Have I gained too much weight already?

[Nina83]

Pre pregnancy I was about 132 lbs, height 5'6. BMI 21.3
At 10 weeks I was 137lbs, and today at 17 weeks I weighed myself and I'm 141 lbs. So BMI would be 22.7

I still am not showing much, my pants are tighter and I am assuming it is from me getting wider (I've always been on the wider side). DH says he doesn't see any extra weight (beside tummy).
I mentioned this on another forum, and got the response (from an overweight woman) "wow, you have gained quite a bit".
I was kind of crushed. I know I shouldn't be taking this too personally, especially from someone online who has never met me before, but I have dealt with eating disorders in the past, and hearing comments like this (I feel like it's straight out- you're fat) just hurts me. I now feel like I need to loose weight.
I know I'm not eating as healthy as I should be, and I should work out more (I swim, I need to get back to it), but I also know I have to stop thinking "I need to loose weight" because I am gaining because I'm pregnant.
Ugh, this is such a touchy subject for me.
Is my weight gain OK? Am
I just overly worried by some jerk online? Or do I really need to start watching every bite and step I take? I feel kind of lost.

 

[littlefishygg]

You haven't gained too much weight. Please try and not stress yourself, I have dealt with eating disorders in the past and the weight gain associated with pregnancy is so stressful, it is difficult to accept that you have to gain weight.
The other woman may just have been surprised as if she is overweight she has probably been told by her doctor that she shouldn't gain much weight so she probably hadn't considered the recommended weight gain for other people. According to the website I use to monitor my recommended weight gain says for your height and pre pregnancy weight at your gestation you should be between 139 and 142 so you are doing perfectly!

 

[Spiffynoodles]

The upper end of the normal range for pregnancy weight gain is 35 pounds, which is almost 1lb per week (especially since the first two weeks you're not even really pregnant yet) so going by that, you're doing great! You've only gained 9lbs at 17 weeks!

I gained 40lbs in my previous pregnancies, and even then, I didn't feel like it was too much, and it still came off afterwards okay. I say, eat when you're hungry, and don't let it stress you. Plus, I'd say it's worse to starve yourself for the sake of weight gain, then to eat a little more than you need from time to time.

 

[moter98]

You are doing great! Please don't stress about it.

 

[hope&faith09]

Your doing brilliantly - Dont worry too much about numbers. I was really watching my weight but as I am just about to go on holiday I have no chance!

Also I walked into a friends the other day and she kept going on about how fat I am going to be - I could've punched her!!!

 

[BabyHopes1974]

I don't think you've gained too much weight at all. For me I need to gain more earlier because I'm having twins and it's difficult to realize I will be quite overweight when I am at full term.

 

[Fallacy]

Don't worry about it. I gained about 35 lbs last pregnancy, and my doctor didn't seem too concerned. I was more concerned than he was! And I started at roughly the same weight as you too.

I've also had eating disorder issues in the past, and never more so than after giving birth. I'm the heaviest I've been in my life, but I know that like before, I can work it off. Just takes time. Most important thing is you're eating enough, eating right, and baby is okay.

 

[prachipie]

Hi Nina, I'm in a similar boat as you. At 13 weeks or so I had gained 7-8 lbs. I'm 5'7" and was about 144 lbs before getting pregnant. Not sure what I'm at now, I don't weigh myself regularly. I expressed some concern about it to my doctor, but she seemed okay with it. She said that all women are different and some put on more in the first trimester and then it eases for awhile. The important thing is getting the right nutrients for your baby and staying active.

I've also dealt with some eating/weight issues in the past and I was in full blown workout mode/no crabs/no sugar right before getting pregnant, which the hope of slimming down some before that happened. It started to work but got pregnant faster than expected and immediately started putting on weight/dealt with awful bloating. I've tried laying off the refined sugars (I am incapable of cutting them out, I just don't have the willpower!), and eating in moderation. Other than that, I'm trying not to be hard on myself. It is hard on these forums though because it seems like there are so many women on here who just don't put on much weight/even lost weight in the first trimester. I don't think that's the norm.

Just remember how many you want this baby. Stay as healthy as you can and believe in yourself that you can take off the weight after the baby comes.

 

[junbait]

I was stressing about weight gain as well, so DH suggested I start plotting my weight gain. I included lower limit and upper limit in my graph along with my weekly average gain. I feared I was gaining too much, but after looking at it on a graph, it helped me calm my fears. Lower limit is 25 lbs and upper limit is 35 lbs.

 

[Brightxeyes]

I've gained between 14-18lbs already, I was underweight but had started to finally out normal weight back on. Then I gained baby weight!

You haven't gained too much at all. You're meant to. And everyone is different! As long as you eat a few good meals a days, healthy preferably but the odd takeaway isn't going to do you harm!!

