Pregnancy weight gain

[Lunafreja]

Not sure if im seeking advice or reassurance here but when i was 9 weeks i weighed 9st 10 and now im 25 weeks i weigh 11st 10 (im 5’1)
i just feel really concerned given all advice online implies this is a lot of weight to be gaining. I used to have quite a strict diet but have allowed room for my cravings (potatoes, fruits and chocolate). I used to PT 3 times a week too before pregnancy but exhaustion has hit me awfully and ive only managed daily walks around 45 mins a day.
im just so worried im going to be 3 stone + by term, or develop health issues with this gain and never shift it PP.

im first time Mummy too and cant wait but starting to feel like i dont like my body and struggling to come to terms with the changes

Please don't worry too much. I put on loads of weight but managed to lose it pretty easily within the first year. A while ago now but can't remember having to work that hard at it (and I didn't bf). I'm now in my 40s and have to work v hard 😂

Hi OP

I was 9st 4 when I got pregnant as a semi professional athlete so you can imagine my training and eating routines. By the time I gave birth I was 12st 10. I didn’t particularly eat terrible but I think if you’re used to eating very strict the weight goes on easy when you stop. I also didn’t exercise as I was used to training hard and had no energy for it so I just stopped enjoying the gym. I am now 12 weeks PP and 10st 2, the weight is coming off week by week now I am exercising and watching what I eat (not as before but better than when pregnant) I really wouldn’t worry. Also I had high fluid and held a lot of water which didn’t help x

If you're conscious of it and would like to not gain as much it's just the basics really of monitoring your intake and increasing your activity as able. You don't need any additional calories until the third trimester and even then it's only 200 per day (2 small slices of toast or similar). Perhaps try less indulging of your cravings and switching back to more of your regular diet? Stick to a weekly food shop to avoid impulse purchases. Routine tends to work well for weight management ie eating same thing for at least 1 or 2 meals each day. Try to get a bit more active, walking more, perhaps going to exercise classes for people who are pregnant (exercise really doesnt make you more tired, if anything they make you feel better). You don't need to gain a lot of weight in pregnancy and have plenty of time to make some changes :)

Hi OP, I’m pretty much the same boat as you with my measurements. I have to keep reminding myself how amazing my body is, it’s growing a BABY! How incredible. Yours is the same. While my weight isn’t where I thought it might be, now isn’t the time to overly worry as priority is to keep baby safe and healthy. All of those worries (which, let’s be honest, are ridiculous unless it’s affecting health - it is just a number on a scale after all!) can be parked until after birth when my body is my own again. Now is not the time be diet. Eat healthy when you can but please don’t beat yourself up about your pregnancy weight. It isn’t necessarily a reflection of what your post pregnancy body will be like x

I’m 35 weeks and I’ve put on 3st. I don’t recognise my own body at all and it’s really bringing me down. I had no stretch marks until 31 weeks where I woke up covered and seem to be getting more daily. My ankles/ feet/ hands were always so slender and now they are enormous, ankles especially. I look down and it’s like looking at someone else’s feet. I can’t wait to start shifting this weight gain, I feel repulsive 😥

I put on 3 stone, 2 came off within the first couple of months without even trying, the last one was stubborn but that was because I was still eating like I was during pregnancy. At 9 months I actually tried to lose it and it came off quickly too.

I got pregnant again at 12 months PP and am now dealing with the weight again, this time I'm more aware of what I need to do after the birth so hoping to be back down much quicker than 9 months!

I personally think the guideline amounts are rubbish, and chatting to a PT/pilates instructor the other day she agrees.

I was in the best shape of my life pre pregnancy 1, and stayed active. Still put on 3.5 stone but 2.5 of that was gone within 7-10 days of giving birth! Baby was also just pre term and below 7lb.

Currently 35+5, have put on 3.5 stone already this time. I did start about 10lb heavier as never got back to super fit like I was pre my first, just don't have the time! But I'm still riding my horse 2-3 days a week, doing some weights work outs and pilates 2x a week. Plus running around after a toddler.

Honestly your body is doing an amazing thing growing a baby. It's not going to be the same after, but can still be strong and the weight can be lost!

Oh love. It is hard because you know that ordinarily putting on weight isn't healthy. In my (completely personal!) experience, your body is going to do what it needs to regardless. I didn't need to change my diet because I didn't have cravings or sickness, and certainly didn't 'eat for 2' but I still put on 3 stone. The first was gone by the time I left hospital and the next two had gone by the time baby was 2 months old (again with little effort, as my diet still stayed the same, and it took me a long time to feel recovered enough to walk far, let alone exercise).
Be nice to yourself, speak to your MW if you feel the need and let your body do it's thing - you're growing a whole human, it's hard work!

