Your focus should be less on the scale and more on your nutrition, health, and fitness. That baby growing inside you needs a steady supply of nutrients, so going on a calorie restriction right now is not healthy for you or your baby. Most of that weight gain is probably water weight. Progesterone makes you bloat like crazy, and your hormone levels are very high right now.

Put the scale away. Focus on eating good nutritious food (lots of water, lots of potassium, reasonable sodium intake, etc.) and eat at maintenance. High potassium foods can help ease bloating and water retention. Go for lots of fresh veggies, especially potatoes, greens, and starchy vegetables like peas. Bananas are high in potassium also. Don't bother with a potassium supplement. Limit processed foods with a lot of sodium, and drink lots of water.

FWIW, I'm 10 weeks now, and I'm up 12 lbs already. It's almost all water weight. My belly is huge for 10 weeks too. This is all normal. It's all related to your hormone levels and water retention, and it's totally fine. Just stop worrying so much about the weight and focus more on your wellbeing. Being stressed about the weight gain is doing you absolutely no good at all.

I'm answering this question because a) My doctor had told me I was gaining too fast, and b) I do have gestational diabetes.

I see a nutritionist once a week and have a doctor review my food diary. The biggest problem I had was that I WASN'T eating enough carbs. My liver was dumping extra sugar into my system to make up for my lack of carbs, causing insulin spikes, high sugar, which can turn into extra weight gain for baby.

I had been focusing on eating veggies and protein because I was trying to slow the weight gain. I was doing the wrong thing!!!

I am now eating 2000 caloies per day, and make sure I get lots of carbs with every meal (as long as they are whole grain fiber carbs with protein). I eat NO refined sugar. My weight gain is slowing and I feel satisfied and healthy.

Don't restrict, you need lots of good nourishment right now.

Also - you might just be a second trimester gainer.

When I found out that I was pregnant at 12 weeks, the first thing I asked my doctor was 'Is it safe and necessary to watch my calories and try not to gain weight right now, and possibly lose weight?' Her answer to me was simple....YES. I am 5'9 and started out at 195 when I found out I was pregnant. At that weight, I am only 10 lbs away from the weight I was at when I delivered my first child.:ohwell: My doctor said that up until the baby is a substantial weight of 1 to 2 lbs, then she had absolutely no problem with me losing weight if I wanted to and no concern of keeping my calories at 1600 per day as I had already started doing. I don't worry about not getting the nutrients because I know that I am through my prenatal vitamin and the healthy foods that I choose to eat. If I am going to binge eat, I will choose a gronola bar, banana, sugar free jello, fresh fruits or veggies....instead of Oreos, ice cream, etc. Do I eat healthy everyday? Of course not. You have to allow yourself one day to break the cycle of each week or even as long as every other week so that your body doesn't get use to a routine. I have started buying leaf lettuce and wrapping my lunch meat and other toppings in the leaf lettuce. You would be surprised at how good it still taste without the bread. I wouldn't go without carbs, but I would choose healthier carbs and less of them....such as a sweet potato instead of a white potato, whole wheat bread (not enriched or bleached) instead of white bread, instead of salad dressing on a salad go with the juice from 1/2 of a fresh lemon and 1-2 Tbsp. of a light olive oil. There are tons of ways to provide your body with healthier nutrients and vitamins by making healthier choices. You said that you are at 16 weeks, and right now your baby is probably only 6 to 8 ounces in weight. I am 5 months (20 weeks) and they measured my baby during ultrasound this week and it is at 13 ounces. That's still 3 ounces from a pound, and I asked my doctor if it was still okay to continue watching calories, eating low carb, and exercising....and to no surprise, she still said YES! If I do go over on my calories for the day, I do extra workouts or things around the house that are in the database that still burn calories. Like this morning I ironed clothes for 20 minutes. If you think about it, I'm standing in one place only moving my upper body.....same equivelant as cooking or food preparation. So I counted that as a cardio exercise. It might seem petty to some people, but I don't iron clothes on a daily basis. So if I had not done it, then I most likely would have been laying on the couch watching TV. You tell me....which burns more calories? I hope some of this helps. Good luck!

