Overweight and pregnant

Has anybody used mfp during their pregnancy? I'm 13 weeks pregnant and was overweight to start with. I've already gained 7lbs and I'm worrying I'm going to have a difficult pregnancy :(
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Replies

  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    OP... you should be consulting medical professionals if you're worried, not just MFP.
  • darcyelizabeth
    darcyelizabeth Posts: 19 Member
    Of course I have spoken with my midwife, who advised me to eat a healthy diet.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    OP... you should be consulting medical professionals if you're worried, not just MFP.

    This. I didn't gain one kilo during my pregnancy, but I still had problems. Talk to your GP.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Of course I have spoken with my midwife, who advised me to eat a healthy diet.

    So....do you know what a healthy diet is?
  • darcyelizabeth
    darcyelizabeth Posts: 19 Member
    Yeah I think so. I've just been quite poorly with nausea and there are only certain foods I can stomach. I did join slimming world on the advice of the midwife but once morning/all day sickness kicked in I couldn't carry on.
  • Patttience
    Patttience Posts: 975 Member
    Go and talk to a councillor as well.
  • amanda_the_mom
    amanda_the_mom Posts: 20 Member
    For my second pregnancy (and starting about 4 months before I got pregnant) I ate paleo, but no restrictions on the amount of food. I ate until I felt completely satisfied and not hungry. The difference was just that I was eating the most nutrient dense foods (fruit, veggies, meats) I didn't restrict carbs (ate potatoes and fruit) and I leaned out during my pregnancy. I say "leaned out" because I did gain a little, but I lost fat too. You could see it in my face. If you eat the highest nutrient dense foods and eat lots of healthy fats and don't eat empty calories and don't restrict calories you should be ok. I think that's pretty much what your midwife meant when she said eat a healthy diet. I wouldn't count calories while pregnant unless it was recommended by your doctor and medically supervised.
  • Nckr66
    Nckr66 Posts: 31 Member
    As already said, GP would be good for the advice you need. My own personal experience however, is that I was overweight with my previous pregnancy. I actually was in the process of logging and losing weight when I became pregnant. I was advised to up my calories but eat plenty of fruits veggies healthy fats etc. I decided to swim alot, because it was easier for me than walking. I'm 3 months pp and below my pre pregnancy weight and although I'm eating more due to nursing, I'm back to losing weight. This is just my experience of course, your midwife and GP will offer you some advice based on your individual needs. Also I did Slimming World in my first pregnancy and they have good plans for pregnancy and nursing. Congratulations on your pregnancy.
  • darcyelizabeth
    darcyelizabeth Posts: 19 Member
    Amandalutwick that's why the midwife suggested slimming world, there's no calorie counting, it's just lots of veggies, fruit, complex carbs and protein. I just struggled with cooking because of the sickness. I just posted really to see if anybody was in the same boat I guess to talk. But other than you I seem to be getting pretty hostile or unhelpful replies. I would never do anything to hurt my baby, after having two miscarriages in a row I'm just frightened things may go wrong.
  • darcyelizabeth
    darcyelizabeth Posts: 19 Member
    Thank you nckr66, I think I will try slimming world again, hopefully my nausea will go soon.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Nobody has been hostile

    You need to eat a wide diet of nutritious vegetables, fruits, lean proteins and carbs and take your pre natal vitamins

    If you are feeling nauseous try a baked potato with a filling of your choice

    Why any midwife would advise slimming world is beyond me, and the concept of a paleo diet is so open to interpretation that I would avoid it like the plague

    Ps ginger is great for nausea ...I used to suck crystallised ginger and eat ginger cookies
  • darcyelizabeth
    darcyelizabeth Posts: 19 Member
    Slimming world is supported by the royal college of midwives, it's the only 'diet club' that they agree is safe to follow while pregnant.
  • jdleanna
    jdleanna Posts: 141 Member
    Ditto on ginger for nausea. Helped me lots. For my last baby, i had terrible nausea in the first trimester. My Dr told me to eat what I can stomach, what doesn't make me sick, and not to worry about what I'm eating until the nausea goes away. I think I lived on cereal and carrot sticks for a month. :-) Once it went away I still didn't worry about calorie counting and weight gain, but just focused on healthy eating generally: tons of fruits and veggies, good grains, lean meats.
  • darcyelizabeth
    darcyelizabeth Posts: 19 Member
    I guess I need to wait for this nausea to subside, as cooking smells make me heave. I have to hold my breath when I'm feeding my poor cats. Like you jdleanna cereal is a godsend. I've dried ginger, but I'm not all that sure it made a difference. Plain biscuits like digestives seem to help, but I can't eat those forever. But thank you all for your advice x
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Slimming world is supported by the royal college of midwives, it's the only 'diet club' that they agree is safe to follow while pregnant.

