Weight Gain During Pregnancy

cort330

So... I just found out this week that I'm pregnant with my second child. While I'm excited to have one more (at that's it) baby, I'm concerned about my current and future weight.

First of all, I'm 20 pounds heavier than my starting weight with my first child. During my last pregnancy, I gained 75 pounds! Yes, I'm an overachiever. But I did lose all of that and then some...but gained 30 back.

I learned my lesson with the first baby, that pregnancy is not a license to eat all you want. Of course, I'm trying to avoid "empty calories" and fried foods.

So, how do fight off the cravings for "pickles and ice cream", so to speak, and really keep my caloric intake under control? My goal is to gain no more than 25 lbs.

las2381

I'm in the same boat as you in terms of pregnancy. I am 9 weeks pregnant and so far have gained less than 2 lbs. I have lost almost 80lbs and do not want to have to struggle to lose any extra weight after I have the baby b/c I know it will be hard enough as it is. I have really been keeping track of what I have been eating and making sure not to go crazy. Which is the hardest part. of course there are some days where I just need that brownie or I am actually super hungry and have to eat so i don't feel sick. Basically i still track exactly the same way I have when I was dieting except I have upped my caloric intake. Whatever my maintenance intake should be I upped it by 100 calories and then I will adjust it later once I am in my 2nd and 3rd trimester.

It is important to eat enough food and get healthy food in. So I always try to go for a fruit or veggie as a snack (which doesn't always work). Just making an effort and being more aware is what counts. I make sure to eat frequently throughout the day so that I am not starving and also at the same time so I don't feel sick (gotta love morning sickness). Luckily I have been taking unisom at night for the morning sickness and it has helped so much!

Just plug in what you eat, make sure you are hitting your nutritional/caloric goals and you should be fine. Also any little bit of exercise you can get is great because then you can eat more....hahaha. Just don't over stress about it because that will be worse for you and the baby.

I am just hoping I can stay as focused in the many weeks to come. We can do this!!!! We will be fit and healthy moms!

cort330

It sucks because I'm already 40 lbs overweight.

las2381

Don't worry about that for now. I wasn't at my goal weight either, but the important thing is that you just try your best and gain a healthy amount of weight during this pregnancy. As you said you have learned from you past pregnancy and don't want to make the same mistakes. Sometimes just being more aware of our food decisions and trying to do the right thing makes all of the difference.

I know that if you track what you eat and account for it all you will be able to gain a healthy amount of weight and not go overboard. If you are still really concerned you can maybe talk to a nutritionist and see if they have any advice or more specific guidelines for you to follow to make sure that you are getting everything that you need.

It is very, very hard and I am terrified of gaining more weight than I should because I know how hard I worked to lose every pound. I know right now is the "easy" part b/c the cravings haven't kicked in fully and it will only get harder as this pregnancy goes on. Right now I am just trying to focus on having one good day at a time. Like right now I have to be good for today b/c I had a hamburger craving last night that I just NEEDED to satisfy. So today I will do my best to not overeat and make sure I get more veggies in. I don't want to beat myself up over it because then that just tends to me saying "screw it!" and eating more.

definitely a lifelong struggle that pregnancy is putting to a test.

AMB195

I never had any problem with my weight until my first pregnancy. I gained 58 pounds and then continued to gain in the first 4 months after the baby was born. When the baby turned 1 I was still 35lbs overweight. I joined a medically supervised weightloss program (that uses a similar approach to MFP). My doctor told me that "eating for two" is a myth. He explained that a pregnant woman only needs an extra 200 (maybe it was 250?) calories per day. I realized that I had really overeaten during pregnancy. The program was great and I returned to my pre-preganancy weight.

One year later I became pregnant with my second child. I remembered what the doctor had said about the calories needed during pregnancy and just added something extra to my breakfast, or gave myself an extra snack through the day. That was it. I gained 27 lbs. during that pregnancy. The baby was 10lbs and I walked out of the hospital in my pre-pregnancy pants. My weight was stable for 3.5 years, but in the last 6 months I've crept up by 12 lbs. I found MFP 3 weeks ago and I'm headed back in the right direction.

My advice is to keep using MFP. Talk to your doctor about how many calories you should be consuming. You do get to eat a little extra something during pregancy -- nice treat! You just can't go overboard. This pregnancy does not need to go the same way as your last one. Congratulations on your pregnancy and best of luck!

ahmommy

Congratulations!

Have a good discussion with your doctor about how much weight you should gain. If you're classified as overweight, they may advise you that you should only gain 15-20 pounds instead of the more typical 25-35. With my second pregnancy, my doctor said it was okay for me to shoot for 20 pounds gain, even though I was starting at a normal weight.

Don't go into it trying not to gain weight, that's not healthy. But you don't really need to eat any more than usual (maintenance) for your first trimester, and only an additional 100-300 calories a day during the second and third trimesters. Keep in mind that everyone's body is unique, and your metabolism will be affected in ways you can't really anticipate.

I ended up gaining 30 pounds with my second pregnancy, versus the 40 I gained the first time around. My goal was 20-25, so I overshot it a little bit. I wasn't tracking calories, I ate when I was hungry, but I chose healthy options and stopped eating when I wasn't hungry anymore. Don't take pregnancy as a free pass to eat whatever you want - it just doesn't work that way.

