I'm 6 1/2 months pregnant and my doctor says I've gained too much weight...?

Question

I've already gained 34 lbs total during the 6 1/2 months so far into my pregnancy and my doctor says I shouldn't gain more than 35 during the entire pregnancy! I was at my ideal weight for my height before becoming pregnant, so I do not understand why I'm gaining so much. I eat well (no junk food) but my doctor does not want me to eat ANY carbs, not even good carbs like fruit and whole grains, etc., which is really what I crave. I must say though that I'm ALWAYS hungry and it's a terrible feeling. The doctor says I should try and drink more water instead of eat every time I'm hungry - I think he's nuts! Pregnancy hunger is horrible to cope with and hard to ignore! At least for me it has been... How much weight is really too much weight to gain during a pregnancy and will it come off afterwards? I'm so worried especially since I'm a first-time mom. I'm also very swollen-ankles, and shoes and my wedding ring doesn't fit anymore! Please tell me your own experiences with this issue

Answer 1

You are fine. I have 4 children and I always used homebirth midwives and CNMs and they never rode me about weight gain. Don't sweat it. Eat when you are hungry (and you will be hungry!) and don't worry about it too much. Dont' eat chips and salty junk or too much sugar but good, healthy food is fine. If you worry too much about the food issue, you won't enjoy the pregnancy. Be prepared to nurse your baby afterwards and you should lose most of that weight right away.

Answer 2

Because you are pregnant, you should gain weight. You just need to gain it a little slower.

Your growing baby will naturally put on about another 6-8 pounds to your growing body! Therefore, you need to be very careful about what you do in the next 2 1/2 months.

Now is not the time to diet! But, you need to listen to your doctor.

Don't overeat at or between meals. Choose smaller portions and limit the sweets & greasy foods.

Choose skim or low-fat milk and/or yorgurt.

Trim the fat & skin off your meats & poultry.

Eat more baked, steamed or broiled foods, stay away from fried foods.

Try not to eat to much breads, pastas & pasteries - these are carbs and full of calories.

Drink water and club soda, stay away from sodas (Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, etc.), Sweetened Teas, Coffees, Kool-aids, fruit drinks, etc. Drink only 8-16 ounces of milk a day. Milk can add on weight gain too! Try low-fat or skim milk, and don't add chocolate or other milk flavorings - this adds more calories!


Also, try taking a walk everyday. Ask your doctor before any physical activity and ask him/her about the right exercise for you while your are pregnant.

You may want to eat more of the meats or poultry, cottage cheese and yogurts, to take the place of the fruits and carbs. Fruits and carbs are high in calories. If those calories don't get "burn-up" from some type of physical activity (or the energy need for the growing baby), then it is turned into fat cells, which in turn causes weight gain.

A pregnant woman needs only to gain 25-35 pounds during the course of pregnancy. Gaining too much is not healthy for you or the baby. Plus, getting that weight back off after the baby is born will be hard. You will only lose about 25-30 pounds during the first 3-4 months after birth. The rest you will have to work off. And if you plan to breastfeed, you won't be able to go on a diet!

Hope this help and good luck & happy parenting!

Answer 3

I know it is hard not to eat food when your hungry but it sounds like to me your eating to much but then again I don't know your situation but you did gain quite amount before your third trimester because you are going to gain even more in the last trimester. Have you tried eating small meals six times a day instead three meal through out the days. This might keep you happy and not as hungry than before. When I mean small by eating cheese for snack, yogurt, small portion of meat and salads. I know it is extremely hard to ween out carbs in your diet but you have to realize that when your high in protein you are less hungry when you eat lots of carbs. I wouldn't totally eliminate carbs but just cut down it some. Just watch what your eating that's all. The answer to your question do you lose the weight you gain through pregnancy no not really some but not all. So your going have to work much harder to lose weight and get that tummy back they way you had it before. Just remember it took you nine months to gain this weight it could take you that long to get rid of the weight as well. So the thinner you stay the better but in a healthy way don't go on a diet because your baby needs that balance meal and nutrients. You need to rest as much as possible and try to elevate your feet since they are swollen and you should consider taking your wedding off for the time being because you can cut off your circulation when the ring gets to tight around your finger. Well Good Luck! I hope I was some help.

