losing weight while pregnant

There are classes for pregnant ladies that you can take. An aqua class would be great for you since it takes pressure off your back, or there's Pilates and yoga classes where the poses are modified for pregnant women.

It's not recommended to diet while pregnant. Speak with your doctor.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000603.htm

Diet no, but exercise Yes!

A specific unit? I'm lost. Like a birthing unit?

Ask OB for help. You shouldn't be doing this without strict medical supervision. I know some ladies in my birth club were put on gestational diabetes diets to help their sugars and also to control how much weight they were putting on while pregnant, but those diets were figured out by their OB. You can also add in some light, low impact exercise, but if you were not active before pregnancy/up until now that is something else you need to get cleared by as well. HTH

Leslie Sansone's Walk away the pounds is a GREAT program! The easy walk (1 mile, 17 minutes) and brisk walk (2 mile, 30 Minutes) sound like viable options for you. Record what you eat religously... Then review to see where you can cut calories, and choose healthier options. You can do this in a painless, safe manner! BTW i was in a serious car accident in 2000 (multiple pelvic fractures) and I am able to do this easily now.

Some ideas:

Breakfast:

Fat free Lite yogurt 6 oz. (around 80 calories)
Fiber one cereal original 1/2 cup (60 calories)

Snacks:

Light Cheese Sticks (50 calories) (can also place in tortilla and heat up in microwave for a yummy treat)
Laughing cow spreadable cheese (35-45 calories per wedge) with light crackers or a tortilla. Lots of yummy flavors!


Dinner:

Use ground turkey, and chicken instead of pork or red meat. We do not even notice the difference anymore.

Salmon: Cut into 3 oz portions, dash with lemon juice, sprinkle cajun spices, add a very thin pat of butter, and broil for 10 minutes. Better than any restaurant, PROMISED!

Also www.hungrygirl.com is a great resource!

Good luck!

Jeanine
:flowerforyou:

I've read that for the first trimester you should only consume 100 extra calories, your second two hundred and your third three hundred. Therefore so long as you don't eat more than necessary you should gain weight at a healthy rate. If it's only 4 pounds it could easily fall off. Especially if you're swollen from being pregnant and retaining water. The best way to lose water weight is by consuming more water. You're body won't need to store water if you're providing it with enough water through out the day. Another article I read is about the amount you should be drinking. You should consume half your weight in ounces of water. Therefore im156 lbs I should consume 78 ounces of fluids a day. Obviously since in dieting it should be water. And choosing better options fresh vegetable and meat opposed to frozen and processes will lower sodium prevent retention.

Talk to your doctor and actually listen to what he/she says.

Had to add something after seeing the other posts. If you gain too much weight while pregnant, it is unhealthy for the mom AND the baby (speaking from someone who gained 100 pounds during pregnancy). Dieting while pregnant when your BMI is too high is perfectly okay. Make sure you discuss your plan with the OB, to ensure everything is good for baby. But exercise and eating healthy ARE GOOD FOR PREGNANCY AND THE BABY!!!! I think people are freaking out because of the "D" word (lol diet).

J

^^this
Studies actually show health benifits for both mother and baby for mom to lose some weight while pregnant if morbidly obese. I just went through this situation ( morbidly obese and pregnant). If you are very obese 4 pounds is not a large amount of weight. Best plan is to discuss it with your OB. Log what you are eating and eat healthy foods. Just adding some activity to your routine could knock out those 4 pounds and then it's just a matter of maintaining until delivery. I was doing well until I went on bedrest. Bummer. Hope you have a happy healthy pregnancy! If you don't make the cut for that unit you could always just let it go, change your perfect plan, and lower your stress level.

Ps or bribe the techs to fudge the numbers when they weight you ; )

Talk to your doctor and actually listen to what he/she says.

And this.

This is the ONLY advice the OP should take from this thread. THE ONLY ADVICE.

Talk to your doctor.

When I was pregnant back in 2011, I was 243, and then went down to 225 then 220 by the time I was 5 months preggo. I was walking everywhere (had to with classes and job) and while the doctors were a little bit concerned about me losing, they weren't too worried because I was fat enough to began with. Had a healthy kiddo (by the time all was said and done, I was 205) and he will be 2 years old in a couple of days.

I do recommend light exercise (someone mentioned aqua classes, even walking) but no strenuous activity, and talk to your doctor.

