Weight Gain in Pregnancy

Updated on May 31, 2013
J.G. asks from Minneapolis, MN
15 answers

I give up! I have done everything "right" and I am still gaining more than the expected amount. I am 27 weeks and have gained 24 lbs. I workout almost every day by doing aerobics classes that are pretty intense, or I do the elliptical for an hour and then weights afterwards. I have been tracking my calories daily on My Fitness Pal so I'm not going over my daily allotted calories. I have even double checked my calories with trainers at the gym to make sure they are correct. I drink as much water as I am supposed to everyday. I feel like I'm following all the rules but still gaining more than expected. I eat really well too- mostly paleo with GF toast in the morning. This is my 3rd pregnancy and I gained SO much with #1 and #2, lost it all and thought I could do better this time around. Anyone else gain weight no matter what they did?

EDIT- I am totally honest with my Midwife :) The class I take is called Turbo Kick. It's a combo kick boxing/ dancing class. I eat around 2500 calories a day when I work out and 2000 on the days I don't....so I'm eating enough. I gained 75 with my first and 65 with my second and it just sucked to lose all that weight! I'm sure my baby is healthy- he/she was measuring perfect at my 23 weeks ultrasound. I was just hoping to stay more around the 25-35 lbs gained so it didn't take me 2 years to lose it like it did before.

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J.O.

answers from Boise on

I think it's just 'one of those things'.

I've had friends that gain very little, and other friends gain 50-60 with each kid. Not threw any fault of their own, it's just the way their bodies make babies. Stay healthy, stay active, but don't stress about it. As long as you stay fairly healthy it should be somewhat easy to loose it afterwards.

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D..

answers from Miami on

You worry me, mama. You should be thinking about what's best for your BABY and not about your intense aerobics workouts not being enough to keep your weight down.

Have you actually been HONEST with your OB about what you are doing? I doubt it. Your goal is one for your future body. That's not the way you're supposed to be thinking during your pregnancy.

When I was throwing up something awful and having trouble eating, at 27 weeks my doctor told me that he wanted to see a pound a week gain from me or he would consider me to be "failure to thrive". Whether he was talking about my body or my baby's, I don't know. I had only heard that said regarding a baby that had already been born. It took everything I had to get enough food in my stomach to meet that one pound a week. This was with my second baby. I was on complete bedrest with my first child from 24 weeks. I was in a pregnancy exercise class, and after a class with too much of it without being able to stop and pee, I went into labor. I'm thankful and LUCKY that complete bedrest and medication kept me from delivering until 37 weeks.

I urge you to stop trying to exercise your way out of weight gain. The TERROR you feel when realizing that you may actually give birth to a baby less than 2/3 of the way to full term is something you cannot fathom. The babies I had to look at in the NICU helped me to see how lucky indeed my baby and I would be if I was able to keep from delivering. You might think it would never happen to you. Don't. It happened to me.

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M.J.

answers from Sacramento on

I gained 50 lbs. with each of my children and I was not pigging out. In fact, with our daughter, I was STILL gaining even though I had severe morning sickness for a long stretch and hardly ate anything beyond saltines and ginger ale (and not sure how much of that stayed down). Go figure.

I think our bodies are designed to gain what they need to during pregnancy. While we'd like to control everything, sometimes it's just out of our control.

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D.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I agree with others - I think that (other than the rare exception of women who used pregnancy as an excuse to go crazy) a women's body decides what she's going to gain during pregnancy, not her brain. I know women who gain 50+ lbs during pregnancy, and women who gained 20 lbs. But for all of them - they gained approximately the same amount each time, no matter what they did. So, I just think that this isn't under your control. Sorry!

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X.O.

answers from Chicago on

Please don't stress about the weight you are gaining. You ARE doing everything you can, short of starving yourself and your baby. You will have a healthy baby, and it sounds like you're a very healthy mama. Good work! Keep up with what you are doing and your body will gain as much as your baby needs.

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W..

answers from Chicago on

I gained 7 pounds total and my daughter was 7lb 10oz. I weighed 250lbs (despite healthy diet and treadmill 4x per week) and my Dr said to me "this is what it's like to have a regular metabolism.

My co-worker who sits across from me weighed 110lbs pre-pregnancy and gained 75 lbs with EACH of her 3 kids.

Don't focus on the NUMBER. That is dangerous and not really productive or a good indicator of health. Watch what you put into your body and be as active as you can. THAT'S IT.

Congrats on your baby!

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M.O.

answers from New York on

Honestly, it sounds like you're doing every single thing you possibly can. This might just be one of those things where the mind wants one thing and the body wants another. And guess what? The body wins.

I would also really caution you to set expectations based on a third pregnancy. With each subsequent pregnancy, it is NORMAL to gain more weight than the last. That's just how our bodies are programmed. You can't fight evolution, sister.

Finally, as somebody who regularly does kick-boxing and jiu jitsu, and as somebody who was very active to the very end of her pregnancy, I would still be concerned about the shock your baby may be absorbing when you kick a bag. Punching is probably okay, assuming you've got a stable stance, but if you're kicking hard against a heavy bag, then your abdomen (aka where the baby lives) is going to be absorbing some impact.

