Can I continue to lose weight during pregnancy?

Please don't restrict calories while pregnant. Eat to your levels of hunger, and try to choose foods with good nutrition: protein, calcium, and vitamins. Stay hydrated. Get plenty of low-impact exercise and sleep.

I found that when I was pregnant my appetite almost entirely disappeared. I did gain weight, but not nearly as much as some women do. So if you're already heavy, you may find you don't gain that much. You WILL gain a ton of water weight. I recommend staying off the scale as much as possible.

Once the baby is born, you have the opportunity to take the baby weight off. Walking is great with a newborn, or get a jogging stroller and learn to run. If you choose to breastfeed you will also lose calories that way. If you're careful with what you eat in those first few months, the extra pounds should come rolling off.

Congratulations!

LucyAndKay wrote: »

definitely no weight lifting of ANY type.

There is nothing wrong with weightlifting during pregnancy - especially if it was part of your life prior to pregnancy.

call your obgyn in advance of your first appointment and talk to his/her nurse or assistant..... this is not advice you should be getting from any other resource.

As a fellow pregnant woman, I say you need to talk to your doctor and see what he says. I've heard of women still being able to lose weight, I've heard of women being put on light duty, it all depends on your specific situation which only your doctor knows.
My doctor told me I could continue my activity level as before, but then in Trimester 2 we discovered previa via US so I had to take it easy for 4 weeks. Luckily the previa went away and I'm back to being active, but my point is your doctor will know your body...we will not.
I've continued to eat healthy and count calories (added 340 cals to my BMR in TRI2, 450 to BMR in TRI3).
Also, primary doctors are useless in situations such as these. Talk to your OB, if he says google it, get a new OB.

The day I found out I was pregnant I weighed 209lbs. I'm 5'2. I talked with my OB and asked to see a nutritionist/dietician. I was able to eat at a small deficit in the first trimester, maintenance in the 2nd and then some added, 150kcal in the 3rd. I made it right into "onederland" while pregnant and then obviously started to gain in the third trimester but only put on 6lbs from my lowest which was 199lbs. I also stayed as active as I could until my round ligament pain put me out of running but then I was walking walking walking everywhere. So, it's possible with a good team working with you. Congratulations!

I am HIPPOing because I'm a lazy f*cker.

First off, listen to your OB's recommendations. With my first pregnancy, I was 10 pounds overweight, but the moment I got pregnant, I ate whatever I wanted, stopped tracking on MFP, stopped working out. I gained 70 pounds.

I am currently 38 weeks with my second. I started at 22 pounds overweight. My Midwife said to only gain 20 pounds max. I have my calories set in MFP to lose .5 pound a week, which puts me at like 1650-1700 calories a day. My midwife said this was fine. At 38 weeks, I am at a 16 pound weight gain. I record what I eat, and workout. But the biggest difference in weight gain is WHAT I eat. Eating carbs are amazing and delicious, but I can be under calories till the cows come home, but if I overdo it on the carbs I will gain weight like crazy. I've been all about eating protein and that has been a huge difference.

So though I'm not a medical professional, eating protein, exercising, not indulging in a ton of sugar and carbs, was what made the difference for me.

I would agree that a call to the OB's office prior to your visit is crucial. Healthy mama & healthy baby is the goal...please don't focus on calorie restriction - focus on eating healthy foods at a healthy portion size until you speak with your doctor.

Your doctor told you to check Google? I'd be googling to find a new PCP if I were you.

I've heard reports on NPR recently about new recommendations for obese pregnant women to maintain weight during pregnancy and not gain at all. Here are a couple of links that you might find helpful.

opb.org/radio/programs/thinkoutloud/segment/study-shows-overweight-pregnant-women-can-safely-lose-weight/

npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/01/16/263110970/does-moms-pregnancy-diet-rewire-babys-brain-for-obesity

http://sogc.org/publications/healthy-eating-exercise-and-weight-gain-beforeand-duringpregnancy/

http://www.acog.org/Resources-And-Publications/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Obstetric-Practice/Weight-Gain-During-Pregnancy

guidelines from the canadian OB society and american OB society. Generally the higher the BMI the lesser with weight gain should be. Your OB can tailor these recommendations to fit your particular situation. The baby will take what it needs in the meantime. But please take a mulitvit for pregnant women or just folate. Folate is very important for CNS development and that part of the fetus is forming right now.

jcat410 wrote:

after losing 13# (I still have 50# to go), I recently found out I am pregnant. I am currently 5 weeks and I stopped taking my supplements, fat burners, etc... but I am not sure about calorie restriction.
Anyone go through this? I am currently at 240# and it horrifies me to think I will end up 300# by the end of this pregnancy.

The "fat burners" weren't doing anything anyway.

And you probably wouldn't gain 60 lb in a pregnancy. The fetus will be maybe 8 lb at the end. This study says that at term, the amniotic fluid is about 600 ml, so about a pound. This says that the placenta is about 1.5 lb.
The study below says that the placenta, fetus, and amniotic fluid are about 35% of pregnancy weight gain, and the gain overall is _less_ in women who are overweight.
So if 10.5 lb is 35%, you're looking at 30 lb total... and remember the gain is less in women who are overweight.

This study says in part:

An examination of studies published in the United States from 1985 to the present indicate that the mean total gestational weight gain of normal weight adult women giving birth to term infants ranged from a low of 10.0 to a high of 16.7 kg ...
A consistent finding across studies was an inverse relationship between gestational weight gain and pregravid body mass index... the mean gestational weight gain for 613 obese (BMI > 35) women averaged 9.1 ± 7.4 kg

That's 1.7 kg (about 4 lb) to 16.5 kg (about 36 lb).
"an inverse relationship between gestational weight gain and pregravid body mass index" means that the heavier a woman is at the start of a pregnancy, the less she'll gain during it.

I think from the time I found out I was pregnant until I delivered I'd gained under 10 lb. My midwife was constantly fussing at me, asking if I was not eating (either deliberately or because I felt sick). No, I ate whatever I wanted, even frequently indulged in chocolate malt shakes. But I'd started out overweight, so didn't need to gain much, if any. IIRC, he was over 8 lb, perfectly healthy.
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As for trying to continue to lose weight, probably not a good idea right now. All you'll need to support the pregnancy is a couple hundred calories extra per day, so if you eat at maintenance for your current weight (apx. 15 cal/lb if you're active 30 min per day) that would actually put you at a small deficit.
Focus on eating as healthy as possible, getting enough protein & micronutrients, mostly whole fresh foods & trying to have less of the processed stuff.