Scared of baby weight

I'm currently preggers, and I feel really scared of all of this weight gain.  I spent a year and a half losing 50 pounds, and now I'm supposed to gain 30-40 back?  That's not all fat is it??  I know that there are fluids and baby tissues involved, but it really scares me, and it's hard for me to believe.  I know that some of that gain is from fat.  I don't want to starve my baby or anything, but I just want to be reassured that I don't have to end up with 40 pounds of fat to lose ><

If you're supposed to take in 300 extra calories a day, that only adds up to 2100 extra per week, so there is no way it could be all fat, right?  I know my fears are somewhat irrational, but it is hard to think about getting huge again after working so hard to lose weight, and it's hard to see the scale going up so fast.  I don't want to spend a year and a half after baby getting back to my starting point.

I'm not sure how muh this will help but, it's not all fat but there definately is some fat.  My best advice would be don't eat whatever you want in large quantities just because are pregnant. (It is tempting) That's what I did and now I have a lot of weight to lose and my daughter is 10 months old.  Your body will change and do some diferent things after you have the baby but be patient and eat reasonably and you'll be fine.  BTW.... Congratulations

With both of my daughters I ended up weighing less after their births than before I got pregnant.  Pregnancy DOES NOT mean you have to gain weight.  I was following Weight Watchers at the time.  With my Doctors blessing, I will add.  The only calories extra I ate were what provided calcium (milk, cheese).

Check with your OBGyn.  Let him/her advise you on what you need.  I'm going to assume that you are taking the prenatal vitamins.  There's no reason to believe that you will have tons of weight to lose after the baby is born.  (Don't let pregancy be your excuse)  No, you are NOT eating for two!   Congratulations momma!

I believe the recommended weight gain is between 20-30 lbs. At least 6lbs of that will be baby, then you have fluids and other misc. stuff. I was very scared of the baby weight too. I just made sure to eat healthy food, not only for myself but for the little person inside me. I ignored everyone's comments about "eating for two" b/c it's NOT eating for two...it's like eating for one and 1/8! I gained a total of 22 lbs, 7 of which was baby. By the time i got home from the hospital i had lost a total of 15lbs. So in the end i only had about 7 lbs to lose. Just take care of yourself, eat healthy and dont stress! Pregnancy is wonderful!

Key point - you are NOT eating for two!!! This has been stressed by so many doctors. Yes, you need a few extra hundred calories, but that's it! There's no excuse to indulge in high calorie things - your baby doesn't need it. Just be as healthy as possible in your habits. And congrats. =)

eat your BMR until 6months gone; you only need 300 extra cals for the last trimester.

but remember not to restrict ever during a pregnancy.

Eat the calories your doctor recommended and continue to engage in light activity. Yoga, walking light stength training(with docs consent) will allow you to turn the fat into muscle. The huge amount of weight that women gain during pregnancy is because they "eat for two" and they drop all exercise. You will probably have a few pounds to lose but not 40.

Also the weight isn't soley fat and the fat that you do have isn't necessarily there to stay. Your body will store more fat because it recognizes a change in your body and needs more energy to perform daily function. Once you have the baby, those fat stores should be easier to lose. In addition to the baby, fluids, ect. You also have breasts. Those suckers are heavy as it is ( I saw a thread around here once where women weighed them) and most women go up 1-2 cup sizes when pregnant. So you will have added weight gain there.

Thank you alll so much!  You make me feel better.  It's so hard to hear all these women say things like "after the baby, your body just changes, you'll never be the same" and "Don't expect to lose all that weight" and stuff like that.  I guess they are just trying to make themselves feel better by thinking it's impossible huh?

yep thats exactly what theyre doing. the only thing that will prevent u from losing after the birth is You. these women who say that...are they mothers and overweight? then they are DEFINITELY writing you off because they probably overindulged, ate for two, didnt remain active....

daily strolls with the pram, maybe some swimming, breastfeeding + healthy eating.....its all simple really! stop worrying; most of what you have now is fluid, increased blood supply, and the baby itself.

Good luck you wishing u a healthy baby!!

I just had my baby in December and I ended up gaining 45 pounds. I ballooned up to 190 even though I hadn't been eating junk food or entire cakes.  After the baby, I gave my body time to recover and around 4 weeks after I started yoga.  Then around 6 weeks I started walking.  Then I started running.  Now I've lost 55 pounds and I look better than ever. 

My advice? Listen to your body.  Eat healthy but give yourself room to breathe.  Worry about creating a healthy baby instead of your weight.  Afterwards, you can worry all you want about taking it off.  I dropped 20 pounds within 2 weeks after birth.

Good luck!!