why do some women gain weight after having children?

Question

they eat more or the metabolism changing ? how does it happen ? what can they do to prevent that?

Answer 1

Nature changes the metabolism of a pregnant woman a lot. First of all during pregnancy, women need a more nutritious diet for mother and fetus. By the last trimester, there is a lot less room in the digestive tract, since the fetus is large. The body needs high calorie, high nutrient food.

Then with the birth, there is plenty of room in the abdomen with little support for the organs.
The other big change is the switch to making milk for the baby. If more women would breast feed for a year, there would be way fewer weight problems. Lactating takes a large amount of nutrition.

Nature wants Moms to survive any hardship that may come along, especially famine. In nature, in animals, young are lost. The survival of any species depends on the number of reproductive females. Having more fat means the females can endure hard times better and
reproduce more and have more babies live.

Life loves life. It doesn't care if you feel crumby because your clothes don't fit right anymore. The cards are stacked in favor of survival, not self image, in becoming a mother.
It makes that sort of fat hard to lose, let alone the fact that your life has changed by being tied to the schedule (or lack of one) determined by a new born.

The best way to prevent any weight gain is to think about every bite of food you take. Why should you eat that? To nourish you and increase your health or because it tastes so good and you want to eat it. That said, I wish I would follow my own advice more!

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

For the most part, women gain weight while they are pregnant and then just have problems loosing it. Pregnancy makes you very tired, if you don't watch what you eat and continue to move, then you'll pack on the lbs like no tomorrow. After the baby arrives I'm sure it becomes an eat-on-the-go situation where a person sacrifices qaulity and nutition for ease of preparation. In addition, there's less free time with baby around - without good time managment, one might not exercize as much. Plus postartum depression might cause one to pig out, sleep more and sulk in general. The worse you feel the less likely you are to move you butt.
All of this can be prevented by having a good support group and motivation. Rarely is it a permanent hormonal imbalance, and if it is, your doctor really should be monitoring you.
Some ppl develop gestational diabetes, but more often than not, it's not permanent. Those ppl will be monitored and put on the appropriate diet.

Answer 4

Some women eat too much when pregnant. THe recommended amount of weight to gain over the 9 month period is 15 - 35 pounds. Any more and it's harder to take off. You typically lose about 10 - 15 pounds within 2 - 3 weeks after giving birth.

You can prevent weight gain after giving birth by not gaining too much weight during pregnancy. Most women only need an extra 300 calories a day while they're pregnant. It's important to watch your weight during pregnansy so that you don't gain too much - or too little.

Answer 5

many factors can cause some women to gain weight after having children. It all depends on the person. Some have hormain embalance or thyroid problem that can begin with pregnancy. Eating right, breastfeeding when the child is born, and exercise are three things that can help control weight. I have had 2 children and am still right at the same weight I was before the first child, if not less because of running after him more.

Answer 6

Most often, women gain weight post baby more due to envirnomental changes than do to physiological changes. That is not to say that a woman's body will not undergo changes after giving birth but it has been my experince that most women can regain their pre - baby figure or, even improve it.

1. less time to exercise - Often times after having a baby women find it difficult to "find the time" to exercise, thus gain weight. Realistically, if you can find 2 -3 hours a week for a fitness program that includes both cardiovascular and resistance training, you can stave off weight gain or, even improve your figure !! You can join a group of other moms to go for daily walks and there are a lot of "mommy bootcamp" type classes around. You will definitely need to exercise to keep your energy up and help stave off the stress that being a mom can bring

2. Less time, period - many women find time to be at a premium after having a baby and just flat out reach for less healthy, higher calorie alternatives. It is imperative that you take a little time and put a bit of thought into your daily diet to ensure that this doesn't happen. I often recommend that my clients precut healthy things like fruit or veggies or keep easy, healthy snacks on hand such as string cheese, yogart, meal replacement bars..

3. Another .. less time - Often times, follwing childbirth, the household is pretty hectic and sleep schedules are disrupted. A new mom will often neglect breakfast (one of the number one ways to ruin your metabolism) or go for long periods of time during the day without eating. This leads to a slower metabolism, a serious drop in blood sugar and, most often the eating of large amounts of high calorie foods - See above for an easy fix

4. The clean plate club - Mom's often finish uneaten food off of their children's plates. This can add up to hundreds of extra (and often forgotten) calories per day !!

Oh, and I almost forgot --- While the American College of obstetrics and Gyn. says that women need to gain only 7-12 pounds to have a healthy baby and the additional caloric requirements are only around 500 a day during pregnancy, most women gain 30 - 70 pounds during pregnancy, which, is often hard to lose giving all of the above refrenced challanges that face mothers!!

Answer 7

You do get cravings when your pregnant, you just have to be careful of what you eat, I think most women do use the pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever they want, I have had six children, I weight right now 115 (my youngest is 18 months) i always gained a healthy amount of weight while pregnant, I also ate right and continued after each pregnancy, it really is about self control.

Answer 8

I think that its not so much that they are actually hungrier as they just haven't changed their eating habits. They ate what and how they wanted for them and the baby.

However once the baby comes, they forget to switch back to eating for 1 instead of two, some people make that transition smoothly and they just go right back to their original eating style and weight.

But for those of us that have a little bit of a tougher time getting our minds & stomachs to cooperate in going back to eating for one. The longer we wait the more the we'll weigh!!

Yes having a baby does in fact cause you to gain weight,but with that in mind, they just need to step of their game and perhaps even throw a little exercise in the mix. Unfortunately were'nt all born with High metabolism but exercise can play a big part in helping to speed it up!!

I hope that this information is helpful to you, but again they're Just My Thoughts!

Take Care!

Answer 9

Because pregnancy and childbirth cause extreme changes to your body and metabolism. Some women gain weight; other women experience other changes. Everyone's body is different.

Answer 10

As you get older, your metabolism slows down and makes it harder to lose weight. Also, a lot of women forget about taking care of themselves because they're too busy taking care of their husband and kids. It's hard being a woman, most house and family responsibilites fall upon them to take care of, making it hard for women to take care of themselves. Eating right and getting exercise is the only way to prevent weight gain.