Struggling with weight gain

[LittleMum]

I know how ridiculous this sounds but I'm really gutted that I've suddenly put on just under 2 pound

With DD I was 11st 10lbs before getting pregnant and finished up at a whopping 15st, it took me well over a year to slim back down and I'm so proud that I managed to get down to 10st 6lb

Only problem now though is I've put on a couple of pounds and am finding it hard to deal with even though I know I'm pregnant and its going to happen.
My silly doctor said they don't expect weight gain til month 6 which sounds absurd?! But now I'm worried that I shouldn't be gaining weight yet??

All online sites say conflicting things, so exactly how much weight gain is normal in each trimester???

 

[Becki09]

I had been worrying as I had put 2lbs on and feel huge already. I wouldnt say that im over eating or eating the wrong things. I did read somewhere that weight gain shouldnt start till 6 months, and i thought how!!
I then went onto many forums, and found that women can put up to 10lbs on in the first trimester, so I then thought this must be more accurate than textbook!

 

[Celesse]

Its probably just extra water. Your blood volume increases and part of that is the water content and it happens due to hormones. Your weight is just a number, go on how healthy you feel.

 

[LittleMum]

Its probably just extra water. Your blood volume increases and part of that is the water content and it happens due to hormones. Your weight is just a number, go on how healthy you feel.

Could well be, my belly is massive today! Has been fairly flat up until now.

Just strange after watching the scales steadily go down over the last couple of years

 

[SRTBaby]

My last pregnancy i had put on 10lb by end of first trimester. I ended up gaining 30lb, i lost probably half of it so i am starting this pregnancy heavier and worried.

 

[linz143]

I gained 5 lbs in first tri on my last baby and then steadily gained 2 lbs per week after that. I ended up gaining 50 total!! I knew I wasn't being the best at watching my food but I also wasn't gorging myself on every cake and ice cream I came upon.

3 weeks after giving birth I was down 30 lbs. It just so happened that I gained a TON of water/blood ect weight. Like way more than they expect. I still had 20 lbs of eating to account for, but water weight/swelling/blood volume can really make a huge difference.

The thing that matters the most is to make sure you're getting good nutrients. And if you're still gaining while doing that? Then you can just address it afterward. No sense in stressing over something you have no control over!

 

[eris]

I had initially lost weight in the very beginning up to about 6 weeks. I told the nutritionist this and she was very insistent on me "gaining" weight by my next appointment in a month. Then I made the mistake of telling my husband and he was all YOU NEED TO BE PUTTING ON WEIGHT!

 

[pandi77]

I agree with these prior post that a lot of it must be water weight and bloating. I put on 6 lbs in the first 10 weeks and then at my 12 week appointment has lost 4 of those. I have been eating a lot of food between the two weigh insso I can't imagine I lost any real weight lol.

 

[2have4kids]

Don't beat yourself up too much, you'll be bloated as a general rule being pregnant. BUT saying that, just understand which foods cause bloat and hunger and maybe it'll be easier to manage going forward.

Carby foods cause hunger pangs because they spike your insulin and contribute to water retention. These foods include: bread, rice, pasta, chips, potatoes, salty foods and junk.

Veggies and protein are natural dieuretics. Protein quenches hunger and repairs your body. Your baby needs protein for it's building blocks. Protein will keep your hunger at bay for hours and it doesn't spike your blood sugar (causing hunger pangs again in an hour or so like rice & bread will). When I have a plate of food I eat the protein and veg first, if I can't fit the potatoe, rice or pasta (filler) in then oh well, my butt will thank me tomorrow. If you eat protein at every meal you can go between without cravings. As well, snack on protein between meals and you you won't be ravenous towards the next meal (plus you'll control ms). Protein snacks that I love...nuts, peanut butter on pumpernickel (fiber), cottage cheese,boiled eggs, greek yoghurt (the fruity stuff is FULL of sugar, I'd rather add fruit than consume sugar that will add to flab). Also, always drink lots of water, I love herbal decaf teas...ginger & cinnamon. Tea hydrates you better than water and quenches a sweet tooth (omg do I have a sweet tooth right after a meal!!)

I lost a heap of weight over the last year and it had very little to do with working out and everything to do with what I put in my mouth. Bread and pasta are NOT my friends. I lost the weight partially to help me be more fertile and hopefully
get pregnant but also to be pregnant at a healthy weight.

 

[pandi77]

Don't beat yourself up too much, you'll be bloated as a general rule being pregnant. BUT saying that, just understand which foods cause bloat and hunger and maybe it'll be easier to manage going forward.

Carby foods cause hunger pangs because they spike your insulin and contribute to water retention. These foods include: bread, rice, pasta, chips, potatoes, salty foods and junk.

Veggies and protein are natural dieuretics. Protein quenches hunger and repairs your body. Your baby needs protein for it's building blocks. Protein will keep your hunger at bay for hours and it doesn't spike your blood sugar (causing hunger pangs again in an hour or so). If you eat protein at every meal as well as snack on protein between meals you won't see the bloat and you're hunger will be kept under control. Protein snacks that I love...nuts, peanut butter, cottage cheese,boiled eggs, greek yoghurt (the fruity stuff is FULL of sugar, I'd rather add fruit than consume sugar that will add to flab). Also, always drink lots of water, I love herbal decaf teas...ginger & cinnamon. Tea hydrates you better than water and quenches a sweet tooth (omg do I have a sweet tooth right after a meal!!)

I lost a heap of weight over the last year and it had very little to do with working out and everything to do with what I put in my mouth. Bread and pasta are NOT my friends. I lost the weight partially to help me be more fertile and hopefully
get pregnant but also to be pregnant at a healthy weight.

This does make a lot of sense and I subscribe to your thinking on fertility and a high protein diet. I was on a low carb diet when I started to conceive and have often wondered what part that may have played in my fertility. I'm currently reading a book called Beautiful Babies that endorses a high protein diet while pregnant and after that has been very interesting so far.

 

[2have4kids]

There's science behind it. The most successful bariatric clinics do high protein diets. We need fat to protect our heart and organs, for skin and hair. We don't need sugar. Our body doesn't know how to handle it and if we have too much of it AND when we're genetically predisposed...we get diabetes. So cheese is a good treat, but the high sugar foods (bread, rice, crackers, pasta, noodles - they all break down to sugar & glucose, not into terribly nutritional nutrients) which cause our hunger to go crazy. When we eat more like a caveman our bodies respond better. I like the paleo diet but I'm not rigid on anything. i still eat my carbs now and then but I avoid gluten because it causes me inflammation. The last thing I need is to miscarry because of inflammation.

In fact there are studies stating that when we over eat and have high levels of sugar it can cause predisposition for obesity in our unborn babies. The WHO and NHS have done some amazing studies on diabetes and sugar and are figuring out exaclty how it buggers us up.
My guess is the new push towards understanding alzheimer's and dementia will reveal blood/brain interaction with chronic use of over-the-counter pain killers and high sugar diets.