I am 5ft7 and in my last pregnancy I gained THREE STONE

I stopped weighing myself at around 39 weeks so possibly I gained more

It's like your body goes mad trying gain as much weight as it can

I breastfed and didn't diet at all or do any exercise particularly, I was back to my original weight at 9 months PP

Try not to worry, it's normal as far as I can tell, even though the internet says you shouldn't gain more than a stone, god that upset me at the time

I was similar. Weighed 8st 7lbs at my booking appointment at 9 weeks. The day after giving birth I was 11st 10lbs and didn't recognise myself. By the time DS was 6 months I was back down to 8st 3lbs and physically struggling to eat enough to sustain me, due to breastfeeding, plus all the walking I was doing just to get DS to nap 😅 Don't stress about the weight gain now, it's always something you can work on once baby is born, and you might not have to 'work' on it much at all.

I'm oh yes I lost over a stone as soon as she was born too

I wish I hadn't wasted so much time being upset about it, honestly I think the guidelines are nonsense. They were for me anyway. No way I could have only gained a stone no matter what I did

It's well evidenced and not just UK guidance, not sure why your PT would think they know better than all the people who have done clinical research in this area. Totally fine to put on however much weight you're comfortable/happy with but the myth that you 'have' to gain a large amount of weight that you then have to lose is just not true. What you gain is in your control for the majority. The OP has said she does not feel comfortable with her weight gain, so suggesting she can do something about it is hopefully helpful.

I disagree with the comment about clinical trials. Listen to your body. Avoid ultra processed food and eat whole foods. Make sure you move your body, this is good for getting baby in the right position and it's good for your mental health, I walked loads with my dog right up until the end. It will all come right, now is not the time to stress about your weight, you are going through a massive transition in your life and the focus shouldn't be your weight.

Can you provide info on where it is well evidenced? Would be interesting to have a read.

I disagree entirely that it's a myth that you need to put on a lot on weight. If anything I think the pressure now is for the opposite.

In my recent experience it's very possible to have a healthy pregnancy whilst gaining weight above the max recommended, and I see the guidelines as extra pressure in an already stressful period.

If you're the kind of person who thinks the NHS plucks guidance out of thin air I don't think there is any point continuing this conversation.

I didn't say it was unhealthy to gain more, just that there isn't a need to if you don't want to. Millions of women gain the suggested amounts and have perfectly healthy pregnancies, particularly in other countries where weight generally is better managed by a wider proportion of the population. It is individual choice but the point of my post was to challenge the narrative that you have to gain excess weight.

The NHS guidance on nutrition is woefully out of date

Low fat this and low fat that

I feel sorry for people that just believe everything their told, this is not the way to begin pregnancy and birth

The NHS have only recently even provided guidance on co-sleeping with babies, how fucking ludicrous is that, how is any woman meant to facilitate 2 years of breastfeeding (as recommended by WHO) without co-sleeping.

Honestly, the NHS and their guidance can get in the bin as far as I'm concerned

Another who gained loads, almost 4 stone in both pregnancies, and lost it both times fairly easily. I’d like to get pregnant again but am a bit heavier now, so I’d plan to use that postnatal period to be a bit more restrictive and not eat all the cake every day! I really did just eat whatever I felt while bf (I was ravenous) but I’m a healthier eater now so think I would use that natural weight loss time a bit more purposefully.

But equally try to remember that your body is doing an incredible, incredible thing and it is changed by that experience. That’s natural and it’s ok.

Quite easily. Again, plenty of people do. It's entirely up to you what you do but guidance is guidance, personally I choose to follow it. Fine if you don't but it's okay for both points of view to be presented.

I know this is an old thread but I found this because I'm just another pregnant woman worried about having gained too much weight. I just want to say that I think both sides are true. Public health advice is given at a population level, based on the population level risks i.e. the data shows that gaining more than a certain amount of weight increases your risk of X and Y complications, and therefore the advice is to not gain too much weight. But that doesn't mean that plenty of women won't gain more than the recommended amount of weight and have perfectly healthy pregnancies, especially if they limit other risk factors like not smoking/drinking, taking regular exercise etc. It's also not really as simple as to say that it's fully in people's control what they gain. I myself have a history of anorexia and because of this, it's very problematic and difficult for me to try and control what I eat on pregnancy, and so I end up gaining more than the recommended amount, but my midwife has reassured me based on my other risk factors that it's ok. So yes, I absolutely agree the guidance is valid and evidence based, but it also needs to be interpreted with the nuance of many other pieces of public health guidance. Also to note that the US CDC recommended amount is 11-16 kg rather than 10-12 kg as the NHS says, so there is clearly some discrepancy in what the research says, as you might expect.