What has your pregnancy weight gain/loss been like? (During and After pregnancy)

I'm about 22 weeks pregnant and I've gained around 5lbs so far.

Before I conceived, I was already overweight (more like obese) so I'm trying my best to keep my weight gain at a minimum, while still maintaining a healthy pregnancy for both me and my baby. I'm 6'2" and currently 293lbs, as of last night. Before I got pregnant, I was able to lose about 20lbs. I started out at 306lbs, got down to 283lbs, then found out I was pregnant, and now I'm worried about gaining all that weight back, which took me almost 4 months to lose!

How far along are you and how much have you gained (or lost) so far?

For those of you who have already delivered, how has your weight been after the baby?

I gained 65 pounds with my second baby (55 with the first)! I know, I know I got very carried away lol

Before I got pregnant I was about 140-145 and went up to 210. It took me about 6 months to get back to my pre pregnancy weight. I am currently at 132 and my daughter will be 1 next week :)

Wow!  Go you, Missy!

I gained 50 punds with my son.  I was considered "clinically underweight" at 130, so my mom took it upon herself to fatten me up.  Well, it worked really well.  Weight has always been an issue for me, and it was only in the last 3 -4 years that I had acheived a weight I was happy with.  Now, its really, really hard again.  I lost 20 pound in the first couple of weeks post-partum, and that seems to be typical.  Shoot for 25-30 pound weight gain.  That is what most doctors consider healthy.  I also have a friend in med-school who told me that women gain so much weight because we are telling ourselves "I'm eating for 2" but reall,  You only need an extra 300 calories per day during pregnancy.  Focus on eating healthy.  It is what your baby needs most from you.  And drink tons of water.  Also, make sure you talk to your doctor about all this.  They should at the least be able to steer you towards a nutritionist.

My son will also be one next week, and my current weight is around 175, so I've gained even more weight since I delivered.  I was doing really well for a while, but then I got lazy and sugar-dependent, and then hurt my back really badly and couldn't do much at all, so I medicated myself with food.  It's a new year and time to get back on track!

with my daughter I started at 180, and was 210 by delivery, so thirty pounds in all. I was back down to 178 about a month and half after delivering and down to 130 after six months.

I am now pregnant with my second and trying not to gain too much weight. I have gone from 130 to about 147 and I am 26 weeks. as much as I freak out I know that i can lose the weight. I have heard that the first thirty five or so are really easy. its anything over that you have to worry about.

When I got pregnant, I weighed 150 lbs.  I gained 40 lbs throughout my pregnancy.  Within 3 weeks or so of having my daughter, I dropped back down to 150 without effort (except taking care of a little one) and when she was 1 year old, I cracked down on myself and lost 28 lbs.  I looked very healthy and fit and was so happy at 122 lbs.  It took me about 4 month to do so.  I had it easy then, I was able to exercise EVERYDAY, no excuses, I was a stay at home mom.  Now, I work full time.  I think that's why I am struggling this time around. 

I don't think you should expect to gain 25-30 pounds like average-weight women normally do. For large women, more like 15 pounds is ideal.

Read this article: http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/articles.asp?i d=408

my mom is 5'3" and ~105 lbs.  She's asian and VERY petite.  She said when she was pregnant with me she gained 20 lbs (and i was an 8 lb baby!!).  she's always been very active and a healthy eater 

well I have had 3 kids and with my first I gained 26 pds, with 2nd gained 22 pds and with 3rd gained 24 pds.

I never over-ate but made sure I ate extra healthy calories.

The best way to loose the weight is to bfeed.  Make an effort at least 6 weeks for that learning curve.  Get help from a breastfeeding clinic at your local hospital.  Contact a midwife or a breastfeeding consultant to help if you have any problems.  Do research online to prepare as well

I nursed all my kids.  I was really lucky b/c never had a problem.  Just remember it takes time amd doesnt come naturally to some mums.  Also the accelerrated weightloss is a bonus.  With all my kids I was prepregnancy weight 6 weeks later.  I ate really well while nursing and remember I didnt gain a lot of weight.  Adding all my kids were a healthy birth weight.  If you can avoid an epidural it is better for baby as they make newborns sleepy and the faster baby is to breast the better.  This got long but if you have any questions just ask!!

