Pregnant Ladies--Focused on HEALTH. <3

Love4fitnesslove4food2

I'd love some pregnant friends or even just to post on this thread about pregnancy stuff. I find the groups to lack the social interaction that I'm yearning for (since I've not yet made my pregnancy public).

Anyway...a few things though...I would love this group to be focused on HEALTH and not only on weight. While weight is something to consider when focusing on a "healthy pregnancy" it is not the be-all and end-all of health. I find the focus of many pregnant women on MFP to be rather troubling as it is bordering on obsessive when it comes to pregnancy weight gain. This obsessiveness coupled with unhealthy actions--i.e. pregnant women undereating for the sake of keeping their weight down--is enough to boil my blood. So, if this is you then please just don't bother posting here--I don't want to criticize anyone's behaviors and if you post about it I won't be able to help myself (just being honest).

So, if you're more concerned with the HEALTH of your little one, eat enough to gain an appropriate amount of weight, and stay active (as active as you can be given your pregnancy limitations) then please ...LET'S SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER. I'm nearly 16 weeks--so I've finally made it to the second trimester but no matter what stage of pregnancy you're in you can never have too many like-minded friends!

Love4fitnesslove4food2

I guess it figures that on MFP most (or perhaps all) pregnant women are driven by rigid weight-gain guidelines. I can't say I'm not disappointed.

DawnieB1977

Hi! I'll be 31 weeks on Sun, and this is my third.

I haven't weighed myself since I was 12.5 weeks, and that was only because I had to step on the scales for the combined test! In England no-one is really bothered abut your weight,unless your BMI is too high or too low at the booking appointment with your midwife. My midwife knows I'm healthy, knows I exercise, and my blood pressure is low, so she has no concerns.

I don't like the 'how much weight have you gained' thread on the pregnancy forum. There are some women on there who are stressing over gaining 25-35lbs by due date. That's what recommended for a start, and how do they think it's worrying to gain that much when you consider how much a baby weights full term, plus placenta, plus fluid, plus extra blood etc.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to end up looking like a beached whale after this baby, and I want to keep my fitness up, but I'm not going to starve myself!

I aim for 2000 calories now and I'm working out an average of 4 times a week. I'm fairly sure I will gain at the top end of recommended, but I'm hoping it'll be a lot of fluid lol. I mainly want to stay in shape and be fit, so after I've had the baby I'll find it easier to lose the weight, and get back into the exercise.

beachbum1984

You're more than welcome to add me. I'm 7 weeks along with my first. I'm trying my best to make sure I'm getting a wide variety of healthy foods and working out 3 times per week. I set my calorie goal to about 1750 (about 300 more than I was eating previously). I'm not going to obsess over each pound - I just want to have the healthiest pregnancy possible.

TropicalKitty

I'm so glad to see this thread! I'm a fatty. Seriously, like I need to lose *a lot*. Anyway, I'm sick of the interwebs being all like "obese women have unhealthy pregnancies!" And I'm not down with all the counting and restrictive notions passed around.

This is my philosophy while preggers: eat natural whole foods that I want; avoid soy, caffeine, and fake sugar; try to be active when I'm not passing out at 6:30pm.

I want to be healthy for me and for my baby. I have to make healthful changes to my habits because I'm going to be a role model for the LO. I had gotten to the point recently (before finding out I was pregnant) that I was culling natural foods, like apples or carrots because they were "too high in sugar." I'm trying to get back to where I was food wise when I felt better (again, natural whole foods) and was more in touch with my body. I think that is part of the reason why I'm still fat and why I really need to get back to the place of health. If anything, I think that this pregnancy is really getting me to re-examine my health habits.

So, speaking of health, I'm thinking about prenatal yoga. Have any of you done it? Opinions? Experiences? I've never done yoga but I definitely need to do something to help keep me calm. Plus, I'm more into weight lifting and OB didn't want me going up in weights, so I figure why not challenge myself in another way.

Cheers!

PS - OP: I'm 16 weeks too! *high five*

DawnieB1977

I've never done yoga, I'm not good at being chilled and calm lol. I prefer jumping around to loud music! Prenatal yoga is supposed to be good though, so give it a go.

I think the whole idea of suggesting a certain weight gain for women is silly. If you have an 8lbs baby (and my 2nd was 8lbs 10 at 12 days overdue), then the placenta is a couple of lbs, plus you have a third more fluid in your body, and more blood, and you have extra fat for breastfeeding, then 25 lbs really isn't much.

I put on weight easily so I expect I will put on around 40lbs by due date. I also expect i'll have lost at least half that within 6 weeks. Losing 20lbs doesn't seem so bad. I lost 67lbs after my 2nd baby!

I found the first trimester hard as I was so nauseous and just needed to stop feeling sick, so I ate what I could. I couldn't even stand opening the fridge some days. Luckily I felt ok at 14 weeks. Now I'm nearly 31 weeks I'm starting to crave sweet things and am just more hungry generally. My meals are all healthy but I've had too many sweet treats lately. I'm still exercising loads though, so I'm hoping that'll help!

I started off this pregnancy at 154lbs, us size 6/8. I'm 5'6.

Love4fitnesslove4food2

Thanks for replying ladies! I've actually stopped counting but before I stopped I was eating 2000 in the first trimester and I can tell I'm now eating more than before. I only weigh myself at appointments every 4 weeks but I don't know my weight from my last appointment so it will be 8 weeks between weigh ins for me.

Prenatal yoga is great but I don't do it often since I prefer Pilates.

sdurrahMpls

Add me too! I'm 10 weeks along and agree that health is the number one priority. If I can spare gaining another 50 pounds like I did with my daughter that would be great too, but what's most important is that I give my baby everything he/she needs to grow and mature while in my womb.

