Hi everyone!

Hope you are all having a good day/evening. I am sure weight is an issue for everyone, but I am paranoid because my mom gained 80 lbs when she was pregnant, the books tell me that I should probably gain between 25-35 lbs, but my doctor says that because I am so overweight already (she said I am borderline obese...which call it denial, but I refuse to believe that) that I should try to only gain 5 lbs at the most during the entire pregnancy. I am 5'8 and as of this morning 186 lbs. I know I am slightly overweight, but I am afraid if I try to stick to only gaining that 5 lbs that I might harm the baby by not getting enough nutrients. 

 Not to put anyone on the spot, but has anyone else's doctor advised them to try not to gain too much weight due to current weight? What do you recommend? This is my first child so I am not sure what is considered normal...especially with such a diversity in answers (5 to 80 lb gains).

 Thanks for all the support and advice and best of luck to all of you.

Hecena, I am certainly not going against your Dr's advise...but, if you manage to only gain 5 lbs during your pregnancy, then honey, you will need to share your secrets with all of us.

I am average weight per my height...I started off at 129 lbs and I am 5'8".  In my first trimester, I lost weight...went down to 123 lbs.  I went back up to 127 by 22 weeks and 3 short weeks later, I was up another five pounds, which is where I am at now.  I am 25 weeks and 132 lbs and I have 3 more months to go.  I eat as healthy as can be; of course, I fall off the wagon every now and then when a craving hits. 

My best advise to you is to eat as healthy as you can and try to work out.  I don't work out heavily.  I try to walk after dinner to help the food digest since breathing has become a little challenging with my growing baby.  Bottom line is to try to stay healthy throughout your pregnancy for yourself and your baby.  If your Dr really thinks that you should only gain 5 lbs, then I would ask her/him to recommend a nutritionist that can help you maintain a healthy weight.

Good luck and congratulations on your pregnancy.  Enjoy it as much as possible.  =)

Shaila

 Well with my 1st I gained 60 lbs, going from 130 to 190 and with my second I went from 175 to 205. This is my 3rd and I started at 200 and have gained 1 1/2 lbs so far.I know I am overweight, but my doc hasnt said anything to me about it. I told him the max I am going to gain is 15 lbs if that, and he told me good luck! LOL! I am determined not to mention I am a nurse and on my feet all day long, so I think that has helped to keep the weight off so far!I dont think I would call you slightly obese at all especially for your height, but I am not the doctor. Anyways dont let weight be a big stressful issue for you. I refuse to weigh myself at home only when I go to docs every 4 weeks that way I dont get upset if I think I gained some. Enjoy this pregnancy!!!!

Hello Hecena,

I'm 5'3 and with my first pregnancy I started out at 134 then i went to 166. With my second I went from 145 to 173. With this one I started out at 184 and so far I have only gained a pound and I'm 22 weeks. I really think the more weight you have on you before the pregnancy the less you gain mainly due to the fact that you already have a lot of growing room. I would just stick to eating as healthy as you can and not trying to stick to how much you weigh. The truth is the more you worry the more you will eat and then you will gain more. Thirty pound is perfectly acceptable to me not that I would want to go against what your Dr. says but if you think about it your baby itself will be at least six to seven pounds on average then your carrying around around a gallon of water plus the average c boob weighs seven pounds a piece if your like your already up to a d so that more weight, plus all the placenta it really adds up. I found that within about two weeks of having my kids I had already drop 20 pounds. Well I hope that helps a little to ease your mind.

Beth

Hello,

I am around the same weight as you are and my doctor told me to keep it to about 15 pounds.  I gained 85 with my first and lost it all then gained 65 with the second, lost it then gained about 35-40 more.  I would say that we are about the same range for height and weight I can't imagine only gaining 5 pounds.   Good Luck to you and just stay healthy.  Don't worry about the weight- you can take care of that later if you happen to gain 30 instead of 15 or as your doctor says 5.

Hi,

Well, when I searched out an OB, I told myself I wanted a doctor that would not predispose his opinions on me because of my weight and my age. I am please to say I did find one, he hasn't said anything negative about my weight, 216 lbs and holding, and I am 38. If he put a weight constriction on me right away, I would definelty ask him to refer me to a nutritionist. Five pounds is barely enough to count your baby if you even have one that small, whiich I hope you won't. The nurse at the health dept. told me to gain about 15 pounds. I believe that won't be a problemfor me, I think my metabolism wakes up when I am pg, cuz I only gained 13 with my last, and 7 with the one before that. My problem is when I nurse my babies, my cravings wake up and everything looks good, so I eat it. I gain more while nursing than while pg. Crazy huh? Try to relax and enjoy your pg, don't let some kind of five pound constriction ruin your pg. :You can always try your best to take it off when you have your baby safe in your arms.  Good luck!!

Well I say gain what you feel is comfy for you dont neglect yourself at all eat what you think is healthy I gained 77 lbs with my first son leaving me at 197 lbs im only 5 ft 61/2 inches which I lost all but 10 lbs leaving me a little over 130lbs my second son I gained 45 lns with and went back to my almost my starting weight Now I am weighing 141 lbs I had gained 3/4 a lb and by the next visit lost it I go to the dr tues and I wouldnt say I have gained any weight at this point of time even though I have went up 2 pants sizes I dont think I ve gained anything and im a little over 17 weeks I eat what I want and I dont worry about it Like I said eat what you comfy with its your body thats what gyms are for... enjoy your pregnancy worry about the weight later.

Wow! I can't believe he actually said 5 pounds. Someone posted that they are the same weight as you and their Dr told them 15, well that's more the norm. Underweight mom's should gain at least 35 pounds, avg. mom's should be 25 to 35 and overweight mom's should try to keep it at under 20 pounds. I think for your Dr to tell you to only gain 5 pounds, he is basically telling you to lose weight during your pregnancy b/c that's the only way for your baby to grow and you to only gain 5 lbs. I am not saying it's impossible but you do not weigh that much to begin with and that's how he starts off your relationship? I would suggest finding a new Dr while you still can! My Dr's have not once said anything about my weight, there's no need, we all know I'm fat, but I only gained 17 lbs with the first and 12 lbs with the second and so far with this one I weigh 2 lbs less than when I started 6 months ago. I would just like to add that I have gestational diabetes and am following a very strict no sugar, low carb diet. So, yes it can be done but the question is do you need to only gain 5 lbs to have a healthy pregnancy? I would say NO! Find a new Doc or set this one straight. Good luck to you!

5 pounds? That doesn't sound right. You probably should get a second opinion on that. 

I think that it's really hard to say that everyone in a certain situation should gain a certain amount.  I started out at a happy 125 and am now at least 150, as of my last appt, and I have 2.5 more months to go.  I workout and eat okay, but admit that the cravings do ge tthe best of me more than I'd like.  I have remained thin everywhere except for the belly and boobs, so for me it seems okay that I have already gained my 25 lbs that I was hoping to not go over.  I expect to gain at least another 10 lbs and with all the water retention that is plagueing me, who knows.  My point is, your weight gain (or lack of) is all specific to you and what your body needs.  Try to eat healthfully and get that all-important exercise as often as you can.  Don't preoccupy yourself with your weight, just know that you are doing what you need to do to keep your baby healthy and safe in there.

for my last couple pregnancies i will tell you what i was/am.. with my son (05) i started out at about 135 ended at 179 (i am 5 7) with the next one in 06 i started at 179 and ended at 193 or so... this time i am starting at 163 or so... i just try to eat healthier but i am not obssesed with my weight..

sue