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

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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    TIL: Don't get pregnant if you have a trainer.
    Ahahaha! Actually I'm training someone right now who's pregnant. No stretch marks yet either. Of course genetics, age and amount of weight gain will help to dictate if it happens or not.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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  • Mikkimeow
    Mikkimeow Posts: 1,282 Member
    I am nine months pregnant, and so far I have gained 23 lbs. I was at the obese end before I became pregnant. I was just starting my weight loss journey and had lost twenty pounds. It has been a battle to not hate my body while pregnant and instead focus on fueling it the right way and exercising daily. I am proud that of the work I put in these nine months. As soon as I have this baby, I am losing the weight the best way I can, and trying to be a new mom at the same time. That is a daunting task.

    I do know that I get looks everyday from people who judge me and think I'm a whale with a baby, thinking she can eat for two. It is absolutely not true. Your advice was very correct, but maybe some of those women were like me, pregnant and already obese.
  • Katia_Quesadilla
    Katia_Quesadilla Posts: 7 Member
    A round of applause for the OP!
    I think you owe all women an apology for lumping us into some small portion of postpartum women you work with.

    I find it interesting that you object to lumping all women together, but you've done the same thing repeatedly in your posts in this thread, most noticeably here:
    we as women just generally dont want to hear it

    I'm... not offended, but annoyed at this. You can't rationally say, "don't lump everyone together" and then lump everyone together in the next breath. I'm a woman, and I don't have a problem with what he said.
  • ashleypeha
    ashleypeha Posts: 19
    Totally agree about the not "eating for two" part. I didn't start putting on weight until I was 5 months in. I wore my normal pants until almost 7.5 months in. But once I got to that 3rd Tri it was like my body litterally held on to every ounce of food I put in my mouth. I didn't eat that horribly, and I tried to be aware of how much food I was eating at each sitting. I have always had to be aware of how I eat and remain active to keep my weight down, but my pregnancy got difficult and I had to quit my job and try to stay off my feet as much as I could for the last couple months. It sucked , mostly because I gained sooo much weight. Its kind of upsetting to know that people are out there judging women's bodies who have litterally spent 9 months creating another human. Its already hard enough on us, so the extra judgment doesn't really help. Some things are out of our control, and you don't know these ladie's stories. I guess as a man you can't exactly understand it......the one thing I do agree with is that you don't have to "eat for two" (esentially doubling calories).
  • ashleypeha
    ashleypeha Posts: 19
    I also just read your stretch mark comment.......ummmm I know girls who are 21 years old, super fit, and have stretch marks......so genetics have ALOT to do with it.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    I am nine months pregnant, and so far I have gained 23 lbs. I was at the obese end before I became pregnant. I was just starting my weight loss journey and had lost twenty pounds. It has been a battle to not hate my body while pregnant and instead focus on fueling it the right way and exercising daily. I am proud that of the work I put in these nine months. As soon as I have this baby, I am losing the weight the best way I can, and trying to be a new mom at the same time. That is a daunting task.

    I do know that I get looks everyday from people who judge me and think I'm a whale with a baby, thinking she can eat for two. It is absolutely not true. Your advice was very correct, but maybe some of those women were like me, pregnant and already obese.
    And I did state that my assumption of their weight was from a perspective that they gained too much while pregnant and not really considering they may have been overweight before they even got pregnant. In reality, we wouldn't really know unless we knew the people who were there. Good luck on the rest of your pregnancy.


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  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
    TIL: Don't get pregnant if you have a trainer.
    Ahahaha! Actually I'm training someone right now who's pregnant. No stretch marks yet either. Of course genetics, age and amount of weight gain will help to dictate if it happens or not.

    i got zero stretchmarks when i gained 62 lbs but i did get them as a teenager on my hips so i know im capable of getting them. i really believe moisturizing 3 times a day kept them away
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    Totally agree about the not "eating for two" part. I didn't start putting on weight until I was 5 months in. I wore my normal pants until almost 7.5 months in. But once I got to that 3rd Tri it was like my body litterally held on to every ounce of food I put in my mouth. I didn't eat that horribly, and I tried to be aware of how much food I was eating at each sitting. I have always had to be aware of how I eat and remain active to keep my weight down, but my pregnancy got difficult and I had to quit my job and try to stay off my feet as much as I could for the last couple months. It sucked , mostly because I gained sooo much weight. Its kind of upsetting to know that people are out there judging women's bodies who have litterally spent 9 months creating another human. Its already hard enough on us, so the extra judgment doesn't really help. Some things are out of our control, and you don't know these ladie's stories. I guess as a man you can't exactly understand it......the one thing I do agree with is that you don't have to "eat for two" (esentially doubling calories).