I weighed 125-130 when I became pregnant with my first.  I gained 40 pounds with her.  After she was born, I lost all but 10 pounds of it very quickly (a few weeks).  If you are planning on breast feeding, you will lose most of the weight quickly, and breast feeing has well documented benefits for baby and mom.  It is the perfect infant food.  With my son, I gained 50 pounds, and lost 40 within a few months.  I didn't have any problems with keeping on that baby weight.  I started school (at a healthy weight) when my youngest was 2, and put on 15 pounds due to the sedentary demands of being a college student.  So, school has been tough on my weight, but being a mom hasn't.

Congrats!  Remember that your nutrition is more important than the amount of weight you gain (meaning- dont worry too much if you gain 20).  You are seeing a doctor or midwife, correct?   

I just want to say that not everyone loses weight because they breastfeed.  I had the exact opposite happen to me - I could not lose weight while I was breastfeeding.  It was if my body set my internal calorie burn on low (or very low) or something.  I get really irritated when I see the bf'g posters at my gyn appointments claiming that bf'g helps you lose baby weight!  NOT FOR EVERYONE!  That said, I would never say that was a reason NOT to bf - bf'g is SO good for you and the baby, and man is it ever convenient.

Regarding weight gain with pregnancies - I think I gained over 50 with first.  I stopped looking at the end - I had wicked water weight gain so I was gaining 5lbs at every appointment.  I never got back down to my prepregnancy weight of around 135.  He was born in '96, and I joined WW at work in '99 and lost ~20, but I was back up to the 160s when I started ttc again.  I had 4 miscarriages and then got pregnant with my 2nd and gained ~45.  I was determined to get back into shape quicker this time - started walking at 1 week post partum, but could not lose!  This time I joined WW online when DD was 7 months old.  I did ok, but I DD did wean soon after.  I started around 189 and got down to my WW goal weight and then my own personal goal of losing 50#.

With the bonus (#3), I gained about 40#.  She is two, and I'm just getting back to prepregnancy weight (~160), but I have another 30# to lose.

First, congratulations!

Thank you, Lynne, for what you wrote - I'm the same as you, breastfeeding has not helped me the way it does for others! Regardless, I'm not going to stop just to get my body back.

I'm 5'6" and my starting weight was 180. I didn't gain much weight until month 7. I continued to walk 2 miles everyday and watched what I ate. My weight gain was healthy and  I had  a wonderful pregnancy up to the end. However, around month 8 I started to have extreme water weight gain and at the end I was also gaining 5lbs every few days. I continued to walk which kept my blood pressure low so the water weight was more of a pain than a problem. I have no idea what my exact ending weight was. I know that at my 2 week follow up I weighed 201 and that was over 40lbs lighter than my last prenatal visit. I think the last reading I saw on the scale predelivery was 240+. I've kind of blocked some of those images.

My son is now 6 months old and I am at 185. I've been eating healthy, watching my intake, walking 2 miles everyday and getting extra cardio when I can. I did have an emergency c-section and then another emergency surgery (not pregnancy related) six weeks later. So, I wasn't even able to workout for the first 3 months after baby was born which may have slowed my progress some. My goal weight is 140.

Enjoy your pregnancy and your new little bundle!

I was overweight when I got pregnant. I gained 20 pounds with the pregnancy and lost 31 pounds when I gave birth, so went home weighing less than I had when I first got pregnant, w00t!

Original Post by athena_tavener:

I was overweight when I got pregnant. I gained 20 pounds with the pregnancy and lost 31 pounds when I gave birth, so went home weighing less than I had when I first got pregnant, w00t!

 Good job! That's what I want to do...I'm seven weeks along, and my doctor told me that I should gain 10lbs. from my starting weight of 164 by the time I hit twenty weeks. Despite efforts, I'm going a little too fast -- I'm at 170 already :-P. It's the nausea that makes me want to nibble all day long!

I lost 30 pounds before my last pregnancy to finally be a healthy weight, 145.  I gained 29 pounds when I got pegnant, which was a little more that I had hoped for but now 2 weeks post partum I am 150 so I am only 5 pounds up.  I am breast feeding, I noticed the weight really fell off for first 2 weeks and I have noticed the last few days have leveled off.  The trouble is it is really hard to determine how many calories I am burning so it is difficult to know how many to eat.  I have read that breast feeding women should eat no less than 1800 and probably closer to 2300 calories in order to have healthy breast milk. I have also heard you should eat to hunger but I am always starving.  Especially at 3 am!

athena-tav,
did you count calories or anything?  I am just wondering because we may start trying soon, but I am still not to my goal and considered a little overweight.  I just don't want to be really huge during this pregnancy.  any tips i could use?

steki,

As much as I would loooove to take credit for gaining only the weight I should have gained (doctor told me to gain 20 pounds), I cannot. I had morning sickness throughout the pregnancy and had trouble gaining weight as a result. The last six pounds I gained came a week or two before giving birth, and was all water weight. You know the Far Side cartoon of the mosquito which got an artery? Yeah, I looked like that mosquito, only even more swollen.

