dr luke's weight gain plan

13pickle · November 2011

so i got the dr luke book and read 160 pages instantly, i'm wondering if anyone tried to follow the weight gain plan , i like the diet and the science seems right on, i'm a little behind with adding on the pounds, but i'm ready to try and i think it sems healthy.

Did anyone follow it? did they have good results?

i'm really sick of people who have never been preg with multiples tell me not to get too fat or that they didn't have to put on so much weight, and if i get one more sideways look as i'm eating peanut butter and apples at my desk at work i may punch someone, okay i'll probably cry thats what i do most. after regaining m/s weight and getting to my starting weight i have put on about 7 pounds.

allisonmarie22 · November 2011

I never had morning sickness, so I didn't have any initial weight loss. I am trying my best to follow Dr. Luke's plan. I'm eating about 3000 calories a day, which is all I can eat, and in the past 12.5 weeks I've put on 4.5 pounds. That's it! I was really trying to go for the 20 pounds by 20 weeks like she suggested, but I don't think that it is worth it to gorge myself with milkshakes and really fattening food just to get there. That's just me.

I have a great deal of respect for her research, and the book came highly recommended, but I can only do so much, kwim??

reillyroowho · November 2011

My perinatologist told me that for my pregnancy he is only concerned with the amount of protein I intake (which is 160 g a day!). I was worried because I haven't gained much yet because I had a really rough first trimester and I don't think I ever really recovered. Luckily he wasn't too concerned about it. However, my friend who just had twins DID follow the plan and had her fraternal twins at 39 weeks at 6lb 5oz and 6lb 9 oz. It seems like we have to WORK for our extra weight gain with twins, people don't understand how different twin pregnancy is!

Mrs. Alice · November 2011

I didn't really follow the calorie intake guidelines, but my weight gain was pretty much right on where she recommended. You can see the outcome in my siggy pic. Considering my "IUGR" baby had compromised cord flow for almost 5 weeks, I think his weight was pretty good. I was in the "underweight" category and gained 45 lbs in 28 weeks. I didn't have terrible m/s but I had to eat near all the time to keep from feeling weak and nauseated. 4 months postpartum and I am now within 2-3 lbs of prepregnancy weight and can fit in most of my old pants. I also think the extra weight helped me get a great milk supply for bfing.

emma12210 · November 2011

I did not follow Dr luke, I just ate as I normally do (which is PRETTY healthy)... Anyway, I didn't gain any weight til I was 14 weeks, and then somehow managed to gain about 20-22 lbs by 24 weeks!! Now at 30 wks I've gained 32 lbs. Everyone gains differently. My babies now weigh in at 2lb5oz and 3lb2oz on u/s and my MFM says they should be 6-7 lbs if I make it to 38 wks. GL!

gumiberg · November 2011

im of the mindset that if you eat when you are hungry, and eat healthy/nutritious foods, the body will do exactly what its supposed to do.

i ran 30 miles a week for the first 20 weeks and i still gained 20 pounds - because i ate often and that is what my body needed. maybe someone, at a higher weight, would not need to gain 20. maybe 15 would be just fine...forcing that extra 5 pounds can be 5 pounds you are stuck with after pregnancy.

peanut butter is a great food though - so are other nut butters and their respective nuts. sunflower butter is even tastier, IMO. so dont pay attention if people look at you, they probably dont know much about nutrition.

avocados are another very healthy and nutritionally dense food that taste yummy.

redhotchili83 · November 2011

Im in the boat that your weight will do what it wants. I didnt gain much of anything up until 14 weeks, and now Im up 16lbs at 21 weeks. I was pretty scrawny PP and I had some terrible m/s. I tried the 3000 calorie a day thing for about 2 days and then stopped. Now I just eat when Im hungry and eat as much as I want. My twins are actually a little ahead of their singleton counterparts, so Im happy!

UsedToBeGoldie · November 2011

I didn't follow her diet - but did follow her advice- and aimed to gain 24lbs in 24w... by eating a lot of protein and dairy. I gained 19- and i was trying HARD but those boys just ate up all the food it seems I was all belly for a long time (with my singleton I got fat everywhere, lol).

i took her advice to rest any time i could- feet up, etc - and went to 38w1d with no signs of labor -my boys were 7lb 15.6oz, and 6lb6oz. I'm a huge Dr. Luke fan!

ColleenS629 · November 2011

My thyroid went out of whack when I got pregnant so I didn't gain anything at all until 14 weeks. All in all, I gained 34 pounds by the time I delivered (36w5d). My OB was happy with my weight gain but my MFM wasn't. He wanted me to gain much more. I ate a lot so I don't know how I could have really gained any more than I did. My twins were born at 5lb 3oz and 6lb 5oz. The smaller one was SGA but that wasn't because of my diet.

crystaleyes39 · November 2011

I haven't followed Dr. Lukes plan, but I do know that my whole life I have had the hardest time gaining weight and really was worried that I would not gain enough this pregnancy for me and the babies. Needless to say I have put on plenty so far and have had no problems. I am at 29 weeks and have gained close to 30 pounds...so i really think at the end of the day a lot of it is your body and how it handles being pregnant.

politelypink · November 2011

I found gaining weight to be HARD. I didn't gain a pound till about 16 weeks, and even now have only gained 17 pounds. I talked to my OB about it, and he wasn't concerned since I was eating as much as I could, and he thinks the babies will take what they need. Gaining as also been harder for me since pregnancy gave me a lactose intolerance. It sucks because I LOVE dairy! I really miss drinking milk every day.

