Pregnancy weight gain - advice needed

[laurenn26]

i know I’m an emotional mess but I just need a pep talk. I lost 6 and half stone prior to pregnancy, was still over weight at around 14st 10 but I looked well and was happy, even though would have continued to loose. During first trimester I gained well over a stone but then thought I can’t keep doing this and rained it back in and managed to not gain between week 18 & week 27 not a single pound, however bare in mind I’d already gained a stone and half by this point. I was just calorie counting for Maintance and making sure I was eating enough. I’ve gone to my growth scan yesterday and she’s dropped from 32nd percentile to 11th, I’m 30 weeks and have gained now 2 stone 4 so I’m now over 17 and I cannot explain the effect seeing the weight go back up is having on my mental health. I’m so so stressed about it, I’m going back to calorie counting Maintance today but at the same time I don’t want that to be impacting baby’s growth either but I really struggle if I’m not monitoring my calories as I binge. Please can someone just reassure me? I’ve bought 5 boxes of mounjaro for after I give birth over the course of being pregnant to quickly get it back off (I didn’t use this previously I lost it on slimming world) but I just need reassurance that this is normal. It’s ruining my pregnancy I absolutely hate myself and how I look right now, I have my baby shower this weekend and I’m dreading it because I just don’t want to be seen

Hi OP. I can really empathise with this. Were you on mounjaro before you got pregnant?

I was and I had lost about 2 stone on it, I came off it a few months before getting pregnant and I have seen my weight jump up by much more than it should in the first trimester. I'm 18 weeks now and I have gained about 9kg.

I totally get the anxiety about it - I'm the same - and I was definitely overeating because my appetite came back, with a vengeance.

I have just started trying to cut down a bit, but I know all the advice is not to diet whilst pregnant, so I'm trying not to be extreme with it.

The main thing I am doing is trying to cut out junk food, biscuits and cakes, and swap them for healthy alternatives - greek yoghurt, lentil chips with guac, cheese on wholegrain crackers, chicken breast, fruit etc for snacks. I let myself have as much of this stuff as I need to fill me up, because it's really important when you are pregnant not to deny yourself.

I'm a bit concerned that you are calorie counting - how many calories are you having per day? It's probably not the best idea whilst you are pregnant, although I completely get the temptation to do it, you need to be listening to your body and if it needs more calories that's OK - just make sure it's wholesome food and not junk.

You also need to be careful about going straight back on the mounjaro after you give birth, especially if you're breastfeeding. I won't be going back on it for at least 6-9 months, even if I gain a lot of weight.

These things just need to take a backstep whilst you are pregnant. I have to keep telling myself the same. I was so happy with the weight I'd lost, but honestly, it's more important now that the baby and my body has the nourishment it needs. As long as you are eating good food and getting a bit of exercise, you just have to let your body do what it needs to do - we might gain quite a bit of weight, but that's something that we have to live with. We can always lose it again after the babies are safely here.

Let me know if you want to DM as I think we're in a similar situation xx

Sorry I just saw you said you lost the weight before on slimming world, not mounjaro. That's an amazing loss. Do be careful with the mounjaro after you've given birth x

Hey, I felt the same way with my first but the weight dropped off me in the first year post birth. I was breastfeeding and I was hungrier and eating more than when I was pregnant. But it just dropped off. Maybe water retention has something to do with it.

You've lost it before and you'll lose it again after. I know it's hard but try not to stress about it x

Honestly I have cried all morning I just feel so fed up and stressed! I’ve been doing 2000 calories so plenty, just worked out my Maintance and did exactly that!! I wasn’t on mounjaro before I lost it on slimming world but I’m not planning to breast feed and if it saves my sanity I just think it’s worth a go. Of course my baby comes before anything I just feel so rubbish & down and I’ve never felt so bad about myself even though really I’ve been Much bigger than this & not pregnant. It’s just so so hard. I would love to dm but I have no idea how?!? Sending so much love xxxxx

Pregnancy can have all sorts of effects on our mental health and as our bodies change, sometimes it can be a bit of a minefield.

