Getting in Shape While Pregnant?

I also gained almost 60 lbs. and I got preg. again when my daughter was 10 mos old. I had only lost about 30 when I got preg. again. However my doctor told me I could keep excercising how I had been before I got Preg. as long as it felt ok and I have lost 8 lbs since then. I have only lost because I was still a little over weight and a little sick. But he said as long as I was eating well and excercising as much as flet right then I was fine.

When it looked as if I was gaining too much weight with my first (only so far) we invested in an elliptical cardio-machine...i loved it. I did a lot of prenatal yoga and walking. I still gained 60 lbs though---now it's all gone and then some, when all is said and done training for a triathlon is a SUPER weightloss plan, I highly recommend it!

All the info here already is great. I don't know if anyone said this yet, but you cannot ride a bike while pregnant.. I love biking and that was one of the 1st things I asked my doc :( There are just too many risks if you do happen to fall. Best things for you are walking and swimming and a healthy diet. Best wishes and congrats!

Gosh, you and I have a lot in common. I, too, started my family in my mid-thirties, and had already been fighting the "battle of the bulge" (and not exactly winning it, either). I gained 35 pounds with the first, lost some, and gained most of it back. Then I got pregnant again. I went into my doc and started asking questions.

I was told not to cut food, but to make sensible choices (feed the baby first - and you don't let a baby eat double ice cream sundaes, right?). Exercise is okay, as long as there are no contraindications, and if you've not been very active, now is not the time to start something intense like running or extreme mountain biking. I was told walking, dancing, yoga, stationary bike were all good choices. I took up yoga, and kept it up throughout the pregnancy. I credit yoga with keeping me in decent shape, and I gained a healthy-but-not-excessive 19 pounds with my boy. I think the yoga helped me get rid of the weight afterward, too - that 19 pounds was gone in 6 months. (Of course, the weight I gained with my daughter is still with me - can I still blame it on the baby if she's 7?)
Anyway, whatever you do, do it in consultation with your health care provider.
Hope this helps.

If you have excess weight and eat healthfully/exercise during your pregnancy, you could lose weight while being pregnant. That is hard to do because sometimes being pregnant makes you feel hungry almost constantly. Of course the best time to lose weight is before or after a pregancy. Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't feel like losing weight while being pregnant. But if you want to undertake it, I have some ideas. Personally, If it were me, I would go forward with the diet plan you were going to do, but add in extra servings of fruit, vegetables, whole grain breads, milk, low sugar/fat yogurt as needed. It seems that Weight Watchers may have a program for nursing moms which would probably be good for pregnant women as well.

Additionally, here are some ideas and tips to consider:

1) Research shows that people who regularly eat breakfast weigh less than those who don't.

2) Research shows that women who drink milk regularly weigh less than those who don't.

3) Research shows that women who get 8 hours of sleep weigh less than those who don't get enough sleep, this especially applies to post-pregnancy (making a great case for new moms to nap when their babies nap, the ideal time being 12 hours after your night-time sleep midpoint).

4) Pregnant moms only need an extra 200-300 calories per day (a piece of toast with a little butter and a banana for example). So it's easy to gain more than the recommended 25-35 pounds... too easy since many of us feel like eating all the time while pregnant... add emotional eating or snack popping while watching tv into the mix and no wonder we are gaining too much.

5) Take inspiration from people who lose weight successfully the old fashioned way (watch the Biggest Loser, or at least the finale).

Lastly, I will say that it is definitely lifestyle changes and health habits that make for long term good health and healthy weight. I lost 60 pounds, but it took me 6 years to do... little things like not eating in the eveing after dinner when my body didn't need food, not wasting calories on things that I didn't love (for instance, to me doughnuts are just okay, so if I have the opportunity to eat a doughtnut, I don't), avoiding buying things that are a temptation, eating smaller portions but really savoring what I like.

Recently my weight was creeping up and I went off sweets for 3 weeks to get myself out of the habit of snacking.

I guess I have said enough and I hope something I said is helpful. Good luck H.!

