A myth or fact regarding pregnancy?

Pickles11

Is it true that the better shape you're in when you get pregnant, the easier it will be to get back into shape after the baby?

I ask because I will have kids in a few years, and I'm worried that all this work losing weight will all go away when I have kids.

ElizabethRoad

That's common sense.

livinginwoods

One of the reasons I am doing this seriously now is to have a baby. But sometimes I wonder if I want a baby right away, after I lose the weight, or if I want to enjoy being smaller for a while.

bjbixler

For the most part, yes, the fitter you are pre-baby, and if you only gain the recommended weight during the pregnancy, then the easier it is to get back to pre-baby weight afterwards.

I also think about this topic. I'm 30 years old and I got married last year. I've also spent the last year getting healthy and losing weight. I dont want pregnancy to ruin that. I'm going to keep working towards my current fitness goals, but in all likelihood, I'll be taking the step towards motherhood by the end of 2012.

I think that as long as you keep working now at losing and then maintaining and staying fit, and then only gain the recommended 20-30 lbs during the pregnancy you should be fine. My sis just had a baby and she is down to prebaby weight just 3 months later. So... it's possible. (She's also super mom and ran up until a week before she gave birth!)

cartea01

Being fitter/healthier pre-pregnancy and MAINTAINING this level during pregnancy is known to improve recovery post pregnancy. The biggest mistake women make is thinking they are "eating for two". You don't need to increase your maintainence calorie intake at all in first trimester, and in second you add 200-300 more calories and then another 200-300 calories in your third.

Pickles11

Good information all, thanks!

ljbhill

I look at it this way... If I had fallen pregnant BEFORE losing all the weight then I would have been looking at putting on another 10kg on my already overweight body! Now that I have LOST the extra weight, even when pregnant I will still weigh LESS :happy:

theologynerd

Also, conception is so much easier when you're body is healthy. A lot of women struggle to get pregnant because of obesity. Labor and delivery are SO MUCH easier when you're at a healthy weight, and of course fitness helps with that immensely!

medesr

Yes, the better the shape you are in before the pregnancy, the easier it will be after the birth of your child. However, it is also important to exercise while pregnant, as long as the doctor hasn't advised otherwise. It is also a myth that a pregnant woman must "eat for two". Really a woman should eat 2-3 more servings per day, not double. Weight gain is inevitable, but too much weight gain is unhealthy as well.

carolineb81

true, you also dont actually need any more food in the first trimester and after that only extra 300 calories per day (Ref: http://www.livestrong.com/article/298305-how-many-calories-should-i-consume-while-pregnant/)

The problem is (well was for me anyway) is that I was a lot hungrier and in the first trimester felt really really sick unless I was eating and so ate a lot. I also didnt realise how much weight I put on as I thought it was just 'bump' until I weighed myself!

Nos150

MMM.. i think that it has to do more with the life style...

if you where normally active before baby (and enjoyed it)

dont you think that you would be wanting to get back to that?

LilMissFoodie

I think it is true. But I personally think it has less to do with what shape you are in and more to do with what habits you maintain.

Of course it makes sense that if you forget healthy eating and exercise altogether during your pregnancy and say to yourself that you are just going to eat whatever you want for 9 months since you are going to gain weight anyway and you know you need a tad more for pregnancy (and therefore end up eating way excess of your maintenance calories) then of course you are going to find it difficult to get back to any kind of calorie deficit once you've had the baby.

Just think how difficult some of us are finding it after taking a couple of weeks indulgence over Christmas!

SCOUSERWENCH

The last thing your gonna be bothered about is weight... you'll be too busy looking after little one.

taramaureen

Of course! I lost 80lbs pre baby #2 and it was so much easier to get back into a groove post baby #2 than it was post baby #1 when I was unhealthy. I'm still not completely back to where I was pre baby #2 but I am definitly in better shape and my recovery was faster to boot!

MrsMuffinRun

Hi, I put on loads with first baby, not quite so much with the second. I followed a similar pattern both times though, in that I lost loads of weight after the birth and 3 months on but once things settled down and i was more in a routine with the baby, then the weight started to creep up. I think it's a combination of tiredness and boredom. So I would say, don't worry massively while you are pregnant or straight after birth, enjoy the baby, but keep an eye on what happens further down the line. Once my kids were age one plus, I was more prone to eating too much. That's my experience though, everyone is different.