It's completely normal to gain weight while you're pregnant. In my first pregnancy I was ultra aware of it as I was getting married 9 months postpartum so didn't want to gain much. I still weighed in around 3 stone heavier at the end of the pregnancy than I did at the start. It was all gone within 6 weeks. I didn't do anything to lose the weight (other than breastfeed), I think a lot of it is just the weight of the placenta, waters and baby. (The placenta is bigger than the baby until 21 weeks!)

This pregnancy I was really sick for the first 16 weeks so lost weight, now at 30 weeks I'm around a stone up from my starting weight. I'm not worried, I know it'll continue to go up, and I know it'll just come off.

My only advice is to try and relax a bit. Maybe ban the scales for the rest of the pregnancy. Eat intuitively. The weight will come off once the baby is born and to be honest I wouldn't rush for the weight loss injections, you'll need to be recovering for a little while.

Instead of resenting your new body, try to reframe it by appreciating what it is doing. I'm in awe of what our bodies are capable of!

If calorie counting for maintenance is helpful for you, can you continue counting but increase your daily allowance a bit to account for your growing baby's needs? Something like 2200 or 2300 calories a day?

Bless you. It's so tough isn't it. I feel the same and feel panicky about the weight I've gained. We have to try not to obsess though. You're in the final stretch of pregnancy and your baby needs nourishment.

2000 calories really isn't enough when you are in your third trimester of pregnancy. 2000 is the normal daily requirement for women, in your third trimester you need about 400 extra calories a day, so ideally you should be eating 2,400 a day - you certainly shouldn't feel bad about eating that much and it's also fine if you go over a bit if you're still hungry, as long as you're eating good food and not rubbish.

Please try to stop calorie counting. I know you find it hard not to binge, but at the moment you really need to go with how your body feels - I know it's scary but your baby has gone into the lower percentiles so that could mean they're not getting enough nourishment.

If you're really struggling I wonder if you could talk to your midwife or maybe even a counsellor about this to help deal with the anxiety? It sounds really bad xxx

Thank you so much everyone. I suppose the end is near and I will get myself back, it’s just so hard & I never expected the emotional turmoil. I know I’m not the only one going through it. Thanks so so much xxxx

I had hyperemesis in my first and third trimester. I lost weight in the first trimester and started to lose weight in the third too before I restarted my antiemetic. I only gained 1-1.5 stone in total as I barely could eat. Baby was born at 38 weeks 6lb13 which considering I'm 5ft2 and slim build was a good weight. From recollection it was 60th percentile on my chart. My bump was always small based on fundal height about 10th percentile.
My GP and midwife told me baby will take everything it needs it would be just me that suffered. I did ok in pregnancy but struggled afterwards as I went from limited diet due to hyperemesis to limited diet due to severe pnd and breastfeeding a baby with a lot of allergies. Even so it was about 10 months postpartum so around 18 months of on and off restricted diets before it really hit.

It might be worth a chat with your GP or midwife about bespoke advice for yourself and sensible weight gain goals and what diet could accommodate it

Remember that when you are pregnant part of the weight gain is the baby, the fluid, the placenta. I lost over a stone the day I gave birth!

I am struggling a bit with this too and I am only 15 weeks. I tracked my weight in my last pregnancy and even though I was the same weight at 4 weeks in both pregnancies, at my 12 week scan in this pregnancy I weighed the same as I did at about 24 weeks in my last! So that's all gained in 3 months and dread to think how much more I've gained. For me it's because I've been feeling so ill and no energy to go for walks etc plus having to eat constantly to stop feeling ill.

No words of advice really
Other than I feel the same and it's really getting me down too! I'm hoping I get a bit more of a proper "bump" soon, so at least I feel pregnant at the moment I just feel like I look really huge and swollen

The NHS website only recommends you need 200 extra a day in third trimester which really is barely anything. Try and get your calories from healthy sources, and I know easier said than done but try not to worry about the weight gain for now - it only 10 weeks and you can get back to it after birth. Just being mindful of what you’re eating is enough hopefully for it not to spiral out of control x

Also speak to your midwife if you’re worried but if you’re eating 2000cals a day from a balanced healthy diet it is highly unlikely to be the cause of your baby’s centile drop.