    I really think so many women are taking issue with him because very few are actually doubling calories and eating 4,000 calories. It is VERY easy to gain weight when you are pregnant -- should you strive to be as healthy as you can? Absolutely. Should be overly concerned with weight? I personally don't think so -- and I don't think most doctors are either, unless somebody is eating 4,000 calories and gaining what they deem to be excessive (which is WAY over the "ideal" 25-35 pounds). I think it's horrifying sad to see women worried about gaining weight when they are pregnant.
  • Mikkimeow
    Mikkimeow Posts: 1,282 Member
    I am nine months pregnant, and so far I have gained 23 lbs. I was at the obese end before I became pregnant. I was just starting my weight loss journey and had lost twenty pounds. It has been a battle to not hate my body while pregnant and instead focus on fueling it the right way and exercising daily. I am proud that of the work I put in these nine months. As soon as I have this baby, I am losing the weight the best way I can, and trying to be a new mom at the same time. That is a daunting task.

    I do know that I get looks everyday from people who judge me and think I'm a whale with a baby, thinking she can eat for two. It is absolutely not true. Your advice was very correct, but maybe some of those women were like me, pregnant and already obese.
    And I did state that my assumption of their weight was from a perspective that they gained too much while pregnant and not really considering they may have been overweight before they even got pregnant. In reality, we wouldn't really know unless we knew the people who were there. Good luck on the rest of your pregnancy.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
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    I just hope that they go on to be well informed and lose the weight in a healthy way without being judged.
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
    we as women just generally dont want to hear it

    I'm... not offended, but annoyed at this. You can't rationally say, "don't lump everyone together" and then lump everyone together in the next breath. I'm a woman, and I don't have a problem with what he said.
    [/quote]

    im not offended either. if i get pregnant again i hope to only gain about 40 because those last 20 lbs were very hard to lose. Im not a food person and only ate because i was starving all the time when i was pregnant- and thirsty! i would wake in the middle of the night and have to eat a bowl of cereal and drink a glass of water
  • MGSR
    MGSR Posts: 35 Member
    I havent read all of this thread, but I did see
    And of course, once those babies are BORN, and the majority of the care is left to the mom, the LAST thing mom cares about is her weight (unless she is very vain to begin with). Add sleep deprivation and we're basically hot messes until things settle down again

    I think saying any mum who is concerned about her weight was 'very vain to begin with' is a bit narrow minded.
    I admit I have no experience, me and my partner are currently trying for a baby (I'm on here to track nutrients and make sure I'm eating right) but I hope that I will be concerned about getting back in shape after birth. I want to set a good example of health for my kids. I lost my mum a month ago to breast cancer, which has a higher ocurance in overweight women. I want to see my kids grow up, so to me getting back in shape is very important, I don't think that makes me vain.

    I think this post is good, people talk about 'eating for two' far too much, but putting on too much weight makes problems at birth much more likely.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    Totally agree about the not "eating for two" part. I didn't start putting on weight until I was 5 months in. I wore my normal pants until almost 7.5 months in. But once I got to that 3rd Tri it was like my body litterally held on to every ounce of food I put in my mouth. I didn't eat that horribly, and I tried to be aware of how much food I was eating at each sitting. I have always had to be aware of how I eat and remain active to keep my weight down, but my pregnancy got difficult and I had to quit my job and try to stay off my feet as much as I could for the last couple months. It sucked , mostly because I gained sooo much weight. Its kind of upsetting to know that people are out there judging women's bodies who have litterally spent 9 months creating another human. Its already hard enough on us, so the extra judgment doesn't really help. Some things are out of our control, and you don't know these ladie's stories. I guess as a man you can't exactly understand it......the one thing I do agree with is that you don't have to "eat for two" (esentially doubling calories).
    My DW had a Cervical Cerclage done the 2nd month into pregnancy and was put on bed rest till my daughter was born. She could do a little walking, but exercise was definitely out of the question. With the exception of when I was working, most of the rest of my time was comforting her and helping her when I was home. I didn't exactly feel it, but I do get it.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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  • LoveMy3Boys
    LoveMy3Boys Posts: 562 Member
    haha

