I am still in complete disbelief that I am expecting my 4th child, but we are getting to the end of road. I am nearing the 9th month mark and things are really slowing down. By far, this has been my most challenging pregnancy; however, I have also gained the least amount of weight compared to my previous pregnancies. There are several reasons for this. Continue reading to find out more.
It is important to state the obvious, every woman and pregnancy is different. For someone under weight, gaining only 9 lbs by the 8th month of pregnancy may be very unhealthy. However, for me it is perfectly healthy and the best decision for my pregnancy.
One thing to consider is where a woman starts her pregnancy in terms of weight. My pre-pregnancy weight placed me in the Obese Category according to the CDC, because my BMI was equal to or over 30.0. It is recommended that a woman gain between 11-20 LBS during the entire pregnancy if she falls into this category. So, there I was obese and pregnant. I knew what I needed to do.
In my pregnancy with my now 4 year-old daughter, I gained only 22 LBS. That was less than half of what I gained in my first pregnancy. I was very strict and dedicated to being healthy. I tried to implement those tactics during this pregnancy.
During the first and second trimester this was very difficult. I was very nauseous and fatigued. This was unlike any of my previous pregnancies. This time I was easily triggered to NOT keep down any of my food if it wasn’t bland. For me, bland meant it was a piece of bread, a cracker, or plain pasta. I knew that my body didn’t respond well to a lot of carbs, so something had to give. I remained patient with myself and tried to start working out in the second trimester. It was a real struggle, but anytime I felt good I was pushing myself to do the work. This just goes to show you that you don’t have to be perfect, you just have to try your best.
Once the morning sickness and fatigue started to go away late in the second trimester and into the early third trimester, my workout schedule became more consistent. Also, my food tracking picked up. I used an app on my iPhone called Lose It to help me track my total caloric intake in the day (and a week), as well as my macronutrients. By no means was I on a conventional diet; however, I knew that it was difficult to implement real change without the analysis of real data. I looked at my eating choices over the course of a week of tracking and figured out what I needed to do.
My food tracking showed me that I needed to start the day with protein in order to keep my carbohydrates within a safe range. Since I was trying to avoid gestational diabetes (I was diagnosed with it twice before) I used the maximum number of grams per day on a gestational diabetes diet to regulate my carbohydrates. That number was 125 grams of carbs per day. Also, I calculated what my specific caloric intake should be per day for a woman with my weight and height (I used my pre-pregnancy weight). Then I added 300 calories to the number since it is recommended to consume 300 additional calories per day when you are in your third trimester of pregnancy. I’m 4’9 tall. This number for me is significantly smaller than most women because I am so petite, but that number calculated to 1643. I set my Lose It App to a maximum daily intake of 1675, which was slightly over my calculated maximum. I was less concerned about my daily results. I didn’t want to feel absolutely miserable during holidays when I wanted pizza and fried fish. So, I paid close attention to my weekly results instead.
The next thing that helped me maintain my weight gain and avoid gestational diabetes was adding in healthy fats. I ate an avocado every day. Who doesn’t love avocado toast? It became a staple, and one that helped me reach my goals. When you eat a fat and carb together it helps keep your blood sugar levels from spiking. This spike is unhealthy and can lead to weight gain by activating the hormone insulin to store extra glucose, found in the blood, in your energy storing cells (fat). Eating a healthy fat with the carb helps to keep the release of glucose into your blood stream slow and steady; which also slows down the process of insulin storing glucose. The remaining glucose is used for energy.
To sum it up, these are the steps I took that led to only 9 LBS gained by my 34th week of pregnancy:
- Know the appropriate calorie intake for your body during pregnancy. We are not eating for two. We are eating for nutrients and a healthy pregnancy.
- Start the day with protein. For my body, protein was the best way to start my day.
- Eat more healthy fats, especially when eating carbohydrates.
- Stay active and stay hydrated.
I will share my postpartum weight loss journey once the baby arrives. Despite only gaining 9 LBS so far, I was significantly overweight when my pregnancy started. Therefore, I will have a lot of weight to lose postpartum. As always, I will be very transparent on my journey. Comment something encouraging below. We all need that from time to time. And share with a mom friend.
