Is it possible to lose weight during the 2nd trimester of pregnancy

booksandchocolate12

If I told my doctor that I was doing something on my own, without his input (but with the input of internet strangers), because I didn't want to call him and "waste his time", I can imagine he'd be pretty annoyed at me.

cross2bear

Of course you should see your doctor. However, with my second child, I barfed from practically the moment of conception until she was born, and lost weight over the 9 months to lower than pre pregnancy weight. It happens, and as long as you continue to eat healthy food, and listen to your doctor, you and your precious cargo will be just fine.

kimberlyhurt

Take a deep breath, you're going to be fine! The fact that you are aware of your weight issue and that you want to do something about it for the health of your baby is a big first step! A lot of women fall into a "screw it I'm pregnant pass the nachos" mind set.

That being said, I'm in a similar boat. I'm 16 weeks and 245lbs. My doc doesn't want me to gain much if any weight. She even said it would be good if I shed a few. The standards are different for heavier women. So far I've lost about 5 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, but my appetite has come back with a VENGEANCE! My strategy is to keep lots and lots of healthy snacks around the house. Let's face it, I'm not going to not eat. I obviously don't have that skill or I wouldn't weigh 245lbs now would I? So i'm just trying to set myself up for success by getting ahead of the game.

I would suggest:
-make a meal plan for the week and buy those groceries to have ready to cook/eat. This keeps me from impulse pizza orders. (mostly lol)
-keep lots of healthy snacks around, in your house, car, purse, desk at work... the more the better. That way when you feel the need to munch (which you will and should, you are making a human after all) you'll have good choices ready.
-drink lots and lots of water. The more hydrated you are the less likely you are to over eat and the less water weight you'll retain.
-Don't stress yourself about counting calories if it's freaking you out. If you consistently eat healthy foods (most of the time anyway) you won't lose control of your weight. 2,300 calories of fruits, veggies, complex carbs and lean meats is LOT of food... To over eat that would be really exhausting.
-bounce back when you have a bad food moment/day/weekend. You're going to have days where you just say "*kitten* it i need a burger" - and that's okay. You just need to move on from that and get back in the game after rather than giving up and following that burger with a pint of ice cream.

good luck friend, you can do this! And the healthy habits you adopt now and stay with you after the baby

stephanie20314

You already know how to lose the weight. You said as much and your issue is really just self control. Get a therapist, find an overeaters anonymous group, go through your kitchen and donate everything that you know is bad for you but chose to buy anyways in a moment of weakness. Find a grocery delivery service or combination of them so your food is brought to you and you never have a reason to go get food. Call every gym in your area, tell them your problem and see if there is a trainer who can accommodate you. Call a chiropractors office. I'm sure at your size and pregnant you're tired and in pain. They will help you with at home exercises to get your spine healthy and ready for birth. Do you have a partner? Are they supportive or enabling?

candistyx

stephanie20314 wrote: »

I'm sure at your size and pregnant you're tired and in pain.

I have lots of problems with my size and (un)fitness level but I'm not in any pain (except razor burn from shaving). I'm not tired when I get enough sleep (7-9hrs) which I did today. On Saturday I went up and down 10.5 miles of hills and I admit I was exhausted then and the day after, but I felt fine since Tuesday. The main thing actually that leads to me feeling "tired" when I do is anxiety.

I stopped looking here but I kept counting calories since I made this post (on the fitbit website rather than this one because I found out they now have a UK food database). Trend weight says I'm losing a pound a week. I am not going to complain. This is despite eating 3000 calories on Saturday (the hill day, fitbit said I had the calories but I don't think I should eat that much ever regardless of what "activity" I did). I don't want to make a repeat of eating like that of course, but it's not done damage as far as the scale is concerned. I get my 10,000 steps every day. I got 20,000 yesterday. I am doing lots of squats, doing wall pushups (I stopped doing pushups at about 20 weeks because they hurt my back for a whole day one time and I don't want to make a repeat of that) and trying to run up and down stairs (one extra flight a week).

I also despite eating too much had a little victory on Saturday, we went to a cafe and got a slice of cake, but I didn't actually like the cake when I tried it. Normally I'd eat it anyway because I don't want to "waste" food (even though I know sitting in my fat cells is just as wasted as sitting in a bin somewhere) but that day I stopped eating it after I tasted it because I didn't see the point of eating something I am not going to actually enjoy just to avoid throwing it away. It was hard because I paid money for that cake and it was like throwing away the money but I was pretty happy afterward knowing that those are calories I didn't eat.

We already get groceries delivered now. I hate food shopping (well any shopping really). I have made my husband only buy snacks I don't like the taste of. Last shop he added crisps that I like to the basket and I made him swap them for peas - he said "but you'll just eat the peas all at once!" and I said "I'll eat the crisps all at once too! There's a lot more calories in the crisps than the peas" (86 vs a few thousand!).

All things considered I feel I am doing pretty well in terms of the diet and exercise, where in the past if I ate as much as I ate on Sunday I would have freaked out and quit for a whole week or more I just got back on track the next day.

