There are a lot of comparisons and measurements going on during pregnancy. How many weeks are you? Are you measuring big or small? Does your belly appear big or small? And the whopper – how much weight have you gained?
This topic is probably one of the hottest on the pregnancy forums and often discussed among friends and family members of pregnant women. I’m subscribed to a “My Pregnancy” forum/app where I was assigned to the “September 2015” birth group. In the group, women ask questions of their fellow pregnant “friends” and some of the most common questions are, “How much weight have you gained?” and “I’ve gained X amount at X number of weeks, is it too much or too little!?” The focus on weight gain is driven by the fact that there are “standards” for weight gain which which have been provided by various health organizations and are plastered all over the internet. Each article you read has a caveat “this is the average,” yet many women (and doctors) put too much weight on these guidelines.
I am not immune from this and I’ve had my own small battles throughout my pregnancy. As of now, at 35 weeks pregnant, I have gained 35 pounds. The recommended amount for a women with an average BMI (mine was 19.9 before getting pregnant, with “normal” being 18.5-24.9), is 25-35 pounds for the entire pregnancy. It’s safe to say that I’ll be exceeding this recommended weight gain range (although I have heard it’s not uncommon to lose a few pounds in the last month) and I’m OK with it. When thinking about weight gain in pregnancy before becoming pregnant, I always assumed that since I would work out and eat healthy, I’d gain on the lower end of the range. But sometimes our bodies just do what they need to do and there’s no point to try to stop it.
At this point in my pregnancy, I feel really good. I’ve been working out consistently (about an average of 5-6 times a week plus plenty of walking on top of that. I eat mostly healthy (with a few more indulgences than prior to pregnancy and way more carbs in the first trimester due to non-stop nausea) with plenty of fruits and veggies (at least 6-8 servings most days).I feel confident in the way my body looks and as my belly gets bigger, my confidence actually gets stronger (the hardest part personally for me was in the “not quite showing” phase when you just feel like you look a bit chubby, not necessarily pregnant). Are there a few softer, fuller areas outside of my growing belly? Yes. Have I sent frantic texts to my mama friends asking them how much weight they had gained by XYZ number of weeks, wondering why I was gaining more than expected and looking for reassurance? Yes. Do I sometimes worry how easily it’ll be to lose the weight after baby comes? Yes. But do I think that my weight gain is “unhealthy” because I’m going outside of the recommended guidelines? Absolutely not.
And the guidelines about weight gain aren’t just limited to an overall number. Each trimester has a specific weight gain recommendation. Should I have starved myself or force fed myself vegetables during the first trimester despite overwhelming nausea to stop the 8 lb weight gain (recommended amount in first trimester is 2-4 lbs at most)? Even asking that question sounds crazy doesn’t it? Yet so many women become obsessed with the scale and the numbers during pregnancy. On my September birth group forum, the weight gain and losses were nowhere near this range – some women in the first trimester lost 15 pounds from constant nausea and vomiting and others gained 15 pounds, likely as result of some combination of fluid retention, increased carbohydrate and comfort food intake to ease constant nausea, and fat storing to prepare the body for childbearing. I read on some forums that some women obsessively weigh themselves daily. Others get reprimanded from their doctors for gaining even 1 pound over the minimum of 25 while other women who gain 60 lbs get absolutely no scolding from their doctors.
Are there good reasons NOT to gain too much weight in pregnancy? Yes. Excess weight gain is associated with conditions such as high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, premature labor, and preclampsyia, but weight gain alone doesn’t mean that you will or will not develop any of these conditions. It’s essential to look past the scale and at the overall habits of the individual before assessing whether weight gain is healthy or unhealthy. On that same token, it’s not realistic to eat 100% healthy all the time – a few extra indulgences during pregnancy are completely normal and probably encouraged as long as the overall diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and proteins. I know I certainly enjoy my nightly ice cream! It’s also not realistic to maintain the same level of fitness that you did prior to pregnancy. As long as you’re getting out to at least walk or move in same way on most days, you’re being active enough to remain healthy.
Everyone gains differently- some gain a lot in the beginning and little at the end, while others lose in the first trimester but make up for it later on. I remember reading Beth Gerdes, the pro triathlete’s experience with weight gain in pregnancy on her blog (post here) – she gained a lot early on and then evened out, but still struggled with it. Reading her honest account of weight gain during pregnancy on her blog made me feel better about my early weight gain in the first trimester (seriously, look at her now – super fit, winning Ironman triathlons and headed to Kona with a healthy little girl, clearly it didn’t matter at all!) and I hope that sharing my experience and thoughts here will help ease some fears of currently pregnant or wanting to become pregnant women.
