To those who were overweight before pregnancy

[Anonymous]

I am 16 weeks and was 40 pounds overweight before I got pregnant. I am also 39 and while I really wanted to get in better shape before I got pregnant, time wasn't on my side. I am now paranoid about gaining too much weight and developing high blood pressure and preeclampsia! Yes, I should have been healthier before but hindsight is 20/20.

I was hoping to hear from other people who were overweight when they got pregnant and any special tips or advice you may have for leading the healthiest possible pregnancy. Thanks so much.

[Anonymous]

I was about 30 pounds overweight when I got pregnant with my first child. I gained 25 and then lost it all pretty quickly...but I've put on another 10 over the past few years, so now I'm 16 weeks pregnant with my second and 40 pounds overweight as well!

Never had a problem with high blood pressure or preeclampsia. As the baby grows and your stomach shrinks, you'll find it difficult to eat large meals. Be mindful of your portions and hopefully that habit will be something you maintain after the baby is born. My advice isn't really about "the healthiest possible pregnancy", just do your best and don't beat yourself up if you slip up and have a cookie. De-stress your life as much as possible and enjoy the calm before storm. Congrats!

[Anonymous]

I am 34 weeks and overweight. I have been lucky though in that I crave crave crave fruit and really good salad. I have had horrible morning sickness throughout, which can be good/bad with weight - i.e., the more you eat, sometimes the better you feel. Of course, I totally stopped working out b/c i was so ill, and that has had a bad impact on me - my legs are so squishy now! So if you can, try workout at the level that is normal for you.

It is so hard to give specific advice b/c every pregnancy is different but just try to eat as best you can and not worry about it. Drink a LOT of water. I have heard of some people doing the gestational diabetes diet even though they didn't have it, just to keep them in check.

Also I was in your same boat - wished I'd been able to lose beforehand but hey, didn't happen. Best of luck to you!

[Anonymous]

I was in your exact same position! I'd say that one thing that helped me was to try to make the healthy choices when faced with all the little decision points, from lunch options to whether to use half-and-half or 2% milk in my decaf. All those little things can add up. If I felt really sick, I didn't worry so much about it, but otherwise, I tried to eat healthily and go for little walks whenever possible. If you can muster yourself to do it, try prenatal yoga classes for exercise and for stress relief. One thing I will tell you is that, after being overweight for a long time, I really enjoyed being pregnant, because it was the one time in my life I didn't have to worry about being big - I was supposed to be big!! I echo the PP who said not to stress out about it too much. Congrats & enjoy your pregnancy!

[Anonymous]

i am 35 weeks and was about 50 pounds overweight when i got pregnant. i have not had any trouble with blood pressure or a whole lot of edema; however my friend who is really in shape and still goes to the gym at 35 weeks had problems with both. i did just get a gestational diabetes diagnosis; however I was insulin resistant to start out with, so that writing was on the wall, and I didn't help matters by not following a low-glycemic diet. i've gained 30 lbs so far though, which isn't too bad, all things considered.

i would recommend doing exercises to strengthen your back muscles starting NOW as i did not do that and now i am paying for it!!

i agree with the PP, that this is the one time where i didn't worry about being big. but do try to eat appropriately, get your exercise now while you still can, and don't listen to those people who tell you you're pregnant, you can eat whatever you want!! nobody should do that, even people who didn't have weight issues to start.

[Anonymous]

I started out about 30 lbs overweight. The doctors would have been happy with a 20 lb weight gain. I am currently 28 weeks and just hit the 20 lb mark . They seem ok and just want me to make healthy choices. I have not had any problems as of yet. I just tested negative for GD but they will test me again since I am overweight and have PCOS. The best advice is just do your best, enjoy every minutes (because i flies by) and just dont over do anything. Good luck and enjoy.

[Anonymous]

One thing I found helpful to keep my diet in check is before I ate anything I thought of the little person inside of me. If I'd want a cookie or a candy bar, I'd think about the baby and how much sugar that was for her and then usually decide not to have it. Of course I had some sweets and the occasional unhealthy meal, but thinking of my baby before I ate anything really helped me eat the best possible. Now, since I've had the baby it's another story -- where's that bag of cookies...? : )

[Anonymous]

I was overweight before my first pregnancy and gained 50 pounds. I lost 30 of that and surprisingly got pregnant with my second. So double whammy of being overweight and pregnant. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes with my 2nd pregnancy (1st was complication free) and started following the diet at 29 weeks. I only gained 25 pounds with my second pregnancy. I looked so much better and felt so much better. I delivered 2 weeks ago and have already lost the 25 pounds with just staying right with my food choices. I have ALWAYS struggled with my weight and losing has never been easy for me. I would recommend learning the theory of the diet for GD and following it while pregnant - if we decide to have number 3 I will do it from the beginning.

