Pregnancy gaining weight

Hannahjane123456

During pregnancy does your body just gain weight on its own, or is the weight gained from eating the extra 300- 500 calories a day in the second and third trimester? So for example say you dont eat the extra calories and just eat normal would your body still put weight on?

Thanks

kgirlhart

Some of the weight you gain is the weight of the fetus. Some is more blood and fluids. The extra calories are to support the growth of the baby and provide the necessary nutrients for you and your baby to be healthy. You aren't gaining weight because you are eating the extra calories. You will need to eat more during pregnancy, but the extra calories will not necessarily be putting you at a surplus. You should not try to lose weight when pregnant unless you are extremely obese and under a doctor's guidance.

JennJ323

Yes you will still gain, even if you don't take in the extra calories. Gaining weight is part of being pregnant, it's going to happen, it's inevitable. Luckily a lot falls off quickly after giving birth, and then once you're able to you can start focusing on your calories/exercise and get the remaining weight off.

vggb

I gained 19lbs with my first child. I weighed 139 when I got pregnant, 124 the morning after he was born. He weighed 8lb 9oz and was a large healthy baby. I realize everyone has a different experience but I didn't try to eat extra calories, I didn't diet either.

The second child was even larger, I gained 25lbs and retained 10lbs after he was born. I did everything the same as the first pregnancy.

youngmomtaz

JennJ323 wrote: »

Yes you will still gain, even if you don't take in the extra calories. Gaining weight is part of being pregnant, it's going to happen, it's inevitable. Luckily a lot falls off quickly after giving birth, and then once you're able to you can start focusing on your calories/exercise and get the remaining weight off.

So if you don’t eat extra calories where do you think the weight comes from?? Answer: you have to eat extra calories to grow a human, anyone who tells you they did not was not accurately tracking their calories.

While growing a child who I presume the op wants to be healthy, she needs to eat approximately 300 extra calories a day. Not a lot at all! The approximate equivalent of an apple with peanut butter, a bowl of oatmeal, or an extra serving of protein at dinner. During pregnancy women do not need to stuff themselves and gain 60lbs. Trust me, getting if off later is not fun! For an average pregnancy the recommended gain is 20-25lbs. But of course, the ops medical team and what they reccomed trump anything said in an online forum.

ETA: and upon rereading I see the op has not said they are expecting, just asking the question. Sorry for my assumptions.

Hannahjane123456

Thanks for all your replies, i am pregnant and was just gonna eat the recommended extra calories a day, i was just wondering how to not pile the weight on.

glovepuppet

Hannahjane123456 wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies, i am pregnant and was just gonna eat the recommended extra calories a day, i was just wondering how to not pile the weight on.

Sounds like you already have the right idea. It's probably a good idea to talk it over with your Dr/midwife, who can help you monitor and adjust.

And congratulations! Make the most of sleeping while you still can

noel2fit

Hannahjane123456 wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies, i am pregnant and was just gonna eat the recommended extra calories a day, i was just wondering how to not pile the weight on.

I'm currently pregnant too and gained the recommended 25lbs with my first, and plan to do the same this time. The easiest formula is to eat at maintenance during 1st trimester, 300 calories extra 2nd trimester, and 500 calories extra 3rd trimester. This is the most basic average for a woman starting at a healthy BMI with a maintenance around 2000 calories. The exact numbers will depend on all of your numbers and you should definitely ask your midwife or OB to help you calculate those if you're interested. I am ridiculously average and this formula worked great for me the first time and I'm using it again now. Hope this helps!