Pregnant... do I have to gain?

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  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    In the first trimester you can eat at maintenance till you talk to your doctor or midwife. It is true that there are different guidelines for people with an obese bmi, but we aren't qualified to advise you. You don't need to gain a lot of actual body weight. I am slim. For my second pregnancy I gained around 30 or 35 pounds, but only ten pounds was my body weight.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Also there are pregnancy weight lifting sites. I remember one called something like diapers and dumbbells. A lot of the regular weight lifting sites for women have pregnancy versions.

    But, it depends on the person. I had to go on bed rest for the third trimester of my second pregnancy because my placenta was injured.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    Soooo just found out yesterday that I'm pregnant! I've been working my butt off for the past few months and I'm in such GREAT shape so there's that part of me that was bummed to have my progress derailed (BUT I'm also excited, don't get me wrong... this is my 4th baby!). I'm still considered to be in an "obese" BMI range. I really don't want to gain a ton of weight and I'm thinking about continuing to count calories and wondering if I should change my settings to maintenance??

    I also want to continue working out, but I was working out pretty hardcore before, lots of high impact stuff. Anyone know if it's still ok to do that stuff or do I need to tone it down? I plan on talking to my doctor at some point but I won't get in for a while yet.
    Congratulations!

    Well, you will naturally gain weight with pregnancy. That's just how it works.

    Lots of women work out while pregnant. However, it's important to be under a doctor's care regarding both working out and your eating habits.

    Good luck!
  • FitFoodieMomBillie
    FitFoodieMomBillie Posts: 227 Member
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    www.trimhealthymama.com
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
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    I guess I worded the title wrong. Obviously I know I will gain SOMETHING, but I've always gained a TON during my pregnancies. My first I gained 60 pounds. I really don't want to do that again. This is my 4th baby, but I've never once paid attention to what I eat during pregnancy and I would like to pay better attention to my food choices.
  • Blue801
    Blue801 Posts: 442
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    Morbidly obese it is beneficial to lose some weight while preggers, so if you're only a measly "obese" you should ask your doctor what he/she personally recommends for you. :drinker: maintenance sounds good to me but I'm only a nurse.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
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    I'm certainly not looking for people to tell me not to gain weight. I was actually more curious about what others have done when they've gotten pregnant, especially if they have been involved with MFP and then gotten pregnant. I think it's a big change to go from calorie counting and intense work-outs to being pregnant! I don't just want to start forgetting all the healthy habits I've learned and go back to where i was!
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,719 Member
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    I guess I worded the title wrong. Obviously I know I will gain SOMETHING, but I've always gained a TON during my pregnancies. My first I gained 60 pounds. I really don't want to do that again. This is my 4th baby, but I've never once paid attention to what I eat during pregnancy and I would like to pay better attention to my food choices.

    When you put it like this….No you don't have to gain a TON of weight.
  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member
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    I guess I worded the title wrong. Obviously I know I will gain SOMETHING, but I've always gained a TON during my pregnancies. My first I gained 60 pounds. I really don't want to do that again. This is my 4th baby, but I've never once paid attention to what I eat during pregnancy and I would like to pay better attention to my food choices.

    Yeh I get that. I gained a hell of a lot for first four too. No.5 gave me an opportunity to practice mindfulness. It definitely helped that I had medical support. In fact until this pregnancy I wasn't aware they had guidelines but I hadn't asked before either. I just assumed it was a given yet I'd wonder why other women managed to breeze through. It is a challenge to have the balance which is why it's best to find out as much as you can.

    There's baby weight
    Placenta weight
    Fluid weight
    Water retention
    Etc.

    These are the givens. You have to support the best outcome for those and your general health.

    Hardcore exercise....I think you know the answer already. But you can do enough throughout the pregnancy to maintain fitness so that you can hit the ground running once bub is born.

    You wait till you start breast feeding....that's a whole other thread! Did my head in breast feeding :)
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I completely understand. You want to be healthy. Doctors don't want us to gain a ton of weight. They don't want pregnancy to lead to weight related health problems. It is about a balance.
  • navygrrl
    navygrrl Posts: 517 Member
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    You've already gotten good advice. :) I just wanted to say congrats!
  • Jess_Forever_After
    Jess_Forever_After Posts: 53 Member
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    I'm pregnant and currently eating to maintenance. I'll bump it up in the last trimester. The pregnancy group on this forum 'Fit Fabulous and Pregnant' can probably answer some weight gain questions for you.

    Congratulations.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I'm pregnant and currently eating to maintenance. I'll bump it up in the last trimester. The pregnancy group on this forum 'Fit Fabulous and Pregnant' can probably answer some weight gain questions for you.

    Congratulations.

    Oh yeah, that's a good one.

    Oh, I just checked. I think the one I am familiar with is Fierce, Fit, Fearless, Pregnant? (It has the question mark). I follow the facebook group.
  • Rainboots80
    Rainboots80 Posts: 218 Member
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    In most cases if you are obese you do not have to gain. My doctors told me to not gain over 15 pounds but I actually lost weight at first and they were not concerned about it. I also had Gestational diabetes with my last two and was on a very controlled low carb diet. The best thing to do is tell your doctor you don't want to gain much and ask to speak to a dietitian. Also you can still do some exercises so ask your doctor what is okay for you. Usually walking, swimming and yoga are ok.

    When I first joined MFP in August 2010 I was pregnant for my 3rd and tracking so I didn't gain much because of having the GD.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I just read that people that are obese are advised to gain 20 pounds or less.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
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    Talk to your OBGYN and congratulations! I got to pre-preggers size in 3 months after both babies. It's not any different than losing/getting in shape before babies. (BTW, I had 2, 10lb babies so I got HUGE!)
  • FireOpalCO
    FireOpalCO Posts: 641 Member
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    For those saying "of course you will gain", not necessarily. I was overweight when I was pregnant with my son. I lost weight with each check-in until the last few weeks when I gained about 5-10 back. I wasn't dieting or working out, but with no caffeine and trying to eat correctly so my baby would have proper nutrition (and let's face it, your stomach and other organs get compressed as the baby grows), I was just dropping weight. As long as everything looks okay during the ultrasounds you should still be able to exercise and possibly lose weight (or at least finish the pregnancy very close to your starting weight). Bring your doctor a menu plan and discuss your exercise options.

    The books I read while pregnant all stated that on average a woman only needs an extra 300 calories a day while pregnant. That's not a lot.
  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member
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    http://www.acog.org/Resources_And_Publications/Committee_Opinions/Committee_on_Obstetric_Practice/Obesity_in_Pregnancy
  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member
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    Removed original comment because I realised I had misunderstood what was said.

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