[Anonymous]

I'm not the OP but interested in following the GD diet....is it written somewhere or is it basically a low glycemic index-type diet? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I think the key is to not binge and use the pregnancy excuse. Just try to keep a healthy diet and keep up with exercise. The problem for a lot of people is that they binge on junk food and stop exercising because they are pregnant so they think they are "allowed".

Also, breastfeeding really does help you lose weight quickly. I gained about 25 lbs with pregnancy (was overweight to start with) and lost it all plus more in the first 2 weeks or so. After one week I was back to my pre-pregnancy clothes with no problem.

[Anonymous]

walk walk and walk...as much as you can. this was what my friend did she said about 45 minutes to an hour per day
she was able to give birth naturally
i didn' t do the walking and end up having c-section
although i am not overweight but I hope this advise is helpful, i really regret that i didn't walk more the first time around.
I walked more the 2nd time and had VBAC

[Anonymous]

I feel your anxiety, OP. I was overweight with my first child, gained 36 pounds during the pregnancy and had every intention of losing a good deal of weight before getting pregnant with baby #2. Didn't happen that way. I lost the 36 pounds fairly quickly, which I attribute to nursing, but I had high hopes for shedding a good deal of weight before baby #2 was onthe way. I seriously stressed myself out by thinking I was going to have a miserable second pregnancy because I was terrified. With my first, I did have issues with the blood pressure, and I ended up delivering early becuase my son had a rare-- but not serious-- blood disorder.

I'm now 25 weeks along with #2, and was about 60 pounds overweight when I got pregnant. So far I have gained 8 pounds this go-round. I haven't followed a super-strict diet, but I have been very conscious about my eating choices, without giving myself too much grief, and I got a new job downtown early in the pregnancy and I've been doing a lot of walking with the Metro and all. The blood pressure is being managed with medication-- there are plenty that are safe during pregnancy, even though ideally you'd like to go without medication. I also have an active two-year-old at home, so I'm sure that contributes.

The best advice I can give you is to TRY not to feel guilty. You have plenty on your mind right now, and you'll drive yourself crazy if you stress out and worry that you really want french fries instead of a salad. You are still going to gain weight, it doesn't mean that you'll automatically have complications with preeclampsia. Your body is working harder in your sleep than you've ever worked in your life, and you deserve to ilndulge every now and then. Try to eat healthy and if you have a craving that's not the most healthy-- just use moderation. Don't agonize over everything you put in your mouth. Also, see if you can modify what you're craving. Like having frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, or a small order of fries instead of the extra-large. Happy mom = happy baby. Stressed out mom is not good for baby. If you can do it-- get some exercise walking and/or swimming. Swimming felt like heaven-- the water negates gravity and just generally felt great to my pregnant body.

Do NOT starve yourself, try not to get hung up on the numbers, and try not to worry too much. As long as the baby is doing fine, you are probably doing fine, too. I hope you have a supportive partner and a compassionate OB. Do you have someone you can talk to about how you're feeling?

Also, as silly as this might sound, if you can do it, spring for at least one maternity outfit that makes you feel great. I had a hard time finding plus-size maternity clothes without anxiety until I turned to eBay. Just do a search for plus-size maternity and you'll find all kinds of things. Being in comfortable clothing made a HUGE difference for me. eBay was a sanity-saver.

Good luck to you. You are doing a wonderful thing-- growing a life! Remember that at the conclusion of this amazing journey, you'll have a beautiful new little person to love. That's not to say that the weight issues will just evaporate (they won't), but try to keep your eye on the end-result. You'll manage everything else in time.

[Anonymous]

I was 40 pounds overweight before I got pregnant with both my children. I actually lost signficant weight with both, and ended up less than 5 pouds over my initial weight with both. I wasn't trying to do this. I call pregnancy my weight loss plan. LOL.

Anyway, I just didn't feel very hungry, AND bc I wasn't having my couple of glasses of wine each night, lost weight. So don't assume you will gain 20 lbs plus.

I was actually 15 lbs lighter a few week after giving birth than I am now 10 months later. I swore the second time around I would sustain this good weight, BUT . . .

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

PP here, should have mentioned that I had NO high blood pressure, diabetes or other complications with either of my pregnancies, and I am in my mid 40s.

[Anonymous]

You might be interested in this site - http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/

has lots of info and not just for plus sized woman, but for all different shapes and sizes.