Dreading Weight Gain

marauderpig25

Hey everyone! I'm new to The Bump and though I hate this to be my first post, I need to either get some good vibes, or figure out what I need to do. I just found out Tuesday that I'm pregnant (5 weeks, SO excited!!) and the thought just occurred to me that (duh!) I'm going to be gaining weight. Now, I am around 260lbs at 5'7" and have been on Weight Watchers for just over 2 years. My loss has fluctuated between 27 and 37 lbs for the past year. It has been extremely hard for me to keep the weight off in the past few months, and all of a sudden I'm reading that i need to gain 35-45 lbs throughout the pregnancy. Of course that means I'll have undone all that I've worked so hard to do!! I'm almost in tears about this! If you're large already, is it ok to loose weight or stay the same? I can't bare the thought of having to start over from scratch (or have surpassed my heaviest) once the baby's born. Obviously I want to be healthy, and above all I want to have a healthy baby, but for some reason this is just hitting home way too hard tonight. Any words of wisdom or encouragement out there?

CincyWX

You will only gain 35-45# if you WANT to.  If you are starting out OVERWEIGHT then "healthy" weight gain during pregnancy is only 15-25#.  UNDERWEIGHT women should gain 28-40# (those sticks need it to keep up with baby's needs).   NORMAL weight women should gain 25-35#

That whole "eating for two" thing is overused.  You are eating for a very tiny person, only needing an extra 150-300 calories a day to keep up with baby's needs.  Come on, we all went thru the drive thru a few extra times over the 40 weeks (mmm...McChicken) ...but try keeping your house stocked with lots of fruits and other healthy snacks.  I would make a big fruit salad on Monday and eat that all week when I needed to snack.

Your doctor's advice will be to keep moving! Walk as much as you can (even though you will be dead tired for most of the first tri) or if you are on a workout plan to go with your WW, keep doing it as long as your body is up to it!

 After the baby is here, try your best to breastfeed.  It is hard...and yes, it hurts for the first few weeks...but breastfeeding burns a TON of calories.  20 calories per oz actually... so you'll be burning 300-500 calories a day JUST feeding the baby!  WOHOO!!!  If you add working out into that you should be able to lose the baby weight very quickly and then keep dropping.  

I have a 12 week old and with my Csection I wasn't able to workout til week 6, then got an infection, so i didnt actually workout til week 8... and even now it is maybe 30 mins on the elliptical 3x a week...and im only 1# over my pre preg weight. 

 Stay dedicated to your goals!  Healthy baby and healthy you... both are totally achievable if you keep you eye on the prize (and off of the Oreos).   Good luck!

amberdanielle68845

I know exactly how you feel, exactly.  At my heaviest i was 372lbs and in November of 2005 I had gastric lapband surgery and got down to 260 and it's a large effort to stay around that number and to try to keep losing. Being over weight has been an issue even from a very young age so I understand the battle.

 I am at 18 weeks pregnant and in my 1st tri I was so nausious I lost 17 lbs bc all I could fathom to eat was fresh fruit and broth soups.  Now in the 2nd tri I'm rarely nauseous and I've gained 9lbs with over half the pregnancy left to go.  The last few weeks I was starving every 2.5hours or so and coupled with when I get hungry if I don't eat I have stomach problems, toughing it out until the next main meal is not an option bc it causes severe stomach pain. 

Last year I did meal replacement shakes but they can be used to maintain weight, lose weight or just give you added nutrients depending on how you use them.  I'm going to order more mix and drink one of those when I'm feeling hungry and it's not meal time and a snack isn't cutting it.  It takes a huge, conscious effort to watch what you eat especially if weight has been a struggle.  I also do a light exercise plan that includes alot of walking and light weights.Gaining a little is ok, just remember to keep yourself in check, it's a daily struggle before babies and won't ever be easy.  Keep your chin up hon!

brewcitybride

35-45 pounds of weight gain is not what every pregnant woman needs to gain, actually, for an average size person, it's 25-35, and if you are overweight, they recommend you gain more like 20-25 pounds.

Talk with your doctor, create a plan. You will do great! Don't fret about it, focus on the health of yourself and the baby, not so much on the pounds.

marauderpig25

Thank you guys so much for your encouragement and awesome advice. After I started reading your responses, I remembered reading about the weight gain suggestions for the women of other sizes and I guess I just latched on to the numbers for the skinny minis. Seriously, at 5am this morning I was in tears on the couch because of this and was a big surprise to my husband when he got up for his morning constitutional. Instead of him going back to bed, he stayed up with me trying to calm me down! Darn these hormones! What I'll do is stick with my WW plan and workout routine and see what my dr says at my apt in November. I'm still not looking forward to gaining weight, regardless of the amount, but I feel 10 times better after reading your posts. Thanks again! I truly appreciate it!

IncogNeato

There's actually research out there these days saying that women who are overweight do not need to gain weight at all. (Obs talk to your doctor, but...) My friend who is quite overweight gained 10 lbs with her second baby and weighed less when she left the hospital than she did when she got PG. She was also on the gestational diabetes diet.

 

See:

https://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20090602/pregnancy-no-weight-gain-for-obese-women 

PortlandValentineBride

At your weight, you could actually lose weight during your pregnancy and have a very healthy (healthier) baby.  I'm not talking about dieting, I'm talking about eating healthy, moving, and drinking lots of water.

katsue0xo

No!! You DO NOT NEED TO GAIN 35-40 LBS!!  As a matter of fact, that would create some scary situations that would put you high risk. That weight gain is what may be recommended for a woman who is under weight prior to getting pregnant. You should be looking at more like a 15-20 lb gain- and most of that weight would be baby, placenta, bag of water, increased blood volume, etc. Don't gain massive amounts of weight- it's not good for you or baby! Stick to your weight watchers plan and get lots of fruits and veggies! Good luck, and enjoy this all!

cndnrose

My SIL lost weight during the course of her pregnancy, and more along with delivery. To begin with, she was probably the same weight as you.