Healthy Weight Gain During Pregnancy

[Anonymous]

I am looking for any tips or suggestions on how to maintain a healthy weight gain in pregnancy.

I fluctuated around 150 before becoming pregnant, although my ideal weight is around 140. The first trimester was rough, with crazy food aversions and little to no energy. I got as low as 142, and did not exercise at all- not even taking the dog for a walk around the block. I am now 13 weeks, weigh 146 and have regained energy and the desire to eat.

I know the scale is going to continue to go up, but it does kind of freak me out! After looking at some pregnancy weight gain charts, I think it would be best for me to gain about 25 pounds, or go no higher than 175.

Does anyone have any advice on hitting the sweet spot for pregnancy weight gain- not too much but also not too little?

[Anonymous]

I weighed myself every day. Partially because it was interesting and partially because it kept me accountable. I ate like I wasn't pregnant (same portions, and nearly the same amount of calories) and still gained almost 30 by 42 weeks. I think your body holds onto fat and wants to gain weight when you're pregnant because it's supposed to. If you eat for 2, you will gain way too much weight. Also, a lot of the weight is water weight. I drank SO much water.

I gained a exactly a pound a week from weeks 12-42, but I've had friends that front loaded their weight gain or who gained the most in the 3rd trimester. People's bodies are different with weight gain. I'm in my 3rd tri now of pregnancy #2 and have a similar weight gain to my first pregnancy.

[Anonymous]

25 pounds is a perfectly fine number. I have been pregnant twice. The first time I gained 35 pounds. Second time I gained 20 pounds. I didn’t exercise much. I walked a lot and went to yoga once a week, but that was normal for me pre-pregnancy. I ate healthier while pregnant and the sheer act of not drinking and more or less giving up “happy hour food” made the weight gain slow.

You should prioritize eating healthily. Have a meal plan and avoid binging on unhealthy stuff, but don’t restrict calories unnecessarily. You are growing a person and that is hard work. Eat fresh produce, good proteins, whole grains. Drink tons of water. Get plenty of rest.

Do you have a history of disordered eating? It kind of sounds like it from your post.

[Anonymous]

I agree to focus on eating healthy and exercising as much as possible, even if just long walks and hikes. The exercise will help you a lot. Your weight (and ideal weight) are exactly like mine and I was terrified for the scale to go over 175 too. The weight gain will really peak around the 2nd trimester and then slow down as you get closer to having the baby. I also found heart burn started around the third that limited what I could eat. So all this to say don't stress yourself out on the weight gain, it will go up and down and as long as you focus on your health and the babies health you will be fine!

[Anonymous]

Honestly, you may have little to no control over how much you end up gaining, so try not to get too emotionally attached to the idea of gaining the perfect/ideal amount of weight.

I've always been around 140ish pounds, and I went into my pregnancy (at 35) at 142. I gained nothing during the first trimester, and a very normal amount my second trimester. I kept to my usual routine of near-daily exercise, including running up until the beginning of my 9th month.

For some reason, my weight went absolutely haywire in the third trimester. I started gaining 3 lbs a week, and counting every calorie, trying to figure out why. I was retaining massive amounts of water - I had cankles (haven't had before or since) and you could press on my skin and the skin would stay down for 10 minutes. The doctor initially lectured me, but then stopped when we realized I had no control over it. All told, I gained 54 lbs. I really honestly thought I'd be one of those people who gained just the right amount of weight, and I was doing everything "right" so it was a little weird for me.

I lost 34 lbs in the 3 days after the birth. 8 lb baby and a TON of water. Lost the remaining 20 lbs by month 5 by eating sensibly and continuing my good exercise habits.

So... sometimes bodies sort of go rogue and do what they want. Try not to take it personally or freak out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, you may have little to no control over how much you end up gaining, so try not to get too emotionally attached to the idea of gaining the perfect/ideal amount of weight.

