Only gain 14 lbs?

sapphire1983 · August 2011

I was talking to an older lady at church. She said she was on Tricare when she had her first baby and they would only let you gain 14 lbs. She said if you gained more they put you in the hospital. (I'm assuming to monitor your diet. Maybe also to make you lose weight??) Yikes!

Gizu92708 · August 2011

That's horrible. Poor women would starve. Some pregnant women gain that in one trimester, if not more.

ktekne · August 2011

When pregnant with DD I had an older lady ask me how much weight I had gained (which I thought was rude) then she made a comment about how doctors don't need to let their patients gain too much weight when pregnant. I told her I had gained the recommended amount and had ate very healthy and my doctor wasn't concerned.... this was about a week before DD was born. Later I wanted to tell her that about 3 weeks after delivery I was back to pre pregnancy weight so she could kiss my butt!

Ivana_Stolichnaya · August 2011

You mentioned 'older lady' right there I thought, "Yeah I think she's confused and can't remember correctly"

Alliebooberz · August 2011

Wow... that's nuts.

TheMutleys · August 2011

I highly doubt that is true at all.

Then again, my NP told me that I am overweight based on my pre-pregnancy BMI and that I should only gain 15-20lbs. I laughed in her face.

FTR, I am in very good shape and have a high muscle mass. I refuse to believe that being a size 6 at 5'7" is 'overweight.'

sapphire1983 · August 2011

Ivana.Stolichnaya:
You mentioned 'older lady' right there I thought, "Yeah I think she's confused and can't remember correctly"

lol! This woman's pretty sharp. I'm pretty sure she's remembering correctly. Another older lady was also talking to us and saying the same thing. They both seemed surprised when I said doctors now recommend to gain 25-35 lbs.

Angel002 · August 2011

My DH and I got into a HUGE fight last pregnancy because his mother told him women shouldn't gain more than 10 lbs during pregnancy. WTF. That's almost how much I gain in 1st tri. I was so pissed, he thinks she 'knows' (she is a translator at a dr's office) and I started highlighting every damn book where it showed how much weight women usually gain and where it's distributed. He told me to get over it but I was just so pissed, we didn't really fight, it was mostly me b*tching.

I was livid for like a whole month....

ETA: Also, his mom is in her 70s so I think back then dr's did maybe advise them to only gain so much weight....I'm so glad I wasn't pregnant back then!! I would have been comitted!

nicki070810 · August 2011

An older lady (who is a practicing NURSE might I add) said that to me too when I was PG with DS. She told me that the baby was probably around 7lbs, with placenta and fluid I shouldn't be gaining more than 15lbs and that I was going to have to work REALLY hard to get it off. By 8 weeks post partum I was back into my pre pregnancy jeans again. Argh, why do people need to open their big fat mouths?????

ktekne · August 2011

TheMutleys:
I highly doubt that is true at all.

Then again, my NP told me that I am overweight based on my pre-pregnancy BMI and that I should only gain 15-20lbs. I laughed in her face.

FTR, I am in very good shape and have a high muscle mass. I refuse to believe that being a size 6 at 5'7" is 'overweight.'

This isn't overweight in my opinion. When in high school during track season I would gain about 5-7 pounds in muscle. Ugh... people can be so rude.

mrsawtry2B · August 2011

I once had a woman tell me she only gained 7 pounds with her 3rd pregnancy (35 yrs ago was when she was pg). HOW is that even possible!! My DD weighed almost 9 when she was born!

nickert2000 · August 2011

Based on what my MIL said in the early 70's it was thought that women did not need to gain much weight and women where encouraged to gain as little as possible and keep their weight down. It was not uncommon for women to weigh less postpartum than they did before they got pregnant [she and her friends did]. They where also told smoking was not an issue and to smoke away.

So it is believable by the time she had my husband in '76 they had changed their recommendation and she did not have worry about her weight like she did in '71 with my BIL.

TheMutleys · August 2011

ktekne:
TheMutleys:
I highly doubt that is true at all.

Then again, my NP told me that I am overweight based on my pre-pregnancy BMI and that I should only gain 15-20lbs. I laughed in her face.

FTR, I am in very good shape and have a high muscle mass. I refuse to believe that being a size 6 at 5'7" is 'overweight.'

This isn't overweight in my opinion. When in high school during track season I would gain about 5-7 pounds in muscle. Ugh... people can be so rude.

Don't worry. I argued with her and stood up for myself. Haha. I did gain a lot of weight with my 1st pregnancy. However, I ate healthy meals in good portion sizes. I exercised regularly. My OB was NOT concerned about my weight gain. Plus I lost most of it by 3 months PP, and all by 6 months. I mean, I had my ab definition back 99% before I got pregnant this time.

I asked the NP exactly what I should do to only gain that much weight. She told me that I should eat even smaller portions. I explained that I have taken several nutrition classes and know about appropriate portion sizes. She continued to say that I should just eat less, even when I explained that I never 'ate for two' or increased my portions when I was pregnant before. She kept going on and on about how I was overweight and needed to be careful. I literally started laughing. She asked me what I thought was so funny. I told her that I thought she was being ridiculous and that I had no intention of restricting my portion sizes.

I do plan on talking to my OB about it. I think it is asinine to use BMI to determine how much weight a woman should gain during pregnancy and felt like the NP talked down to me in regards to my own personal education about nutrition.

