Can I Get My Gain Under Control???

jesha00
jesha00 Posts: 29 Member
edited November 16 in Social Groups
This is my second pregnancy. I'm 19 weeks and at a 20lb weight gain so far. The first trimester was horrible. The only thing I could do to feel better for a short period was eat. It was almost every hour....and not healthy food either. Now that I've been feeling better I want to start getting myself back under control. Is it possible to still only gain another 10lbs??

I gained 50lbs with my first pregnancy. I would be happy with a 40lb or less gain this time around. I'm horrible with my food and exercise right now though. Pregnancy really changes the way I do everything! I can't even eat my beloved vegetables and lean meats anymore! All I want is sweets! I never eat this many sweets! Does anyone else struggle like this? All I want to do is eat carbs and sit around. I HAVE been forcing myself to walk 30 - 40 minutes everyday at work. But other than that....I don't do much except eat lol.

I feel like this is going to go south real fast and I'll end up at a 70lb gain and not be able to lose it afterwards :( Any encouragement would be appreciated!

Replies

  • jvezzsb01
    jvezzsb01 Posts: 115 Member
    I'm feeling the same. I'm at 17.5 weeks and the first trimester I just gained and gained and I wasn't eating because of a virus for about 3 weeks. Then I started eating again and only wanted carbs(Kodiak cakes). Couldn't do my egg white scramble and stopped walking my 4-5 miles and stopped my heavy lifting 3 days a week.
    I feel as if my arms have packed on the fat and so have my legs and thighs.
    I'm trying to get back to my walks and some modified lifting but I am so tired.

    These past two weeks I've been trying to slowly swap out for some of my old healthy faves. I don't want to have buy clothes postpartum in 2 sizes above my pre-pregnancy size. I know it takes time, I have done this 5 times before, but I want back into my old clothes when I am far enough post partum.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    edited March 2017
    I encourage you to track and try to keep to your maintenance + baby calorie goal and just go with the flow from there. That helps ensure you are eating right to support baby growth but not be putting on alot of extra personal fat. No one can really predict how many more pounds you gain, and I encourage you to try to not let the numbers on the scale get to you, just stick to your calories goal and trust that you are doing the best you can. From what I have observed from alot of other womens posts here once you hit 20+ weeks, weight gain can become a bit unpredictable as baby is growing faster. It is not as simple as standard calorie counting weight gain equation as there are alot of different things going on in your body. So let go of the scale, focus on healthy eating, and you will come out of this just fine!

    Also, check out the "how much weight have you gained thread". It has been going for quite a while and has lots of womens weekly weigh ins for their pregnancy. Some of those women gained early and slowed down later in pregnancy. Everyone is a bit different. We were also just discussing some good stuff the other day so check out the most recent posts, I know I posted a really helpful calorie counting while pregnant link there, I would post here bit currently on my phone :)
  • goldengirljake
    goldengirljake Posts: 21 Member
    I am now 24+2 and have gained 20 lbs so far and yeah I feel a bit whaley but I try to eat whole foods for baby - the last few weeks I have been eating more due to baby's growth! My weight gain has not been consistent (ie: the projected 1lb per week no way - more like 2lbs per week lately) Like you I couldn't even think of eating a salad and lean meats my first trimester - it was awful - all I could stomach was fruits (watermelon and apples mainly) and cereal and any kind of potato! Now I eat salad and fish and meats etc. along with everything else ! I try to do something everyday (prenatal yoga and walking mainly). For snacks: lowfat high protein yogurt with berries, whole grain toast with avocado and tomatoes, or with a boiled egg. I am eating 6 small meals a day and that seems to keep me happy. Good luck!
  • wearmi1
    wearmi1 Posts: 291 Member
    I'm 29.5 weeks. I gained a lot in my first tri. I tried to eat well but carbs were all I could handle. I'm currently up 30lbs from the beginning. I haven't gained in 6 weeks though. I did stop logging and tracking. It wasn't helping me and made me feel horrible about myself. So I stopped. The weight gain just is what it is as far as I'm concerned. As long as I'm trying to eat well that's all that matter at this point.
  • almostsuperpowered
    almostsuperpowered Posts: 135 Member
    wearmi1 wrote: »
    I'm 29.5 weeks. I gained a lot in my first tri. I tried to eat well but carbs were all I could handle. I'm currently up 30lbs from the beginning. I haven't gained in 6 weeks though. I did stop logging and tracking. It wasn't helping me and made me feel horrible about myself. So I stopped. The weight gain just is what it is as far as I'm concerned. As long as I'm trying to eat well that's all that matter at this point.

