Hi everyone, my name is Kristy and I am the mother of Aidan (a 19 month old) and I am over ready for another one!! I would like to lose at least 10 lbs. before another baby. I was just wondering if anyone has lost weight OR maintained their weight while pregnant? I would love to just maintain and not gain anything. I haven't been to the doctors yet to talk to him.
I breastfed Aidan for 18 months and that didn't get weight off.
It is not a good idea to try to even maintain the same weight while pregnant. You can gain less if you are over weight (25 lbs instead of 35). I know someone who only gained 6 lbs while she was pregnant and ended up with a very sick baby.
From everything that I researched (we are starting to try for a baby too), it isnt the best to try and lose weight, but more and more doctors are saying that even a 25lb weight gain during pregnancy is too much. I am trying to lose 30lbs before we start.
This is off of msnbc. If you google weight gain during pregnancy this article comes up........
"The reality is for too long we are telling pregnant women to take it easy during pregnancy, be confined and to eat for two," he said. "This has been one factor in causing the epidemic of overweight and obesity that we see in our country."
This fall, the Institute of Medicine, a private organization that advises the federal government, is expected to begin the lengthy process of gathering scientific evidence to decide if the guidelines should be changed, said spokeswoman Christine Stencel.
"The decision ultimately should be driven by real data ... but most of us think overall the weight gain recommendations are too high and particularly for women who have high body mass indexes to begin with," said Dr. Charles Lockwood of Yale University School of Medicine.
Under the institute's 1990 guidelines, those with a "normal" body mass index — a combination of height and weight — were encouraged to gain 25 to 35 pounds. Women with a higher BMI have a lower target — 15 pounds only for the most obese women. Women with a lower BMI should gain more weight during pregnancy — up to 40 pounds.
This last part is very important. Depending on what your bmi is, I would go by these recommendations.
I'm actually really concerned about weight gain during PG too. I've heard that It's safe to maintain for the 1st trimester, they like to see a pound a week for the second and third trimesters. I've also heard that obese ladies (bmi over 29) are urged to not gain more the 13 lbs. I've never had children, so I can't speak to that. I am going to try really hard to watch my weight and stay active during my PG. I imagine finding a DR that knows my weight struggles will help too. Good luck to you mama.
Speaking as a woman who is 22 weeks pregnant, obese and has had a lot of conversations with her doctor about this very issue, it is very individualized. There is no catch-all answer for this. Firstly it is best to talk to your doctor and take any advice here with a grain of salt. People are always happy to give advice when they may not really know what they are talking about. My experience to date is this...when I was trying to conceive I went on a pregnancy message board (not here) and asked a similar question. I got several responses from overweight women who either maintained their weight or lost a little during pregnancy, delivered very healthy babies and after their delivery had lost a lot of weight (due to their weight not changing from the time of conception, in fact they were losing during pregnancy but the weight of the baby, water etc gained meant that their weight didn't change). Of course it depends on how much you weigh when you conceive. I am over 100 lbs overweight so I have more than enough for me and a dozen babies! When I went to my doctor's for my 1st appointment we discussed my weight and decided that if I stayed the same that would be fine as long as the baby was developing normally which it has been. At present I am up about 5 lbs and I am hoping only to gain 5 or 10 more at the most. Actually I think I will probably lose because I've was a sloth over the winter and I'm getting loads more active so I'll probably burn a lot off. So yes you may be able to maintain or even lose weight while pregnant but it depends on how much you weigh to begin with. As long as you are healthy and the baby is healthy and growing as it should there should be no issues.
I'm in my 4th month & as of yet have maintained my weight. My goal is to keep my weight gain to around 10lbs. I have discussed this with the doctor & she agrees this is reasonable. As mentioned above it is an individual thing.
One warning I would have is to not discuss with regular weight women you know - in my experience at least, they right away jump down your throat that you are being silly to worry about your weight during pregnancy. But the fact of the matter is the more extra weight we gain during pregnancy is the more weight we have to work to lose.
Thank you so much ladies! I have an appointment May 29 and I will discuss it with him them. I agree it is an individual thing, I am hoping he says it will be ok to maintain. I am 40+ overweight (depending what my goal will be) and I think it is reasonable to try to maintain or gain very little AS LONG as the peanut is progressing well. Also, I had heart problems and LOTS of swelling with Aidan so a heart healthy diet would be a good idea--low salt and low fat!!