Answer 4

If you were at a healthy weight, weight gain should be 25-35 pounds (not 13-16, that is just not enough). Are you exercising? Try taking a walk in the evenings. It will help you maintain healthy weight and weight gain, will lower blood pressure, and keep your body healthy.
With all that swellng, it sounds like water weight. How is your blood pressure? Maybe it is the beginnings of preeclampsia. If you are eating healthy, there may be something else going on. See another doctor, get a second opinion. I think it is ridiculous for him to tell you to stop eating fruits and veggies. I think there may be more to this than he is seeing. It isn't always black and white.
Here's a quick snippet about preeclampsia and toxemia. Good luck!


Every year thousands of women suffer from pregnancy induced hypertension. This disease has two names, Toxemia and Preeclampsia. It is estimated that 7 out of every 100 pregnant women will develop Toxemia to some degree. Mild Toxemia is monitored closely and usually causes very little problems for the mother or child. However, when Toxemia becomes severe it can cause many health problems.

There is no known cause for Toxemia. The facts they do know so far include the following. Toxemia starts to develop as your placenta begins to develop, although it may not be detected until the later part of your pregnancy. Most cases of Toxemia happen with first pregnancies. Second and subsequent pregnancies are at lower risk, unless the woman is with a new partner. Since they don't know what causes it, there is no way to tell if a woman is at risk before she gets pregnant.

It is very important to make sure you see your doctor regularly during your pregnancy so he or she can detect any signs of Toxemia. They check your blood pressure for this reason. As it starts to rise, this is the first evidence of Toxemia. Other symptoms include bloating of the hands, feet and face due to your body retaining fluids. Your urine is checked for protein levels at each visit. If the protein level in your urine rises, it is another sign of Toxemia.

Some of the health problems associated with Toxemia can be very dangerous to the mother and the child. Besides, high blood pressure there are other things that can go wrong with your health. Toxemia can create liver and kidney damage or failure. It can cause problems with your eyesight. If left untreated for too long, it can cause the patient to go into convulsions. These convulsions can lead to coma and even death.

This is because your blood pressure just keeps rising higher and higher. Such high blood pressure can also cause a stroke. Any of these health problems can affect the baby as well. If a mother is in danger, her baby will be in danger also.

Answer 5

Water is a first and foremost thing to have, when pregnant. Pregnancy slows down the digestive process, and babies require a lot of water to grow in the womb. You should be drinking at least 8 - 8oz bottles of water a day. At least. Your body may also be signaling that you're thirsty, and you're taking it for hunger pangs instead.

Your doctor is right. You need to concentrate more on eating vegetables (spinach, broccoli, and carrots are biggies), and lean, fully cooked meats. Your baby needs all the iron, zinc, and extra goodies that it can get. The more carbs & fruits you eat, the more you will crave more carbs & sugars. They don't sustain you for very long, and in turn make you more hungry very quickly. Your body burns sugar very fast, and stores what it doesnt use as fat. So, when it's burned, you actually think you're starving. And eat more carbs & more sugars...it really is a vicious circle. Baby would rather have protein & iron, and all the goodies from veggies, than sugars & carbs that isn't going to help him grow.

Think of the breakdown of what you actually gain in baby weight. Babies are usually around 8 lbs. Placenta is usually around 1 1/2-2 lbs. Fluid is 2 lbs. Uterus is 2 lbs. Mother's breast growth is about 2 lbs. Mother's increase in blood volume is about 4 lbs. Fluids in maternal tissue is about 4 lbs. Total is about 20 pounds - at 40 weeks of pregnancy.

Everything else that you've gained - is fat. Which will be really really hard to work off. Especially when you've got a baby to take care of and not the same amount of free time to exercise.

Yes, everybody's weight gain is different. Not just between mothers. But between pregnancies. Just make sure that it's healthy baby weight you're gaining.

As for experience - I gained 23 pounds with my first, and he was close to ten pounds. I gained 60 pounds with my 2nd, and it took me two years of hard work to lose that Burger King fat. The rest were all between 25-30 pounds, so it wasn't that hard to lose weight after, and I had healthy 8 lb babies to boot. Currently I"m 24 weeks pregnant with twins, and have gained a total of 6 lbs of all baby weight.

Just remember, don't eat "less" - eat "good" foods. This will help ensure your baby's health, and keep both of you healthy. If you eat the right foods, you won't be hungry all the time, and you'll be craving the right kinds of things that your baby needs.

Answer 6

Maybe the doctor is worried about gestational diabetes or some other factor and therefore wants you to limit weight gain before it becomes an issue. But there's a big difference between taking the attitude that you should be able to eat whatever you want because your pregnant and being truly hungry.