I've always been around 140ish pounds, and I went into my pregnancy (at 35) at 142. I gained nothing during the first trimester, and a very normal amount my second trimester. I kept to my usual routine of near-daily exercise, including running up until the beginning of my 9th month.

For some reason, my weight went absolutely haywire in the third trimester. I started gaining 3 lbs a week, and counting every calorie, trying to figure out why. I was retaining massive amounts of water - I had cankles (haven't had before or since) and you could press on my skin and the skin would stay down for 10 minutes. The doctor initially lectured me, but then stopped when we realized I had no control over it. All told, I gained 54 lbs. I really honestly thought I'd be one of those people who gained just the right amount of weight, and I was doing everything "right" so it was a little weird for me.

I lost 34 lbs in the 3 days after the birth. 8 lb baby and a TON of water. Lost the remaining 20 lbs by month 5 by eating sensibly and continuing my good exercise habits.

So... sometimes bodies sort of go rogue and do what they want. Try not to take it personally or freak out.

Correct. Very few people gain in a straight line, nor do they lose in a straight line.

And it's often hard to tell what your pattern is going to be especially if it's a first time pregnancy--so much of this is genetics, honestly.

Focus on getting the right nutrients for yourself and your baby, doing the right types of exercise, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, you may have little to no control over how much you end up gaining, so try not to get too emotionally attached to the idea of gaining the perfect/ideal amount of weight.

I've always been around 140ish pounds, and I went into my pregnancy (at 35) at 142. I gained nothing during the first trimester, and a very normal amount my second trimester. I kept to my usual routine of near-daily exercise, including running up until the beginning of my 9th month.

For some reason, my weight went absolutely haywire in the third trimester. I started gaining 3 lbs a week, and counting every calorie, trying to figure out why. I was retaining massive amounts of water - I had cankles (haven't had before or since) and you could press on my skin and the skin would stay down for 10 minutes. The doctor initially lectured me, but then stopped when we realized I had no control over it. All told, I gained 54 lbs. I really honestly thought I'd be one of those people who gained just the right amount of weight, and I was doing everything "right" so it was a little weird for me.

I lost 34 lbs in the 3 days after the birth. 8 lb baby and a TON of water. Lost the remaining 20 lbs by month 5 by eating sensibly and continuing my good exercise habits.

So... sometimes bodies sort of go rogue and do what they want. Try not to take it personally or freak out.

What you are describing is putting edema. That’s a huge concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, you may have little to no control over how much you end up gaining, so try not to get too emotionally attached to the idea of gaining the perfect/ideal amount of weight.

I've always been around 140ish pounds, and I went into my pregnancy (at 35) at 142. I gained nothing during the first trimester, and a very normal amount my second trimester. I kept to my usual routine of near-daily exercise, including running up until the beginning of my 9th month.

For some reason, my weight went absolutely haywire in the third trimester. I started gaining 3 lbs a week, and counting every calorie, trying to figure out why. I was retaining massive amounts of water - I had cankles (haven't had before or since) and you could press on my skin and the skin would stay down for 10 minutes. The doctor initially lectured me, but then stopped when we realized I had no control over it. All told, I gained 54 lbs. I really honestly thought I'd be one of those people who gained just the right amount of weight, and I was doing everything "right" so it was a little weird for me.

I lost 34 lbs in the 3 days after the birth. 8 lb baby and a TON of water. Lost the remaining 20 lbs by month 5 by eating sensibly and continuing my good exercise habits.

So... sometimes bodies sort of go rogue and do what they want. Try not to take it personally or freak out.

What you are describing is putting edema. That’s a huge concern.

Is it? Another poster here. I went from 110 to 170 with edema up to my knees and no one at GW cared. They told me it was part of being pregnant. I even tried showing them a photo of me normally as I think they thought I was normally overweight. I lost around 30 pounds in two weeks and now I’m thinner than before I got pregnant. Also, my blood pressure is normally very low and it went up 128 systolic. Normally it’s in the high 90s. But they didn’t care because it wasn’t over the magic number of 130 (or 135 maybe?).