TropicalKitty

I agree with Dawnie about the weight gain suggestions. For me, being told how little I can gain (10-20lbs) by websites was scary. I can retain so much water that I can lose 10lbs in a week by sticking to being gluten free or watching some carbs. Silliness. I was happy when my OB said that I'm going to gain weight, try to be reasonable, however if I get near 40+lbs we'll have a talk. I didn't feel constrained by him where it was going to trigger me to binge. That was nice.

Eventhough I hate feeling nauseated, part of me is jealous of all the women who complain about the morning sickness and losing weight in the first trimester. I didn't really have nausea, just some strong food aversions and a tooth brush problem... So I feel cheated not losing weight during that time. But, I haven't gained much at all.... since Thanksgiving not even 10lbs. I'll take that as some type of victory... haha

I swear salad and fruit have never been this amazing...

cbhutton

Hey all-
I sent a message to OP, but anyone else can add me too. 22w and need to get it together with healthier eating! I seriously fell off the wagon with the holidays and have had trouble getting it back on track.

tbrignoni23

Hi guys nice to see this thread I am 24 weeks currently and trying to keep up some type of routine. I do not want to have a hard time losing once I give birth so I keeping a log and a varied workout schedule. add me

Love4fitnesslove4food2

Well, today has gone well. I'm noticing that I get really winded while working out now. I still get in about an hour 5-6 days a week but it's so much harder than pre-pregnancy workouts ever were.

I'm not counting calories because I want to trust my body and eat to satiety. I think that calorie counting distorts hunger signals and just reinforces the belief that you can't be trusted with food. Screw that. So, I don't count them anymore. Some days I know I overeat but I'm okay with that. Other days I'm sure I under eat which probably is what prompted the overeating in the first place. This is only my 3rd week of not counting so I'm interested to see how much I'm gaining because an appropriate amount would only reinforce what I already believe. I guess I'll know in 2.5 weeks.

DawnieB1977

Well, today has gone well. I'm noticing that I get really winded while working out now. I still get in about an hour 5-6 days a week but it's so much harder than pre-pregnancy workouts ever were.

I'm not counting calories because I want to trust my body and eat to satiety. I think that calorie counting distorts hunger signals and just reinforces the belief that you can't be trusted with food. Screw that. So, I don't count them anymore. Some days I know I overeat but I'm okay with that. Other days I'm sure I under eat which probably is what prompted the overeating in the first place. This is only my 3rd week of not counting so I'm interested to see how much I'm gaining because an appropriate amount would only reinforce what I already believe. I guess I'll know in 2.5 weeks.

I'm 31 weeks so I definitely feel it when i work out now. I'm planning on going to the gym until 37 weeks as I'm taking a payment holiday from the start of April, just until July. May as well save some money while I'm on maternity leave! I've got an antenatal exercise DVD I can do when my gym payment holiday starts, and I'll go on walks.

Every time I go to the gym now I have someone come up to me and comment on how well I'm doing, and asking if I'm ok to be there! It's my third baby so my bump is quite big!

I do still calorie count, but sometimes I eat something in the evening if I'm still hungry after I've logged for the day. I am generally under my calories anyway, and MFP still tells me every day that I will lose weight in 5 weeks!

I have no idea how much I weigh now! To be honest, I don't want to know. If I were to find out I'd put on more than I'd like, there's not much I can do now.

feliciaclark7

Any of you ladies are welcome to add me. I am currently 27 weeks with my second. I started my first pregnancy at a healthy weight and didn't gain too much but I also didn't lose it all before becoming pregnant with this one. At this point and I don't worry much about what the scale says. I just watch my carb and sugar intake since I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I am limited to how much exercise I can do since I also have placenta previa. I have another ultrasound in a few weeks and I am hoping it has moved up so I can go back to my daily walks. I really miss them and we have had a few really nice temperature days here this week.

danitink

Hey there! Anyone feel free to add me I'm currently 9 weeks with my second. With my first i started at a healthy weight and gained a bit, not sure what the final number was but I'd say around 40-45lbs. I did manage to lose it all within 7 months after I had my DD. started this pregnancy off at the same as I did with my last one, just really don't want to gain as much this time and want to try to eat healthier and stay more active! And it's going to be summer and I really don't want to be extra hot all the time! I've been trying to go to the gym at least 5 days a week, hoping that now it's finally getting nicer out that i will be able to get out for lots of walks with my daughter.

TropicalKitty

I'm a bit naughty. I want to get to the gym, but I don't want to at the same time. I'd rather sleep. Not that I haven't been waking up at my gym wake up time to go pee...Lazy. I've noticed too that I'm a bit more winded than I have been. I'm thinking about asking my OB to write me a gym excuse note so I don't waste the gym membership now. With the weather getting better, I'd rather go play in my pool (when it's warm), bike, or go to that yoga class. I totally prefer to lift weights, which I can't do the same now as pre-preg. I need to make my health habits be more natural, like walking the neighborhood like normal families do.

Yep, I'm abnormal! haha

As for the noms. Still feeling pretty much ok with myself. I haven't been the perfect picture of health, but my weight has been holding fairly steady at home (I weigh occasionally in the morning). I'd rather go by my home scale than my OB's. So right now, I've been hovering around 7-9lbs gained since Turkey Day. I think that's not bad for being preggers and going through the holidays. For the most part, I'm eating a bunch of fresh fruit and salads. Then I might let myself have some less than healthy options, like chicken wings... hahaha

For you non-first time moms, when did the weight gain and clothing not fitting issue hit for your first?