Anyways, sorry OP. LOL.

LilyPotter218 · August 2011

I can't imagine that being accurate, but my mother only gained 14 with me and 18 with my younger sister... I was only 6lbs 8oz and she was right around 7, but I don't even think that makes much of a difference.

My sister on the other hand gained 53 with her first.

I plan to keep working out and eating healthy, but whatever weight the nugget needs, the nugget gets.

TinyMrsH · August 2011

My sister only gained 10 lbs with her son. Personally I wouldnt be upset if this was the case with me. We're both already on the really petite side, being only 5 foot and 100 lbs.

I honestly dont believe that there is the perfect weight gain amount for all women. We're all so different, and as long as we're eating well and continuing to stay active then no one should be worried about my weight.

Lisichka · August 2011

My mom seemed doubtful when I told her the recommended 25-35lb weight gain. When she was pregnant with me and my sister (some 25-27 years ago), she also lived in a different country, and the recommended weight gain was a lot lower, I feel like around 15-20 lbs. Meh, I tell her that my dr. isn't concerned about the weight gain (I gained 36lbs last time).

LuckyInIreland · August 2011

My MIL said something along those same lines- she asked me if I knew how much the drs suggested I gain and when I told her 25-35, she looked so relieved and told me how when she was pregnant with her first, she was only allowed to gain like 15. She was so happy for me that I would actually be able to eat! Yay for an awesome MIL!

betsy1486 · August 2011

I was a size 10 when I got pregnant (more like a 12 now) and have always weighed in heavier than I looked. My OB told me he would like to see me gain 15lbs... 20 at the most. I think its a little low but we'll see where this pregnancy takes me. I'm not going to try and get worked up about. If I go over, it happens. I'll try my best to work it out after the baby gets here.

Divallyn · August 2011

Only gaining 15lbs was the norm prior to the late 70's so that is probably where all these "older" ladies are getting their opinions.

Everyone is different and I believe that we just need to be careful its not too much or too little.

My BMI is one point away from obese and at size 12 and 5'7 I do believe it so when my doctor advised me to only gain 15-20lbs I took it seriously. I don't know if I will be successful considering I seem to have to eat every 2.5 hours to keep nausea at bay and I am not exactly running around in circle with energy to exercise like I used to but I am going to try my best.

farfanoogen · August 2011

sapphire1983:
She said she was on Tricare when she had her first baby and they would only let you gain 14 lbs.

well, I have tricare and haven't heard a thing about weight gain restrictions. When I had my son (5 years ago on really shoddy insurance) my OB said he only expected me to gain 15-20 lbs. I gained 25, lost 30 2 wks postpartum.

farfanoogen · August 2011

nickert2000:
Based on what my MIL said in the early 70's it was thought that women did not need to gain much weight and women where encouraged to gain as little as possible and keep their weight down. It was not uncommon for women to weigh less postpartum than they did before they got pregnant [she and her friends did]. They where also told smoking was not an issue and to smoke away.

My mother told me that back in her day, 60's and 70's, women were told that if they wanted to have a smaller baby they should smoke while pregnant, because everyone knows big babies make your vajayjay ruined. wtf.

kiarstin · August 2011

TheMutleys:
I highly doubt that is true at all.

Then again, my NP told me that I am overweight based on my pre-pregnancy BMI and that I should only gain 15-20lbs. I laughed in her face.

FTR, I am in very good shape and have a high muscle mass. I refuse to believe that being a size 6 at 5'7" is 'overweight.'

BMI doesnt factor in age, gender, or muscle mass. it cant distinguish between lean body mass and fat mass. some people, such as heavily muscled athletes, may have a high BMI even though they don't have a high percentage of body fat. In others, such as elderly people, BMI may appear normal even though muscle has been lost with aging. Its a good tool to use but isn't always that accurate.

GoldenGibson · August 2011

This reminds me of what my MIL told me when we told her I was PG.... apparantly she wasn't as extreme as everyone else's stories. But she made it a point to tell me that she only gained 19 lbs when carrying DH. She was like "It's not hard, I just ate fruit and salads the whole time." I was like Indifferent

ok, well that may work for you for 9 months but I can't get through 9 months of growing a baby living on effing salads.

TheMutleys · August 2011

kiarstin:
TheMutleys:
I highly doubt that is true at all.

Then again, my NP told me that I am overweight based on my pre-pregnancy BMI and that I should only gain 15-20lbs. I laughed in her face.

FTR, I am in very good shape and have a high muscle mass. I refuse to believe that being a size 6 at 5'7" is 'overweight.'

BMI doesnt factor in age, gender, or muscle mass. it cant distinguish between lean body mass and fat mass. some people, such as heavily muscled athletes, may have a high BMI even though they don't have a high percentage of body fat. In others, such as elderly people, BMI may appear normal even though muscle has been lost with aging. Its a good tool to use but isn't always that accurate.

Yes, this is why I laughed at her and got into an 'argument' about BMI. I really do plan on bringing it up to my OB. I feel like they should be given better advice as medical professionals. Not everyone is aware of how inaccurate BMI can be, so I want to speak up.

My husband is also deemed 'overweight' by BMI, and he has a six-pack. It is laughable. He was a swimmer in college, and actually got kicked off of weight training because he gains muscle too easily.

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