Also, Walking and swimming are great exercises that are not too hard on a pregnant body.

One last thought, we are all different and our bodies are different... things like heredity and genetics have a lot to do with body type. Focus on healthy habits and loving yourself and your body. God loves you and He wants you to love the beautiful you He created! You do that by doing your best, then accepting yourself, imperfections and all!

Hi H. and congrats
I also waited until I was about 30 before my child was born and I gained almost 70 pounds in my pregnancy. I only lost about 40 of those pounds unfortunately. What I would suggest is talk to your doctor about your concerns and they could usually recommend some exercises for you. I know that swimming is the best for pregnant women so you could always check with the parks and rec and see what programs they have. I hope this helps and gl.

I would actually recommend checking your blood sugar on a regular basis. The most common reason for weight gain these days is actually due to insulin resistance. If you're consuming large amounts of processed foods your insulin may be going out of whack. Ask your doctor about it. My mother, with her seventh child, was told by her doctor to start testing her blood glucose levels. She said it was the best pregnancy EVER. She wasn't as nauseous and only gained 15 pounds the entire pregnancy (which means she was able to lose weight more easily post partum) When both of my sisters became pregnant (one skinny, one already looked pregnant) this was the advice my mother gave them. The skinny one took it, the other didn't. To make a long story short...both delivered girls in April of 2007...and NOW one looks great and the other is still wearing maternity clothes.

eat healthy, walk, biking's okay as long as you don't have an accident. prenatal pilates awesome

H., Congratulations on your pregnancy. YOu want to get into shape and be healthy so start walking one hour a day if possible. Drink mostly water, usually a gallon a day at least. Put a lot of green in your diet. Stay away from high Frutose corn syrup, aspartame, and soda. You may lose a few pounds but because of HCG (a pregnancy hormone)but you will deliver a very healthy child. It has been documented that even in countries that have very little food, mothers still deliver healthy normal size babies. All the best!

H. W

There is a FREE pretty cool website called www.babyfit.com that would have all the information that you would need!

Good Luck

=)K. S

I did water aerobics during my second pregnancy at my doctors advise. I also had gestational diabetes during that pregnancy so it was very important for me to exercise. I fell in love with it and still do it 4 times a week and my son is now 8 months old. Like you, I went into my pregnancy overweight so my doctor told me he wouldn't be unhappy if I didn't gain any weight this time around. I actually lost weight but not a significant amount that my doctor was concerned. On the day I delivered I was 8 lbs under my starting weight. It has also made it so much easier to lose the weight post pregnancy. I am happy to report I am 25 lb lighter than I was before my first pregnancy and 45 lbs light than I was before my second.
Before you start any exercise please make sure to check with you doctor to see what is best for you and your baby!

I was not overweight with my first, but I gained 50 lbs. With my second, I opted to only eat it if it had once lived and to get some excercise everyday (walking was the main thing). I did great, stayed in smalls throughout the pregnancy and delivered a healthy 8 lb 9 oz baby. My first was 7 lbs 2 oz. Just showed me the differences in how I eat, my size and the size of my babies.

I get babyfit newsletters everyday and those really have a lot of great tips! Today's, actually, is very fitting to your question. (http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/articles.asp?id=20)I kept working out throughout both my pregnancies and plan to do so in the future, I biked in the beginning, yoga and A LOT of walking. I would check out www.fitmaternity.com or www.bornfit.com they have a lot of good workout clothes or check out Stroller Strides groups in your area... I need lots of motivation and meeting other moms to workout with helps :) Good luck! I'm sure you'll find something you enjoy!

H.,
First off, I would talk with your doctor before starting much of a program at all & ask your doctor about your specific concerns on weight gain. Your doctor will be honest with you and will keep you and your baby safe.
If you eat healthy & take your prenantal vitamin & exercise you will be able to loose the baby weight much easier than not doing anything at all. Enjoy being pregnant- so happy for you!!!
Best Wishes,
M.

