Is it possible to not gain any weight during pregnancy?

Question

My husband and I are wanting another child but I'm concerned about the weight gain. When I had my son, I weighed 180 but got down to 140. By not watching my diet and getting in too little exercise, I have manage to get back too close to my pregnancy weight. If we were to conceive, is it possible to gain little or no weight?

Ok for the people responding taking stabs at my ability to be a good mother, if you read my last sentence, I also mentioned gaining little weight. No where in my question did I say I would diet during pregnancy putting the baby at risk so please read before riduculing! During my overweight aunt's pregnancy, you couldn't really tell she had gained weight. I figured being overweight & pregnant would cut the 30lbs weight gain down at least by half.

Answer 1

If you are overweight, it can be done safely. I was 30 pounds overweight when I got pregnant the last time and didn't gain any by eating healthy and staying active. A HEALTHY pregnancy will gain you 10-20 pounds, so use that as your guide. My sister, who is 5'8" and weighs 105 most of the time, usually gains 10-15 pounds during pregnancy. She has had 10, yes that's TEN kids. Eat healthy and have healthy snacks to help prevent unwanted weight. Check with your doctor about the right weight for your size and height. Your doc will help you maintain a healthy weight for you and the baby.

Answer 2

It is possible, but it's uncommon and should ONLY happen under the close care of the doctor. My suggestion would be to start trying to lose some weight right now, and by the time you DO get pregnant, you could be at least that much closer to what you want your beginning weight to be.

What happens is, while the baby is gaining weight, you are losing weight at a different pace. The weight you are losing is from your own fat deposits, not from taking food or fat from the baby. You may find that if you take on a healthy pregnancy nutrition regimine, cutting out extra fats and empty calories, and adopting a moderate exercise routine, you could lose weight during early pregnancy involuntarily.The weight loss would be a kind of side-effect of being healthy to begin with. At some point, the rapid weight gain you would have in later pregnancy will happen, but through the first several months, you would have lost some, so your overall weight gain could be zero. But you MUST do this with a doctor's supervision and reccommendation, because you want to make sure you & your baby are getting nutrition.

The main thing is that many of these ignorant women who say that you will be taking food from the baby (not true... in most cases, the baby gets dibs on every bit of nutrition you get) and especially those who claim that losing weight during pregnancy will cause a stillbirth (these women should not be allowed to breed, nor should they be allowed to socialize or otherwise converse with people who ARE allowed to breed) have no clue whatsoever what they are talking about, and are using their lack of knowledge as a way to judge others.

Also, most women can safely lose or maintain weight through the first trimester, with the close supervision of a doctor. "Eating for two" is not exactly what it implies, and for a lot of women, a lot of the weight put on in the first trimester has nothing really to do with the pregnancy. As long as you are getting lots of good nutrition, what happens on the scales doesn't matter that much until later on.

And not gaining a lot of weight does not mean that you will defiantely have a teeny baby. My sister gained a lot less than I did on both pregnancies, and she had these monstrously humongo babies (almost 11 pounders) and I had little six-pound babies.

It's weird how the whole weight issue happens.

Anyway, just talk with your doctor, tell him you're wanting to get pregnant, but you also want to lose some of your weight and can he make any suggestions on how to do both safely?

Answer 3

Put it to you this way. I'm 6 months pregnant right now. My starting weight before I was pregnant was 175 and in my first 3 1/2 months of being pregnant, I lost 40 lbs which brought me down to 135 lbs. I have now gained 35 lbs back in which I've lost. According to my doctors, you'll gain on an average 25-35 lbs with every pregnancy. I've put back on most of what I lost in the beginning and it wasn't by choice either because at 135 lbs for me is detramental because I'm 24 yrs old and 5'7" and that's way under weight for my age, height and weight criteria. I'm at a healthy weight now and the baby weighs about a pound or a little more.
Is it possible to gain little or no weight durning pregnancy? The answer is NO. Whether you gain the weight or the baby puts weight on you, you'll still gain it. Whatever you eat goes to the baby for nutrition and that's how the baby grows and puts on pounds. You don't want to kill the baby by not eating anything. If you don't want to gain weight, I would honestly suggest not having another child.

Answer 4

I weighed 180 when I got pregnant with our first son. I had a beautiful, complaint free pregnancy, only gained 22 lbs Fast forward four years....I lost weight and was at 132 when I got pregnant with our second son. I had the most miserable, aweful pregnancy with yeast infections, UTI's ...you name it, I probably had it, gained exactly 30 lbs. Both boys born beautiful and healthy. Yes, its possible. My mom was overweight and only gained 15 lbs with each of us...but a good 30lbs is the right amount to gain, and heres why:

WHERE DOES THE WEIGHT GO?
Where Weight in Pounds
Baby 7 1/2 - 8 1/2
Placenta 1 - 3
Amniotic Fluid 2
Uterus 2 - 2 1/2
Increased Body Fluid, Blood 3 1/2 - 7
Increased Maternal Fat Stores, Breast Tissue 10 - 12

Good luck.

Answer 5

It is possible to gain only a little weight but not none. Try exercising regularly and starting a healthy diet for a little while before you try to conceive that way you will feel healthier when you get pregnant. Then once you are pregnant there is no excuse to gain weight (unless you're having multiples) before the 3rd maybe even the 4th month. Keep your weight in check and by the end of the pregnancy you could only gain about 20lbs which will easily disappear after the birth of your new child.

Answer 6

Most woman gain weight for a reason while pregnant...to have a healthy baby. I have heard of woman (including myself) loosing weight in the beginning of their pregnancy, but most doctors are going to want a little weight gain. Think about it- it's not always YOU gaining the weight- it's your baby...

Answer 7

Yes it is possible. Infact many ladies do lose weight in the first 3 months and yet their embryos grow just fine.. Of course that would mean not eating properly and put yourself in a catabolic state. THis is not advisable as your body would be ill prepared to face the stress of labour later on. The growing fetus is a relentless parasite, it will continue to suck from you even if you are fasting, it does not hesitate to induce catabolism and deplete all your body reserves till a limit. Average baby is 8lb, placenta 1, womb 2,fluid, so the very least you should gain is 12lb. However on average people gain 25lb due to increase in maternal reserves.

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Answer 8

I read somewhere that if you are already overweight that you shouldn't gain as much during pregnancy. Obviously, the best thing to do is discuss your concern with your doctor - they can tell you what the safest weight gain for you would be. Good Luck!!

Answer 9

It's not a good idea to 'diet' while pregnant, but you don't have to eat much more than you would normally. You really don't have to eat for two, so if you eat healthily, lots of whole grains and fruit and veg, you shouldn't put on too much weight.

Also, if you breastfeed, take lots of long walks with the baby and carry on eating healthily you'll probably find you lose a lot of the baby weight in the first few months.

Answer 10

Possible, yes. Smart, no.

Your baby needs a wide and varied diet, including healthy fats, to grow. Also, your baby's body and equipment (placenta, uterus, etc) can weigh up to 35 lbs. And whether you like it or not, your body will want a fat store for nursing.

Best idea is to consult a dietician about what to eat so that later, you can lose the weight faster because it was gained on high quality whole foods. There's a lot of prenatal fitness now: you can work on muscle tone even while you have to gain the necessary weight.