Feeling guilty about gaining weight
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Destanie_Robyn
Posts: 304 Member
Hi all,
A little about me first... a year and a half ago I weighed my all time high and finally decided to do something about it . I joined MFP started watching what I ate and exercised more. My hard work paid off and I was able to lose 28 pounds as of this past September (my goal was to lose 35-40 lbs) so I got pretty close. However, after a vacation in October, then thanksgiving and the rest of the holidays that followed I gained about 12 lbs back . I really wanted to start the new years off by getting back on track and was hoping to lose at least 5 lbs by the end of January, however, I just found out that I am pregnant
This will be my husband's and I first and we are really excited about it. I really want to do everything to be as healthy as possible for my baby, but can help feeling guilty about knowing that I cannot diet and cannot lose weight.. but instead I know that I should gain 25-35 lbs by the end of my pregnancy. I was wondering if anyone else had this same feeling when they got pregnant?
A little about me first... a year and a half ago I weighed my all time high and finally decided to do something about it . I joined MFP started watching what I ate and exercised more. My hard work paid off and I was able to lose 28 pounds as of this past September (my goal was to lose 35-40 lbs) so I got pretty close. However, after a vacation in October, then thanksgiving and the rest of the holidays that followed I gained about 12 lbs back . I really wanted to start the new years off by getting back on track and was hoping to lose at least 5 lbs by the end of January, however, I just found out that I am pregnant
This will be my husband's and I first and we are really excited about it. I really want to do everything to be as healthy as possible for my baby, but can help feeling guilty about knowing that I cannot diet and cannot lose weight.. but instead I know that I should gain 25-35 lbs by the end of my pregnancy. I was wondering if anyone else had this same feeling when they got pregnant? 0
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I 100% felt like this and still do at almost 30 weeks pregnant. I lost 19 pounds prior to getting pregnant this time after struggling for over a year to get it off from first pregnancy. It has been scary watching the scale go back up after all that hard work, I just made a very conscious effort to gain a healthy weight this time and so far have gained a little over 19 pounds to date. By drinking at least 3 liters of water every day, working out 4 days a week and eating mostly nutritious foods I still have 8 weeks to go and will be very sad to gain more than 30 pounds this time (it was over 40 last time) 0
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I can understand how you feel. This is my third, and I lost 70lbs after my second! I'm doing everything I can to minimise weight gain - lots of exercise, and healthy eating.
Don't forget though, that 25-35lbs is by your due date. Around 8lbs of that will be baby, some will be placenta, some will be fluid, some is extra blood etc. So within a couple of days of giving birth you're probably down 15lbs, then it takes 6 weeks for your uterus to go down and for all the extra fluid to leave your body. If you're breastfeeding you'll lose a bit more. So really, at worst, you might have to work hard to lose maybe 15lbs. You say you'd put on 12 over thanksgiving, Xmas etc, so it's not more than that!0 -
Thanks! Glad to hear I am not the only one! and awesome job to you both for losing weight from your last pregnancies!0
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You may not need to gain 25-35 lbs. You should talk more in-depth to your doctor about your diet and fitness, but he or she will likely tell you that you can gain less than that. I am 5'8 and 135 lbs; my doctor told me I should aim to gain between 25-30 lbs. I am not sure your height and weight, but you may need to gain less than the 25-35.
My doc also said that they are now advising obese women should actually LOSE weight while pregnant.
You are by no means obese, but the "rules" about weight gain are fluid and depend on each person. The #1 thing is that mom is healthy, physically and emotionally! I urge you to reach out to your doctor to create a health and fitness plan that is right for you and your baby. Last but not least...be gentle on yourself! You are creating a new life.
Edited for a grammatical error.0 -
First off, congrats!!
Secondly, I'd discuss the weight thing with a health care provider (my OB was useless in this department, but I did talk to a nutritionist). You may not need to gain 25+ lbs, or even any. I started out overweight...gained about 20 in the first 2 trimesters, then started the Gestational Diabetes Plan in the 3rd trimester and only gained a couple more lbs. By the time my little girl was 2 weeks old (she's a month now), I'd lost all the baby weight plus some!
