Weight Loss and Pregnancy Do Not Mix

I feel terribly neglectful that I have not been posting as regularly as I usually do.  There has been so many exciting things going on in my life that blogging has taken a bit of a back seat, but I am hoping to turn that around. Every day I see new comments to the posts I’ve written from people who have questions or have found them helpful. This motivates me to keep blogging about weight loss even if my own goals in this area are having to change.

I find there are two key similarities between weight loss and pregnancy - a healthy diet and regular exercise are extremely important. Here is a picture of my little one at 11 weeks, 5 days.

You may notice that it has been many weeks now since I have posted my weekly weigh in, which is something I did diligently for about 6 months. The reason I stopped weighing myself weekly is because six weeks ago I found out I was pregnant. My husband and I wanted to wait to tell our family, but now that they all know I think it is safe to make the announcement public. My first trimester will be over in a couple of days. Needless to say, I am thrilled beyond belief, but I am also scared about how pregnancy will make me gain weight. I have been thinking about this a lot and have come to the conclusion that weight loss and pregnancy do not mix. The bottom line is that I have to stop being so concerned about my weight as it appears as a number on a scale and just focus on eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise.

I have done some reading up about how many calories a developing fetus consumes during a day and I was really surprised how few it really is – about 300 calories. When women are pregnant the common misconception is that they are “eating for two”. Really, the truth is that you only need to increase your calorie intake by about 300 calories a day. When you begin breast feeding this goes up to about 500 calories a day. With this in mind, I have been very conscious about not going crazy thinking that I can eat whatever I want. Although my goal is not to lose weight over the next 6 months, I do intend to keep my weight gain to a healthy and reasonable level.

I am really grateful now that I have learned so much about food and nutrition over the past year and a half. This knowledge is coming in really helpful because eating a healthy and balanced diet is more important than ever when pregnant. Because of all the changes I made to my diet over the past year, such as limiting refined sugars and fats, I am already following the diet that my doctors recommend for a healthy pregnancy. The only small problems I have run into are dealing with nausea and severe food aversions. Tomatoes, salad greens, mozzarella cheese and all meat are completely off the menu. I have found many wonderful protein alternatives to meat, however, and wonder if I really need to eat meat at all.

As for exercise, I have really been trying to get some every day, but jogging and high intensity cardio are out. I tried to go for a jog a few days ago and had sharp pains from my stretched ligaments in my stomach so I had to stop. Not to mention that my chest area has doubled in size and it’s an uncomfortable feeling to have those things banging around so much. Goodness knows how Pamela Anderson did it on Bay Watch :). Every day I do get out for at least a 30 minute brisk walk, rain or shine. I have also been throwing myself into work around the house – trying to get everything organized because I know this will be the last chance I have to do this for the next few years. It’s amazing how good a workout housework can be.

So here is my update and I hope you will all forgive me for not posting sooner. I promise to keep blogging about weight loss because despite being pregnant it is still a topic I am interested in and want to know about. Not only that, but in a years time I will be needing all the knowledge I have to lose post-pregnancy weight (hopefully not too much though). In the meantime, if there are any parents out there who want to share their own insites about weight loss, pregnancy, or both, please, please do. I have so much to learn and need all the inspiration I can get.

Other Related Posts and Articles you May Find Interesting: “The Risks Obesity Poses to Pregnancy“, “PMS Increases Metabolism and Weight Loss“, and “Health Conditions that Cause Weight Gain“.