I did the same thing (sorry for being a day late). The best part is that you can do anything as long as you LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Exercizing is the BEST thing you can do while pregnant. As for eating, eat as much fresh fruits and veggies and you can, good lean protein, and stay away from refined sugars, trans fats and white flours. We shouldn't eat those things anyway. Don't expect to loose while you're pregnant, but you could expect to gain a lot less (I only gained 15 lbs with a normal healthy pregnancy). As long as you listen to your body and be sure to snack and not get hungry (don't even think about conventional dieting), you'll be fine. I also reccomend the program Body for LIfe by Bill Phillips. I lost 45 lbs (my husband 55 lbs) on the program, and with a little modificaiton I think you could do well on it. Good luck!

First of all get over this self put down stuff! How can you feel that you Deserve to me a healthy weight when you are telling yourself how average you are? Find something to love about yourself and your body everyday. You might want to get a copy of What To Say When You Talk to Yourself by Shad Helmsetter.
Talk to your doctor about a healthy diet and an exersize program that is right for you. Some women who have worked out hard regularly continue doing so but this isn't the time to take up a hard core program as a newbee. Brisk walking is always good and most health clubs or workout centers should have info on exersizing through pregnancy. Remember pregnancy is a natural function not an illness appropriate exersize will make it easier to deliver.
As far as diet, I've done all kinds of elimination diets for allergies and various health reasons and can attest that the first rule is to eat nutriant dense foods. Why not start by removing all fried foods and all forms of soda from your diet? If you drink fruit juices, drink only the 100% juice kind and water it down - it contains more calories than you make think. Avoid non-nutriative "healthy" foods such as iceburg lettuce, eat spinach and romaine instead. Dump the thick creamy salad dressings in favor of balsamic vinegar and virgin olive oil. (vinegar aids digestion and may reduce heartburn) Watch out for hidden added calories, for example, if you buy canned products such a kidney or black beans read the lables. They have not only salt but added sugar while the salt free variety is usually also free of sugar. Just add your own salt to taste when you prepare them. It's better to eat several small meals a day rather than a couple large ones. Keep a food diary for a couple weeks - you may be surprised at how and where your are sabotoging yourself. I love those little Dove dark chocolate Promises but realized that they were adding ###-###-#### calories a day to my otherwise healthy diet!
Bottom line you have to burn more calories than you consume and the best way is to eat a moderate healthy diet and to exersize. You can do it! I hit 200 lbs with my second child having been 115 most of my adult life. That was an 85 pound gain, some over years and some in two pregnacies. Now at 50 I wear a size 8 or 6. I did it with walking/running and a reasonable diet. An added benefit is that you will be setting the standard for your kids to live active healthy lives too.

Your diet during pregnancy is very important. Stay away from refined sugar as much as possible. Eat fresh fruit and vegetables along with protein and stay away from processed foods. You might follow a diet similar to that for a diabetic. Walk as much as you can and if you have access to cardio machines whether at home or a health club this will help keep your weight down. It's also lower impact (usually) but don't over do it.
In general, be very aware of what you are putting in your body. No matter what your genetic background is eating healthy food is key to be healthy inside and out.

Talk to you doctor and if you can't get the answers your looking for search the web.

Congratulations and Good Luck

I have heard that it will be better to maintain weight (neither gain nor loose) durig pregnance when starting out like you are...but I'm not an expert.
I would suggest you talk to your doctor. He can recommend a fitness routine and eating plan, or refer you to someone who can, that will be safe and healthy for you and your little one.
I also spent a lot of time in the pool when I was pregnant. Good exercise and toning, and the buoyance made me feel less heavy.

Hi H. and congrats...

