Hi pregnant, nursing and new mommas! I'm hoping you can give me a little reassurance . I gained over 80 lbs when I was pregnant with my son. I blame it mostly on myself, eating for 8, not exercising... and being on bedrest for the rest of it. My son is 2.5 now and I'm 30 or so lbs from my goal weight but my husband and I are ready to have another baby and I've decided the rest of the lbs can wait. I'm SOOO deathly afraid of gaining all that weight back and it's been a big reason we haven't had another baby yet even though I didn't want to space my kids as far apart as they're going to be . Were you able to remain succesful throughout a pregnancy? I want to stay in control this time, stay healthy and active, and not spend 2 years after the fact trying to undo the damage I'd done. It's possible right?

Well I wasn't trying to get pregnant and didn't even think we could. But I'd lost over 100 pounds, and was 5 pounds from my goal, when it happened. My son is 1 yr. now and I still haven't gotten completely back. I think the nursing is holding me down on the last few, not to mention moving, house hunting, etc. etc. etc. It's been one **** of a year.

But I still eat right, and except for the last few weeks with some major wall-to-wall house hunting, I exercise regularly. So I hung onto my good habits and have lost the bulk of the pregnancy weight and staying on track.

I have a friend who just had her 2nd & she only gained about 7lbs because she was overweight to start with. So it IS possible. Good luck to you!

My first pregancy I gained a ton of weight-and it took me forever to get back in the groove of things-but this is because I sat around all day, stopped exercising, and ate for 3 instead of two.

In my second, and my recent third pregnancy-I stayed with the exercise. I ate something if I had a really bad craving for it-but I didn't use my pregnancy as an excuse for eating 2 King sized Snicker bars for dessert.

I altered my workots for pregnancy-but I stuck with them. I did prenatal yoga (Crunch Yoga Mama is my favorite!!!) to keep me limber and it really helped, and helped keep me from having any back pain from the weight of the baby.
I kept up walking-although I had to walk slower and slightly less distance in my third trimester. (As you get further along, you do have to adjust to less intensity.)
I kept belly dancing, and I performed until I was 6 1/2 months, and I taught up until a week before I had Saber. I literally called my students and cancelled my last class after the doctor told me at my visit earlier that day that I was dilated to 3 and in early labor-and I better not teach tonight!

There are things you do have to modify-no laying down on your back movements like crunches, etc.-because of the weight of the baby and larger uterus on your spine, etc.-but you CAN continue to do a lot of what you do, just modified a bit.

Activity, I think is a major key in having a normal pregnancy weight gain of 25-35 pounds or so-rather than gaining 60 or 80 because you just let it all go.

Watching what you eat to a certain extent helps, too. I ate fresh fruit, yogurt, oatmeal-all the things I would normally eat. Healthful foods. As I stated before-if I had a craving-I indulged-but I made smarter choices. A small piece of chocolate instead of a King Size candy bar...a Happy Meal (everything smaller) instead of an adult large sized value meal at McDonalds-because a small fry can satisfy the craving just as well as a large one, if you savor it. You can eat what you crave without adding TOO many extra calories.

I am currently nursing, and exercising again and trying to lose my baby weight. I know what to expect though, and know that I am still eating for two...or at least, adding in 500 extra calories a day on top of what I normally would eat at weight loss mode-because of the nursing. I know that it is going to take about a year or a little longer to get back to where I was. It is a big toll on your body-and you have to give it time. You can't expect to have your pre-baby body back 2 months after delivery like some new moms do. (Movie stars do not count-they have nannies and personal trainers. ) I would lose weight quickly too if I had someone to watch my baby while a personal trainer kicked my butt for 2 straight hours each day.

If you stay fit during your pregnancy-you heal better afterwards, you feel better, and you bounce back sooner.

Thank you sooo much for the advice . I'm feeling a lot better about this. I know my attitude about food and weight and exercise is 180 degrees from where it was when I had Aidan. I can do this .