Pregnancy weight gain.......some are gaining too much

ldrosophila

Not many people in general are educated about nutrition and the common "eating for two" advice is still so common that for the most part many women still believe it. I do want to believe thought that MFP women who are pregnant are a lot more educated about diet & physical fitness than the average population. A woman of normal weight should only gain 25-35lbs during pregnancy but a lot of women do gain way more than that. Not only is this bad for them in a long run (harder to lose baby weight) post-pregnancy. It also increases their chance of gestational diabetes & preeclempsia.

I think youre right the women on this site for the most part want to be educated and give their baby and themselves the best health

jakkidoodles

Do you not think it's hard enough for those who LOVE their food and being pregnant with all the doctors telling them this. We have extra appointments, all sorts of complications and the worst of it all, people just thinking we're fat and not pregnant. Please don't start chastising on a website. Personally, I put on 5 stone while I was pregnant. Didn't feel great, but tbh, I was soooo hungry all time. I''m now 3 months postpartum, exclusively breastfeeding and since having my son in November, have lost 3 stone 5lbs. (19lbs on here) A little bit of support goes a long way. Pregnant women are emotional as it is, so I would advise a more diplomatic approach or you will end up with a black eye or a hysterical woman soaking your t-shirt in tears

charlenelockhart3

i was very healthy with my pregnancy but got put on bed rest at 29 weeks pregnant meaning i was laying down for 8 weeks. During this time i got bored and ate alot but still i put on only 22 lbs throughout. for me the problem was the first year after the princess was born i managed to not loose any baby weight but put on another 10ish pounds but i was overweight before i got pregnant anyway so had 60lbs to go now got 37 ish left to go yay x

JosieRawr

So I was at Kaiser today for my DD's standard checkup at 8 years old. While I was waiting in the lobby (DW was in with DD and doctor), I saw several mothers with new babies who were very overweight. I'm not talking 40lbs, but in the realm of 80lbs and higher.
A lot of my clientele are females who are losing baby weight, but all of them are only trying to lose 25llbs-35lbs. This should be the normal amount a female should be gaining when pregnant.

To moms to be: you aren't eating for two. Your nutrition should be much better, but realistically, calories shouldn't really exceed more than 300-350 calories per day on average. It's not a free for all to eat everything. Trust that more you gain, the harder it will be to take off and if that weight doesn't come off, then chances are HIGH that you will end up that weight the majority of your life.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Just lol... I gained 50lbs(max 204lbs @ 5'8) yes it was too much weight, but lost it within 6 months of having my daughter and didn't gain it back till I quit working and became a student (going from heavy activity-stocking, inventory control to lightly active) While as a trainer you may think these things are so clear, the same is not so for a pregnant woman. Even a well educated (health wise) woman may be plagued with cravings and obsessions and on the flip side the inability to eat at times which may lead to binging when able to eat. My personal weakness was juice and milk(milk was the only thing that would get rid of my constant heartburn) and even though I was active- still 50lb gain. If this was meant to be nonjudgmental it failed. J/s. If it was your spouse, then you have a reason, but these are strangers that u know nothing about that you are judging based on assumptions.

CuteWittleWifey

I love when men nag about **** that has nothing to do with them.

'cause their partners health and well being has nothing to do with them :drinker:

I'm talking about OP more than anything.
Partners have every right to be concerned about each others health and well-being.

carey1986

Ok so you think you know it all as you are a "trainer"... However you dont know if those women had a medical condition, how many children they have how close together they had their children? Were they breastfeeding? (its not recommended to lose weight when you are breastfeeding due to the chemicals that are broken down from your fat going into your breast milk). You dont know how "big" they were before they became pregnant they might already be less then they were before they were pregnant.

Stop trolling and causing trouble under the pretense of giving "advice"... pregnant women and women are under enough pressure these days without this kind of drama.

Elf_Princess1210

Actually, women that are underweight or are carrying multiples have to gain more, just saying. I think the standard is 40 lbs.

dmpizza

Here's why excessive weight gain in pregnancy is a valid concern for ALL.

Babies are growing too big and needing caesarians to be removed.

We could not have thrived as a species if this was normal.

I used to work in a big office. 6 women were pregnant, 5 had caesarians.

