Worried about not eating enough/gaining too much

nicolemviolette

I am currently 30w, 2 days pregnant with my first baby.
Before I found out I was pregnant I was doing everything I could to lose weight. I am 5'11" tall.
I started at 148 pounds as of May 2013. I started dieting big time right around that time, eating about 1200 calories a day, working 8 hours as a CNA and not eating no matter how hungry and dizzy I got, then going home and working out for about an hour on an empty stomach until I felt like I was going to faint.
I was down to 130 pounds by July 2013. In July I had an incident where I fainted while taking a shower. I stopped breathing, blacked out, I couldnt see and couldnt hear. I thought I was going to die. When I got to the hospital they told me I was 30 pounds underweight.
In October 2013, I found out I was 8 weeks pregnant.
NOW my biggest concern is my weight. I now weigh 166 pounds... and it scares me. This is the heaviest I have ever been. I am trying so hard to stay healthy for my baby by eating 2,000 calories a day. But when I see my weight on the scale at my prenatal appointments, I choke up.
Is my calorie intake too much?? Or could I be gaining so much weight because I deprived my body before becoming pregnant?

jr235

Here are some guidelines (and they are just that, guides!) for gaining weight.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/pregnancy-weight-gain/art-20044360

If you were underweight when you began pregnancy you should be gaining 28-40lbs. Sounds like you are right on track. Even if you were a normal weight you should gain 25-35lbs, and if you're at 30lbs at 30wks you're fine. Maybe you would be a few lbs over, but many women find it uncomfortable to eat too much those last few weeks because your organs are squished.

On another note, have you seen a counselor? It is possible to develop an eating disorder while pregnant, and sounds like you had some disordered eating before pregnancy. I would really suggest it. Pregnancy and children birth can very stressful and emotion filled (good and bad!) times. Having someone to talk to can help.

kerryradz

I'm also worried about not gaining enough weight in pregnancy (33wks + 4days) and that is why I'm still logging on MFP whilst being pregnant to make sure I'm not undereating. I agree with the other comment, you may want to see a counselor just in case you have developed an eating disorder as I'm not bothered if I go over my calorie allowance by loads or anything as the baby needs to nutrients and if I'm hungry then I'll eat regardless of if I'm over that day or not. I'm struggling to stomach a lot of food at the moment as my bump gets bigger I get very uncomfortable after meals and honestly feel like I can't move sometimes - it's the worse feeling ever. I'm just trying to eat calorie dense food so that I don't need to eat as much and if i'm still lacking in cals by the end of the day i'll make myself a smoothie.

Maybe ask your doctor not to tell you your weight next time you have an appointment. You shouldn't be worrying about weight gain as you was very slim to start with and because of being underweight and not eating properly before your body is probably storing as much as possible. Don't forget there is at least 6lbs worth of weight gain from the placenta/water/extra blood in your system and then your baby's weight on top of that. So a lot of the weight gain is actually your baby and it's life support system. As long as you don't put on a huge amount of weight like 5 stone i'm sure you will be fine, the average woman who is normal weight to begin with puts on about 2 - 3 stone during pregnancy i believe.

We don't get weighed here in the UK at our midwife apts and I haven't weighed myself either as I don't want it to worry me - as long as your bump is measuring big enough and the baby is big enough in the scans and healthy then i wouldn't worry too much about your weight. I've recently had to go for a growth scan as I have a smaller bump than average but my baby's estimated weight in the scan was measuring just in the margins it should be, I go for another scan on monday to check she is still growing at the right rate. My consultant didn't tell me I wasn't eating enough or anything and that I needed to eat more - every baby is different she said and my baby is happy and healthy so they have no concerns.

DawnieB1977

I agree with Kerry regarding weighing yourself. Don't do it! And if you get weighed at appointments, don't look. I'm also in the UK and we don't get weighed, except at the booking appointment and the combined test.

