Losing weight during pregnancy can be a difficult and dangerous thing to do, especially if the pregnant woman is not well informed. The nine-month period of pregnancy is a critical time during which the woman’s (and her unborn child’s) health should be given utmost consideration. There is a proper diet to follow, prenatal visits to the doctor to make, and many dos and don’ts to observe. One of these dos is to gain the right amount of weight, so the woman should first carefully consider all the possible outcomes before she begins any weight-loss program while she is pregnant.
Make sure your weight management is safe for the baby
Generally, a pregnant woman should gain between 25 to 35 pounds during the whole course of the pregnancy. This means that if she weighed, say, 120 pounds before she got pregnant, then she should weigh 145 to 155 pounds by the end of the ninth month of pregnancy. The weight gain is not uniformly distributed through the pregnancy. In the first three months, a mere two to four pounds should be gained. For the remainder of the pregnancy, about one pound each week should be gained.
That is the rule of thumb for women with normal weights prior to the pregnancy. For those who were underweight, their weight gain should be around 28 to 40 pounds. Meanwhile, overweight women should gain just about 15 to 25 pounds in total. In the case of obese women, doctors recommend that they should gain no more than 10 or 15 pounds; some doctors even say that losing weight through moderate exercise might be a good thing for pregnant obese women.
Losing weight during pregnancy should therefore be undertaken only if:
- The woman finds out that she is gaining weight at a rate that’s faster than what is considered healthy. An example is if she sees that she has already gained 10 pounds in just the second or third month of pregnancy.
- The woman was obese before she became pregnant.
- Her obstetrician-gynecologist or doctor recommends that the woman lose some weight.
- The weight-loss attempts do not deprive her of the foods and nutrients she needs for a healthy pregnancy. They should also allow her enough rest and sleep, and not cause undue stress.
Weight loss during pregnancy is generally not advised if these conditions aren’t present.
It is imperative that the woman gets the approval from her doctor that losing weight during pregnancy is something that she could safely do and that wouldn’t harm her unborn child. If the only reason to lose weight while pregnant is esthetic, and not for health or other sensible reasons, then it is probably not a good idea to try losing weight while pregnant.
It is also equally important that the woman consults with her doctor regarding the kind of exercise or workouts she can safely engage in. In general, a pregnancy workout shouldn’t be long or strenuous. Some recommended exercises are walking, swimming, Kegel exercises, yoga and Pilates.
A woman intent on losing weight during pregnancy can also make changes in her diet to achieve her goals. For instance, she can eat smaller, more frequent meals in a day; eat more healthy, non-fattening snacks such as nuts and crackers; drink nonfat milk; and fill her diet with fruits and vegetables. These are some ways she can eat a healthier, non-fattening diet that doesn’t deprive her of the nutrients essential in pregnancy.