    I gained about 20 pounds with my oldest and lost weight with my second.

    I gained weight in between each pregnancy and after my last. If you had seen me it wouldn't have been from pregnancy I can assure you. Too many assumptions without personal knowledge.
  • Jubee31
    Jubee31 Posts: 93 Member
    I have no children, but hubby and I want to in the next couple of years. And I DO NOT want to put myself or my baby at risk by being obese when I get pregnant. So sure, don't tell a woman she shouldn't have a baby if she's obese....don't step on her toes or make her feel uncomfortable.....but isn't that all people get now? Oh, don't say that, you'll offend her...blah blah blah.

    I'm obese, and I am well-informed enough to know that I need to take care of that because a) I don't want me or my baby at risk and b) I want to be a good example to my future children.

    Now, back to OP's post (sorry, had to get that off my chest after reading some responses), it is definitely going to be something that I need to be aware about. I am NOT eating for 2 adults.

    Thanks in advance, OP!
  • karentcampbell
    karentcampbell Posts: 18 Member
    It's a hot topic. I was only 10 pounds overweight when I started both my pregnancies and I still ended up with Gestational Diabetes, Graves disease and Pre clampsia. I ate correctly, I love veggies, fruit, I kept daily food journals, I exercised doing kickboxing. It was still never enough for the doctors or the nutritionists, I was doing something wrong. Pregnancy does strange things to women's bodies. Sometimes beyond our own control. IN addition to keeping the Graves disease, I had every symptom except the weight loss! I gained a lot of weight, I worked out 6 days a week doing INSANITY and ate at the right calorie amount. My Endocrinologist, told me some people gain weight with Graves, and that I had to work twice as hard as every one else to get it off. Never assume you know all the reasons for the situation a person is in. I burst into tears continually when pregnant when people commented on my weight gain, I even walked around with my hand written food journal to prove to people I was doing what I was supposed to. In the End I have two healthy babies, I gained 50 pounds with both of them and lost all. You can do everything right and your body will still do what it wants.
  • HopefulLeigh
    HopefulLeigh Posts: 363 Member
    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'm incredibly impressed that your training allows you to look at someone and know how much they weighed prior to becoming pregnant. You, sir, earn a "Screw you" for your judgmental bull. The vast majority of women know that eating for two does not mean eating 4k calories a day. We're female, not stupid.
  • CrazyTrackLady
    CrazyTrackLady Posts: 1,337 Member
    For the record, several years ago I was working out and looked absolutely fabulous. Then I got pregnant. I cried for three days straight because all the hard work I had put in was about to come undone.

    I was determined not to let a lot of weight creep in, so I exercised through most of my pregnancy. I did have an easier delivery because of it. But that didn't cure the exhaustion of being a new mom again (I already had a nearly 3 year old).
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
    I agree that ideally, women would eat only clean and healthy foods during pregnancy and gain the recommended 25-35 lbs (since, of course, they would all be at a perfect weight to start with) but that is not realistic. I also agree that gaining too much weight during pregnancy and being overweight to start with has been shown to carry more risks to the pregnancy. I also agree that pregnancy is different for everyone and it is important to realize that.

    IMO, the OP had good intentions for starting the thread but his tone was judgemental, which is a turn off. I also think his statement that he thought most women were at a healthy BMI before pregnant since doctors recommend that is laughable.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
    My pregnancy was 28 years ago but I still brag about it- I was riding my bike 8 miles a day after work- up to and including the night before DS was born. My weight gain was about 30 lbs. I had a wonderful pregnancy and an easy recovery. I was 31 and the 20-something women in my Lamaze class had more complaints than I did.

