Success stories - keeping weight down in PG?

Hi ladies, I'm pretty wildly overweight, and am seeing a dietician to try to keep the weight down this time (never lost my first baby's weight, that was nine years ago)!

I'm interested in hearing from any other larger ladies who have successfully kept their weight gain minimal, and any thing you might have done that helped!

PS Just want to emphasise - I understand weight gain is a healthy part of pregnancy and this thread in no way relates to those ladies who are in the healthy weight range to start with - purely for those of us who are larger and therefore at greater risk of joint injury, GD, high blood pressure, etc :)

Marydean, I am a larger person and I am really lucky in that I naturally lose weight when I am pregnant ( the only time in my life that I can! )I stay the same weight right through as when I fell pregnant and then when I give birth I lose 10 to 12 kilos immediately.

My biggest problem is keeping it off after I finish breastfeeding.

I don't tend to do anything differently. I do not eat any more than I normally would, we have a relatively healthy diet anyway ( so I don't know why I do have such an issue with my weight.)

I have 2 littlies as well, so I guess just keeping active with them also helps to keep it in control.

Goodluck with it hun!

Hon, I am no Elle McPherson, lets put it that way!

I am only a shorty (5'2'') and on the overweight side (size 16/18) and I put on very little weight in any of my pregnancies and lost more than I put on as soon as I gave birth with all 3, and also lost a lot through breastfeeding.

The thing is, I think a lot of overweight women, if they eat a healthy diet during pregnancy (which I did: I cut out the booze and the cheese, which are my biggest failings!) find it automatic to have a small weight gain......as the natural baby weight they automatically put on means their body is getting a lot more excersise, so weight actually gets worked off?

Does that make sense?! LOL!

Either way, I went to no special effort as such. I cut out the grog and the snacks and the cheese. I am not much of a choccy fan, so that was easy. And the rest of the time, just a normal moderate healthy diet.......

Being pregnant and breastfeeding is the nicest "diet" I ever went on!!

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The thing is, I think a lot of overweight women, if they eat a healthy diet during pregnancy (which I did: I cut out the booze and the cheese, which are my biggest failings!) find it automatic to have a small weight gain......as the natural baby weight they automatically put on means their body is getting a lot more excersise, so weight actually gets worked off?

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I completely agree. I have a very overweight friend who went through her entire pregnancy without gaining any weight.

I only put on about 7kgs with my first pregnancy....and so far during this pregnancy I havent put on any. Luckily during both my pregnancy's I dont really feel like eating at all. Basically i just peck all day. This time is different though as my pregnancy in general has been completely different to my first...i have been ill since 4 or so weeks sothat helps to keep the weight down haha... I also (in both my pregnancies) make sure that I drink at least 3ltrs of water a day. I think the water consumption is the main thing.:)I wouldnt worry too much if I were you.

I hope you don't mind me posting. This is not about me, but wanted to share anyway. I caught up with a GF last week, who is now 27 weeks pg. She has lost 15kg while pg!! She looks fantastic! She has been sensible with her food & her Dr is happy, bub is growing fine etc. But just by cutting out junk & eating healthily (& with less room to eat big meals) she has lost this weight.

I am quite overweight... adn am finding I am losing weight.... most likely due to so much m/s!!!
I dont think that I will gain much weight at all during pregnancy. At least I hope not!
I am more worried about any affects it may have on me and baby in pregnancy.
Most pregnant people i see and healthy, low weight people, and I feel like the only overweight person to EVER get pregnant!!!
I am ashamed of the way I look, and have BIG plans to re address the situation once I have given birth. My dr doesn't seem to be worried, my BP is fine and i'm not feeling any different to what other people describe.
My weight is due to lack of exercise, I used to play/ train for sport 6 times a week, and when I left home i couldnt afford it, so it dropped to nothing.

I'd love to hear from any larger people going through pregnancy to share thoughts with and bounce ideas off!
If you have MSN feel free to add me, or just email me.

Good luck everyone
Nicky

Hi MD,

With DD I put on 15kg's going from 65kgs to 80kgs and I am 172cm's. To date I only managed to get down to 69kgs (took me 15months) and now (as you know) I am pregnant again. This time round I am not going to use pregnancy as an excuse to eat entire cakes or tim tam packets, nor am I going to give into the lure of Mother's to Be Club and eat like all the other ladies (who seem to lose their weight effortlessly after giving birth).

I think you just need to be sensible (and I know you are) get some mild exercise and keep moving after bub is born. I know you'll be fine MD

I wish that I could help you, but I need the same answers - I was 83 kg when I got pregnant, and am now 104 kg. The doctor has told me that I really need to watch my weight, and it hasn't gone up at all in the last 4 weeks, but I don't know why, coz I haven't really changed anything that much...crazy body...