Please -- pleeeeease -- just relax, drink plenty of water (before and after the birth), and follow nature's amazing weight-loss plan: Breastfeeding.

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B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

We did IVF to have our son.
I had hormone shots to prepare/harvest my eggs and then once we were pregnant I had progesterone shots up though the first semester.
I've been told that all can help pile the pounds on.
I gained 65 lbs (our son was 9 lbs 1 1/2 oz).
They tested me for it but I never got gestational diabetes and had no preclampsia issues.
My feet were extremely swollen the last 2 months and I just held a lot of water weight.
I lost 20 lbs just giving birth and in the 2 weeks that followed I lost another 20 lbs just in peeing and sweating the excess fluid (and breast feeding).
I still had 25 lbs to lose and it took forever to come off.
Some of us just gain weight no matter how careful we are when pregnant.
With 3 kids to run after, you should be able to lose it again without too much trouble.

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B.B.

answers from Omaha on

Assuming you have ruled out medical issues (such as hypothyroidism), there really isn't anything else I can see that you can do. Sounds like you are doing a great job. My only other suggestion would maybe be to cut down your sodium content in your foods. It will all work out!

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J.B.

answers from Boston on

I wouldn't worry about it. You're healthy, baby is healthy, you'll lose the weight afterward. It's just how your body reacts.

I would lose 10 lbs in the first trimester of my pregnancies and then gain that back plus a little more by the end. My net weight gains with my 4 pregnancies ranged from 4 - 8 lbs. Then I would lose 20 lbs at delivery. HOWEVER - in the 12 weeks following each delivery, I would gain back 15-20 lbs no matter what I ate or how much I worked out, so after each pregnancy I would end up at about 10 lbs over what I started at. Times that by 4 and you can imagine that the results aren't pretty.

Be happy your body is at least not defying all logic. You're growing a baby, your body wants to hold on to extra weight, you're healthy and active and eating well so just relax.

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J.M.

answers from Boston on

I gained a lot in beginning like u but it slowed a bit then I am sure will pick up in last month, but go easy on yourself, girl!

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J.O.

answers from Detroit on

Mine was 20 total gain, and 35 for the 4 subsequent kids. I ate very healthy but felt I ate too much. I exercised but by trimester 3 (and the whole first) I was too miserable. The weight all came off quickly and the nursing helped so much. I could feel the uterus shrinking as I fed the baby (yep, that hurt when it shrunk, but totally a good thing).

You seem to be doing the right things. Not sure why some gain more than others? That's great you work out and eat paleo!

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M.P.

answers from Raleigh on

I didn't matter what I ate or what I did. I gained 70lbs with my son, and 55 with my daughter. I was constantly harassed by my OB when I was preg with my son. It drove me nuts! But with my second, they didn't say a word. They said since I lost all the weight before, no reason to think I wouldn't with my second.
It all fell right off, too.
Some women just gain more weight than others. I am thin to begin with, so my body just hung on to every little calorie.
Enjoy yourself, make healthy decisions, and don't stress!

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K.H.

answers from Minneapolis on

your kidding right? when i was preg with both my kids over 30 yrs ago i went from 105 to 317..they both weighed a bit over 12 pounds and i carried for 10 months.i was young n lost it fast.back then to go thru all of that was no biggy-now its a sin to gain more than 35..my my my how things have changed over the yrs huh?..oh and i had both all natural-no drugs,no nuthin..your gonna gain weight as the baby grows-plain n simple..take it easy on yourself..your preg.

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J.R.

answers from Davenport on

Hey, don't be so hard on yourself sounds like you are doing it all perfectly and your body knows what you and the baby need, so as long as you know you are eating healthily and in the right calorie range, and getting exercise, even just going for walks, since I assume you won't be doing cardio kickboxing in month 8&9, you are all good. Everyone gains differently, our bodies really do know what they are doing, and as long as your Dr. or midwife keep an eye on hypertension and diabetes, the weight doesn't matter too much in my eyes, and you lost it before, you can do it again. Remember when you are pregnant and nursing, you are giving your all, your whole body for another person, you are doing what's right, don't get hung up on a specific number.

I have been pregnant 3 times, I have 2 healthy kiddos, and lost one to miscarriage....all three times I gained a pound a week form the first week on - didn't matter how or what I ate or how I exercised or didn't . I was on bedrest for the last 3 months of my first pregnancy and still only gained a pound a week....made me say WTH about al the exercise I was doing before that to keep the weight down and still gained a pound a week! Even with the one we lost at 14 weeks, I gained 14 pounds. So yes, all 3 pregnancies! My body knew what it needed/wanted, apparently. So my total gain was bout 40 pounds give or take a few for my two full term babies, and I am only 5'2" tall, so that put me up to just under 200 pounds , at delivery YIKES!!! I had pregnancy induced hypertension with my first, but never again, and no diabetes. I lost all the weight the first time within a year, and the last pregnancy I lost down to 150, in a year, but then I have somehow acquired a gluten and dairy intolerance that I ma still fighting, which regained me 30 pounds.....I am on an elimination diet to try to get lal the inflammation under control and hopefully will be able to get back to "fighting weight" soon.

good luck, it sounds like you are taking good care of your body and your baby, just don't get obsessed with the numbers, as long as both of you are healthy, it will all work out.

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