Leslie Sansone's Walk away the pounds is a GREAT program! The easy walk (1 mile, 17 minutes) and brisk walk (2 mile, 30 Minutes) sound like viable options for you. Record what you eat religously... Then review to see where you can cut calories, and choose healthier options. You can do this in a painless, safe manner! BTW i was in a serious car accident in 2000 (multiple pelvic fractures) and I am able to do this easily now.

Some ideas:

Breakfast:

Fat free Lite yogurt 6 oz. (around 80 calories)
Fiber one cereal original 1/2 cup (60 calories)

Snacks:

Light Cheese Sticks (50 calories) (can also place in tortilla and heat up in microwave for a yummy treat)
Laughing cow spreadable cheese (35-45 calories per wedge) with light crackers or a tortilla. Lots of yummy flavors!


Dinner:

Use ground turkey, and chicken instead of pork or red meat. We do not even notice the difference anymore.

Salmon: Cut into 3 oz portions, dash with lemon juice, sprinkle cajun spices, add a very thin pat of butter, and broil for 10 minutes. Better than any restaurant, PROMISED!

Also www.hungrygirl.com is a great resource!

Good luck!

Jeanine
:flowerforyou:

That doesnt sound like enough calories for someone who isnt pregnant

I think like other posters have said; obviously, consult the dr. BUT something I would say just as a piece of advice is don't diet, but maybe took a look at how you were eating prior to getting pregnant, and really consider what habits/foods caused the weight gain. You maybe have "bad habits" that you could change while pregnant and wouldn't put you or your baby at risk. An example that I could think of would cutting out soda (it's calorie rich and nutrient-less). Ditching soda, by no means, would harm your baby.

I would change my mind set from thinking, "I need to lose weight" to "I don't need to gain as much as other people." If you are already overweight, in the US, it is suggested to gain less weight (15-20 lbs I think); whereas, if you are at a "normal weight," you should gain somewhere between 25-35 lbs (I think; you might want to google those #s to get a better idea).

It is recommended, in the US, to continue the exercise that you were doing pre-pregnancy (pregnancy isn't the right time to start a serious workout program), BUT walking isn't a serious program that is going to cause a tremendous amount of stress to your body. If you have already had one child, you already know what it is like to be pregnant. So let your body be your guide as far as light/moderate exercise.

I lost weight when I was pregnant but only because I threw up every day and was nauseous 24/7. Not a pleasant way to lose weight.

This!! Hyperemesis is no joke!

It's not recommended to diet while pregnant. Speak with your doctor.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000603.htm

Diet no, but exercise Yes!

The guidelines for exercise are generally that if you did it BEFORE you got pregnant (regularly) you can keep doing it, but don't start anything new while pregnant -- especially if it's strenuous.

Which is why I suggested low impact aqua classes or yoga specifically for pregnant women... which exist specifically to help pregnant women stay active which can be beneficial to the pregnancy.

Unless you are her doctor and know her specific needs and medical history, you should not be suggesting anything. Even non-pregnant people should't just jump into yoga. It is not easy and it can result in SERIOUS injury.

And there may be extenuating circumstances that make even low-impact water exercises a bad idea. You don't know anything about this woman except that she's pregnant and wants to lose weight so she can give birth in a specific place. For all you know, she's a perfectly healthy weight or has a serious medical condition. Maybe not. But you don't know her and considering that she came to a weight loss message board full of strangers to get advice instead of asking her doctor in the first place, the only advice she should receive or follow is to talk to her doctor, since she didn't think of it herself.

Thanks for your replies. The unit is a midwife led unit attached to the hospital.
When I had my first daughter I only gained about 10lbs and the tiny bump I had
Was gone straight after giving birth. Back then though I was about 2 stone
(28lbs) lighter than I am now! I've also had 2 miscarriages and been through
Alot in my life and unfortunately comfort ate - I know thats no excuse though!! Oh here in ireland
We dont get to see an obgyn! Actually care is quite bad, we only get 1 scan
Throughout entire pregnancy which I just had and I had to fight for that one!!

Do you have access to an accredited dietitian? They would advise you not to diet to lose weight but they could help with diet to make sure you maintain suitable gains throughout your pregnancy. Do you get a chance to be reassessed at a later date? You might fit into the category down the track.