This is abit of close to the heart topic for me as well. Yes, am trying not to be so paranoid.
But, for me, only have good food around. I take fruit and yoghurt to work with me, and cause of where i work (location) its not easy to get other food, so i have to only eat what i take and that helps. I do have naughty nibbles when i get home thou. But i stay active as i can. Other then the 1st trim when i had m/s i have stayed as active as before, which i think has helped alot. I do water aerobics 3 times a week, I dont play sports, or go for other walks or anything, but, still keep moving on weekends just by doing stuff.
Drink plenty of water to help curb of hunger. Have big drink of water with meals etc, as long as you are still getting your requirements to keep you and bubs healthy, but, just to stop the snacks.
And yeah, sometimes i do feel like Squishee said - i the only overweight person to be preg! Prob started this preg at 10kg overweight. Although according to my BMI - i should weight in at under 74kg i think - but, 80kg is small enough for me.

Wow, thanks for all the replies, ladies. I guess I'm feeling pretty positive at the moment, I recall eating lots of deep fried food last time round (to curb the morning sickness, it was the only thing that helped :redface: ). But just this last week that almighty hunger has kicked in - I'm hungry again an hour after I've eating and all the apples in the world aint going to kick it! There's no way I'm going to gain as much as I did last time because our whole life circumstance is different - but that hunger kicks in and I can barely think straight LOL!

When that hunger kicks in, go for low GI healthy but filling options.......my saviour was Kellogs branflakes and cold milk with a banana......or wholegrain bread stuffed with hardboiled eggs and cheese & salad........

(I am lucky.....when I am genuinely hungry I crave "real food" rather than junk, which is a relief.....)

I've got to say, ladies, I'm appreciating all your comments even more now that I'm reading them again. You sort of wonder if you're some kind of freak being overweight and pregnant...LOL

Update - Went to see the dietician this week (8.5 weeks PG) and I weighed exactly the same as a month ago (whew! I was a bit worried after fish and chips on our weekend away! LOL). She was quite sympathetic about the hunger (I wake up in the middle of the night and contemplate getting up for a snack :redface:) and agreed that I need to increase my snacks to get me through, including a post-dinner snack.

She especially put in a word for veggie soups, instant porridge sachets, and combining a bit of fruit with dairy/carbs so that it 'hits the spot'. Feeling more in control now, less like the hunger is going to get the better of me! :)

^ I agree with Lucy about going for the low GI food when you're hungry.

The best thing that controlled my weight gain when I was pregnant was having GD....it forced me to eat well and to eat alot of low GI food.
After a couple of weeks the insane hunger subsides and your body adjusts. I gained 9kg total with my son and it all just fell off within 2 months of having him. It was definitely because I was eating properly when I was pregnant.
It's hard and it's an adjustment - trust me all I want to do when I'm pregnant is eat too - but it's well worth it :) Good luck.

I also want to watch me weight this pregnancy

I was 67 b4 i waspreg with DS, and put on 15kg... I was around 75 in December time (didn't eat that badly this year, but didn't exercise, and lost no weight despite a lot of bf).. Anyway, have been using the crosstrainer (before i was preg though) and lost 3 kg so far

We are starting teh CSIRO diet next week (had to change a lot of the diet to suit our needs which is taking ages to work out a weekly plan that includes everything we need to eat).. It is safe for preg and bf which is good

I'm just going to try and keep to that (you can have 9 indulgance foods a week which should help with the MS), and it looks like you get to eat heaps

I'm going to try and keep up with the cross trainer as much as i can (my hr keeps going up a lot when i'm on it, so i wasn to check with my obs this week before i start doing my 8km 3 times a week), but i would be very happy if i could just stay that same this preg, which is in reality losing weight IFKWIM?

I'm worried if i say to anyone i'm dieting and preg i will get told off.. but from looking at the CSIRO it really is just a healthy eating plan which will help me to eat better (i also cope better having meal plans drawn up), so i don't think of it as a diet

Anyone know of some good exercises you can do from home while preg? I would love aqau aerobics, but don't have the time or money. I have a DVD, but i'm not sure i'll end up using it

lets hope the dr says i can use my crosstrainer until i have balance issues... i love it cos of the display - it really motivates me to keep going :)

Maybe we should start a pregnancy and weight loss thread in the exercise section ??

I don't know why I am only just reading this thread!

I've been feeling exactly the same. I was terrified people would think I was being irresponsible for getting pregnant while very overweight. This pregnancy was a surprise, I was intending to lose weight before trying, but now we are pregnant I am so excited and just really anxious to do everything I can to mimise the risks.

I have also lost weight (approx 8kgs) mostly due to m/s. My GP hasn't weighed me once and i've been too embarrassed to bring it up with her. I get referred to my OB this week so i'll leave it to discuss with him.

I'm 167cm tall and weigh 92kg. Most people are surpsied when I tell them how much I weigh (or maybe they are being kind - not sure). And Dr's have always said i'm in perfect health apart from the weight - BP is always good, periods are always regular (before I became PG), and i'm fairly active. So I keep hoping this is enough to pull me and the baby through ok. But it is a concern - especially when I read certain hospitals wouldn't accept me because of my BMI.

I have tried researching weight management during pregnancy on the internet - I know being pregnant isn't the time to go on a diet. But I have read about lots of cases where women eat really well and still naturally come out even or even lose a bit (mostly courtesy to m/s in the first trimester). I intend to talk it over with my OB. I also heard that weight watchers have special eating plans for pregnant and lactating women - so I was thinking of giving that a try. Has anyone done that?

