Doc says I'm 3 Pounds Overweight - Eating right, doing what exercise I can. Advice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP is not overweight. At 5'6" BMI charts say that she can be up to 150 lbs and at a healthy weight.

OP may be at a healthy weight at 150 but most women 5'6" wouldn't be. It depends on muscle and boob, mostly.

The truth isn't that the BMI charts are too harsh - the truth is that for most people they are too forgiving. At 5'7" and muscular, I would definitely be overweight at 150. (now maybe if I had real boobs . . . .)

OP shouldn't stress too much but those saying you can't judge just by the numbers should then put more faith in her OB. Her OB can actually see her standing in front of him. He can tell if she was a little heavy going into pregnancy. Almost all of us gain too much in pregnancy, myself included, and it is not wrong for our OBs to tell us to watch it.

[Anonymous]

But if she's eating right and exercising she shouldn't be limiting herself if she's still hungry. Her body knows if it needs more food. Now, if she were eating past hunger or piling in big macs, that's certainly another story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gosh. Seriously, no WONDER doctors don't say things more often about our weight. Apparently anyone who dares mention it is a "moron" and should have his medical license taken away.

Are we going to doctors for actual health care? Or for an "I'm Okay, You're Okay" affirmation??

No wonder we are a nation of obese people. (And, OP, I'm not talking about you in the slightest).

To this poster and 11:30/14:07: I'm the one who said her doc is a moron. If a doctor is comparing an individual woman's weight gain to a chart that simply averages healthy prenatal weight gain, the doctor clearly lacks a thoughtful medical perspective. Similarly, a good pediatrician will be more interested in a baby's growth trajectory than where the baby falls on the infant growth chart, which doesn't take many factors (e.g., ethnicity) into account. Rather than simply comparing the patient to what's "average," the doctor should be inquiring about the woman's diet, stress level, etc. before issuing medical advice. It's not about feel-good warm fuzzies--it's about proper medical care.

[Anonymous]

Hey, I have gained 8 lbs at 18 weeks, and my little iPod app is chastizing me because my weight gain has not PRECISELY tracked its recommended weekly increments. It kind of makes me laugh, really.

[Anonymous]

OP - I freaked out when I went in to see my doctor during the last part of my second trimester and realized I had gained 7 pounds in 1 month. FWIW, I am 5 feet tall (a shrimp) and was 110 lbs pre-pregnancy, so not overweight. I think as others have pointed out, you have to realize that our bodies are not machines and therefore we can't expect that we will gain exactly 1 pound per week. Since that visit, my weight gain has slowed down without me making any changes whatsoever and at 30 weeks have gained about 23 pounds total. I would just weigh yourself once a week so you can keep track, but not be too concerned unless you are consistently gaining more and more...

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I just wanted to share that my doc. said the same thing to me...I was actually 5'5 and 130 before getting pregnant and at week 22 I was 148 and the doc said that I should cut out all juices/desserts (not that I was going crazy) b/c sometimes people's bodies process foods differently during pregnancy...and low and behold at week 28 I got GD and I was glad that I started cutting unnecessary sugars at week 22. So it is not a bad idea to lok at your diet and see what unnecessary sugars can be cut and make sure you fill up on protein/whole grains/veggies/etc

[Anonymous]

i second finding a new doctor (or a midwife!)...that is rude, and ridiculous. if you are eating healthy and exercising then that is the best thing you can do for your baby, and the # of pounds you gain should not matter.

with my first baby i got so stressed out about weight gain and every time i got weighed at the midwife, would spend the rest of the day depressed and panicking. so around 30 weeks i asked if i could stop being weighed, or if they could weigh me but not tell me the result unless it was of concern. that really helped!

and my second pregnancy i did not weigh myself at all, and my midwife was supportive of that. it was so liberating not to have to worry about how much i gained!

it's really a shame that providers focus on weight the way they do. i understand that sometimes it's an indicator of a problem and that there's a healthy range of gaining, but for women who eat healthy and exercise, they should not have to deal with comments about being 3 pounds overweight. i'm sorry you had to deal with that.

[Anonymous]

Unless your OB is your best friend, mother, coworker, telling you that your weight gain pattern is of concern is hardly "rude."

It's their job.

[Anonymous]

"I take all weight tables with a grain of salt without looking at someone's body composition and overall bone structure. Your height and weight could look completely different on three different women as a result of a different build and fat/muscle."

I always find statements like this hilarious. The BMI charts actually do have a range that accounts for different body types. I agree with the poster who said the charts are not the problem, the problem is that Americans are too forgiving and used to being overweight. Women seem to think that they are not really overweight if they look OK because they carry it in their boobs, conceal it well, or are surrounded by people who weigh even more so they feel thinner. The health risks that correlate with being in the overweight category are not further refined to break out somone over healthy BMI but thinks she looks good...

[Anonymous]

In pregnancy you really can not diet as too much physical exertion or calorie restriction could be harmful. When you lose weight and burn fat, keytones are released and these are not good for the fetus. Unlike any other time when if you gain weight you can lose it, in pregnancy once its on it is on until the end. The OP's doctor was correct in pointing out a 3lb weight gain while she has time to correct her eating/activity and avoid gaining much more. If she wasn't pregnant, her doctor would probably have not mentioned it and waited until she came back 10lb overweight. At this point she would be advised to lose the weight but that doesn't work for someone who is pregnant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:that is rude, and ridiculous. if you are eating healthy and exercising then that is the best thing you can do for your baby, and the # of pounds you gain should not matter.

But how does your OB know you are eating well and working out sensibly? I'll bet most pregnant women claim they are doing so but many aren't, either because they just aren't or don't really know what good eating looks like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless your OB is your best friend, mother, coworker, telling you that your weight gain pattern is of concern is hardly "rude."

It's their job.

You are assuming there is a pattern. We don't know that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:11:30 went out of way to be as polite as possible and stroke your ego while she told you the truth. I will be more direct. OP you were fat and you are getting fatter. Its good that you eat healthy and exercise but bottom line is that you are eating more calories than you are burning. The weight gain guidelines are lower for overweight woman. 3lbs over is not that big a deal if you end up only 3lbs overweight but your doctor is probably looking at your pattern. You came in overweight but think you are not, and you have gained almost all of your weight before the weight really goes up. Time to get control.

Unless you live in LA, where eating 600 calories/day and smoking is the norm, being 144lb at OP's height is absolutely not fat.

You need to get a life and realize that not everybody was born small framed or wants to be aneroxic. I know you don't believe me, but if I weigh less than 135 lbs (at 5'5"), I seriously look frail. I have always been athletic and just am not skin and bones. I have muscular legs while many women I know don't. That weighs something, but it isn't fat. To not acknowledge different body types is ignorant. That's like saying that everybody should have the same body type as Asians....

[Anonymous]

i think what some of us are taking issue with is whether the weight gain pattern is actually "of concern". just because someone has a job doesn't mean they're good at it.

Anonymous wrote:Unless your OB is your best friend, mother, coworker, telling you that your weight gain pattern is of concern is hardly "rude."

It's their job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:that is rude, and ridiculous. if you are eating healthy and exercising then that is the best thing you can do for your baby, and the # of pounds you gain should not matter.

But how does your OB know you are eating well and working out sensibly? I'll bet most pregnant women claim they are doing so but many aren't, either because they just aren't or don't really know what good eating looks like.

Because the OB should ask what types of food are in your diet and then respond appropriately? These are women who are about to become or already become parents. Maybe we should err on the side of assuming they are not liars, have a modicum of responsibility, and know the difference between a ding dong and a carrot.