    If tracking stresses you out it's better to not do it and just eat well and pay attention to satiation. Good to be self aware that tracking wasn't for you.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    wearmi1 wrote: »
    I'm 29.5 weeks. I gained a lot in my first tri. I tried to eat well but carbs were all I could handle. I'm currently up 30lbs from the beginning. I haven't gained in 6 weeks though. I did stop logging and tracking. It wasn't helping me and made me feel horrible about myself. So I stopped. The weight gain just is what it is as far as I'm concerned. As long as I'm trying to eat well that's all that matter at this point.

    I agree with this!

    I just had my 3rd on January 10th and I didn't really worry about gain at all. It was my last pregnancy and I really just wanted to feel good and try and enjoy it. You're probably only going to be pregnant a couple of times in your life. I wouldn't stress so much over gaining. 2nd and 3rd trimester are completely different from the first. 2nd trimester I ate all the food. 3rd trimester I got awful heartburn and ate things that didn't make me feel like my stomach and throat were on fire. I've got 9lbs to lose to be back to pre-baby weight and little man is 11 weeks old on tuesday. It does come off.
  • raingirl21
    raingirl21 Posts: 167 Member
    I gained a lot my first trimester also, as carbs were all I could eat too. I was really scared I was going to gain a lot, but it tapered off in the second trimester when I could eat better. I have a sweet tooth too and just want cake and cookies and ice cream, so I try to curb that with fruit, I eat a lot of berries, pineapple, oranges, anything sweet and I still have a cake but just limit it to one sweet a day and smaller portions. I'm going to be gaining more than my 30-35 pounds but I don't think it will be as much as I originally thought.
  • MrsMason101212
    MrsMason101212 Posts: 15 Member
    Story of my pregnancy life! I am going to be 19 weeks on Thursday and I have gained 20 pounds already. Same reason, the only thing that made me feel less sick was eating. The only thing that I wanted to eat was junky carbs. Then I started to have low blood sugar issues a couple weeks ago so again I had to constantly shovel food into myself to keep from feeling HORRIBLE.

    Last pregnancy was the same (but that time I had random high blood sugars). I got on the Trim Healthy Mama plan in the second trimester and stopped my rapid weight gain and only put on a total of 30 pounds. Most of that came off right after delivery. I highly suggest it.

    This time I am trying to eat nutritarian style to correct some nutritional deficiencies I am struggling with. It's been two weeks since I implemented that way of eating. I feel so much better and I halted my weight gain. I actually get full on the meals I am eating and no more blood sugar issues. I am tracking maintenance calories and using a second-trimester calorie adjustment I found in the foods section.

  • jesha00
    jesha00 Posts: 29 Member
    Story of my pregnancy life! I am going to be 19 weeks on Thursday and I have gained 20 pounds already. Same reason, the only thing that made me feel less sick was eating. The only thing that I wanted to eat was junky carbs. Then I started to have low blood sugar issues a couple weeks ago so again I had to constantly shovel food into myself to keep from feeling HORRIBLE.

    Last pregnancy was the same (but that time I had random high blood sugars). I got on the Trim Healthy Mama plan in the second trimester and stopped my rapid weight gain and only put on a total of 30 pounds. Most of that came off right after delivery. I highly suggest it.

    This time I am trying to eat nutritarian style to correct some nutritional deficiencies I am struggling with. It's been two weeks since I implemented that way of eating. I feel so much better and I halted my weight gain. I actually get full on the meals I am eating and no more blood sugar issues. I am tracking maintenance calories and using a second-trimester calorie adjustment I found in the foods section.

    Ok....two questions. 1) Where do I look for this Trim Healthy Mama Plan? and 2) how do I find the 2nd trimester calorie adjusment on here?
  • jesha00
    jesha00 Posts: 29 Member
    Update: I'm 24 weeks (tomorrow) and up 28.5lbs. After reading everyones responses I feel like I could do a LOT better with foods choices. I still don't eat healthy. The thought of chicken and veggies just doesn't sound appealing. Now....pop tarts, cookies, and cereal sound great and that's what I've been eating :(

    I've found that when I don't track on here, I don't really pay much attention or care about what I'm eating. I just don't want to gain anymore fat! I don't care if I have to gain another 20 for baby but not another 20lbs of pure fat. I need help :(
  • jesha00
    jesha00 Posts: 29 Member
    Also, if I switch my calorie goal to "maintenance" and then use this trimester adjustment thing everyone is talking about (which I have no clue how to get), do I use my pre-pregnancy weight for maintenance or my current whale weight?
  • Hurricane_C
    Hurricane_C Posts: 806 Member
    I set my calories to maintenance (my pre-pregnancy weight since I adjusted when I found out I was pregnant) for the 1st trimester. Then when I hit the 2nd, I manually adjusted up 300 calories, and then in the 3rd manually added another 200. Maybe talk to your OB or midwife about what your calorie goal should be right now? If you have awhile until an appointment or until you can get ahold of them, maybe just try pre-pregnancy weight at maint + allotted trimester calories and see how that goes. If you find you're losing too much then bump up?

