Any tips? I've been in maintenance for almost five years now, and I am in my first trimester. I have been eating a lot lately (mainly to make sure I am eating enough calories but not overeating) and I keep have this nagging feeling that I am going to end up at square 1 all over again. With the 25-30lb weight gain recommended, I will be at almost my starting weight from before.

Any tips? I am doing Crossfitmom.com workouts and doing a food diary- mainly to make sure I am eating enough for the baby.

The nice thing about having a baby is at the time of delivery you will lose a lot of weight , maybe not all you have gained, but where else can you lose 7 pounds or more all at once ?

If you gain the reccomended amount of weight, you will be fine.Trust me.With all 3 pregnancies I had lost 30= lbs by my 6 week check up.Exercising during pregnancy is awesome!!!You sound like you are doing exactly the right thing.I wish I had.....3 pregnancies....60= lbs each time.I took me a total of 6 months to lose all of the weight each time.I was misreable during what should have been the happiest time of my life.Congrats!!!!!

I'm concerned about this as well. It has been discussed that the formerly obese body is not the same as a body that has never had extra weight on it for a long period of time and that we require fewer calories to maintain. We are TTC and I wonder what effect it will have on a body that's been in maintenance for 5 years after a lifetime of obesity?

Only time will tell, I guess!

The less you weigh the fewer calories you require to maintain., this is true for everybody no matter what weight you started.

I was referring to this discussion, specifically.
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/livi...intenance.html

I have to live a little differently than my counterparts who have never lost a significant amount of weight. I view pregnancy as a big experiment in this regard.

I'm new here, but saw your post about losing baby weight...

Don't let my username fool you, I DO have 8 children. So I also have lots of experience about losing the baby weight after maintenance.

If you are exercising and eating right during your pregnancy, it is likely that it will only take a couple of months to lose the weight, that is, if you are not nursing. I don't recommend going on any quick weight loss regimen after baby if you are planning on nursing, it can cause your milk to be insufficient or dry up completely. I have had experience with this.

Also, don't expect your body to be "perfect" right after the baby is born. The first couple of weeks your body is sizing down, but will still be "big"... like you will be at 5 months, 4 weeks after baby you will start noticing a difference and begin to feel more "normal"...

With my 5th child, I started out very fit, but was not able to exercise due to complications. However, I did not eat ANY sweets at all because they made me sick... So with her, I lost ALL of my baby weight within 2 months of having her. Though my skin was a little stretched, I still looked good in my clothes.

I am now trying to lose my baby weight from my 8th... she is now 3 months, and no, I haven't lost it all yet. But unfortunately, the older you get, the harder it is to lose. I am 36, so it will take me longer, but I will do it in time.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about the "baby weight" if you are exercising and eating right. Your body naturally will gain weight because your metabolism slows down during pregnancy... but that is a good thing because you also absorb more nutrients from the food you eat.

You sound like you are doing all the right things, and a 25-30 pound weight gain is good... Also right after my babies were born, I only lost 12 pounds... that is completely normal as your uterus has to shrink and there seems to be excess water that you lose after a baby... I hope this helps!

Interesting article. I know that I ate many more calories at 204 pounds than I do now. If I go back to eating substantially more calories than I do now, I will regain what I have lost, maybe more than I lost. I really don't care why. If I want to maintain my loss I must eat less calories than before . To me it is a small price to pay, to be healthier, looking better isn't hard to take , either.