You were underweight to begin with, and even now at 30 weeks you are easily within a healthly BMI. Don't forget that once your baby is born you will lose at least 10lbs just of baby, placenta, blood etc, and then continue to lose weight as the extra fluid leaves your body. I remember sweating loads in the first few weeks after having my children.

I'm 36+5 now and I aim for 2000 calories a day, and I still exercise. My bump measures spot on for my amount of weeks, and at my scan today (to double check if baby is breech) they estimated her weight at 6lbs6, so she should be around 8lbs by due date. My other two were 7lbs13 and 8lbs10, both overdue (10 days and 12 days).

I do get worried about weight gain, but I'm also logical about it. I know I've been healthy and exercised and logged throughout, and I don't eat excessively. I'm 5'6 and was 154lbs to begin with, a UK size 10/12 (US6/8) and I had a nice figure. So I'm a lot bigger than you are!

nicolemviolette

Well in my first trimester I was also VERY sick. I threw up everything I ate or drank until 17 weeks. And at my 20 week appt i had gained 16 pounds, which my doctor said was healthy. Then at my 24/25 week appt I had gained 36 pounds. And I just dont understand why my weight shot up like that. I have been logging, and trying my best to stay under or not much higher than 2,000 calories a day. If I go over, its usually because I was hungry even after I ran out of calories for the day and I didnt wanna deprive my baby of nutrients.
My legs have gotten a little bigger, but i dont look like ive gained a lot other than in my big belly. But I have noticed that when I put on my ankle weights to do my workouts, they are getting tighter and tighter. (and they used to be too lose around my ankles.) Could I be retaining water?? And could that be some of my weight gain as well?

DawnieB1977

Yep, you can definitely retain water. My legs are bigger too. My boots are a lot harder to zip up now, and i curse myself for having bought boots from the kids' section lol.

My midwife said you gain a third more fluid in pregnancy.

You will have gained weight to make up for sickness in the beginning. Luckily I was never sick, but I did feel nauseous, although that just made me eat whatever I could.

stephysd

Your body will also put on a layer of storage fat to help with breastmilk production after birth. I am currently 34 w 5 d and I have noticed for the last week or two that my legs and butt are getting a little bit bigger. This just happens to be where my body stores that fat at. For the most part after each of my two previous births, that slims down within a few months without any effort on my part. It's just what your body will naturally do. Also you are probably correct that you are retaining water.

As easy as it is to say don't stress about it, it is really important that you don't. You need to gain weight for your child. And you know what you need to do post-pregnancy to start losing again when you are ready.

toothpastechica

I lost weight in the beginning and then started gaining weight late..it came as a HUGE shock to me to gain so much weight so fast and I now weigh more then I have in my life, which for me is quite scary since I worked my *kitten* off to get lose the extra weight I had been carrying around since highschool....

TBH that's one of the reasons I am not around here lately, I had to stop tracking completely because seeing the numbers and the calories and feeling unhealthy all the while still being told I need to gain was overwhelming to me and making me anxious so I have stopped tracking for now...When baby gets here I will worry around tracking again, until then they tell me at my appointments what I weigh and I try and just let it be until the Dr's show concern. Maybe take a break from MFP (even though the support is great, it can be a trigger if you are struggling with unhealthy weight/eating concerns) and see if that helps.

tiggerhammon

Just my two cents - take it or leave it - if you were 30lbs under weight at 130 then currently at 166 you are about perfect!

tiggerhammon

Also, yes, it is totally normal to gain weight in large chunks during pregnancy too. One appt I was down in weight, the next up 12lbs, the next under 4lbs. I have gained 8lbs in the last two weeks. According to the charts, I am right on track. I started out over weight and my weight gain has been sporadic and irregular but healthy. Gaining a bunch in one month is pretty normal - especially, as I have learned, around the 18-25 week mark. Somewhere in there is when baby over doubles in weight and length. The 'growth spurt' comes with increase in appetite and thirst and your body retains a lot of water and absorbs all the nutrients you give it during this time. Totally normal, try not stressing it.