I'm 6 months postpartum now and back to my starting weight. Now I'm working on body recomposition - reducing my body fat percentage and gaining muscle. It took me 2+ years to get to this point after my first. You definitely are not cursed to repeat history - you know better this time!

Leanne030379

I am the same way. I just found out I was pregnant yesterday with my first baby. I am so excited and I have started drinking more milk and uping my snacks in between meals (healthy snacks that is). I love reading all of the posts and have answered the questions I was having as well regarding eating habits. I am so excited, but I don't want to put on excessive weight other than what is necessary to keep the baby healthy. Congratulations to the other ladies who are pregnant as well and good luck with everything. I welcome any advice (from 1st time parenting to eating habits) that anyone has.

hparker2

Try not to stress too much about it. Make healthy food choices. When I got pregnant with my daughter I was worried about the weight gain. I continued to exercise (lots of walks) and did my best to make healthy choices. I didn't gain much weight at first, it mostly starts coming on around month 7. Usually when you crave something, like chocolate, it's because your body needs calcium. So before reaching for a chocolate bar, try drinking some milk first. That helped a lot with my cravings. Also try not to worry too much about the calories while you are pregnant. It is not an exscuse to "eat for two," but if you are hungry, eat something. Now is not the time to deprive your body, because the health of the baby is the most important thing. Plus if you breastfeed once the baby is born, the weight melts off

mbvaldivia30

Just found out I was pregnant today thanks for the helpful tips. I'm a little nervous because I was on medication for depression. But my doctor told me to stop the medication as of right now. I think I'm going to up my exercise to 120 minutes a day. To help stabilize my mood. Congratulations to all the ladies are preggers. I'm 6 weeks along.

maurierose

It's a challenge to determine what I actually need - I was eating around 1600 cals a day + exercise calories before we got pregnant as I was actively working to lose weight; I've gradually raised my calorie intake to 2100 a day and I've still lost 3 lbs.... trying to find the right balance, but definitely eating as many healthy things as I can with the occasional splurge (mmm pizza LOL). It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that I'm eating so much and still losing.... urgh. I'll get it!

CReinisch

Another pregnant person here. I'm overweight, so my doctor said no more than 15lbs. I lost 4lbs the first month of my pregnancy, but thanks to nausea and horrible food aversions, the only thing I could keep down was sweets, so put those 4 lbs back on really quickly. I'm at 14 weeks now, and still waiting for the nausea to go away, but haven't thrown up in a week, so yay!

This whole eating healthy/exercising was my goal, but when you spend your day feeling like you're on a boat during bad weather, it's hard to exercise, and the food aversions (took me by surprise! I can even look at fish, seafood or chicken without wanting to barf, it sucks), means I can't eat very healthy as most things make my stomach turn.

People say it should all be better in the 2nd trimester, so here I am, on the 2nd tri waiting and waiting for things to finally get better. It's been over a month since my last workout, not pretty. And even though no weight gain yet, everything has already expanded (yep, I put on 1" all around, 2" in some places like my boobs and hips -- how does that happen without an increase in the scale, beats me).

sarat88

I am also pregnant and trying to keep myself at a resonable weight. I am about 60lbs overweight by medical standards. I am four months pregnant and my doctor okayed me for 1 pound per month if you can beleive that! I have gained three so far. First trimester was hard to eat anything. I would litterally gag at the sight of foods I once ate regularly. Now I basically just eat the recommended amount of calories per day based on my weight and how much I need to support the little one and I supplement with a prenatal of course. My big downfall has been junk food. Chips, milkshakes, salty fries, etc. How have you handled cravings?

sarat88

Awsome points hparker2!!!!

jimmeezwyf

Hard topic because you never really know what your body is going to do when it's hormones are going out of control. I know from experience...I did everything right, calories, exercise and at the end of each pregnancy I gained at least 80 lbs. then 20 - 40 lbs. after, even while breastfeeding. I'd lose all the weight in two years, but it did still suck and make me depressed. Doctor told me it was hormones and if I was to have more kids I was just going to have to deal with how my body reacts to having babies. I don't know what advice to give other than, just keep track of your food and exercise, it's really all you can do. CONGRATS and good luck,

KristyGirl8

I just got back on myfitnesspal because I want to manange my weight gain better and be more conscious about what I am eating during pregnancy. I am in the first week of the 3rd trimester, and I've gained about 20 lbs. My midwife recently warned me to keep my weight gain in check, so that's what I'm doing. I've DEFINITELY used this pregnancy as an excuse to eat a cookie a day! ha ha! I gotta lay off now. PLUS, at this point, overeating is causing sever physical discomfort. I feel like my food is in my lungs. SO, I'm making a commitment to stop with the sweets. Some of the maternity jeans I bought are feeling tight in the thighs, so it's a sure sign that I'm not just gaining weight in my belly. Putting on the breaks NOW!

If anybody wants a pregnant friend, PLEASE ADD ME! :-)

Best of luck in all your pregnancies!