first pregnancy weight gain

jenniferrevalski · January 2016

I am concerned with the amount of weight I have already gained. I am 10 1/2 weeks and have gained about 6 lbs. I have always been an extremely active person, I was a gymnast and athlete all the way through college. I was still pretty tiny when I found out I was pregnant, but it's extremely hard for me to exercise now because of the constant stomach aches, headaches, backaches, and exhaustion. I am taking short walks around my office building every few hours, but it's just not enough. My doctor recommended not to gain more than 20 lbs because baby and all totals about 18 lbs and anything additional is just extra weight to have to work off after delivery. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to slow down this weight gain?

msuzannah · January 2016

There's a thread below this about weight gain too. I'm not sure why your doctor said only 20 lbs... Average weight gain for pregnancy is 25-35lbs and from what I've been told there's really not much you can do about it. Your body is going to gain what it's going to gain. (Of course I'm not saying eat junk food and pig out. Eat healthy and as normally as you can). Also you are still pretty early. Your body could plateau it's self and you might not gain much during the 2nd trimester.

kyraaD · January 2016

hmm. that seems pretty low. from what i know, the average weight gain range is anywhere from 25-35lbs. but it is different for everyone. i personally gained weight really rapidly at the beginning of my pregnancy, & then didn't gain a pound until some time after 20 weeks.

if your doctor doesn't want you to gain more than 20lbs, i would disguss with them ways to keep the weight down. daily walks are good. stay as active as you can & eat healthy foods. other than that, i dont really know what you could do to keep the weight off.

PugsandKisses · January 2016

20 pounds is the suggest amount for overweight or obese mothers, not thin. Even the very thin are told to gain 30 to 40 pounds.

Your Dr is not giving you healthy medical advice. Question him as to why.

SnarkasaurusRex · January 2016

Stay active, eat healthy, and stay hydrated. Your body will gain what it needs to. I agree with PPs that your doctor is giving you bad advice.

FWIW, I was active (through daily walking and yoga), ate clean, and drank tons of water throughout my entire pregnancy and I still gained 40 pounds. My OB was not concerned in the slightest because she knew I was keeping good habits. The weight was gone by my 6 week pp checkup.

1faceinacrowd · January 2016

I think the best thing you can do for yourself is to eat healthy. Exercise is important, but it's really all about what you put in your mouth. As long as you're generally eating healthy foods (a splurge here or there is no big deal as long as it's in moderation), then you should be fine!
Also, for postpartum weight loss, I absolutely recommend breast-feeding! Obviously it's a great thing to do for the baby, but it also burns a lot of calories. I gained 23 pounds with my first pregnancy and had lost a total of 26 by the time I went in for my 6 week postpartum checkup. Thanks to eating healthy and breast feeding (plus daily walks with baby), I actually ended up about 15 pounds lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight.

Bigboobsmcgee · January 2016

SnarkasaurusRex said:

Stay active, eat healthy, and stay hydrated. Your body will gain what it needs to. I agree with PPs that your doctor is giving you bad advice.

FWIW, I was active (through daily walking and yoga), ate clean, and drank tons of water throughout my entire pregnancy and I still gained 40 pounds. My OB was not concerned in the slightest because she knew I was keeping good habits. The weight was gone by my 6 week pp checkup.

This. Just take care of yourself and don't use pregnancy as an excuse to become a human garbage disposal. I gained 30 with each of my pregnancies and lost it all by 8 weeks PP.

Weight gain does ebb and flow in pregnancy. You might not gain at the same speed throughout the entire pregnancy.

DisneyIsabelle · January 2016

I'm fairly petite and somewhat fit as well. I don't weight myself so I don't really know how much I've gained but I would estimate 4-6 pounds so far and I'm just reaching the end of my first trimester. Your dr. is probably a bit wrong. As previous posters have said you should be eating healthy, exercise to an extent that makes you feel good (skip it when you feel awful) and certainly don't try to cut calories or skip meals. You shouldn't be going hungry, but eat nutritious foods and you shouldn't have anything to worry about. My friend just had a baby she gained 25lbs. and hardly looked pregnant and certainly didn't look like she gained much, it's a few months later now and she looks great and definitely has lost the weight without much working out.

I feel like my initial weight gain has been from eating a lot more carby things like bread during the days that I was especially nauseous. Now that my MS has faded I'm getting a little more back on track with that.

What you eat will be most influential in the weight gain, but honestly listen to your body. If you don't feel good and don't feel well to work out, then skip it. Once you are further along you'll feel a bit better hopefully.

Take care of yourself and your baby and don't stress

amccul20 · January 2016

unless you are overweight, the recommended weight gain is 25-35 lbs. that said at 10.5 weeks some of what you've gained is probably bloat. give yourself 2-3 weeks and I bet that drops a bit.

keep up your exercise when you're able to again, eat within reason, and you'll be fine. at one point in my last pregnancy I had an OB (not my midwife) tell me that the 8lb weight gain I had at 24 weeks was too much and I needed to watch myself. it really upset me. when I was able to talk to my midwife again she said to ignore the OB and continue with what I was doing. ultimately I ended up gaining most of my weight towards the end of my pregnancy and ended at 30lbs.

do what you can do and don't stress. you're growing a human and that's all that matters

PrimRoseMama · January 2016

Right now its mostly water and gas-- some gain pretty steeply in first trimester, then level off the rest of the pregnancy. Some lose and then gain in second trimester. Some don't gain at all until 3rd trimester. Throw your scale out at home. Don't obsess. Stay active and eat well. Often, the body does what it needs to during your pregnancy and watching the scale will not help you.

jolydan · January 2016

Are you sure your doctor recommended 20 pounds or are you confused with what YOU want to gain? If you eat healthy, your body will gain what it needs, unfortunately there's not much you can do about it.

groovylocks · January 2016

Unless you are REALLY overeating, your body is doing exactly what it will need to do to support this particular pregnancy. In some cases, you gain 10 lbs overall. In others, you can gain upwards of 90lbs. I mean really, the target for a healthy weight person is 20-35 lbs but honestly, that's a poor average at best.

Plus, you don't gain in a uniform straight line. Your weight gains come in peaks and troughs. You may gain 10lbs now, then lose another 7 if you get morning sickness. Then gain another 6, lose 2, gain 10 etc. The only time you really start to steadily gain TENDS TO BE in the third trimester. And before that, weight comes as it's needed if you're eating at all right.

Especially if your activity level has decreased.

So settle in for lots of things happening to your body that you may not like. You're pregnant. In geological terms, the pangea of your body is about to break apart. It's worth it.

groovylocks · January 2016

Also, keep in mind that much of the "weight gain" you're seeing could very well be fluids.

I've no idea. I didn't track my weight in any way shape or form. My doctors did. I didn't. This pregnancy I didn't gain much actual bulk. But i gained lots of fluids. I know because i puffed up and then immediately that puffiness was gone after i gave birth. (Well, a week or so after because i had an epidural which makes you bloat to a TREMENDOUS degree - my ankles were GONE for about a week post-partum)

lalala2004 · January 2016

As PP have said, if your doctor said that, it's not the general recommendation. Everyone is different. Some gain more, some less. It's more important for you to eat healthy, balanced and enough than to worry about the number on the scale. There is only so much you can control, and I totally relate to being less active in pregnancy. Just do what you can!

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