Man if I lose a pound a week until the end and the baby, fluid, placenta etc are all around 25lbs then I should end up being under 200lbs after the baby is born. I am actually super excited about that. I am eating plenty of food, getting all the protein I need, getting lots of veg in, there's no way I am depriving the baby of squat, the only things I cut are calories from snacking and I have plenty of stored calories the baby can use so it's not losing out on anything

I was just looking for some reassurances because I was anxious about all the people online who make out gaining weight is inevitable in pregnancy. It's not inevitable, it's actually pretty likely for an obese person to *lose* weight, loads of them do. But now I know I can because I am doing (and I honestly would be ok to even just stay the same weight if that's all that was realistic).

Obviously I am still worried I'm going to get a massive appetite in the third trimester because people talk about that happening, but it's not inevitable, I will cross that bridge when (if) I get to it, some people actually can't eat as much then because of their stomachs getting squished so maybe I'll get lucky and be one of those. I still throw up if I get too hungry but I have anti nausea pills which take the edge off that and let me put off eating till mealtimes.

ashliedelgado

I'm 6 weeks and around 190lbs - first trimester got me fluctuating between 185 and 191 like cray. When I had my IUD taken out, my OB, who delivered me through two pregnancies, the last one being very similar to the one you're in now, told me that being obese (I'm class 1, and hoping to keep my weight to right around 205 when all is said and done) she is not worried about weight loss. She told me I know how to be healthy - I've lost 75lbs. She told me to just do what feels comfortable and natural, and a woman who listens to her body and practices mindfulness will gain the exact amount of weight necessary to have a healthy baby. I upped my cals on MFP to maintenance, and I try to eat back exercise, but it's a lot of food right now. In the 2nd trimester, I'll add a couple hundred, and the 3rd a couple hundred more. Your body will tell you what it needs. If you feel good, you don't feel hungry, and everything looks good with your baby, just try to enjoy your pregnancy. You only get to be pregnant so many times. You're gonna lose 25lbs in the two weeks after delivery. That's a hell of a jump start. It sounds like the changes you've been implementing have you on the right track. Just listen to your body, and take any serious health questions to your provider.

ashliedelgado

Also, have you found the Fit, Fabulous, and Pregnant group on here?

emmycantbemeeko

candistyx wrote: »

stephanie20314 wrote: »

I'm sure at your size and pregnant you're tired and in pain.

I have lots of problems with my size and (un)fitness level but I'm not in any pain (except razor burn from shaving). I'm not tired when I get enough sleep (7-9hrs) which I did today. On Saturday I went up and down 10.5 miles of hills and I admit I was exhausted then and the day after, but I felt fine since Tuesday. The main thing actually that leads to me feeling "tired" when I do is anxiety.

I stopped looking here but I kept counting calories since I made this post (on the fitbit website rather than this one because I found out they now have a UK food database). Trend weight says I'm losing a pound a week. I am not going to complain. This is despite eating 3000 calories on Saturday (the hill day, fitbit said I had the calories but I don't think I should eat that much ever regardless of what "activity" I did). I don't want to make a repeat of eating like that of course, but it's not done damage as far as the scale is concerned. I get my 10,000 steps every day. I got 20,000 yesterday. I am doing lots of squats, doing wall pushups (I stopped doing pushups at about 20 weeks because they hurt my back for a whole day one time and I don't want to make a repeat of that) and trying to run up and down stairs (one extra flight a week).

I also despite eating too much had a little victory on Saturday, we went to a cafe and got a slice of cake, but I didn't actually like the cake when I tried it. Normally I'd eat it anyway because I don't want to "waste" food (even though I know sitting in my fat cells is just as wasted as sitting in a bin somewhere) but that day I stopped eating it after I tasted it because I didn't see the point of eating something I am not going to actually enjoy just to avoid throwing it away. It was hard because I paid money for that cake and it was like throwing away the money but I was pretty happy afterward knowing that those are calories I didn't eat.

We already get groceries delivered now. I hate food shopping (well any shopping really). I have made my husband only buy snacks I don't like the taste of. Last shop he added crisps that I like to the basket and I made him swap them for peas - he said "but you'll just eat the peas all at once!" and I said "I'll eat the crisps all at once too! There's a lot more calories in the crisps than the peas" (86 vs a few thousand!).

All things considered I feel I am doing pretty well in terms of the diet and exercise, where in the past if I ate as much as I ate on Sunday I would have freaked out and quit for a whole week or more I just got back on track the next day.

Man if I lose a pound a week until the end and the baby, fluid, placenta etc are all around 25lbs then I should end up being under 200lbs after the baby is born. I am actually super excited about that. I am eating plenty of food, getting all the protein I need, getting lots of veg in, there's no way I am depriving the baby of squat, the only things I cut are calories from snacking and I have plenty of stored calories the baby can use so it's not losing out on anything

I was just looking for some reassurances because I was anxious about all the people online who make out gaining weight is inevitable in pregnancy. It's not inevitable, it's actually pretty likely for an obese person to *lose* weight, loads of them do. But now I know I can because I am doing (and I honestly would be ok to even just stay the same weight if that's all that was realistic).