I say continue to do what you are doing. I personally feel like I am gaining too fast as well, but I know how hard I am working my butt off and that I am choosing healthier food. KEEP THE SCALE. Trust me, you don't need to gain an unhealthy amount of weight. Some people don't realize that its just as bad for YOU and THE BABY to gain too much weight. I gained 47lbs with my daughter, I ate very little (2-3meals a day), but I ate JUNK and HIGH calorie foods. McDonalds, Taco Bell, processed meals, etc. Your baby and body WILL NOT get the proper amount of nutrition from junk food. I wouldn't worry about eating ALL your exercise calories or setting a number to net. Just eat til your full, don't over eat just to meet your calorie goal. I know people probably dont like my diary, but i eat until I am full and I eat home prepared meals and ALOT of fruits and snacks, so its going to be a lot less calories than what they eat by going out every day. I will increase my net goal soon, but if I don't hit it, I won't force myself to eat 2000 calories a day if I don't need it. Just my 2 cents.

Hi everyone. I just found out I am pregnant. Actually found out last night. How many calories should I be eating? I am 4'11 and 165lbs right now. It said I only need to gain about 15lbs. I know the baby will end up weighing between 24-30lbs with all the extras in there. Have no idea how much food I should be eating?
I plan on light exercise for 30 minutes a day 5x a week.
Also started taking supplements this morning.

I would set MFP to maintenance for the first trimester, and then change it to gain 1/2 a pound a week in the second and third. Congratulations!

I was panicking about my weight gain a few weeks ago, and I found it was extremely helpful for me when I stopped logging my food and weighing myself for a week. I focused on eating healthy and staying active instead of counting calories. All of the logging and counting was taking a toll on my sanity, and I was starting to become obsessive about it. Not healthy for anyone, let alone a pregnant woman!

There are plenty of women on here who gain quickly in the beginning, only to have it balance out later in the pregnancy. Keep in mind that stress can cause weight gain, and stress is not good for you or the baby. Try to relax and not be so focused on your weight. Eat healthy, have a guilt-free treat now and then, and enjoy being pregnant.

As for the nutritionist, do they have a payment plan you could use? Do you have a birthday coming up? You could tell your partner/family that instead of a gift it would be helpful if they could contribute to the cost of the nutrition program. Would your employer be willing to advance $300 to you and have it taken off later paychecks in small amounts?

*I just noticed your comment about high blood pressure in your family and your fear of pre-e. From what I understand pre-e isn't something that can be prevented. Both of my parents have high blood pressure. My mom is very healthy and active, relatively stress free, and can't possibly cut any more sodium out of her diet. Some people just have it and there's no rhyme or reason to it. Even with two parents with blood pressure problems, mine has always been good, so I'm not going to worry about it.

:flowerforyou:

I started my weight loss journey about 2 weeks before I found out I was pregnant. My maintenance caloric intake was 2360, I cut mine down to around 1500 and did that until I was about 20 weeks, then increased it to 1700 and now am at 1800. I will admit I am not good at logging food and havent been for about the last 3 to 4 weeks HOWEVER I have lost 30 lbs during my pregnancy and explained to my OB that I just dont eat junk food near as much as I used to. I eat a TON more veggies, fruits and lean meats and have cut my portion size down considerably. My baby is progressing very well and is a healthy size, my last prenatal appt finally showed a weight gain of .5 a lb. Also my bloodwork came back fantastic and my blood pressure is great, no gestational diabetes or complications. I hope I can make it the last 8 weeks of my pregnancy with my weight loss and will continue after my little bundle is born.

I was having the same problem and then realized that MFP is just a default generic tool. It was upping my calories more than what I needed for the .5 lb gains to stay on track. I looked around the internet and some of the forums in here to find a more accurate tool based on body fat, etc. to get to a more accurate number. I'm sorry I can't remember the site I used though! I wouldn't actively try to eat at a deficit but if MFP is giving you more calories than YOU need then you may need to do the same thing I did and find a more accurate way of finding out your calorie needs. I guess that's only sorta helpful...