So don't think you "have to" gain a certain amount. Also, remember much of it will come off quickly. Don't stress too much, enjoy your pregnancy and make good choices. (And seriously consider the GD plan....I wish I'd started it sooner....many women I know gained minimal weight while following it.)0 -
I agree with the other posters; definitely talk to your doctor. I don't know your BMI but for women who are overweight (even just a little bit) it may mean their weight gain goals are less than that of a woman with a normal bmi pre-pregnancy. With that said, I was *this* close to losing the last bit of weight I wanted to lose too (my year goal would have been in Feb) so to be putting that on hold for pregnancy is a little weird but I plan on staying active as possible through pregnancy, eating sensibly, and when me, baby, and my body are ready, getting back to my goals. You can do it too, just be patient with your body, it's doing a miraculous thing right now 0
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I can completely relate to this too, I felt so selfish thinking it but that was one of my major 'cons' of getting pregnant was putting on weight!! I'm just focussing on eating healthy until baby is here (exercise when I have the energy, I'm sure it'll come back....) and then looking forward to when baby is here and having a goal to lose my baby weight! I'm actually looking forward to having a new weight loss goal afterwards! You have lost weight before so you can do it again!0
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I wouldn't say I feel guilty, but I feel scared about the amount of weight I've put on since I've lost 60lbs before the pregnancy (25lb @ 29weeks), but I've been stabilizing as well for the past few weeks. Now, I am considered overweight/obese, but each time I ask my Dr about my weight gain, he seems fine w/ it bc I'm otherwise a healthy person. I don't have GD or other issues at this point. I didn't initially exercise when I found out bc I had the worst back pain ever and it took a good month or so to feel better, plus I was horribly tired. However, when I did bloat up some of the weight, I started to exercise to keep it from going through the roof. I would talk to your Dr about it though. As long as you eat healthy (very hard, not always the case w/ me) and are able to exercise, you should be fine. If not all of the weight comes off after pregnancy for some reason, you can get back on the band wagon to lose weight, that's my plan 0
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Thanks for all the support! Since I am fairly early in my pregnancy I have not yet had the chance to talk to a doctor yet. I went yesterday to get my OBGYN referral and confirm the pregnancy. Got the call today to schedule my first appt and am excited to say it will be next Thursday
Oh and while I was originally overweight according to my BMI when I first joined MFP I was able to lose nearly 30 lbs to get under a BMI of 25, I did gain again over the holidays and my weight pre-pregnancy was just at the border line of normal weight and overweight according to BMI0 -
I'm so scared of gaining too much weight and not being able to lose it (this is my first kid- lost a baby to MC about 4 years ago) After the MC I gained almost 50 lbs and was already overweight putting me at almost 250 at 5'7". I got down to 167 by running and gained some back after I got married and out of routine from being so busy with my stepdaughter and husband. I sprained my ankle as well, which caused weight gain sending my SW at pregnancy to 185.0
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I felt guilty about it too. I started off my first pregnancy heavy and gained about 25 pounds (maybe less...I can't remember, though it seemed so important at the time!) The weight was off within six weeks without trying. Within a year and a half I was 30 pounds below my pre pregnancy weight and in excellent shape.0
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I understand the guilty feeling as well. We got pregnant on our honeymoon, so I just had those beautiful wedding pictures and now some mornings I stand on the scale and cry =( I am guessing I'll gain about 40 pounds when all is said and done...I'm 33 weeks right now. My midwife is not worried about my weight gain she said because all of my numbers are good. I have also had to stop exercising because I'm cramping soooo bad lately. I'm short and I guess the baby is just sitting low, though she seems like she is all over, so that is another depressing thing for me. I'm in the army and all I want to do is exercise and get back to where I was. Thank you guy for starting this post....it's nice to know that I'm not alone!0