    I know I haven't been logging lately and have been eating like crap. It doesn't help that hubby is working an off shift and I'm chasing the 2 year old at night. By the time I get off work, pick her up, get her fed, play with her, do bath time, etc there's no time left for me to eat. Not to mention I'm at the point where I'm hungry, but if I eat more than 1/2C of food (which lets face it I'm going to, I'm starving) then I'm so uncomfortable. I'm 32 weeks today.... 8 more weeks...

    Sorry I can't be of more help.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    @jesha00 for the second trimester adjustment you can add it like you would food, just search second trimester and there is a negative 300 calories entry, so it will add to your daily goal instead of subtract.
  • jesha00
    jesha00 Posts: 29 Member
    As of today I am up 31lbs. I gained 2.6lbs last week and was super active. We just bought a small farmette and have spent the last two weekends moving. Plus I have my two horses at home now. Between moving boxes, putting things away, and taking care of the farm...I'm super surprised I didn't lose weight last week. I'm noticing pockets of swelling in my feet/ankles now also.
  • farabovepearls
    farabovepearls Posts: 28 Member
    I'm 20 weeks and have gained 15 lbs and the dr. said i can gain NO MORE! I need all the support I can get. I really haven't splurged and feel like I have eaten no different than when I was not pregnant.
  • jesha00
    jesha00 Posts: 29 Member
    I'm 20 weeks and have gained 15 lbs and the dr. said i can gain NO MORE! I need all the support I can get. I really haven't splurged and feel like I have eaten no different than when I was not pregnant.

    I personally think it's wrong for drs to say that or come down hard on us for gaining more then is recommended at any given time. I know I'm complaining about my gain but the truth is, our bodies will do what they want when we are pregnant. A good dr would know that and merely let us know (one time is sufficient) it's better to keep weight down. Don't sweat it.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    I'm 20 weeks and have gained 15 lbs and the dr. said i can gain NO MORE! I need all the support I can get. I really haven't splurged and feel like I have eaten no different than when I was not pregnant.

    I sort of understand, but I have to say this seems like a completely unrealistic thing for your Dr. to have said. Not sure if they felt like they were not getting their point across so went for an extreme statement, or what. But if you are eating within a reasonable calorie goal and making smart food choices that's all you can do. Those numbers on the scale just don't seem as easy to control during pregnancy.
  • Iknewyouweretrouble
    Iknewyouweretrouble Posts: 561 Member
    i was wondering if you can backtrack too. i have had a horrible first trimester and only now later in the first trimester am i able to eat anything other than white foods! i also eat every two hours to abate the nausea/acid that churns my tummy. i was extremely fatigued which is letting up and i'm hoping i can incorporate back more than sitting and/or sleeping. walking seems good.
    Has anyone backtracked successfully before?
  • ahniatrillium
    ahniatrillium Posts: 1 Member
    Don't worry! You can definitely come back strong after the first trimester. I was feeling nauseous everyday and the only thing I wanted to eat was bread and Mac and cheese. I also stopped working out consistently and slept a lot. We the. Moved into our new house and with renovations we were mostly eating takeout. I was about 20 pounds up at 20 weeks and I could definitely see that the weight wasn't all baby. My clothes fit differently on my arms, legs, and chest.

    Around that time I failed my 1 hour glucose test and was lectured a little bit by my doctor ( she recommends to shoot for a 25 pound gain). I started going back to the gym regularly and walking my dog everyday about a mile on hills. I also started eating much better. I'm now at week 32 with only about 3 more pounds up. Baby is measuring right on target and I have passed my second glucose test with no issues. All my vitamins and nutrients also seem to be on track. My clothes actually fit better (other than my stomach, of course) I eat a TON of veggies as well as fruit, yogurt, and lean meat. I do also splurge occasionally but try to stick to healthy foods 80% of the time. I've also noticed that the exercise helps with my mood and reduces back pain, so that's a plus!
  • jesha00
    jesha00 Posts: 29 Member
    Just an update: I am 31 weeks now and am currently sitting at a 42lb gain!

    So yes, I am still eating horribly. BUT I am super active and I feel like I'm always starving! Food that was once considered a meal for me is now a snack! I had a few weeks where I was tracking my food and really "trying" and I will admit that my gain slowed considerably. Over the last month I've sort of slipped back into a rut. I'm tired again and just not in the mood to monitor this when I'm just gaining anyways.

