NOT "eating for two"
Posted by lauranc on Aug 14, 2007 · Member since Sep 2006 · 195 posts
I'm so excited to see this:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/08/14/diet.pregnancy.ap/index.html
The whole "eating for two" concept was so wrong. I think that is why it was so common for pregnant women, who were a healthy weight to begin with, to gain 60+ lbs. during their pregnancies- others kept shoving food down their throats. Many pregnant women will have a hard enough time staying in the 25-35 lbs they are suppose to gain because of diabetes, bed rest, thyroid problems etc... I think changing the guidelines is a good idea.
During my pregnancy I became an emotional eater. Which is another reason why women gain too much. Fortunately I had a doctor that had the guts to remark if I had gained too much weight since my last visit.
Thanks for the link. Definitely good to know as someone who eventually (not for a few years, though! :D) who wants babies. Thanks for linking!
It's funny how drastically things change... my grandmother was telling me how when she was pregnant back in the 40s, her doctor told her she shouldn't gain ANY weight!!
Yea, I never understood why people would say they were eating for two or why they gained 60 plus pounds. No one in my family did that. They just ate a normal, healthy diet as usual. And gained weight - but, it was mostly the baby, placenta, and amniotic fluid. After my mom gave birth, she left the hospital in her pre-baby jeans! I'm hoping that happens to me too, lol.
If anyone gained weight in my family, they lost it quickly with breastfeeding. It burns an extra 500 calories per day!
Yea, I never understood why people would say they were eating for two or why they gained 60 plus pounds. No one in my family did that. They just ate a normal, healthy diet as usual. And gained weight - but, it was mostly the baby, placenta, and amniotic fluid. After my mom gave birth, she left the hospital in her pre-baby jeans! I'm hoping that happens to me too, lol.
If anyone gained weight in my family, they lost it quickly with breastfeeding. It burns an extra 500 calories per day!
Haha. My mom LOVES telling me that she left the hospital after having me in her pre-baby jeans, which were a size 5. ::)
And I've never been pregnant, but I think too many people use it as an excuse to gain weight....they obviously don't think about how hard losing it will be.
It has been 16 years since I was pregnant, but my doctor was very specific that gaining more than 25 pounds was unacceptable, and I had gestational diabetes! Interestingly, that turned out to be my first experience with vegetarianism as he put me on a vegetarian diet to control it. I only gained 17 pounds. Sadly, I went right back to my omnivorous ways afterward.....but I skew off topic.
Fat mother = fat, unhealthy baby!
Fat mother = fat, unhealthy baby!
Ut oh. ;)
I'll tell you what.
First time, I was told to gain 25 lbs, I gained 29 and had an 8#6 oz baby. Left the hospital 10 lbs over my prepreg weight.
Second time, I was told to gain 25 lbs. I gained 28 lbs and had a 7# baby a month early. Left the hospital 10 lbs over my prepreg weight.
Third time, had a very very difficult pregnancy. I gained 45 lbs and had a 9#6oz baby naturally with no drugs at all. I was 25 lbs over prepreg weight that time, but dieted down to about 15 lbs under my prepreg weight.
Fourth time, I was told to gain 25 to 30 because I am tall. I gained 32 lbs and had an 8#4oz baby. I left the hospital about 5 lbs over my prepreg weight.
Fifth time, told to gain 30 to 35 lbs, gained 25 and had an 8#12oz baby. I was walked out in my prepreg jeans that time.
Sixth time, said I wanted to gain 35 lbs because #5 didn't grow as well as the others and I wanted a breastfeeding store of fat to draw from. My ex husband left me in the middle of that pregnancy and I ended up gaining zero, nothing, nada. I went to deliver weighing 2 lbs UNDER my prepreg weight. I had an 8#12oz baby and left the hospital 35 lbs under my prepreg weight and was so thin, my clothing didn't fit.
I was never gestationally diabetic, never had hypertension or preeclampsia. I gained all sorts of weight or not and the babies were all about the same size, give or take. With the exception of #3, I never indulged in lots of sweets or fatty foods, just ate as well as I could, given the morning sickness that lasted for 9 months each time. For many women, they don't eat that well and skimp on calories when they are not pregnant and don't feel the need to do that when they are expecting a baby. I am convinced that if you are really getting all the nutrients you need from your food, you can't do it on a 2000 calorie diet as recommended for women, it just can't happen, not even being a vegan! However, it is NOT the time to pig out on everything you deny yourself otherwise.
Fat mother = fat, unhealthy baby!
I beg to differ! I was (sometimes still am) a fat mother, one of the ones that started out fat and gained 60 pounds when I was pregnant. I didn't get gestational diabetes, either. May have been luck, but it didn't happen. My children were all beautiful and healthy. They wore "slims" all through their childhood. So...it's certainly not a given that if you're fat or if you gain a lot of weight that your children will be fat and unhealthy.
Those were the words of my doctor so that is what I went by. Perhaps it isn't always true but I chose to err on the side of caution and I'm glad that I did. I don't think the gestational diabetes necessarily has anything to do with weight because I was a thin mother, 5'7" and 118 pounds, at the start.