Maternity Size - How Much Weight Should You Gain When You Are Pregnant?
It's a topic that many of us are sensitive to.
How much weight should you gain during your pregnancy? How big should your maternity size be? I will start by telling you what the "experts" say and then conclude with a commentary of my own based on my own pregnancy.
The generic answer to how much weight you should gain during your pregnancy is 25 - 40 pounds on average.
If you are underweight when you become pregnant, you should probably gain more than 40 pounds.
Have you ever noticed how everyone in Hollywood gains like 50 - 80 pounds? This is probably because a) their bodies don't know how to process "normal" amounts and types of food due to so many years of dieting and b) they are generally underweight when the baby is conceived.
In short, it is good that they gain more than 40 pounds.
If you are overweight when you become pregnant, you should aim to gain less than 40 pounds.
If you are in this camp, you already have some of the excess fat that breastfeeding a new baby requires so there is not a necessity to gain additional fat.
This concludes the simple, "expert" answers to the pregnancy weight gain and maternity size question.
Now for my commentary...
when I was at my maternity size and feeling huge, I found myself becoming concerned about my pregnancy weight gain.
I was in very good shape when I became pregnant and had shrunk to 135 pounds on an athletic 5'4" frame.
By my 36th week, I weighed 178 pounds.
I could not believe I had gained over 40 pounds since the onset of the pregnancy.
I made myself feel a little bit better by justifying that my "typical" weight when I am not in great shape is 140-145, so starting from that weight I had gained slightly less than 40 pounds.
As I write this article, I am four months out from having my baby and am down to about 145 pounds.
My body is still not back to what I would like for it to be as I still have a pooch, no stomach muscles, extra fat and about ten extra pounds...
but I have come a long way since my maternity size.
I have not been overly motivated in the workout department yet have still continued to lose a pound or two a week.
Breastfeeding has a lot to do with this and therefore I want to amend the expert recommendations to take into consideration if the mom is going to breastfeed or not.
I contend that if a mother is breastfeeding that they can comfortably gain 50 pounds on average and without too much effort get back to their pre-maternity size/weight.
If a mother is not able to breastfeed for some reason, you could probably decrease the recommended weight gains to something more like 20-35 pounds.
The bottom line is to listen to your body.
Especially during pregnancy and breastfeeding, your body tells you what you need.
It may not always make sense (midnight ice cream runs, pickles, etc.
) but for some reason the request is being made.
Our bodies are absolutely incredible and I congratulate all of you on searching for the balance between weight gain, healthy babies and your own sanity.
Sometimes, you just have to have an extra cookie and hour of sleep, over salads and exercising.
How much weight should you gain during your pregnancy? How big should your maternity size be? I will start by telling you what the "experts" say and then conclude with a commentary of my own based on my own pregnancy.
The generic answer to how much weight you should gain during your pregnancy is 25 - 40 pounds on average.
If you are underweight when you become pregnant, you should probably gain more than 40 pounds.
Have you ever noticed how everyone in Hollywood gains like 50 - 80 pounds? This is probably because a) their bodies don't know how to process "normal" amounts and types of food due to so many years of dieting and b) they are generally underweight when the baby is conceived.
In short, it is good that they gain more than 40 pounds.
If you are overweight when you become pregnant, you should aim to gain less than 40 pounds.
If you are in this camp, you already have some of the excess fat that breastfeeding a new baby requires so there is not a necessity to gain additional fat.
This concludes the simple, "expert" answers to the pregnancy weight gain and maternity size question.
Now for my commentary...
when I was at my maternity size and feeling huge, I found myself becoming concerned about my pregnancy weight gain.
I was in very good shape when I became pregnant and had shrunk to 135 pounds on an athletic 5'4" frame.
By my 36th week, I weighed 178 pounds.
I could not believe I had gained over 40 pounds since the onset of the pregnancy.
I made myself feel a little bit better by justifying that my "typical" weight when I am not in great shape is 140-145, so starting from that weight I had gained slightly less than 40 pounds.
As I write this article, I am four months out from having my baby and am down to about 145 pounds.
My body is still not back to what I would like for it to be as I still have a pooch, no stomach muscles, extra fat and about ten extra pounds...
but I have come a long way since my maternity size.
I have not been overly motivated in the workout department yet have still continued to lose a pound or two a week.
Breastfeeding has a lot to do with this and therefore I want to amend the expert recommendations to take into consideration if the mom is going to breastfeed or not.
I contend that if a mother is breastfeeding that they can comfortably gain 50 pounds on average and without too much effort get back to their pre-maternity size/weight.
If a mother is not able to breastfeed for some reason, you could probably decrease the recommended weight gains to something more like 20-35 pounds.
The bottom line is to listen to your body.
Especially during pregnancy and breastfeeding, your body tells you what you need.
It may not always make sense (midnight ice cream runs, pickles, etc.
) but for some reason the request is being made.
Our bodies are absolutely incredible and I congratulate all of you on searching for the balance between weight gain, healthy babies and your own sanity.
Sometimes, you just have to have an extra cookie and hour of sleep, over salads and exercising.
Source...