    BUT, I'm going to get back on the bandwagon for as long as I can. I know I'll still gain but hopefully a little less.
  • polargirl5
    polargirl5 Posts: 5 Member
    19 weeks here, 20 lbs gained already. With my first 2 I gained about 30-35lbs.
  • phreekles
    phreekles Posts: 216 Member
    I've been worrying about gaining too much too quickly as well and was reading about the NHS guidelines to how much you shoukd eat during pregnancy (I live in the uk). They now recommend to eat you're maintenance calories for your pre-pregnancy weight and only add 200 calories during the third trimester. Since following this method I've been coming up with ways to make the calories more filling (swapping junk food for whole fruits/vegs and cutting out sugary drinks). So far my heart burn has completely disappeared and each week I've either maintained or lost weight. I would highly recommend it!
  • 1fit_mamma
    1fit_mamma Posts: 101 Member
    edited July 2017
    So comforting to read I am not the only one, thanks for sharing everyone!

    I am up 9lb at 14.5 weeks, and as I started with a BMI of 29 it's way over where I should be at this stage. I also went carb crazy in first trimester (and lots of them!) to stave away nausea, and now I'm in a habit of eating junk and not working out much and I feel terrible for it.

    Plan now is to focus on whole foods, tracking at maintenancec, working out 3xweek (pump and prenatal Pilates) plus 10k steps per day. I was doing more than this pre-pregnancy so I know my body can cope.

    How has everyone gone with their weight gain since first posting? Has it slowed?? Hope you're enjoying your pregnancies regardless :)
  • Iknewyouweretrouble
    Iknewyouweretrouble Posts: 561 Member
    Don't worry! You can definitely come back strong after the first trimester. I was feeling nauseous everyday and the only thing I wanted to eat was bread and Mac and cheese. I also stopped working out consistently and slept a lot. We the. Moved into our new house and with renovations we were mostly eating takeout. I was about 20 pounds up at 20 weeks and I could definitely see that the weight wasn't all baby. My clothes fit differently on my arms, legs, and chest.

    Around that time I failed my 1 hour glucose test and was lectured a little bit by my doctor ( she recommends to shoot for a 25 pound gain). I started going back to the gym regularly and walking my dog everyday about a mile on hills. I also started eating much better. I'm now at week 32 with only about 3 more pounds up. Baby is measuring right on target and I have passed my second glucose test with no issues. All my vitamins and nutrients also seem to be on track. My clothes actually fit better (other than my stomach, of course) I eat a TON of veggies as well as fruit, yogurt, and lean meat. I do also splurge occasionally but try to stick to healthy foods 80% of the time. I've also noticed that the exercise helps with my mood and reduces back pain, so that's a plus!
    what exercises are you doing at the gym?

    i'm gonna rev myself up to do long walk and/or gym tomorrow. tonight i'm doing a bit of yoga.
  • SaritaJack
    SaritaJack Posts: 49 Member
    Don't worry! You can definitely come back strong after the first trimester. I was feeling nauseous everyday and the only thing I wanted to eat was bread and Mac and cheese. I also stopped working out consistently and slept a lot. We the. Moved into our new house and with renovations we were mostly eating takeout. I was about 20 pounds up at 20 weeks and I could definitely see that the weight wasn't all baby. My clothes fit differently on my arms, legs, and chest.

    Around that time I failed my 1 hour glucose test and was lectured a little bit by my doctor ( she recommends to shoot for a 25 pound gain). I started going back to the gym regularly and walking my dog everyday about a mile on hills. I also started eating much better. I'm now at week 32 with only about 3 more pounds up. Baby is measuring right on target and I have passed my second glucose test with no issues. All my vitamins and nutrients also seem to be on track. My clothes actually fit better (other than my stomach, of course) I eat a TON of veggies as well as fruit, yogurt, and lean meat. I do also splurge occasionally but try to stick to healthy foods 80% of the time. I've also noticed that the exercise helps with my mood and reduces back pain, so that's a plus!

    This is so encouraging! I'm only a few weeks in, and doing okay, but I'm two pounds higher from vacation, and on the days I feel sick the only thing I can handle are carbs and protein (usually just chicken). I'm having a hard time getting veggies in, and I'm so tired that I haven't exercised more than one walk so far. I feel like maybe I'm on the upswing already (or maybe it was just a good day), but my calorie counting makes me sad. And the fact that I'm not going to meet my weight goals when I wanted to (although of course the baby is worth it).

    Anyway, the hope that I can get this under control and eat well and exercise again soon was just what I needed this evening! Thank you for sharing!
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