Breezy8407 · November 2011

I've read most of the book. I haven't weighed myself in a few weeks. (The scale ran out of batteries and I've been too lazy to change them.) At 12 weeks I had gained 6 pounds total. I might just wait until my next appt. to see where I am at before I change anything.

I've been trying to eat more, but not go crazy. I eat when I am hungry and make a point to get in lots of protein, fruits, and veggies. Day to day, I eat more for breakfast and lunch during the weekdays. Dinners are about the same as pre-pregnancy.

The one part of the book that I didn't like was the anecdotal stories about eating fast food and junk just to gain. Sure every now and then it's not a big deal, but I don't feel like filling up on Burger King everyday is a good nutrition plan for my babies. I guess I would rather fill up on healthy calorie dense foods first like nut butters (I love Trader Joe's raw almond butter), avocados, cheese, etc.

erniebufflo · November 2011

I'm trying, and so far I'm on track with the pound a week thing. I've found using an iPhone app to calorie count has helped. And I feel ya on the people who don't have multiples not understanding. I almost lost it over Thanksgiving over family members who think I shouldn't be gaining so much weight, or that I should be exercising more.

melissaRW27 · November 2011

I started reading Dr. Luke's book on friday and I've been wondering how the heck am I going to eat that much food!!!! The amount of food she recommends for triplets is crazy! but I'm going to do my best to eat, eat, eat. I'm not a big eater by nature and I have a hard time gaining weight, so I'm definately making a concious effort to eat more.

I'm only 8 weeks and I haven't gained any weight yet, I'm hoping as the nausea continues to settle down I'll be able to start eating more.

gringa78 · November 2011

I've been trying to follow her guidelines...more meat, fish, dairy, eating every 3 hours...but I've only gained 12lb so far. I'm aiming for 20lbs. by 20 weeks, but I'm not sure if I'll make it. I'm planning on doing the rest thing seriously once I hit 24 weeks, though, so hopefully I can incorporate enough of her guidelines to get some big babies that stay put until 37 weeks.

DoraBride07 · November 2011

I read the book and although I tried to follow the guidelines, it just wouldn't work for me. For starters, I had a good bout of morning sickness, and also, I've never been able to eat much.

I'm up 12ish pounds at 21 weeks, and honestly wish I was up more. I eat when I'm hungry, but I refuse to force myself. I do try to aim for protein-rich foods and down an Ensure Plus every few days. FWIW, I had a heck of a time gaining weight with my first (singleton) pregnancy as well.

macchiatto · November 2011

I loved that book.
I followed her nutrition guidelines somewhat loosely; I focused on eating the recommended amount of protein each day, and most of the dairy. I ate about 2/3 her recommended amounts in the other categories and still gained an average of 2 lbs/wk so that was right on for me. i gained 54 lbs altogether (I had lost 20 before ttc so I started out pregnancy at my goal weight, I think my BMI was 21) and had 6lbs10oz and 6lbs7oz twins at 37w6d, scheduled induction. Obviously there's no way to know if/how that would've been different if I hadn't followed her guidelines but like you, the science and reasoning behind it made sense to me and the outcomes from people following her advice was very convincing.

I did follow her guidelines for rest and stuff, too.

reannonveg · November 2011

I'm following Dr. Luke's basic calorie and protein recommendations, but I think her nutrition advice is pretty antiquated and sort of laughable. There is just a ton of evidence that dairy products are incredibly bad for us, for example, and the fact that she gives approximately 6 sentences to vegetarians is another indication of how out of touch she is. It really is like a dietician from the 1950s wrote a nutrition book.

I'm vegan, and I've already gained 25 pounds in the last 4 months. My twins are the right size and they are VERY active. I get at least 3000 calories per day and 160 grams of protein. Dr. Luke seems to think this is impossible since she provides literally ONE sentence on veganism telling vegans to give up which is just very sad. Vegan diets are inherently lower in calories than non-vegan diets (vegetarians and vegans weigh 20% less than omnivores, on average), but with a small amount of thought and planning, it's very doable.

I'm also really sick of people telling me not to worry about how much I gain (including some of my nurses) and to try to stay active. Some days, I'm very active. Other days, I just need to lay down. I think that's okay, and I'm proud that I've gained as much as I have. I'm determined to have healthy babies who don't end up in the NICU, and I'm looking forward to writing Dr. Luke a letter at the end of it explaining that this mommy didn't eat dairy or eggs (or any of the other crap she recommends) and her babies were fine and dandy.

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