Xxx

 

[Nina83]

Thanks everyone, you all made me feel better about my weight gain
It's such a touchy subject!

 

[busytulip]

I think your weight gain so far sounds right on track. I'm sorry that someone else made you feel differently. I think we can all be a little too hard on ourselves for not eating healthy 100% of the time. As long as the majority of what you put in your mouth is nutritious and baby continues to be healthy I wouldn't let what others say get you down.

 

[MommyFirefly]

I think you're fine. You've started out at a really healthy weight and you're gaining at a good rate. I know how it feels to deal with disordered eating. It makes pregnancy weight gain even more frustrating. I'm trying to not obsess myself, but it's hard sometimes. Especially when there are people making rude comments.

 

[Mushymilkfor2]

No one should really be the judge of whether you've gained too much or too little. It's up to you and your doctor to decide that! So for someone to put that on you like that was probably just her own insecurities about gaining weight.

I found this website yesterday when I was concerned with where I was weight wise and it really made me feel better. Check it out if you want:

https://m.thebabycorner.com/tools/pregnancy/calculators/weightcalculator.php

 

[Nina83]

No one should really be the judge of whether you've gained too much or too little. It's up to you and your doctor to decide that! So for someone to put that on you like that was probably just her own insecurities about gaining weight.

I found this website yesterday when I was concerned with where I was weight wise and it really made me feel better. Check it out if you want:

https://m.thebabycorner.com/tools/pregnancy/calculators/weightcalculator.php

It says I'm 1 pound over what I should be
I can't stop thinking about this.

 

[Mrs Eleflump]

9lb at 17 weeks is amazing! It's so hard to accept that our weight is going to go up, so you really don't need anyone putting their baggage onto you by telling you that's a lot. Everyone gains differently, and you are at a very healthy BMI normally so please try not to worry. If that lady was very overweight, she might have been told to gain nothing, or to keep it under 15-25lb, so to her 9lb may seem a lot, but for you it's a brilliant figure.

The 'what you should gain' charts have never been right for me, as I gained a LOT early on and seem to be (fingers crossed) slowing down a little now. I'm 26 weeks tomorrow (or 26+2 if you go by my 'official' due date) and I'm +20lb from pre-pregnancy weight. I'm not delighted about that, and the charts say I'm way higher than what I should be, but after 11 weeks of feeling so sick if I wasn't eating constantly, what else could I do? If I gain 1lb a week from now til 40 weeks, I'll be up about 35lb in total, which is the upper limit of what's recommended if you were a healthy weight beforehand. I started out a couple of lb overweight, but I'm not worried about that particularly. I've got a bit more weight on my bum and thighs, but most of it is belly.

If your doctor and midwife are happy, and your baby is growing well, don't worry about what anyone else says - they're not qualified to judge!

 

[proxy bump]

From what I have gathered bigger women do not gain, or shall I say are not supposed to gain, much more than their starting weight. I know weight is an issue most of us face. Im overweight and always have been. But I was lucky enough to have it evenly spread across my body and with careful picks in clothing; I tend to look smaller. Since Ive gotten pregnant I am no longer really able to hide my belly even though ive gained .5 pounds by 13 weeks. Its stressful to everyone but you also have to remember that its not fat your gaining, not all of it at least, its both baby and the fluid in the sac your baby develops in. Youre gaining milk and all sorts of goodies for baby and should never be ashamed. It may be hard but try to remins yourself that everything and everh change is for the nurishment of your child.

 

[busytulip]

No one should really be the judge of whether you've gained too much or too little. It's up to you and your doctor to decide that! So for someone to put that on you like that was probably just her own insecurities about gaining weight.

I found this website yesterday when I was concerned with where I was weight wise and it really made me feel better. Check it out if you want:

https://m.thebabycorner.com/tools/pregnancy/calculators/weightcalculator.php

It says I'm 1 pound over what I should be
I can't stop thinking about this.

Nina, I wouldn't pay attention to charts. This chart says that I am 23 pounds under. My OB is happy with where I am at and my baby is a little chunk so far.

 

[Gym knickers]

I was about 9. 4lb before I got pregnant and I'm now almost ten stone. So that's 10lbs already!! I'm a bit nervous about it but I did the same with dd and slowed right down , I ended up carrying really small in the end. I pigged out for a few weeks but I'm eating normally again now (although not super healthy really) I'm also walking every day and really busy with a toddler so I'm not thinking about it too much. I will if i carry on gaining but it already seems to have slowed so fingers crossed!! Don't worry too much. I've obsessed about weight all my life but since getting pregnant with dd in 2012 I just keep busy and it seems to look after itself now! Xx

 

[msq]

You are doing perfectly fine!! A gain of 9 lbs at 17 weeks isn't too much especially since you were at a very healthy pre pregnancy weight