How to minimise weight gain while dealing with nausea and food aversions?

[Anonymous]

Hi all, i would love some advice because i dont want to end up gaining excessive weight during my first pregnancy. I'm almost 12 weeks and I've gained 9 pounds already! I've been severely nauseous and somehow also extra hungry since 6 week. I've tried all the tricks and am taking unisom and zofran some days (trying to avoid it because of any risk of birth defects). However, I'm still quite nauseous especially when i eat anything healthy eg fruit and vegetables, most meats. The only things i like to eat are high calorie eg cheese on toast, noodles. I'm concerned this is going to lead to huge weight gain...any tips on how to manage it? Much appreciated

[Anonymous]

Your body will tell you what to eat. Eat what you can stomach. The amount of weight you’re going to gain is tied more to,your genetics than your food consumption. For most people the nauseous feelings go away in the second trimester. You may find that some of your food preferences are forever changed, and others will revert to normal after birth. Just get through this period.

[Anonymous]

I agree with PP. stop worrying about weight and just take cate of yourself and baby. It’ll even out.

[Anonymous]

Agree with previous posters—don’t worry about weight gain. Take care of yourself. Since you’re almost 12 weeks, relief may be just around the corner as you finish the first trimester. It can literally feel like a switch is flipped as the symptoms of the first trimester disappear.

[Anonymous]

I’m currently 11 weeks with my second and am also concerned about weight gain, primarily because I never lost ten lbs from the first one and then gained another five in the pandemic so I’m starting this pregnancy 15 lbs heavier then my first. I’ve gained about 4 lbs so far and so agree with the PPs that in the first trimester in particular, it’s about survival. I don’t love that I’m eating mostly carbs... white processed carbs... but I cannot stomach much else. I think it got better for me in the 14-16 week range with my first and then it was so much easier to incorporate salads, more veggies, etc. but frankly - carb consumption is going to continue. Make sure you are staying active to help balance things out and focus on a healthy baby.

Good luck op!

[Anonymous]

15 weeks here. I gained 10 pounds in the first trimester. I couldn’t keep up with my pre-pregnancy exercise routine and I could only stomach carbs (pasta, pizza, crackers, some fruits). My OB was not concerned and said she’d really only worry if I had gained something like 20 pounds. She encouraged me to do better with diet and exercise in the second trimester when I’d be likely feeling better. Three weeks into the second trimester, I’m feeling much better and I’m able to eat more of my normal diet (plenty of vegetables, fruits, fish, meat and still pizza and pasta, too). I’m not watching what I eat to curtail weight gain, just eating normally with healthy foods when I’m hungry, and I’ve lost three pounds.

[Anonymous]

Eat what you can stomach.

[Anonymous]

This was my biggest issue all my pregnancies. I gained 40lbs but lost it all quickly bc eating plain bread and pasta weee not my normal habits but it was basically all I could eat and want during pregnancy

[Anonymous]

Agree with everyone else. First trimester is survival mode. You eat whatever you can stomach. I couldn’t stomach the thought of vegetables at all, but second and third trimester I was back to my usual mostly healthy diet.

[Anonymous]

As PPs have all mentioned, don’t worry!

You may very well slow down your weight gain.

I recall being very worried with my first pregnancy because I wasn’t gaining at all first trimester. Nausea went away second trimester and I was off to the races! I’ve been pregnant 3 times and with each pregnancy, ended up gaining about 30 pounds and my babies were between 7 to 8.5 pounds.

[Anonymous]

My MFM (high risk OB) told me to eat what the baby wants you to eat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My MFM (high risk OB) told me to eat what the baby wants you to eat.

What if "the baby wants" girl scout cookies at 11:30am.

[Anonymous]

OP, feed yourself. It's not an option to starve yourself just because all "healthy" food makes you nauseous.

I also gained weight in the first trimester, even though they say you're "not supposed to," and I still ended my pregnancy at a healthy weight gain of 25 lbs.

I'm sure you appetite will balance out by your second trimester and you won't be eating carbs all day. Also, you said the only thing you can stomach are high calorie foods, but how much of them are you eating? Are you really exceeding your daily calorie requirements?

Even if you gain a ton of weight, it will most likely come of postpartum.

[Anonymous]

Are you overweight to begin with? Is your doctor concerned?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi all, i would love some advice because i dont want to end up gaining excessive weight during my first pregnancy. I'm almost 12 weeks and I've gained 9 pounds already! I've been severely nauseous and somehow also extra hungry since 6 week. I've tried all the tricks and am taking unisom and zofran some days (trying to avoid it because of any risk of birth defects). However, I'm still quite nauseous especially when i eat anything healthy eg fruit and vegetables, most meats. The only things i like to eat are high calorie eg cheese on toast, noodles. I'm concerned this is going to lead to huge weight gain...any tips on how to manage it? Much appreciated

List the foods you can handle and lets find ways to make them less calorically dense/etc. I had the exact same issue through my entire pregnancy although the meat aversion went away around 5/6 months. I never threw up but it was constant and the only thing that made it better was constantly eating.

Is it texture? Smell? Taste?

Drink water or flavored water to keep hydrated. Nausea gets worse when dehydrated. Have a coke or ginger tea before the time you would eat your largest meal and see if that helps. Make sure you are taking your vitamins. Look at smoothies with added collagen (get approved by OB first). Fairlife has 26 and 42g chocolate protein drinks that taste like chocolate milkshakes. Thats 1/2-1/3 of your protein needs. Eat water rich foods- watermelon, cantaloupe, cuties, strawberries, cucumber. Applesauce. Pho broth is fantastic. Bell pepper with hummus (if you can stand the taste or texture). Try to keep carbs in small doses but frequently. Limit perfumes, candles, etc. and try to open windows as much as possible. Try eating outside as I found I could tolerate food better outside versus inside. If you can tolerate yogurt then try the Skyr drinks that have higher protein and a piece of toast with a fruit for breakfast. Stay away from artificial sweeteners they can increase dehydration and some people have GI issues with them so just avoid. Lunch was hard for me but I did eat deli meat sandwiches and pho broth or a protein shake. Dinner just go easy- noodles and meat sauce, rice and broccoli. If you can find ways to increase your protein it can help with the nausea. Oatmeal, PB, Beans, Lentils etc can balance the carb need with a better protein ratio. Ripple chocolate milk is good and its made out of peas, plus Silk has a new 20g soy protein milk.

I had more success finding ways to drink my nutrients and then eating whole foods that I could tolerate to increase fiber.

Good luck!