    That's a commercial venture ...I don't have anything against slimming world ...I did it twice but it never stuck and I just put on the weight again ....the joint site is fine if you like it
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
    You're growing a human being. Getting enough nutrients in so your baby is born healthy should be the top priority. IMO.
    Unless your weight is putting yours or your baby's life at risk, I'd say it's best to wait until you're breastfeeding.
  • crazyjerseygirl
    crazyjerseygirl Posts: 1,252 Member
    Ahh, the sickness. How I remember it!

    So, I was advised to gain no more than 20lbs at the time (5'8", 218lbs at the time) and topped off at 18lbs which came off by the 2week checkup.

    I didn't count kcal (pre MFP) knowledge for me, but like you a vitamin filled diet was challenging. Aside from taking my dailies I found that mixing my fruits, veggies and protein with a buttload of carbs helped. Grilled chicken on a bagel. Cut up fruit in brown rice. Peanut butter or hummus sandwiches. I also stopped meals, and grazed pretty much constantly. It kept the sickness at bay and kept me from eating too much in one sitting.

    In the end I did have complications, but they were the same my mother had, Pre-eclampsia. I did a month of bed rest and a month-early c-section but it all turned out alright.

    Sorry if that first help but it's all I got :/
  • darcyelizabeth
    darcyelizabeth Posts: 19 Member
    Any advice is helpful :) I think the main reason I've put on 7lbs already is my constant grazing, nibbling carbs all day helps with the nausea, but isn't so great when you're hoping to not gain too much weight.
  • amyoneill656
    amyoneill656 Posts: 7 Member
    I had terrible nausea my first trimester and couldn't look at food. I got a fresh ginger root, and would shave off a few slices and steep it in hot water. It tastes terrible, but a few drops of lemon juice helped with that. It was like a magic cure. Hope it works for you!
  • Pinnacle_IAO
    Pinnacle_IAO Posts: 608 Member
    edited August 2015
    Has anybody used mfp during their pregnancy? I'm 13 weeks pregnant and was overweight to start with. I've already gained 7lbs and I'm worrying I'm going to have a difficult pregnancy :(
    Congratulations on your pregnancy!
    MFP can still be a helpful tool.

    My wife used MFP through 5 pregnancies while under the care of a stellar physician.

    She kept her weight right, and after every delivery worked back into peak condition. You just have to want it.
    That's true for all of us.

    GOOD LUCK!
    :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Honestly I'd ask your midwife how many calories you should eat to stay healthy, stick to that number whole eating mostly the stuff from 'slimming world' while not feeling guilty if you really crave a cookie and have one...

    But obviously you got to do what you got to do with nausea. And whatever happens... you will still be able to lose the weight after, so don't drive yourself crazy either.
  • darcyelizabeth
    darcyelizabeth Posts: 19 Member
    I had terrible nausea my first trimester and couldn't look at food. I got a fresh ginger root, and would shave off a few slices and steep it in hot water. It tastes terrible, but a few drops of lemon juice helped with that. It was like a magic cure. Hope it works for you!

    I'll give that a try! Thank you :)
  • darcyelizabeth
    darcyelizabeth Posts: 19 Member
    Has anybody used mfp during their pregnancy? I'm 13 weeks pregnant and was overweight to start with. I've already gained 7lbs and I'm worrying I'm going to have a difficult pregnancy :(
    Congratulations on your pregnancy!
    MFP can still be a helpful tool.

    My wife used MFP through 5 pregnancies while under the care of a stellar physician.

    She kept her weight right, and after every delivery worked back into peak condition. You just have to want it.
    That's true for all of us.

    GOOD LUCK!
    :)

    Thank you for the reply :) I'll mention it to my midwife at my next appointment.
  • darcyelizabeth
    darcyelizabeth Posts: 19 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Honestly I'd ask your midwife how many calories you should eat to stay healthy, stick to that number whole eating mostly the stuff from 'slimming world' while not feeling guilty if you really crave a cookie and have one...

