Can I still lose weight in my first trimester?

M

momsenergy

Cathlete
Hello everyone!! I am new to this Fit Mom's Pregnancy Forum (I usually hang out at the open discussion forum) but I have been exercising and dieting steadily for 1 year and 2 months now and have lost a total of 25 pounds during that time. Initially I used The Firm (and still use a select few) but that changed as soon as I discovered Cathe. I started out at 168 lbs. and am now at 143 lbs. I used to wear a tight size 14 and now can comfortably fit into a size 10. My ULTIMATE goal was to get back to 135 lbs. and be able to fit into a size 8 before getting pregnant again. But we are starting NOW to try to conceive just because this is how we planned it (we've had a baby planning schedule for some time now). For the last 2 to 3 months I have been working really hard to work out hard and eat super clean and that has helped me to drop on the scale some. I was hopeful to have reached 135 by this time but was not able to. My question is: "Can I still continue to lose weight my first trimester and try to reach my goal of 135 lbs assuming that I am pregnant now? And is it healthy to continue to diet during the first trimester (I currently consume about 1400-1500 calories a day)? At what point during the pregnancy do I start to gain weight? I purchased "Fit to Deliver" and Fit Pregnancy for Dummies" and they will be shipped next week through amazon books but in the mean time I am dying to know if I can get to my desired weight before I start to gain or is it all over for me? Thanks in advance...

Yolanda
 
Hi Yolanda,

I'm not a nutritionist or a prenatal expert, but I'm happy to share my personal opionions about this. First off, you've done a terrific job losing the extra weight! From personal experience, I know it's hard to go through all that, and then get pregnant. Your thinking has to take an abrupt 180 degree turn, and that's hard to do.

I believe dieting at any time in a pregnancy is highly discouraged. Having said that, you also have to factor in that in your first trimester you may have no choice in what you eat; your hormones may make all those decisions for you! You may suddenly find that you absolutely can't stand all the healthy foods you've been eating, and may only be able to hold down stuff that you never dreamt of eating. Every woman and every pregnancy is different. (Maybe you'll be one of the lucky few who barely has a problem in the first trimester).

My experience with three pregnancies has been that the minute I conceived, my appetite increased and the only things that I could stomach were high calorie/high fat/protein foods. Anything with fruits, vegetables, or fibre in it was intolerable. Consequently, I always gain weight in the first trimester. Other women have such bad vomiting in the first trimester that they end up losing weight :-(

My final thought on this is that I personally had a hard time conceiving when I was in calorie-deprivation mode. It was important for me to not diet during the TTC phase.

So my opinion is that you should not attempt to lose weight in your first trimester.

Hope this helps! And I hope to see you posting on these boards regularly really soon :)
Sandra
 
Hi Yolanda -

Congrats on all your hard work so far - with discipline like that, you should have no problem staying on track through a pregnancy!

I have to agree with Sandra on the not dieting while pregnant opinion. One of the things I was thinking, during the first trimester your body is really trying to do an awful lot of adjusting and it's a very important growth period for your baby. Sandra makes a very good point in that you don't know what those hormones are going to do to you and your body. If you can only eat certain things and they aren't necessarily on your pre-pregnancy diet plan, what can you do? It's not really a matter of choice sometimes - you can become violently ill and almost non-functional if your body isn't tolerating certain foods and you try to force them anyway (trust me on this one - it's possible! x( I once had a salad try to kill me!! ) It's very much a 'listen to your body' kind of time, at least that's what I've found.

Maybe you should talk to your Ob/Gyn about your concerns. I do know that mine is very supportive of maternal fitness and they still are very clear about not dieting while pregnant if you are at a healthy weight to begin with. They may be able to give you more concrete reasons to diet/not diet or at least give you healthy 'baby-safe' diet tips.

Think about it this way: you will have the rest of your life to hit and maintain your target weight. Now may be the time to just enjoy the TTC / pregnancy journey with no other distractions.

I wish you lots of luck and baby dust - and I hope you find an answer to your question that works for you.

KC
 
Hi Yolanda,

I read a great book called The Girlfriends' Guide To Pregnancy. Though not written by a doctor, it has a lot of common sense and practical ideas about what getting through those 9 months is like. The author wrote something to the effect that during pregnancy, every system in your body is geared up to make sure you have enough body fat, and that the developing baby has enough to sustain itself. You can try to fight this, but you're not doing yourself, or the baby, any good.

You'll also read that some women do lose weight during the first trimester, and it's likely because they have morning sickness and throw up a lot. My experience was that even though I had visions of eating really healthy and working out for the first three months, and I was off to a really good start, when week 7 hit I was too exhausted to make it to the 5:30 spinning classes, and the only thing that stopped my queasiness was crackers and lots of them. Everyone is different, but I think the best advice is "listen to your body."

Hope that helps!
 
Hi and good luck with your weight loss and dieting. First of all, keep in mind you may not conceive for quite awhile so you may actually get close to your goal weight prior to pregnancy. Second, keep in mind you will gain weight during the pregnancy to help the baby so why worry about reaching a goal. Eat healthy during pregnancy and if you decide to nurse, eat healthy then too. You will need extra calories for both pregnancy and nursing. That being said, you may gain only minimal weight the first trimester, I gained only about 3 pounds. If you keep exercising and eating healthy, you will hit your goal weight after pregnancy.
 
Just wanted to reply because your situation sounds similar to mine. I dropped from 163 to 145. I too want to get to 135. We are now "officially trying" though. I will probably continue to keep my calories about 1500 until I know I am pregnant. My doctor said to add 200-300 calories a day to the amount of calories you need to maintain your weight when you are pregnant. She was very clear that I would not be eating for two though. I am very determined to stick to this and exercise as my extra weight came from my first child and it has taken 5 years to get it off! There is no way I will let it take 5 years this time. I am hoping that the week after 4th of July is our week to conceive. Wish me Luck!

Good Luck to you and hopefully we will both post to this forum soon that we are pregnant.


Rachel
 
Hi Rachel thanks for the reply....I wish you luck with the stork by the way!! So how many calories are required to "maintain" your weight? I am 34 yrs. old and about 5' 2". I'm excited about exercising during my pregnancy since this will be the first time I have done any exercise during a pregnancy. I hope it will make my pregnancy easier and help to get rid of the extra pounds after the delivery too. Hope to see you posting soon!

Yolanda
 
I am not sure how many calories I need to maintain. I am 5'6" and will be 37 in July. I have been trying to lose weight for the past year and a half so I try to always keep it around 1500 calories. I had a tough time losing weight in the beginning because I was taking the Depoprovera shot to prevent pregnancy. I went off of that a year ago and got an IUD. As soon as I went off of the shot I started to lose weight. I have lost almost 20 pounds. I am going to try to just add in a 100-200 calories a day to maintain and another 200-300 for pregnancy. I hope that is not too much! I'll just have to see how it goes. As long as I am not losing weight during the beginning of my pregnancy I should be OK. I also don't want to gain too much though. Does anyone know how much weight gain in normal in the first tri-mester? My doctor told me 25-30 pounds for the whole pregnancy would be good. I usually work out 5-6 times a week. I usually do Cathe during the week and run on the weekends. I run between 3-4 miles. I also horse back ride once a week. The only exercise I did last pregnancy was walking and riding my bike. Hopefully I am in much better shape this time and the weight will come off sooner.

I think I will post the question about how much weight gain during the first trimester.

Thanks

Rachel
 
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