Obviously I am still worried I'm going to get a massive appetite in the third trimester because people talk about that happening, but it's not inevitable, I will cross that bridge when (if) I get to it, some people actually can't eat as much then because of their stomachs getting squished so maybe I'll get lucky and be one of those. I still throw up if I get too hungry but I have anti nausea pills which take the edge off that and let me put off eating till mealtimes.

This is kind of a worrisome statement. At 200+ pounds, pregnant, and walking 20K steps a day, 3000 calories could be well below maintenance level for you. If you choose to breastfeed, it will almost certainly be below maintenance for that.

I'm glad you seem to feel a little more confident in yourself and that you have had some great non-scale victories with the cake and not giving up when you feel like you've done something wrong. But it's worth investigating why you would even feel that you've done something wrong by eating what is, by the looks of it, a perfectly reasonable amount for your activity levels.

Have you pursued talking to the dietician about a specific calorie goal and a therapist about the anxiety? Because feeling guilt, even if you manage to overcome it, about exceeding totally arbitrary numbers of calories (and 3000 is an arbitrary number- it may be more than most people's TDEE, but most people are not exactly your size, pregnant, or highly active) is not a great sign for future attempts at being happy and healthy with your eating.

candistyx

emmycantbemeeko wrote: »

This is kind of a worrisome statement. At 200+ pounds, pregnant, and walking 20K steps a day, 3000 calories could be well below maintenance level for you. If you choose to breastfeed, it will almost certainly be below maintenance for that.

I do want to breastfeed.

But I don't want to eat at the maintenance level of a fat person. How will I learn to eat a normal amount of food if I eat like a fat person?

emmycantbemeeko

candistyx wrote: »

emmycantbemeeko wrote: »

This is kind of a worrisome statement. At 200+ pounds, pregnant, and walking 20K steps a day, 3000 calories could be well below maintenance level for you. If you choose to breastfeed, it will almost certainly be below maintenance for that.

I do want to breastfeed.

But I don't want to eat at the maintenance level of a fat person. How will I learn to eat a normal amount of food if I eat like a fat person?

You seem to have a lot of emphasis on the idea of eating "normally" and "like a fat person."

Food is a morally neutral substance, and there is no "normal" amount to eat. Each person has a total daily energy expenditure determined by their size/body composition, age, gender, and activity level, as well as temporary physical demands like pregnancy or illness and injury.

What's "normal" for one person- ie, maintenance calories, the level of intake at which they will not lose or gain weight- could represent a huge deficit or a large surplus for two other people.

The reason we keep telling you to talk to your doctor and dietician again and get a more explicit plan and numbers from them is because while it may well be safe for you to lose weight at a moderate pace in pregnancy, it's definitely possible to lose weight so fast it's dangerous for you and the baby, or so fast that it sets you up for problems later (losing lean mass or developing nutritional deficiencies). You've set an arbitrary limit on the number of calories that you feel is acceptable for you to eat by defining them as "how a fat person eats"- 3000 calories- and it may well be a number too low for you. I don't know that it is because I'm not your doctor or a dietician, but at the high activity level you're supporting and while 200+ lbs and pregnant, 3000 calories could plausibly already represent a significant deficit- maintenance for a late twenties woman your size who is NOT pregnant and who is as active as you report is more than 3000. So that 3000 you felt guilty about almost certainly still represented a sizable deficit for you.

If you're reliably eating even less than that, you may not be getting optimal nutrition or preserving muscle mass.

Thinking about food this way, with an emotional reaction to arbitrary numbers, is also setting you up for failure because your TDEE *will* change up and down over time, and you need to have the confidence and skills to recalculate it frequently to lose/gain/maintain as you wish.

It's not at all unreasonable that you might, for instance, need to increase your intake after the birth to whatever your maintenance calories would normally be at that size, and let breastfeeding make up your deficit (it can expend 250-300 calories a day, and aiming for a larger deficit while sleep deprived and trying to provide nutrition for yourself AND your baby may not be supportable). To do that, you'll need to be able to calculate and address your actual TDEE, not just what you guess or hope or think it ought to be because those numbers sound about right.

"Eating like a fat person" just means eating more calories than you burn. You need to be able to accurately and dispassionately face what those numbers are to avoid that. Just saying "I should never eat 3000 calories a day" is not a good solution for long term success or health. Nobody on this board, nor MFP itself, can tell you what your appropriate calorie target for maximizing health is because it's against the TOS, MFP does not have a pregnancy setting. But pregnancy DOES burn calories and it is possible to eat too little and develop nutritional problems during pregnancy and breastfeeding. So talk to your doctor about it. That is how you learn to "eat like a thin person." By taking a dispassionate approach to food and treating it as the fuel and important building block to your health it is. And since you are pregnant, that has to start with your doctor and dietician.

Pikacu90

I'm also pregnant. My doctor told me I'm allowed to lose weight, but I have to eat a lot of protein, fruits, fresh veggies... everything the baby needs. I'm mostly maintaining, maybe making a small deficit. The morning sickness sure is helping.