I ate when I could... I didn't always keep what I ate, though. And you'd think that after birthing that child, I'd have been done with tossing my cookies, wouldn't you? But noooooooooo; I threw up after I delivered!! Oh, I was so annoyed at that!!!

Kid came almost a month early and was 9 pounds, so even though gaining weight was a challenge for me (the only time that's ever been the case!), it didn't hurt him any, thank goodness.

Your nausea will likely go away after about 12 weeks if not sooner, and when it does, so will the need to nibble, and that should help you control the weight gain.

illbe,

I didn't count calories; given my ... ahhh... inability to retain food at so many points throughout, it would have been an exercise in futility!

my son is 8 mths old i dident get that big with him. i was 114 when i got pregnant and i think the hardest thing for me was gaining weight. now i am 145 and i am trying to lose weight. its so hard for me to lose weight right now with the time and trying to work and everything. if anyone needs to talk and etc. please e-mail me bellebabe0488@yahoo.com. i would love to talk!

hi lovlilynne. I agree with you 100% about weight loss with breastfeeding. i did not lose a thing, infact i gained weight!!! I am not breastfeeding anymore because i am back to work now. I have had a total of three kids in a 14 year span and my pre pregnancy weight before my first was about 145, i am currently 180!!! I am trying to eat healthy and exercise but nothing is happening, i guess it is just going to take sometime. I can be sure that there will be no more babies that is for sure!!

I knew a woman who was pregnant, that was considerably overweight ended up losing 40 lbs when she got pregnant because he started eating so healthy. Depending on how overweight you are, you might not have to gain any...and if you start eating healthy meals all day long, you could even lose if you are overweight by a bit. But they say if you are overweight about 10-15lbs is normal, if you are at your ideal weight 25-30 is expected.

I'm a bit overweight, and are continuing to eat like I did on my diet before, just adding a couple more calories in throughout the day-like a pudding or extra string cheese to give the baby calcium. My doctor just told me yesterday to definitely start working out 3x a week, because it is healthy for the baby and will make the pregnancy a lot easier. (plus now I'm getting married, so I've got to look good in the dress)

I have a cousin who gained 60 lbs...and you don't need to gain that much-it's basically an excuse for a woman to eat horribly...and it's so hard to lose after. :(

I think you are doing fabulously!!  I gained 63lbs with my daughter going from 125lbs to 188lbs (day of delivery).  I gained 25lbs my first trimester (I quit smoking and started eating).  On the plus side, I lost 25lbs from my delivery date to the day I came home, 3 days later (that of course included my 8lb daughter and a lot of water weight).  I lost all but ten lbs by time she was 4 months old.  I credit it to nursing.  Now she is 9 months old and I am still wanting to lose that last 10lbs. 

I think you are on the right track to gaining just the right amount of weight for your pregnancy.  I also think that you should focus on making sure you are eating the right kinds of foods, getting some exercise and limiting your worry about the weight gain.  The worry can be detrimental to your special one.  I won't say don't worry at all, but if you are getting some daily exercise and are eating good foods you are doing all you can to ensure your and your baby's health.

One more thing about exercise.  I did exercise (stationary bike 5 miles a day 5 days a week) up until delivery and I do believe it helped get me prepared for the long workout delivery was.  I was in active labor for 18 hours and had 2 hours of pushing.  I don't think I could have done it without strengthening my heart and lungs.  

 

I weighed 200lbs when I first got pregnant, I was 24. I gained 30 lbs with the pregnancy and by the first month after giving birth it was gone. Then at 25 (almost 26) I gave birth to my second child and same deal, lost the 30lbs I had gained within a month. Problem is I eventually gained those 30 lbs naturally and it's never gone away again :P

 Let me say, that I ate a healthy diet while pregnant, but I never watched what I ate after having the kids, I never made an effort to lose weight until now.  Not a real one anyways.  I think if you eat right, you should be fine and able to continue with your weight loss after you have your baby.  The important thing right now is not to worry about your weight, you have plenty of other things to focus your attention on now :)

Congrats, and wish you the best :)