It is not the only reason caesarians are more common(pain killers are a big reason too), but it is one reason.

elizak87

What was your pregnancy like? Oh wait you're a bloke! Are you a midwife, doctor or gyno? No? Then why are you dictating what these women should do? You come across as judgemental because you can't relate to the situation and if you can't relate then keep your opinion of these women to yourself. They are carrying a life inside of them, is that not enough pressure for them? Not all women will be yummy mummys and they don't have to be.

tanyakay87

Completely agree.
Breastfeeding too. Women have this idea that they have to ten times more when nursing. Instead they should be eating healthy and within reason.

It's also dangerous for the baby if their mother's are overweight!!

FitMrsR

I agree that gaining too much isn't good and you shouldn't just eat whatever you like BUT watched what I ate with my first pregnancy and still gained 65lbs. My body just over compensated because it hadn't done this before. I lost it all by the time my daughter was 4 months old and that was without diet and exercise. Fast forward 2 years and I've lost 93lbs (I was only 145lbs at 5'6" before I got pregnant with our first) through eating healthy food and exercising. If I didn't gain all of that weight I wouldn't be the health conscious person I am now. I would still be eating pizza and ice cream several times a week and never exercising. I was lucky that my weight gain didn't cause any health complications but I'm thankful for it every day. I'm now pregnant with our second and am confident that I won't be gaining nearly as much as my body has responded much better. I also think there's too much pressure in pregnant women (and people in general) about weight gain. It's hard enough to accept that your weight is going to go up so if a slice of cake or cookie every now and again is what you want. Then freaking eat it. Weight can always be lost if you want it to be.

ldrosophila

What was your pregnancy like? Oh wait you're a bloke! Are you a midwife, doctor or gyno? No? Then why are you dictating what these women should do? You come across as judgemental because you can't relate to the situation and if you can't relate then keep your opinion of these women to yourself. They are carrying a life inside of them, is that not enough pressure for them? Not all women will be yummy mummys and they don't have to be.
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LOL I was trying to be diplomatic and nice, but I knew this wasnt going to end well. The minute you bash a pregnant woman the other women will come out of the wood work and rip you to shreds. We dont take kindkly when a pregnant or recently pregnant woman is being criticised. We might be in different continents but we protect our pregnant sisters.

rosy003

I'm currently 22 weeks pregnant and I have 2 other children under age 4. While OP's unsolicited advice comes off as annoying, I do think it is an important point to make. I read other pregnancy message boards and women are in the 2nd trimester wondering how they have already gained 30 lbs! I don't think it is lack of control on their part, I think it is lack of information. I also think that other women who have already had children are quick to tell the newly pregnant to "enjoy" their pregnancies by indulging in whatever food they want. With my first 2 kids I gained 40 lbs each time. I was at a healthy weight to begin with and lost it fairly easily, but it still took some work and left me feeling unattractive for many months after my kids were born. My coworkers encouraged me to eat total crap and I gladly listened. This time around I am on track to gain the recommended 25-30, which, I am proud to say, will actually keep my in the healthy BMI range all the way through to delivery. I am working really hard at it. It is NOT easy, but I know I will feel better in the end. There are, of course, exceptions to this- women who develop thyroid issues as a result of pregnancy, women who wind up on bedrest, etc. I think OP means well, but pregnancy advice from a man (who isn't an OBGYN) is never going to be well-received.

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

Many, many pregnant women do gain too much while pregnant. My doctors have talked about it, medical journals talk about it, pregnancy websites talk about it.

But a man with a wife and kids who trains women wanting to lose baby weight can't talk about it because "it's none of his business..." Being perceived as harsh in his wording doesn't make his observation any less true.

I didn't just gain with my first, I ate all the foods and called it "craving" and ballooned out of control. Ended up with an assortment of pregnancy complications and had her early. I really wish someone had been a little harsher with me about how much weight I was gaining because I might have put the brakes on.

There are so many excuses to get obese while pregnant, and I made them all. It wasn't my first time getting that fat in life and one would have thought that I would have known that eating all the foods would have made me big, but because it was pregnancy, I thought it was just fine. Took 4 years to take it off.

julesxo

So I was at Kaiser today for my DD's standard checkup at 8 years old. While I was waiting in the lobby (DW was in with DD and doctor), I saw several mothers with new babies who were very overweight. I'm not talking 40lbs, but in the realm of 80lbs and higher.
A lot of my clientele are females who are losing baby weight, but all of them are only trying to lose 25llbs-35lbs. This should be the normal amount a female should be gaining when pregnant.