What are your thoughts on pregnancy weight gain?
I fly into a RAGE when I see the “how much have you gained” posts on BBC. All these women get on there and brag about only gaining 5 or 10 pounds at 35 weeks … well, I hate to say it, but that either means you were overweight to begin with or severely sick this pregnancy. It makes other pregnant women, who’ve gained closer to the recommended 25-35, feel like crap. My doc said I could gain 15 lbs or 60 lbs and she wouldn’t care. She knows I workout, eat healthy-ish, and generally won’t go overboard.
Yeah the braggers are the worst! It’s all bad. But I definitely couldn’t stop reading the posts in the beginning. Now I avoid them!
I gained 35 lb with my first son, no weight gain between weeks 37 and 40. When I came home from hospital, two days after giving birth – 20lb from that weight was gone, and my son was around 8lb. With my second son, I gained 40 lb, and expected to see 20lb drop when I got home. But I had lost only 12 lb, and his weight was close to 10lb. But it took me about the same time to lose all my pregnancy weight – 1 year. I started walking daily 2 weeks after my boys were born, and running when they were 6 weeks old.
If you think women go nuts talking about their pregnancy weight, it is even worse when the competition starts who can lose the most and the fastest. That was actually the hardest for me, not to get upset and not to compare myself with others.
My advice – Enjoy your pregnancy and your baby, do not worry about your weight!
Thanks Ina – totally agree, it’s not the time to worry about it!
Luckily my midwife hasn’t been too worried about weighing me, and I don’t have scales at home… so I don’t really know how much I’ve gained. Early on in my pregnancy I read Beth Gerdes’ post about weight gain and really loved her take on it – your body is going to do what it needs to do for the baby. It really helped me to accept the change and realise that the vast majority of it is baby life support and not extra flab on me! It’s crazy when people brag about how ‘little’ they’ve gained – it’s the one time in your life you should absolutely want and need to gain weight to keep yourself and baby healthy! You look great Nicole!
Thanks Susie! I’m glad your midwife is on the same page!
I didn’t worry about it too much…even when my doctor told me partway through I was gaining on the high side. I gained about 40lbs, but 2 weeks postpartum I am already down almost 30. As long as you aren’t going crazy with eating junk food there’s no need to worry 🙂 that’s how I thought of it!
Yeah that’s a great way to look at it and glad to know you lost 30 pounds so quickly too!
I have been avoiding looking at things like this. I figure my body knows what its doing — if I eat when I’m actually hungry, and stop when I’m not… and eat mostly healthy, I figure all is going well. It IS pretty tough sometimes to gain all this weight and have so many changes in the body. Glad to see you’re happy with where you are at and not going too crazy over it too.
That’s a very healthy way to look at it! I’m glad you don’t get sucked into the forums and comparisons!
Thank you so much for this post. I needed it this week as I became very emotional during my 36 week check-in, finding out that my weight gain is now at 37 pounds. This was a great reminder that we are all different, and that our bodies are going to do what they need to do in order to create and carry a healthy baby through 9 months! This really puts things in perspective.
Glad to hear it helped Kristen! You have stayed so healthy and active – you have nothing to worry about! (And you look great!)
Love this! Just remember, breastfeeding burns 500+ calories per day 🙂
One big surprise for me when I had Camden was that I still looked pregnant for the first few days, even couple of weeks, after birth. Apparently the uterus actually takes quite a while to shrink back to its normal size!
I agree with the other post from Ina that realistically it takes about a year or so to get back to pre-pregnancy weight, although like everything else this will vary so much for each woman. Of course, right after I got back to my pre-preggo weight, I became pregnant with #2 and was back to gaining weight 🙂
Yes looking forward to that breast feeding calorie burn! All I have to do is drop my nightly ice cream and add breast feeding and I’ll be set! Haha. 🙂
Yes I’ve been made aware of the post pregnancy belly 🙁 ! They said to expect to look 4 months pregnant – since I wasn’t showing them I’m guessing it’ll be more like 6 months!