    One of the women working for me just had a baby and another is due in June. Both started out a little zaftig, and then just blew up. They were sticking out all over at 3.5 months, which is about when I had to fit into a wedding dress. They were/are snacking all the time on high-cal stuff with little nutritional value. Theyr'e both going to have a big load to lose post-baby.

    Well, OP, it's more clients for your personal training business!
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
    That is great that you were able to stay fit while pregnant. Not everyone is able to exercise at that level during pregnancy for health reasons. It sounds like your coworkers are not all that careful about what they are eating while pregnant, but that isn't the case for everyone.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    IMO, the OP had good intentions for starting the thread but his tone was judgemental, which is a turn off. I also think his statement that he thought most women were at a healthy BMI before pregnant since doctors recommend that is laughable.

    I find it down right absurd. For somebody who brags about their knowledge of weight loss, nutrition, and fitness he seems totally out of touch with the reality of people he's "helping". Sorry, I think this guy made the classic mistake of not realizing how horribly judgmental his opinion was and is trying to cover his butt.

    I've asked him repeatedly if he thinks pregnant women are just undereducated and actually think they can eat 4k calories and gain "normal" amounts of weight or if maybe some women let loose for other reasons -- like having an excuse to not acquiesces to societal pressure to be thin/watch what they eat etc. I also find it odd that he didn't consider women who gain a lot of weight were experiencing an medical problem that caused it, especially since he claims his wife had a difficult pregnancy. I wonder how he would have felt if some person that didn't know her situation would have determined that she was just lazy.
  • TiffCK
    TiffCK Posts: 37
    Keep in mind that women look bigger after giving birth even at a low weight. Their uterus is still oversized and will look 6 months pregnant for a little while. Also, I was in the hospital twice with my daughter and ate hardly anything there, and gained 10lbs each time. I was there for 4 days each time. So 20lbs in 8 days. Seriously, I was hungry the entire time I was there but the food was awful. It must have been water weight from the fluids, but it didn't come off. Getting around to it now. (Daughter is a year old now. Exclusive breastfed, and still nursing.) P.S: I gained 40lbs with each baby. Both were born vaginally.
    Also, you made it sound like because women have higher risks of complications if they are overweight when they get pregnant, then they would lose weight before getting pregnant. You must not realize that overweight and even obese women who don't want to try to lose weight also want babies. I was never overweight when I got pregnant with my two kids, but was overweight after they were born for a while. But I doubt overweight people like the insinuation that they are undeserving or irresponsible even getting pregnant.
    1/3 of Americans are overweight (or is it obese?). So roughly 1/3 of pregnant women were already overweight when they got pregnant.
  • honeyandmilk
    honeyandmilk Posts: 160 Member
    Ew, shut up. So not here for body shaming and judgment of new mothers. Sit the **** down.
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
    I think there is more information out there now regarding how many more calorie a pregnant woman should eat than a non-pregnant woman. However, there are a lot of people (pregnant or not) that don't know how many calories they should be (or are) eating to begin with so how does "eat an extra 300 calories" correlate to their current diet? I think it is best to give that in actual food terms. Such as "an extra cup of milk, an apple, and some almonds" or something similar.

    As stated earlier, there are many reasons why women gain more weight than they "should" when pregnant. I have a friend who is pregnant and she eats more, stating that she feels like this is the only time when she can eat like that and not be judged.

    When I was pregnant I gained weight very easily. When I got pregnant with my first I weighed 120. I had just lost 8 lbs on WW (was still on it) and before I even knew I was pregnant I had gained 5 lbs. I had still been following the WW plan with no changes. I ended up gaining 55 lbs after being on bedrest for 10 weeks and being extremely hungry all the time. Seriously, I would wake up during the night and be so hungry that I could not go back to sleep without eating. I tried eating a snack before bed and that didn't work, either. With my second I gained 45. Was not on bedrest but could not exercise due to many contractions and threat of preterm labor again. With the third and fourth I had Gestational Diabetes. I had to use insulin, even with strict diet. I gained 35 and 30 lbs with those two.