Have you done a test yet for gestational diabetes? Are they absolutely positive that you are only carrying one baby? Have they tested you for a thyroid condition? I think it's irresponsible for a doctor to tell you not to eat if you are absolutely famished. It just is impossible for you to regulate--most women become more in tune to their bodies when they are pregnant and if your body is telling you it's hungry--there's probably a valid reason. Are you still exercising? Try walking or swimming, it may counteract some of the weight gain. But please seek out a second opinion. That way, you can confirm or officially refute your doctors advice.

Answer 7

I guess your doctor is worried about hypertension if your ankles are swelling up so much now, so maybe he is giving you good advice, particularly about keeping up the water. I can't really say why you are gaining so much weight if you are eating healthily and not overeating. You said you were a normal weight b4 you fell pregnant. Did you eat normally before the pgcy? Sometimes girls who starve themselves to fit into their wedding dresses will often balloon up when they start eating normally again. If that is not your case then I would just continue eating healthy foods in 5 or 6 small meals a day. Things that will fill you up a bit like porridge or wheat biscuits for breakfast, fruit for morning tea, meat/chicken/tuna salads or healthy sandwiches on wholegrain bread for lunch, cheese and fruit or yoghurts for afternoon tea, a decent tea with proteins and carbs, and something light for supper. If you are not overeating and are moderately exercising then the weight should come off after the baby is born provided you continue exercising eg: take the baby out in the pram for a good half hour walk each day.
I worry about your doctor suggesting no fruit/wholegrain breads etc as they are helping you to get fibre..and we all know how constipated you can get during pgcy and how easily you can develop haemmoroids. I would seek a second opinion with a nutritionist/dietician if you are concerned with your doctor's advice. Congrats on your pregnancy..enjoy!!

Answer 8

Cutting back on SALT may help tons with your swelling. NO the weight will not just melt off after baby comes it takes work to get back in shape the more gain the more WORK . You are gaining weight stored as fat breastfeeding WILL help you lose FASTER after birth. I'm 20 weeks i've gained 6 pounds. I know women who gained 50 in pregnancy IT TOOK months to get it off. With my son i gained 30 my daughter 20. YOU gain the most the last few months up to a pound a week at 6.5 months you are only going to gain more that could have the doc worried when your already over the limit. To much gain is not healthy neither is oo lil. Just eat right drink water worry about it after birth you should not try to lose weight during pregnancy.

Answer 9

Listen to your doctor. The extra weight gain puts added pressure on you heart an the rest of your body. He might be worried about you blood pressure...swelled feet and hands could be a sign of preeclampcsa. According to research I found, "Preeclampsia is a disorder that occurs only during pregnancy and the postpartum period and affects both the mother and the unborn baby. Affecting at least 5-8% of all pregnancies, it is a rapidly progressive condition characterized by high blood pressure and the presence of protein in the urine. Swelling, sudden weight gain, headaches and changes in vision are important symptoms; however, some women with rapidly advancing disease report few symptoms". Talk to your doctor and find out what his concerns are.

Answer 10

I am a nutritionist

first your doctor is correct about the weight at 6.5 months (26 weeks) you should have gained 11.2-19.4lbs to be considered normal healthy gain. in no pregnancy should you gain more than 40 lbs total because it puts your baby at risk and also puts you at risk.

because you have gained so much and are retaining water it would be a good idea to be tested for preeclempsea and diabetes (weight gain and water retention are both symptoms)

I do not agree with your doctors dietary recommendations, as a nutritionist I know it is very dangerous for a pregnant women to eat no crabs, diet less than 40% carbohydrate is contraindicated during pregnancy and can kill your baby (worst case senario). I also will say doctors do not receive training in diet and nutrition (not much anyway) and are not equipped to handle diet without a nutritionist or dietition, I would recommend you request a referal to see one asap.

I am available to give you recommendations on healthy food choices or to answer diet related questions if you want to contact me by email.

Answer 11

It is important that you watch how much weight you gain as it will be much harder to lose once the baby is born. Also, you may be setting yourself up for gestational diabetes which can be harmful to the baby. GD babies are usually much bigger than other babies but they don't develop as quickly so are born with breathing problems and such. Drinking water will help if you drink a glass of water before you eat. That will make your stomach feel full faster. Remember that in a typical pregnancy the weight of the baby, amniotic fluid, increased blood supply, increased breast size, etc. comes to about 25 lbs. Anything you gain beyond that is just fat.