Pregnancy and Weight Gain
Pregnancy and Weight Gain
I was never told how much to gain - or not to gain. When I got pregnant, I was only like 15 pounds - if that - over what I wanted to be. About 8 months pregnant - I had advanced to drinking 3 - 16 ounce glasses of full fat milk, in an iced glass no less - a girlfriend informed me that I shouldn’t be eating more than 500 calories extra. Now you tell me!
Consume only 300 extra calories a day and gain no more than 35 pounds.
That info came just a tad too late, I had gained about 65 pounds at that point. I ate things while I was pregnant that I hadn’t eaten in years.
Mistake number two was thinking I’d actually lose the weight as soon as the baby came. I didn’t even lose what the baby weighed! I think I lost a total of 2 pounds.
A study in the April issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology suggested that the current guidelines may raise the risk of mothers having overweight toddlers. Women in the study who followed the IOM’s recommendations ran four times the risk of having a child who was overweight at age 3, compared to women who gained less than the advised amount.
I weighed 92 pounds when I became pregnant and gained 68 lbs. I did not over eat and I was active. What are women to do when their bodies retain the weight regardless of their actions? We are made to feel guilty by gaining too much weight when our bodies reject even the most cautious behavior.
Hi Rebekah!
I never thought of it from that point of view. I know I ate alot while pregnant, what I should have done was watched what I ate. The doctor never seemed concerned and I just ate away - I had been on a low fat diet and lost alot of weight before, but I didn’t think following this diet was good for me while pregnant.
And, I thought I was going to take it off! Hah! Wish I had known.
Don’t let anyone make you feel guilty. I don’t care who says it:)