿) !

@katsnmouse thank you for all of the tips. Will definitely try some of those. The small plate one is definitely one I will think about.

@83Mimi I agree. If someone tells me I can snack as much as I want I will take that to the extreme and thats what I did last time. Determined not to do that again but some advice along the way would help as well!