[Anonymous]

17:25- doctor was not concerned. We did keep an eye out for gestational diabetes, though.

[Anonymous]

OP here- thanks for all the replies on your experiences! It really helps manage my expectations for the rest of my pregnancy. I have just felt that up to this point I have been extremely "unhealthy" because of my food aversions and lack of exercise, and since I am finally turning the corner I want to get in the right track. I also read stories here about women who gain so much during pregnancy, and then struggle to lose it after.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for all the replies on your experiences! It really helps manage my expectations for the rest of my pregnancy. I have just felt that up to this point I have been extremely "unhealthy" because of my food aversions and lack of exercise, and since I am finally turning the corner I want to get in the right track. I also read stories here about women who gain so much during pregnancy, and then struggle to lose it after.

Until the third trimester you really don’t need to eat anything extra. Just eat a healthy diet and get some exercise. Once you get to the third trimester, you may need an extra 200-250 calories per day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for all the replies on your experiences! It really helps manage my expectations for the rest of my pregnancy. I have just felt that up to this point I have been extremely "unhealthy" because of my food aversions and lack of exercise, and since I am finally turning the corner I want to get in the right track. I also read stories here about women who gain so much during pregnancy, and then struggle to lose it after.

Good for you for being back on track. I only wanted carbs for the first trimester. Then finally liked vegetables again. I gained 50lbs in the end (from 130 to 180) although I walked and did yoga and didn’t indulge in ice cream too often. All but the last 10 lbs came off very fast without any additional effort from me. And that last 10 melted when I weaned and I’m now less than I was per pregnancy.. I was far hungrier breastfeeding than pregnant. Keep making good food choices and don’t stress as much as you can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for all the replies on your experiences! It really helps manage my expectations for the rest of my pregnancy. I have just felt that up to this point I have been extremely "unhealthy" because of my food aversions and lack of exercise, and since I am finally turning the corner I want to get in the right track. I also read stories here about women who gain so much during pregnancy, and then struggle to lose it after.

I only gained 30lbs and struggled to lost 15lbs after birth. It took 8 months of heavy dieting and then a lot of being hungry (I had a bridesmaid's dress I'd ordered one size bigger than my normal I had to fit into). You don't know who is going to struggle with weight and who won't. My 100lb friend who gained 65lbs lost it all by 3 months. I'd say the majority of my friends (normal sized women pre-pregnancy) struggled though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for all the replies on your experiences! It really helps manage my expectations for the rest of my pregnancy. I have just felt that up to this point I have been extremely "unhealthy" because of my food aversions and lack of exercise, and since I am finally turning the corner I want to get in the right track. I also read stories here about women who gain so much during pregnancy, and then struggle to lose it after.

Until the third trimester you really don’t need to eat anything extra. Just eat a healthy diet and get some exercise. Once you get to the third trimester, you may need an extra 200-250 calories per day.

Unless you were dieting or restricting before pregnancy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for all the replies on your experiences! It really helps manage my expectations for the rest of my pregnancy. I have just felt that up to this point I have been extremely "unhealthy" because of my food aversions and lack of exercise, and since I am finally turning the corner I want to get in the right track. I also read stories here about women who gain so much during pregnancy, and then struggle to lose it after.

OP, the truth is there is only so much you can do. You can read all the stories you want, but you'll find there's a huge range of experiences. People eat healthy and gain a ton, and some people eat terribly and struggle to gain 20. Losing weight also seems to be all over the map. A lot of how you gain and lose is genetics. Your best bet to increase your chances of a healthy baby and healthy weight gain/loss is to follow the instructions of your doctor, ask a lot of questions, and make reasonable decisions--no restricting, focus on getting enough nutrients (the baby will take calcium from your teeth and bones if you don't get enough, for example), getting exercise without overdoing it, etc.