Can you diet while pregnant??????

[lindalee9]

Hello all,

I just started my weight loss journey mid-June and have lost 17 lbs so far. I am following Jackie Warner's plan in her book This is Why You're Fat. So it's more of a lifestyle change than a "diet" I guess.

I have a 9 month old son and we were going to start trying for our 2nd this month. I am so excited about my weight loss that part of me wants to keep going with that, but I also just want to have baby #2 and be done.

Obviously, I know you have to eat enough to grow a baby and my last pregnancy was fine - no complications and my baby is healthy. I gained 30 lbs with the pregnancy and am now 8 lbs lighter than when I got pregnant.

I ate WHATEVER I wanted (as long as it was ok food to eat while pregnant), but am not sure how this works with my new life style. I don't want to jeopardize the baby, but I don't want to undo my hard work either.

Advice????

[Aubrey87]

i think your best bet is to have a frank talk with your doctor. Make sure that your health and the health of your baby come first.
good luck!
Aubrey

[LLH2010]

If you eat a balanced diet, increase your caloric intake by about 300 a day, and take prenatal vitamins you will be fine as will your baby. Many women who begin a pregnancy overweight will lose weight during their pregnancy as a result of eating better. And that's perfectly fine!

[kaplods]

My mom weighed between 230 and 250 lbs during her pregnancies with my sisters. She was under close medical supervision, and was on prenatal vitamins from the early weeks of pregnancy. She gained 8 lbs with one pregnancy and lost 2 during her second. She wasn't trying to lose weight, she just had very severe nausea throughout her pregnancies. Both sisters were born prematurely. The first healthy otherwise, but my youngest sister's lungs weren't well developed and she was in intensive care for several weeks. There were complications for mom too, but I don't remember what they were precisely (I was a teenager).

That's only anectdotal evidence at best, I don't know what the risks and their statistics are for women who lose weight or gain little during pregnancy.

In graduate school (developmental psych) I had to take coursework in human biology/embryonology, and we studied the birth defects that can be caused by specific nutritional deficiencies. If memory serves, calorie deficits were associated most with premature delivery and low-birthweight babies rather than specific birth defects (though both are risky in themselves). Folic acid deficiency is associated with brain and spinal defects and malformations (which is why most doctors recommend and prescribe prenatal vitamins as early as possible. Some even suggest taking the prenatal vitamins while trying to conceive).

My strongest recommendation would be to talk to your OB/GYN AND a dietitian, ideally one who specializes in prenatal diets. Often insurance will pay in some circumstances, but usually there are usually limitations. You may only get one consultation, or it may be covered only if your pregnancy is considered "high-risk" in some way, or if you have certain conditions such as gestational diabetes.

If insurance doesn't cover it, often local health departments has nutritional and prenatal services and programs that are free or low cost.

[Latchkey Princess]

Most doctors will tell you "dieting" during pregnancy is a no-no. Mine told me "Don't concentrate on dieting or losing weight. Just concentrate on eating healthy foods and appropriate portions." Around the end of the second/beginning of the third trimester is when my midwife and doctor told me to raise my caloric intake by 200-300 calories a day to compensate for baby's calorie consumption. Before that they said the anywhere from 1500-2000 calories was plenty. I was also told the rule of thumb for overweight women is it's okay to gain 10-15lbs throughout the pregnancy (but my midwife said she wouldn't balk if I gained more or less, because each woman is different).

My experience ... I was 235 when I got pg with my first and ended the pregnancy at 240. I was 250 when I got pg with my second and was 250 when I delivered her. I lost weight with both pregnancies during the first two trimesters and gained it back in the third (when my cravings were much more out of control and I had a hard time resisting them!). There were no complications for either of my kids or for me from losing weight during pregnancy or anything. Both were born a week or more late too (little brats! lol).

As far as exercise, you can keep doing whatever you were doing before you got pregnant (so whatever you're doing right now) until it's no longer comfortable to do. Although I hear once you get a bump you're supposed to avoid things that require balance like bike riding.

[goodforme]

I gained 12 and 13 pounds respectively with both my girls. Both times I started out overweight, and according to my doctor, pregnancy speeds your metabolism. I would go weeks and weeks with no gain, sometimes a loss, but by the 3rd tri, I was packing on about a pound a week. If you're avoiding junk, sugar, white carbs, etc. just make sure you're eating enough of the healthy stuff. To echo previous posters, please please talk to your doc first. Good luck!

[lindalee9]

Thanks for the info. I gained 30 lbs with my first and the nurses and doctors were all saying how great that was . . . I guess they were happy I didn't gain 50lbs??

I was hoping that I would be pregnant this month (period is 6 days late), but pregnancy test is negative! So did I just not ovulate last month????

My weight has never affected my cycle before and I have been VERY regular since my periods returned in March. Does this happen to anyone else?