    But obviously you got to do what you got to do with nausea. And whatever happens... you will still be able to lose the weight after, so don't drive yourself crazy either.

    I've got my next appointment in around 4 weeks, the midwife who took my booking bloods was unconcerned, I'm assuming she's seen much worse. I haven't actually met my midwife yet as my next appointment is at the community health centre instead of the maternity hospital. Maybe I'll get some more constructive advice from my new midwife :) I think I'd gain less if I was more active, but other than at work (where I'm on my feet for 9 hours) I'm pretty much sedentary. My iron is really low so I feel like I'm wearing concrete boots!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Honestly I'd ask your midwife how many calories you should eat to stay healthy, stick to that number whole eating mostly the stuff from 'slimming world' while not feeling guilty if you really crave a cookie and have one...

    But obviously you got to do what you got to do with nausea. And whatever happens... you will still be able to lose the weight after, so don't drive yourself crazy either.

    I've got my next appointment in around 4 weeks, the midwife who took my booking bloods was unconcerned, I'm assuming she's seen much worse. I haven't actually met my midwife yet as my next appointment is at the community health centre instead of the maternity hospital. Maybe I'll get some more constructive advice from my new midwife :) I think I'd gain less if I was more active, but other than at work (where I'm on my feet for 9 hours) I'm pretty much sedentary. My iron is really low so I feel like I'm wearing concrete boots!

    What are you doing to get your iron level up? I'm anemic and can't get all the iron I need from foods. There are many forms of iron and I have found that three or four of them don't work for me. I thought I hated my job but it turned out my anemia was not being properly treated with the particular type of supplement my doctor gave me.

    I'm currently taking Iron Bisglycinate, which is not constipating like other iron supplements. My energy levels came back up after I switched.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Why not just ask how many calories you should be eating and use MFP as a calorie counter?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Honestly I'd ask your midwife how many calories you should eat to stay healthy, stick to that number whole eating mostly the stuff from 'slimming world' while not feeling guilty if you really crave a cookie and have one...

    But obviously you got to do what you got to do with nausea. And whatever happens... you will still be able to lose the weight after, so don't drive yourself crazy either.

    I've got my next appointment in around 4 weeks, the midwife who took my booking bloods was unconcerned, I'm assuming she's seen much worse. I haven't actually met my midwife yet as my next appointment is at the community health centre instead of the maternity hospital. Maybe I'll get some more constructive advice from my new midwife :) I think I'd gain less if I was more active, but other than at work (where I'm on my feet for 9 hours) I'm pretty much sedentary. My iron is really low so I feel like I'm wearing concrete boots!

    What are you doing to get your iron level up? I'm anemic and can't get all the iron I need from foods. There are many forms of iron and I have found that three or four of them don't work for me. I thought I hated my job but it turned out my anemia was not being properly treated with the particular type of supplement my doctor gave me.

    I'm currently taking Iron Bisglycinate, which is not constipating like other iron supplements. My energy levels came back up after I switched.

    Please don't encourage a pregnant woman to take iron supplements that have not been prescribed
  • Debmal77
    Debmal77 Posts: 4,770 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Nobody has been hostile

    You need to eat a wide diet of nutritious vegetables, fruits, lean proteins and carbs and take your pre natal vitamins

    If you are feeling nauseous try a baked potato with a filling of your choice

    Why any midwife would advise slimming world is beyond me, and the concept of a paleo diet is so open to interpretation that I would avoid it like the plague

    Ps ginger is great for nausea ...I used to suck crystallised ginger and eat ginger cookies

    This. Also crackers helped me for nausea.
  • softblondechick
    softblondechick Posts: 1,275 Member
    You can eat healthy and have a healthy baby. I was dead sick for six months and gained most of my weight the last two months.

    I ate mostly things on WIC, I was so broke! And actually lost weight.

    The WIC diet, LOL! eggs, oatmeal, milk, cereal...I had zero money for food as I was laid off from work at six months pregnant. Nice. Tell me there is no discrimination against pregnancy in this country.
  • Heartisalonelyhunter
    Heartisalonelyhunter Posts: 786 Member
    Please don't take advice from Internet strangers on how much to eat/what supplements to take when pregnant. I can guarantee you not everyone who has answered has even ever been pregnant (that seems to be typical for mfp) so they're not even giving you answers from their own personal experience. Ask your OB or midwife.
    Also re: the ginger root thing, ginger and lemon tea did the same thing for me. Really helps with morning sickness.