Maintaining (more or less) while pregnant

Why don't you worry more about the health of your baby than gaining weight. You can always lose weight later. If your baby ends up sick at birth because you weren't taking care of it correctly no amount of weight loss will make you feel better about it.

With 4 other kids I am sure that you are active so that is taken care of, but if you want to be MORE active I suggest walking with the kids or going to the park, etc. For food I suggest keeping lots of small healthy snacks around. If you have something good to munch on you are less likely to stray to cravings (mine was Chick Fil A both pregnancies). Make is easy to eat right so you have less excuses to eat junk, my crock pot is one of my best friends, lol. Best of luck and I hope the next months are happy and healthy.

I think its smart to use MFP to track while you're pregnant. You can set your goal to 2000 calories and make sure you aren't going over or under. I plan on doing the same thing for my next pregnancy. I don't think the previous poster saw the part about your doctor instructing you to limit your weight gain. At the same time, be realistic with yourself and don't be upset if you gain more than that. Usually 15-25lbs is recommended if you're overweight. But I think fitting nutritious food into a 2000 calorie goal and getting in moderate exercise is an excellent way to help with a healthy pregnancy! Another great feature of MFP is that you can add in breastfeeding calories after you have the baby, to help lose weight while eating enough for a good milk supply! Good luck!

I'm 25 weeks along and have gained 20 pounds and my OB is mad. I started out at 205, I had no idea I was only "supposed" to gain 10-15 pounds. She never said anything until after I gained 10 pounds in a month and a half (I was on vacation on Hawaii mind you). I switched my setting to maintenance and it gives me 2200 calories a day. I usually eat around 1700-2000 but I'm constantly hungry. My OB was hurtful and not helpful when talking to me about my weight. I haven't gained anything this week so we will bee what she says at my next app. Best of luck!

Why don't you worry more about the health of your baby than gaining weight. You can always lose weight later. If your baby ends up sick at birth because you weren't taking care of it correctly no amount of weight loss will make you feel better about it.

Following her OB's advice for weight is worrying about her baby's health. Gaining too much weight during preganancy can be as dangerous for the baby as the mother, perhaps more so.

It's frustrating when you are battling weight while pregnant. With my first pregnancy I was obese and gained - I honestly have no idea how much. My Dr never said anything. He was very nice. We pretended my weight didn't exist sometimes. I didn't gain an obscene amount but I did gain more than what I should be at an obese level. I was happy he didn't say anything mean but in retrospect I wish he would have been more forthcoming from the FIRST appointment.

Be mindful of what you put in your body. Don't restrict yourself if you are legitimately hungry and don't "eat for two" as even in the 3rd trimester women of an average weight only need an additional 300 calories per day. Stay active even just walking. If you gain a little bit more than intended and are eating overall a healthy diet you know you are doing OK. I don't mean to gain twice as much as recommended as this can cause serious complications for yourself and your baby. It's much better than not eating enough or only eating junk and gaining the 'appropriate" weight. Just be mindful of your nutrition.


You can probably find an RD who specializes in OB. Meet with them one time for suggestions and a plan.

And congratulations

Using MFP while pregnant and try not to overeat while pregnant is a good idea in any case. I joined MFP 10 months prior pregnancy and I was successfully losing weight based on the calorie recommendation, but the whole calorie in and calorie out theory went out on the window while was pregnant.

Just as before ,I was consistently recording everything on MFP during my entire pregnancy with baby #2 and still gained 65 lb. I wasn't obese prior to pregnancy, but I was overweight (BMI=27) and really wanted to gain only minimal amount. I set my calorie limit to maintenance for the first 5 months , and gained 40 lb during those months. I set my calorie limit to the recommended maintenance +250 calorie a day(=0.5 lb gain per week) in the last 3 months and I gained another 25 lb. I wanted to cry every time I step on a scale.

My Dr was very supportive though. She never said anything about my weight gain. When I asked she said that all my results are normal, there are no gestation diabetes, no blood pressure issues, the baby was perfectly normal. Hence the weight gain is only an aesthetic issue that I have to deal with after the baby.

I am using this site to shed weight before TTC. Thank you for posting this. I am not there yet but it is a question I may have in the future. Congrats on your pregnancy! I wish you the best of luck. :flowerforyou: