Weight Climbing Despite Calorie Deficit with Workouts

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Replies

  • joianett
    joianett Posts: 79 Member
    So on maintenance you are gaining .5LB/week? Interesting, interesting. What are you maintenance calories? I know you've told me before, sorry!

    Also, how do you know you're burning that number of calories... I am going to assume you have a monitor?
  • meggwyn
    meggwyn Posts: 226 Member
    When you're pregnant, you're supposed to gain weight! A substantial amount at that! lol My philosophy is to try to put nutritious, whole foods in my body and be as active as possible. I'm definitely going to gain over the "recommended" amount, but I'm healthy and strong. :) After I have my baby, I will go into "diet mode" and spend the next year tracking and training and lose it all. (plus hopefully gain even more muscle and end up with an even better body composition!) I realized that it all comes down to how fast you lose it. I can be really strict now while pregnant (making myself miserable) and lost the weight quickly after birth or I can relax, enjoy my pregnancy, and spend extra time losing the weight afterwards. I'm going with the latter! :) But to each their own!
  • AGIBBS80
    AGIBBS80 Posts: 24
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  • AGIBBS80
    AGIBBS80 Posts: 24
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  • tiggerhammon
    tiggerhammon Posts: 2,211 Member
    I have given up trying to control it.
    Granted, I am no longer counting calories but I only eat when I am hungry and I eat very healthy - lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains only.
    I have been gaining 2-3lbs a week this past 4 weeks in a row. A month ago, I hadn't even hit 15lbs gained yet, now I am at 23lbs gained. My feet have swollen and I am convinced at this point it is only water retention as an excess of 10,500 calories a week is impossible when my maintenance number is 2300 and I really don't feel I eat a lot.
    It is what it is.

    There was an article I read about a woman who (not even remotely over weight in the first place) tried to lose weight while pregnant. She ate at a 500 calorie a day deficit and exercised like mad woman too. Baby came out with list of health issues and mom gained a few health problems. Even while eating at a deficit and exercising like crazy - she still gained 18lbs!
    Your body is going to do what it is going to do. Don't stress it, the stress will hurt you more than anything.
  • meggwyn
    meggwyn Posts: 226 Member
    Not at all! I found your post refreshing because the general mindset here is that everybody should gain as little weight as possible, even coming in under the recommended guidelines for healthy weights, etc. I liked that you were showing, with evidence, that pregnant women are going to gain weight! lol Even when doing everything "right". I'm sorry if my wording implied otherwise! :)
    (and I'm not suggesting ANYONE should eat cupcakes all day! LOL)

    I really like MFP for the fitness aspect and when I'm dieting, I like the calorie tracking as well. When not trying to lose weight, I do not enjoy food tracking, though I've tried to be fairly consistent. I know I eat in the 2200-2500 range (including exercise calories, so I net less) (and my maintenance is around 1900 probably). But I eat stuff like eggs, oatmeal, avocados, lots of raw veggies, lots of sauted veggies in coconut oil, cheese, proteins, etc and those nutrient dense foods seem to be high in calories. Avocados in particular! And whole milk mozzarella cheese, etc.

    Thats why I'm not worried about how much I gain. I'm putting good foods inside of me and I think that should also be considered healthy. Not just staying under a certain amount of weight gained. And I thought you had a similar philosophy from your post. Sorry again for any misunderstanding! And congrats on your first pregnancy! It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job! :)
  • lisapr123
    lisapr123 Posts: 863 Member
    Weight gain during pregnancy is so odd, I agree! Ultimately, I gained around 25 lbs. I ate & exercised consistently throughout, but during the 3rd trimester I started following a GD plan and the weight gain virtually stopped (except for the last 4-5 lbs which I think was from swelling in the last couple days). I've had friends that were exceptionally "good" and gained 60 lbs. I've had other friends gain 10 lbs. In the end, though, everyone had healthy kids and lost the weight in a timely manner.

    It is indeed a fascinating journey!
  • AGIBBS80
    AGIBBS80 Posts: 24
    whew thank goodness you ladies got what i was trying to sya. i was trying to delete my post bc i was scared it was construed as I had an issue with pregnancy weight gain.....
    As a first time mom it's just so facinating to me and has been a wonderful journey!! And i love every stinkin part of it including my big ol bump :)
  • tiggerhammon
    tiggerhammon Posts: 2,211 Member
    Yea, we understand. It is frustrating to see women beating themselves up for passing that 25lb mark, especially when they were tiny to begin with and that wasnt even a realistic goal.
    Don't get me wrong, I think having goals and even limits can be healthy but you have to realize your body is going to do what it is going to do regardless.

    I agree that our bodies don't follow what is 'supposed' to work when we are pregnant. As I said, I am not sure exactly what my calorie intake is as I am not counting. But, really, it isn't even possible to gain 3lbs every single week in an excess of calories and yet I am. I gaurantee I am not eating an extra 10,500 calories a week. My body is just packing it away I guess.
    We don't function normally in many many ways while we are pregnant. We are abnormal :p
  • AGIBBS80
    AGIBBS80 Posts: 24
    Thanks ladies, sorry I deleted my original post and comments. I was afraid of backlash from women thinking I had a problem with weight gain.
    I posted something several weeks ago about calroies and MFP and asked for other people to share their experiences with me...for example if you selected "gain .5" a week or "gain 2 pound" a week if other pregnant moms ahead of me found that to actually happen "by the book" so this post was a follow up to how my weight gain has been in the 2nd trimester since I increased my calories to "gain .5" ... and how (within reason) the weight will come even with a moderate increase in calories. I'm glad to share my results bc i know there will be other FTMoms that will want to know the same thing.
    You read a million post out there on pregnany blogs "how many more calories do I need" or "how much weight should I expect to gain"....so it's very helpful when we share our experiences.
  • joianett
    joianett Posts: 79 Member
    Very well said lady! I have wondered the same thing my entire pregnancy (and am now 31 wks) and still am lost, LOL. I enjoyed reading your experience and that's why I asked, so you're gaining 0.5 while on MFP maintenance? I know we're all different but I like to read personal experiences.
  • kalyrra
    kalyrra Posts: 672 Member
    I think setting goals like 25 lbs is good to give ourselves a general range to shoot for to keep us in a healthy mindset about our weight... but don't beat yourself up if you pass that, especially if you're exercising and eating healthy! That's more than a lot of people can say, pregnant or not! lol

    Unfortunately, a lot of women see pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever they want, whenever they want and however much they want.... and issues stemming from relatives saying "Eat more. You're eating for 2 now."

    I gain weight if I eat my "maintenance" calories as well. I maintain at a deficit, and don't lose until I have a significant deficit. (slow metabolism) But it also depends on WHAT I eat. If I eat only 1200 calories but they're mostly carbs, I'll gain. If I eat 1800 calories, but mostly protein, I'll maintain. (carbs aren't my friend... which sucks, because I'd love to be BFF's with them!)

    And like the other ladies said.... everyone's body reacts differently to different things! Especially when pregnant... :flower:
  • momRN2B
    momRN2B Posts: 247 Member
    Even if you are eating right and exercising the weight will come on in the way it wants/needs to. I personally gained most of my weight in the 2nd trimester and at the time I was worried that I was gaining so much weight but it evened out in the third trimester and I ended up only gaining 25 lbs. So for me I gained about 2 lbs the first trimester, 18 in the second trimester and 6 in the third trimester for a total of 25 lbs. Every woman is different and every pregnancy is different. Just stay within a normal calorie goal (maintenance or 300 calories above) and try to stay as active as you can and you will do fine. After the baby is born most of the weight comes off easily. Good Luck!
  • tiggerhammon
    tiggerhammon Posts: 2,211 Member
    I think setting goals like 25 lbs is good to give ourselves a general range to shoot for to keep us in a healthy mindset about our weight... but don't beat yourself up if you pass that, especially if you're exercising and eating healthy!

    Exactly! I had an original goal of not gaining more than 15lbs (I was in the range of 'critically obese' prepregnancy and that is what some range scale told me) during this pregnancy. When I was at about 10lbs gained and knew I still had a ways to go I changed my limit to 20lbs (which is the number the doctor gave me, in the beginning, that he wanted me to try to stay under.) I have now passed that and my new limit is now no more than 30lbs gained. I am not hurt or upset that my limit has doubled, it gives me a focus point and I think it is good to have one, especially since I am not focusing on calories or anything else of that sort.
    I am now at 23lbs gained, will be 38 weeks tomorrow. Not sure if I will stay under the 30, been putting on a lot of weight quickly towards the end. Not worried about that either, it's just water, it will go away.