Obviously some people are more prone to gain weight than others. Some women gain a bit of weight while pregnant and lose it quickly postpartum, while others gain large amounts of weight and struggle to lose it postpartum.
Assuming a woman is around a healthy weight range prior to pregnancy, how much fat (percentage wise) is it OK to pack on while pregnant before she gets beyond the needs of her body to healthfully support the baby, and starts to push into the range of unhealthy obesity that would stress her body?
Iris is in very good shape, and nine months along. I think she’s gained around 35 pounds, and if you see her from behind you can’t tell she’s pregnate at all. She usually swims 1-2 a week, a good swim too not some easy swim. Her doctors always say she looks good and she’s had a very good pregnacy so far. This baby’s gonna come out swimming I’m sure.
The medical community kept the suggested weight gain lower back with I had Kid Kalhoun. I gained 17 lbs. Pregnant at 97 lbs. Left the hospital at 103 lbs. In my street clothes. With no stretch marks. I know…It rocked. Seriously.
I think they’re a little more liberal with the weight gain now than they were back then. I think 20 was the preferred gain back in the day.
When one hardcore fitness-geek friend got pregnant, she only gained about twice total what the kid weighed when born. She was told that generally, fitter women gain much less weight, especially when they continue managing their diet and exercise. She is a fanatical nutritionalist and calorie-counter though.
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Don’t come to Japan is all I can say - I was told both times that my TOTAL weight gain should be no more than 6kg (10-12lbs)
I must say I just laughed at them but my Japanese pregnant friends were worried about their babies and frightened of their doctors, and I distinctly remember a couple of them saying they were so hungry they couldn’t sleep at night.
I also walked out of an antenatal class when we had a talk from a nutritionist who said we should NEVER eat bananas and only half a kiwi or quarter of an apple a day.
In the event I was overweight in a fairly serious way when I had my first kid, weighing in at 73kg when I began. I gained 4kg and left the hospital weighing 69kg! I did NOT limit what I ate but had morning sickness to a normal degree and after only wanted to eat fish, fruit and milk. I also walked a long way most days.
With my second kid I gained 10kg but was in hospital 3 months with Placenta Previa so left still about 6kg up on my start weight which I can’t remember now (about 60kg)
In the second incidence we had another mind boggling session in our room with a nutritionist who told four ladies on total bedrest that the university hospital’s menu provided a shortfall of about 500 calories a day for a singleton pregnancy and more for multiples (one woman was having triplets!). She told US to supplement the food but forbade snacks. There was only one small problem with this - we were on TOTAL bedrest, one woman’s husband lived four hours drive away and my husband was on duty most of the time we were in waiting. So we were very very hungry again most of the time. Grrrr.
My friend in England had her upper thigh measured but was not weighed each visit - her nurse worked on the theory that if your thighs don’t get bigger you are putting on useful weight not blub. Much kinder.
OK, I’m taking this from my nutrition notes from last semester.
Recommended weight gain during pregnancy varies according to the BMI of the mother before conception. Larger women should gain less weight. The recommended weight gain is from 10-15 kg (25-35 lbs). Of this, 2-6 kg is fat–the rest is fetus, placenta, extra blood volume, etc.
I believe this weight is supposed to be gained evenly throughout the pregnancy.