I am reading this thread with much interest, because I am literally terrified of weight gain during pregnancy.
I started out my last pregnancy underweight (around 55kg and I am 170cm tall). And then I gave up smoking and started eating for more than 2... probably even enough food for 3 people! So by 9 months pg I had gained over 40kg - finishing off at 97kg.... which is a huge amount to gain in 9 months, and it absolutely killed my self confidence.
I am going to be TTC soon, so want to set up good eating habits early on. I cannot let myself have a repeat of last time, I dont think I could handle that again TBH. I have only ever gotten back down to 66kg (at my lowest since birth) and its been a hard bloody slog (atm I am 68). So with this next pregnancy I want to stay under 87kg (which is 10kg less than my last pg). I hope that is a reasonable goal, given that I am starting more than 10kg heavier than I did the last time....
Another problem I found with my last pg was that I would get low blood sugar - ie. if I did not eat at least every 1.5 hours, I would break out into cold sweats and feel like fainting. Also eating frequently was the only way to curb the nausea for me too.
So does anyone have any ideas for healthy snacks to have throughout the day, which are not too high in kj"s and fat?? So far my ideas are: yoghurt, fruit, rice cakes, low fat milk.... maybe dry cereal to much on such as bran or museli with fruit pieces?

Ambah - I felt like you before this pg. Although I only put on 13kg last time, I was only just in the healthy weight range before pg, and it took me a whole year to get back to 68kg.

But I have been determined this time not to let things get the better of me. And so far I am really pleased. I started at 68kg, then went down to 65kg, due to MS. I am now, at 14 weeks, back at 68kgs. I'm still wearing all of my size 12s, but some of them are getting a bit tight. I'm still doing a lot of exercise too.

My goal this time is to not go over 80kg, but really I'd like to not go over 78kg. I have been eating too much, but as the weight isn't going too bad, I'm not worrying yet....

Wow I wish I was half as small as any of u!!!!
I know its very disheartening putting on so much weight so quickly whilst pregnant.... but I put on approx 50kgs in 2 years a few years back!!!
I think I'm probably the biggest person here.... which is not a nice thing. I was well over 100kg when Ibecame pregnant. I ahven't put on anything still, but I am eating a lot less as my stomach just can't handle too much food at once.
I am finding it very hard to exercise, as it's soo hot all the time adn not being very fit... I dont want to over do it and hurt myself or the baby.
Congrats to those of you who have managed to lose the weight after ur pregnancies. I really admire you. I am on a mission to lose 50kgs within 2 years of giving birth. I am only 23 and I feel really 'stupid' being the weight I am. I know it generally is poor eating choices, but my prob really is my lack of exercise.
Goo dluck to everyone here on acheiving their goals.
I am trying not to worry too much about my weight during pregnancy. My doc ashn't said anything about it yet, so I am just going to try and be the best I can be without going overboard. My thought is to give birth to a healthy bub, then worry about the excess baggage I am carrying after the birth. I am determined that the birth of my child is going to be a good kick up the backside to help me to acheive my goals!
Good luck
Nicky

Nicky, I wouldn't be so sure about that! (Notice how I have very carefully NOT disclosed height or weight...?) :)

For me the key that unlocked my healthy eating plan was the concept of 'low GI'. For years I tumbled from one carb fix to another, always insatiably hungry. Apparently satiety mechanisms are really complex and they don't yet understand why an apple will fill one person up and leave the next hungry and hanging for more. ANYWAY, i have discovered that it's as much about what you DO include in your diet (generous portions of bulky veggies, legumes and grainy grains) that really help control hunger and cravings over time. Apparently having fibre in your bowel reduces the hunger mechanism (among other things).

Ambah, a friend of mine who is a dietician told me that in subjects who have overconsumed carbs and had a really high blood sugar for a long time, even a small reduction in that carb intake can induce exactly the same symptoms as (true) low blood sugar. That sent a bolt of recognition through me, I can tell you! Maybe that's what happened in your last PG?

Healthy snacks that I have found to be satisfying
*tub of low fat yoghurt with a sprinkle of muesli
*small tub of peaches in juice with some custard
*a toasted english fruit muffin
*grainy crispbreads (ie vitaweets) with homous or vegemite & salady bits on top
*crunchola bars (but ONLY the crunchy ones)
*sachet of instant porridge (with our without fruit)
*veggie soup (this one's my favorite - can't wait for autumn to start properly)!
*home made rice pudding (doongara rice and splenda)

I also take fresh fruit, crackers, and little boxes of dried fruit (portion controlled) to work so I can snack surreptiously at my desk (no one knows I'm pregnant and i don't really want to be hanging out in the kitchen feeding my face all day long)!

Nice snack ideas Marydean! That's just got me thinking - i'll have to make a trip to the supermarket in the morning.

I agree with you Nicky - I was right on 100kg when I got pregnant so i'm viewing this as a "time to get serious" as well. Hopefully we'll have bubs who like long walks in the pram!