To moms to be: you aren't eating for two. Your nutrition should be much better, but realistically, calories shouldn't really exceed more than 300-350 calories per day on average. It's not a free for all to eat everything. Trust that more you gain, the harder it will be to take off and if that weight doesn't come off, then chances are HIGH that you will end up that weight the majority of your life.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I completely agree. Speaking from experience as a mother of two, I couldn't have said it better myself.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I would think the pregnant ladies on this site are trying to have a healthy weight gain during pregnancy hence the reason for being on this site, and want to nourish their child in the most healhful of ways. 300kcals additional especially during second and third trimester is the current recommendation.

Might also be that some of these heavy ladies had actually been heavy prepregnancy and only gained the 11-25lb recommendation for overweight or obese preprego BMI. I suspect you wouldnt really know what their actual weight gain was compared to their starting pre-pregnancy weight. I guess if you had seen me in that OB room you would have judge me "as eating for two" even though I was very conscious during my pregnancy about the weight that would be safe for me to gain and the nutrients I needed to create a healthy baby.

You're right. I'm speculating that the weight gain happened due to pregnancy probably because most doctors don't recommend that females BMI's be too high before getting pregnant. And take solace that I'm not "judging" any of them, it's just what I observed and made an assumption on. Being in the fitness industry, being judgy of overweight/obese people would spell failure as a career since they are the ones who usually need our help.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Just an observation about your observation. :P Yes doctors recommend not getting pregnant while overweight, but that doesn't mean people listen.

I have a lot of health problems (lupus for starters) so my husband and I have been working for 2 years to get healthy enough to get pregnant. But when I told my doctor what we were doing he was really surprised. He said generally people get pregnant first, then ask the doctor what he/she thinks.

I do think your post is right on in terms of what pregnant women should strive for (not eating for two, only eating 300 more calories than normal) but I don't see this going well because you're a man. Good luck :flowerforyou:

sunsnstatheart

I love when men nag about **** that has nothing to do with them.

'cause their partners health and well being has nothing to do with them :drinker:

I'm talking about OP more than anything.
Partners have every right to be concerned about each others health and well-being.

Perhaps reading the OP's post where he explains why it is relevant to him would be in order.

jelr

I don't know why people are in such a huffy. It is an increasing trend in our society that being a mom entitles you to be okay with letting yourself go. I gained 45lbs with my first pregnancy put me at 160. My son was an April baby. I never managed to lose all the weight breast feeding. I had a c-section so I had that factored in as well. I was over dieting, trying to BF and only very slowly losing my weight got down to about 140 6 months post which was October. Wound up unexpectedly pregnant that month (October), didn't even realize it for almost 4 months into my pregnancy as I was very slowly losing weight. Had dropped down to 135 by the time I went to the doctor and found out I was almost 16 weeks pregnant (Jan)! Doc was forcing me on a specific diet to stop the continual weight loss. Come my third trimester I blew up and when I was due finally in August I had my daughter at almost 190lbs!!!

I once again tried crash dieting (talking 800 calories on average if even some days) after having my daughter, shes going to be 4 this year. I have been a creature of habit same types of food really generic simple meals and when I first started logging I was shocked to see I really only ate that much, granted I skipped breakfast and lunch pretty much daily, and usually got by with a snack and balanced dinner. Within the last year have I decided I am done with that after finding this place and realizing that I was overdoing it. At first I lost weight down to about 155 then it started to climb back up after the first year and all I have been able to do is maintain at about 175-180 for the past two years. Had a doctor once tell me after logging food for two weeks to bring in religiously when I was concerned because my weight had started going back up that there was no way I was that fat and only eating that little. But I swear to it I literally wrote everything in that journal and kept it on my person at all times those two weeks and was diligent about it.

I wish I had the advice you can get here back then, now I have to undo all kinds of trouble I probably could have avoided.

gracielynn1011

I love when men nag about **** that has nothing to do with them.

'cause their partners health and well being has nothing to do with them :drinker:

But this guy isn't talking about his partner, he's talking about random people sitting in a doctor's office waiting room.

rml_16

A lot of women are already overweight when they get pregnant.

I also know a few who gained a lot due to preeclampsia. Unless you know these women personally and their individual health and weight histories, you're just making assumptions.