I am a women who starts out small before a baby and then gets HUGE.... Yes I eventually lose it all again but what I did was walk. WALK WALK WALK all the time.. Wether I only had time for around the block or taking a hour or so to go to the mall and window shop..
People don't realize but walking is a great exercise when you can't do anything else. If you are worried about to much weight gain talk to your doc about foods that are better than others..
Good Luck

Hi H.,
Just a quick reply to your overweight and excercise problem.
Walking is that an option? It is a great way to walk the inches and weight off! Please check out www.cinchplan.com/focus2 This will give you lot's of information to lose your inches and weight and different ways to exercise! If you have questions please give me a call...
D.
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If you can afford it, get a stationary bike. It is safe while pregnant, you can't fall off. you can start easy while still gaining muscle and staying fit. It actually helps strengthen your joints too, without the high impact. It is also something you can do while your first is napping or playing. I love mine, and use it all the time. 30 min of some sort of exercise a day is recommended. It will help you loose the weight so much faster after your baby is born. good luck
E.

My understanding is that you should look to basically maintain your health during pregnancy, not to expect to reach new levels of health. Most exercise you are accustomed to doing before pregnancy should be fine to continue as long as it is comfortable, but I have always been told it is not a great time to start new exercises.

That being said, swimming and water aerobics are excellent ways to maintain physical activity during pregnancy. The bouyancy of the water reduces the chances of damage to your joints and ligaments, which is of especial concern during pregnancy. I took a prenatal water aerobics class during my last pregnancy and it was WONDERFUL! Since the class was designed with pregnant women in mind, the exercises are quite safe, and it was very easy to work to my own physical comfort level without pushing too far. Towards the end, it also felt wonderful being in the water... basically the only relief I had!

Regarding diet, if you are eating healthy whole foods, whatever weight you gain is ultimately okay. Its only when you are eating junk that the weight gain becomes a concern. As you already know, pregnancy is NOT a time to diet. Be sure to feed you baby with the best foods you can find. You have plenty of time to take excess weight off later!

Have a wonderful pregnancy!

Best of luck,
S.

I sympathize with you. I had some pre-existing illnesses going into my pregnancy, and the doctors made it clear that I was very likely to have preclampsia and the only thing I could do to mitigate the risk was to keep my weight down. This was good motivation, and I was able to keep it to about 30 pounds. I found that the hardest part was the first trimester, since I didn't have morning sickness and I had stopped jogging. (It's probably okay to keep jogging, but there was, um, too much jiggling on top.) During the second and third trimesters it was easier because I had established good eating habits and had trouble eating all that much anyway.

I think the normal recommendation is not to try to increase the amount of exercise you do a whole lot during pregnancy, but try to maintain what you can do now. That said, I think if you are careful to only go as far as you feel comfortable, yoga and swimming are options where you can try to improve over where you are now, at least during the first trimester.

I would try to eat a very healthy diet. Try to use whole grains or potatoes for ALL your carbohydrates. Drink lots of water and some milk, if you can tolerate it. Eat five servings a day of fruits and vegetables, including leafy greens at least once a day. Eggs are good for pregnant women... you can eat two a day if you want. Eat some protein with every meal. I found that once I'd made myself eat all of that, I couldn't even look at dessert, so I didn't gain that much. On the other hand, it took a lot of work to make sure I had that quantity of fruits and vegetables around all the time.

Eating a good balanced diet is good for anyone. Although a very rigid one may not be good, eating healthy things like lots of fruits and veggies are good for you and the baby. Try eating when your hungry and stopping when your full, this will help you not to overeat. Exercising is also good but don't over do it-walking and water aerobics (until your about 8months) are very good and will help you not to over do it. Most importantly, involve your doctor in your decision on diet and excercise. They can have some really good advice. M.

So H.,
Since you are already pregnant, this is absolutely NOT the time to start dieting ( or stop eating or worrying about weight). However, if you want to watch the "bad" weight gain and just work on "good" (baby, placenta and blood volume) weight gain, I highly recommed the "No-Risk Pregnancy Diet" by Dr. Tom Brewer. You can check out the website blueribbonbaby.org to see what you should be eating/drinking and what not to be eating or drinking.

Just so you know, though, you have to be diligent in what you choose to put in your diet and more diligent in what you DON'T eat--lots of sugars will cause you to gain fatty weight and will also make your baby fat, but not healthy. The Brewer Diet teaches you how much of what foods you should be eating. This diet is well-known to prevent all kinds of complications and issues, like preeclampsia, etc.