Thanks ladies I will let you know what my doctor says. . .
I lost about 110 pounds and have been keeping it off for 5 years. I know every trick in the book for managing food intake, and feel I've been pretty successful when things are normal. But I gain weight like crazy when I'm pregnant (60 pounds each time) , and I do that if I'm actively trying to gain the recommended minimums, or if I eat what and when I want and just try to make the best choices most of the time (and for me this is mostly healthy stuff, just tends to be a lot of it). The difference is how much stress I'm putting on myself. I do think the excessive weight gain isn't good, but I also think the gain plus the stress is worse. This isn't to say don't worry about it, because lots of people do manage their weight successfully while pregnant, but some of us really do need to cut ourselves some slack.
My pregnancies have all been somewhat difficult and/or complicated, and as a result my exercise has been severely limited by my OB. Since exercise is a big maintenance strategy for me, I think part of the gain would have been offset if I'd been able to be more active. That is one recommendation I'd make is that if you can be active, be active. Barring complications, it is so good for the us and our babies.
BTW: I found breastfeeding my DD a great help for getting rid of about 50 of the 60 pounds I put on during her pregnancy, but the last 10 would not, not, not leave until after she was weaned. I would get sick or my supply would go down if I cut back that far enough to get that last bit of weight off. Again, like pregnancy, I think women's experiences differ.
If there is a summary to this rambling post, it is that the common wisdom from both the fat and thin worlds may or may not apply to any one of us, I believe that the right thing to do is make our own decisions based on our own personal circumstances and experience, in conjunction with our chose medical professionals.
I wanted to add something to the discussion. I guess this has more to do with what you are eating while pregnant than about the number of pounds you might gain. I have heard that the reason they want you to eat abundantly, of healthy food choices, is because of this: the baby will get what he/she needs whether you eat the healthy foods or not. If you don't get enough calcium in your diet, for example, the baby will take it by leeching it from your teeth and bones (I heard that it's easier to take from the teeth!) So you don't want to limit yourself from the nutrition that is going to keep your body from being harmed by leeching of nutrients.
There is a old wives tale that says you lose a tooth for every pregnancy. I think maybe I didn't drink enough milk during my pregnancy or something because one of my teeth did break some time after I delivered, and then my teeth started chipping more easily. I felt like my teeth had become more brittle. I never had a problem with broken teeth and chipping before. This is purely anecdotal, of course. But I thought it was worth mentioning to remind you guys to make sure you are taking in all the nutrition you need. I am guessing you are in a better position to do this because you probably have good health habits that some moms don't have. Take your vitamin supplements too (calcium too), if your doctor recommends them.
P.S. I was over 300 pounds (somewhere around 315) when I got pregnant with my daughter about 3 years ago. I gained like 15 or 20 lbs. by the time I was ready to deliver. After her birth, I was actually back to my starting weight, or a little lighter. I think I was 310! I looked slimmer too, especially through the thighs and hips, and also my face. For me, being pregnant evened out my hormones. I felt great and ended up feeling slimmer after the birth. (I have PCOS). Just wanted to add that info!
Last edited by thesusanone; 05-07-2008 at 01:46 PM.
This is absolutely true. While, you CAN have a low birth weight infant and complications if you do not eat enough during your pregancy...the baby CAN get some key things from YOU if you are not eating properly.
Keep in mind, though, that while you may not want to gain 50 pounds during your pregancy...that gaining 20-25 pounds is very reasonable, much more reasonable than wanting to only gain 10-15 pounds.
The baby itself is going to weigh 5-9 pounds of this, and your breast volume is going to be 1-2 pounds of it as well. (As they prepare for nursing their weight increases.) Your blood volume increases during pregnancy as well, and you must also take into consideration the weight of the placenta, the bag of amniotic fluid, and the weight of your enlarged uterus-that goes from the size of a lime, to a watermelon over the pregnancy. Just the baby, and the necessary gains that I mentioned, add up to 15 pounds or so-and they are necessary...and have nothing to do with fat.
So, if you plan on only gaining 10 pounds during your pregnancy, then you are actually LOSING weight, because you are going to be gaining less than the necessary biological functions. If you have a 7 pound baby, and gain 20 pounds during your pregnancy, then actually only 5 pounds of that is going to be in fat stores on your body.
Weight loss while pregnant?