    I lost all of my pregnancy weight except for 5 lbs within 6 months of having each of the babies. I breastfed them all. My problem was that when they turned a year I started gaining weight. I assume because my calorie needs were not the same even though I was still BF, but I had not changed my eating habits. I also had a job change in between that led me to create lots of bad eating habits. Subsequently, I started each pregnancy a little higher than the last (I did lose some of that in between weight as well) but ended each pregnancy at the same weight. My youngest is 16 months old. It would be easy for me to say that I am losing "baby weight" but really I am not. I currently weigh 10 lbs less than I did when I got pregnant the last time, but need to lose those lbs I gained in between them. I have a friend who says she needs to lose 100 lbs of baby weight. Her baby is 10 years old, and she has looked exactly the same the whole time I have known her--before she was pregnant with that child. I think it is easier for her to say that it is pregnancy weight (no matter how long ago that was). That is a whole different thread, though.
  • elizak87
    elizak87 Posts: 249 Member
    Exactly
    It is easy to tell us how to be pregnant
    never mind the intense hunger and cravings
    and just trying to get by
    peeing when you cough or sneeze
    an abdomen the size of a watermelon
    loss of sleep
    pain
    general swelling and discomfort
    I could go on and on
    next time I get preggers i got to go talk to a man
    cuz obvi i did it wrong
    I lived with it.:laugh: On a lighter note, I wished I would have had the symptoms instead of having to hear about it for 9 months.

    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

    So now not only are women too fat whilst child bearing for you but they nag too much for you too? You only have two feet so I assume you can't fit another in your mouth?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    I've asked him repeatedly if he thinks pregnant women are just undereducated and actually think they can eat 4k calories and gain "normal" amounts of weight or if maybe some women let loose for other reasons -- like having an excuse to not acquiesces to societal pressure to be thin/watch what they eat etc. I also find it odd that he didn't consider women who gain a lot of weight were experiencing an medical problem that caused it, especially since he claims his wife had a difficult pregnancy. I wonder how he would have felt if some person that didn't know her situation would have determined that she was just lazy.
    Let's not over exaggerate......you asked once before this post, so now this is twice.
    Could it be under education? If they are new mothers, that's possible. The US doesn't have free health care (it should but that's another thread) and I'm sure that there are lots of expectant mothers who may not be getting the information or attention they need for their personal pregnancy. I'm also sure that there are many that think that it's fine to gain a lot of weight. I'm also sure that emotionally, some may suffer from depression which may lead to over eating.
    Do medical issues occur that will cause excess weight gain? Sure. Just found information that 2 out of 3 women of reproductive age (15-44) are overweight and 1 out of 4 are obese. Now this is based on BMI (which I'm not a big fan of). Kinda of alarming numbers if you think about it.

    http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/complications_obesity.html


    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    I love when men nag about **** that has nothing to do with them.

    THIS.

    I don't care what education you think you have.. I will eat 500 cals of veggies extra if I want to.. mind your damn business. If you ever become a woman, feel free to weigh in then on this subject.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    With two kids, I gained 60+ lbs each... about 30 lbs came off immediately after birth. Seriously, you have no clue what you are talking about :laugh:
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    Exactly
    It is easy to tell us how to be pregnant
    never mind the intense hunger and cravings
    and just trying to get by
    peeing when you cough or sneeze
    an abdomen the size of a watermelon
    loss of sleep
    pain
    general swelling and discomfort
    I could go on and on
    next time I get preggers i got to go talk to a man
    cuz obvi i did it wrong
    I lived with it.:laugh: On a lighter note, I wished I would have had the symptoms instead of having to hear about it for 9 months.

    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

    So now not only are women too fat whilst child bearing for you but they nag too much for you too? You only have two feet so I assume you can't fit another in your mouth?
    Lol, this is part of the reason why communication between women and men are different. It's not gonna be worth trying to defend myself on this one.:laugh:

    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
  • lina011
    lina011 Posts: 427 Member
    lol seriously should never mess with women/pregnancy and there weight. Its a killer".

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