With my first pregnancy I did not have a problem with the belly. My pants, skirts and dresses did not fit quite right, but my belly did not show, I was wider in the hip area. Second time around it was the belly. So again, remember we are all different 🙂
Such a great post. When I found out I was pregnant I had come off of two marathon training cycles, was my lowest weight since college, and felt great. That being said I gained 60lbs while pregnant and I was working out 3 times a week and walking 3-5 times a week. In labor the midwife said my little guy would be easily 8-9 or more pounds based on height and weight gain. He was 6. I am not sure if I hadn’t gained that much how big he would have ended up being but he came at 37 weeks 2 days and I am thankful every time I look at him that I gained 60 rather then 25 because I’m not sure if I would have the healthy flourishing baby boy that I do.
You look gorgeous and you are going to rock the Fit Mom just like you did with a Fit Pregnancy.
Thanks for sharing your experience Stephanie! And thank you for the confidence in me ! 🙂
Escape the comparison trap at all costs! This is just the beginning and you need to NOT play the comparison game at all. It starts with the pregnancy weight gain, then who gets back into their pre-preg jeans first then the whole baby thing of when he/she is doing what and how they are growing and it never ends. Information is always good but you need to have confidence in yourself and your body. It will do what is right. There will be controversy with how often to feed your baby; on demand or schedule and don’t hold he/she too much or they will spoiled and on and on. I had 4 babies(a set of twins) and breastfed them when everyone and the stats all said I couldn’t do it. I made the choices that I felt were right for me, my child and my family. Be confident in yourself. You and your husband are starting your OWN family. Do what you think is right. Don’t get caught up in the numbers and comparisons for anything (for at least the next 18 years) lol!
Thank you for the perspective Lesley! I am glad I wrote this post because it has been great to hear the feedback – the moral of the story is do your own thing and don’t look back!
At my 29 week appt I was already up 27 pounds so I’m already close to the recommended pounds for the entire pregnancy. I have a feeling I will end up near 35 pounds gained or higher. I have tried not to stress about it and only see my weight when I go to the dr’s office so I don’t stress about it at home. Like you, I have remained really active and am eating mostly the same foods I was pre-pregnancy. I figure my body is just doing what it needs to do and there’s no point stressing about it. I’m more worried about getting stretch marks than my weight!!
So so so true! It’s easy to compare to others, but every pregnancy is sooooo different. I’m at a phase right now where food isn’t all that appealing to me, but my mom keeps making me feel guilty for not gaining much. It just hits everyone differently – and by “it” I mean everything from cravings to metabolic effects, morning sickness, and even mom’s ability to stay active. Every single piece of it is different, and so is every little baby inside that bump!!
Awesome post! I’m up to my recommended weight gain of 25lbs at 25 weeks and feel horrible about it. I dread thinking about what’s going to happen over my next 14-15 weeks. I always remind myself that I am still working out consistently and eating mostly healthy, so my body is going to do whatever it needs to support a healthy pregnancy, but it doesn’t take the sting away when you see those numbers. Thank you for such a perfect post about a sensitive topic.
You’re welcome! Glad it helped 🙂 I was at the same point at 25 weeks – don’t feel horrible!!!
It’s been so interesting to see all the comments on this post! Since a lot of the people commenting are probably more active and fit than the average American woman, I wonder if women who are extremely fit before pregnancy tend to actually gain much more, on average, and this is perfectly normal? Perhaps they should have different recommendations depending on where you started out before pregnancy.
Yeah I’ve had that same thought!!
so i’m currently 17 weeks pregnant and have gained almost 15 pounds already—similar to you, I was extremely fit prior (i’m a nutritionist and fitness instructor) so I just could not understand the rapid weight gain. Sure, I was eating more carbs than usual my first trimester, but it’s not like I was eating massive junk food and fast food…and still working out 5-6 days a week. I still don’t get it, but honestly reading blogs like this really help me through it! I’m hoping I’m not on track for 60 pound weight gain…I’d still like to stay with the 35 range =/ .. thank you for sharing!!!
Glad to help Cindy! I ended up gaining 45 pounds and I’m almost back to my preprgnancy weight at 6 months postpartum (and wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes/jeans). Don’t worry too much – it does seem that a lot of people who start out fit seem to gain on the upper end of the spectrum (although that’s not always the case, but seems to be a trend!).
That’s awesome that you bounced back so quickly! I hear that’s the upside of staying active during pregnancy! Any other tips? Thanks for being so honest…it’s overwhelming to step on that damn scale at the doctors office haha…you look amazing in the pregnancy pics you posted anyway so probably was all fluid!