It is important that you start eating well the FIRST trimester--this is the foundation of your pregnancy and baby's health, the development part creating a healthy placenta and baby. If you check out heritagehomebirth.com and look at the helpful links section, you'll see other site regarding nutrition and pregnancy tips. Also, read "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin, the best book I've ever read on pregnancy and birth as a whole--(it's educational and fun).

Walking, swimming, yoga are good exercises (1/2 hour a day)--you should not overdo it however. Start slow and build--running is a no-no; your uterus hangs by ligaments and if these tear or stretch to much, it will cause a lot of pain and potential permanent damage.

After your baby is born, the best way to lose weight is to maintain a healthy nutrition level and breastfeed. I gained 30 lbs. (I was 120lbs to start) and lost it pretty much as my babies were born, both very healthy and strong 7lbs. (I'm 5'2")--I tribute this to the Brewer diet: lots of protein, whole grains and mainly dark green veggies. and WATER!!!

Good luck Mommy and Congrats!
J.

I have done pregnancy work out videos and other things to stay in shape during pregnancy. After 3 pregnancies I have found that you can do pretty much anything you are able to do apart from pregnancy just within your body's comfort level. Walking is honestly still #1! Biking is great as well. A safe pilates is good (the stretching is great for your body and circulation). Eating right, ofcourse. When we get pregnant all the tv shows kind of give us "permission" to go crazy on every kind of food, but honestly, self-control can and should be exercised during pregnancy. If not for your health, for the baby's. Plus, it makes for an easier delivery and recoop! Oh, but after the first trimester, you shouldn't do any stomach exercises that require you to lie on your back. Ok, that's all I got. Hope it helps.

Pretend you have gestational diabetes and strictly follow the diet for it. Your doctor can give you the details.

I was in the same boat with my second and didn't want to gain (again) to much weight. I just started walking everywhere, seriously everywhere. I eleminated sugar, caffine and really fatty foods. I only gained about 20 lbs, which was right on target for me, and because I was used to my new lifestyle I was able to keep it off and drop another 20 lbs after my daughters birth. It wasn't easy at times but I used the baby as motivation. I would always keep in mind that I was making healthy changes for the her. Good luck and Congratulations!!!

There is a great website: www.slimmomcoach.com that will help you eat right and give you great exercises to do while you're pregnant. It's basically eating 5 mini meals a day (each meal contains a 1/2 C of each -- protein, carb, and color carb (veges and fruit).

Then after you have your baby, check out their sister company called: www.slimbodycoach.com. (I was the Round 1 winner last year). They are great sites on how to change your lifestyle for the better because it really teaches you how to eat right to have lots of energy.

Best wishes, D.

You should be fine to exercise while pregnant. With my first, I ran, walked, weight lifted, took pilates and ate well balanced meals. It may be a good idea to speak to your Dr. first. He/she may have reccomendations to make sure the baby is getting all the nutrients she or he needs. There are also lots of books you can explore on the matter of a good dieat while pregnant. The earlier you start the better as you will be able to keep it up during the entire pregnancy. Good luck and Congratulations!

A healthy diet and exercise program is a good idea. Have you thought of water clases? It takes the stress off the body and helps you to exercise.
Cahty B

a nurse friend of mine started gaining too much at the beginning of her pregnancy so she focused on eating a lot more fruits and vegetables. it made a big difference with her weight. thanks to my cravings for vegetables during this pregnancy and aversions to just about everything else, especially meats and sweets, i have been slow to gain weight and i'm thrilled because i started this pregnancy overweight. so if you can stand vegetables right now, i recommend eating as many as possible! of course combined with something like beans and rice to get protein.
i love your "a little about me".

Don't "diet" but eat as healty as you can. I was overweight when I got pregnant with my dd. I too was just gearing up for some weight loss--I couldn't take prenatals so I was worried about getting in enough good foods. Ironically what I hadn't been able to do for myself, I was able to do for my baby. I ate small meals throughout the day, my snacks were healthy (dried cranberries, or other dried fruits, without the sugars...a slice of whole wheat bread, carrots...etc....) made sure I was drinking tons of water, I figured if I had to pee all the time anyway, might as well! lol. I cut out most sugar, although Red Vines were the only thing that didn't make me nausious. I stopped drinking my cokes. I didn't gain any weight during my pregnancy. None. My body redistributed the weight. The baby continued to grow and was healthy and strong. I kept expecting to see the scale go up, but it never did. I was actually 3 pounds lighter when I had dd. She is now 2 and healthy and vibrant...I took care of myself to the best of my abililty and it was enough. I walked a lot because it was about all I could do. The last half of my pregnancy I was on bed rest. So I couldn't keep up the workouts but I chewed a lot of gum instead of mindless eating in bed--and didn't let my dh bring me anything but the right proportions of my meals. I just focused on going forward. I was okay with gaining some weight if I needed to for my baby, we had already lost one. I just wanted to do whatever I could to have a healhty baby. I guess what I am trying to say is focus on your health, don't stress about dieting because that isn't healhty right now, but focus on getting the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. If you can take prenatals great. I had to get folic acid and then took flinstones vitamins because it was the iron that made me sick! hehe...I was too self conscious to go swimming but I wish I hadn't been. I got a pedometer though and was trying to get in my 10,000 steps each day (up until the bedrest) You can do this, you obviously care very much about your baby, and your health and I think that those are the two components you need. GL!!

Hi H.. first congratulations! it's so exciting and easier in some ways to have a second child. at least you know what to expect this time. at least that's how i felt.
now...you said you have weak ankles, try some swimming, which is low impact but still a full body work out. second, don't diet, eat healthily but still indulge in your favorites. if your a chocoholic like i am, buy a bag of your fav single candy. then indulge when you need chocolate. after your baby is born, and this is what i did, eat three meals a day, but only half of it, with healthy snacks in between when your hungry. do this for about three weeks. it's a great way to retrain your appetite, i had to after having three babies in four years. good luck!

Hey H.! Congrats! Wow! How exciting. I also understand your fear. The whole been there done that comes to mind.

I haven't read the other responses so sorry if this is a repeat. I would say to talk to your doc. But most woman can still watch what they eat and exercise while pregnant. I knew a girl who was a little on the bigger side and gained a lot of weight with baby #1 so for #2 her doc said she only needs to gain about 10 to 15 pounds. To help her he put her on a diet plan and she did only gain about 15 for the whole pregnancy. And you can exercise while pregnant but I have heard the rule is to only do what you were doing before you were pregnant. so if you bike a few miles a few times a week you can still do that or what ever. My sis is pregnant and just ran a half marathon so just know your limits and don't over do it. Good luck and congrats on the new baby!

You can safely ride bike until the middle of the second trimester, when the baby starts getting bigger and throwing you off balance. Probably the best thing you can do is eat plenty of fruits, veggies, and whole grains, eat small meals often, and go walking. It's not wise to start a workout routine while your pregnant, but it's ok to continue one after you are. Your body is going thru enough changes as it is and starting a workout might be too much for you. But walking every day is a good way to start. Yoga is also really great in pregnancy. They make yoga videos, or I'm sure if you search you can find a prenatal yoga class. Buy a book about eating while pregnant so you can make sure you get the foods you need and know how much to eat. What To Eat When You're Expecting is a good one, but there are many others out there. Stay away from foods high in fat and sugar. Good luck!

Hey There,
I did yoga my entire pregnancy and it helped keep me in shape and prenatal classes will get you strong for child birth. I also walked everyday. I gained 22 pounds total and lost it right away ding the same thing (yoga with modifications in the first 12 weeks postpartum and walking). I also suggest eating several small meals so you don't get overly hungry and eat junk. Remember that you only need to eat an extra 300 calories a day to gain proper pregnancy weight (you can get that in a high quality protein shake). Don't stress too hard about it, just make sure that your diet and exercise are making you feel energized, you'll need all the energy you can get with two little ones! Congrats on the baby and good luck.