Losing Weight During Pregnancy – Sustaining a Healthy Weight During Pregnancy

Losing weight during pregnancy is not advisable for someone who had a healthy weight before getting pregnant. If a woman is obese it may be all right for her to lose a few pounds, although this is controversial. Ab obese woman would need to follow a healthy, balanced diet under the care of her doctor and exercise on a daily basis.

Losing a few pounds during the first trimester is not uncommon, especially if a pregnant woman is having morning sickness. Most women gain 3 to 5 pounds in the first trimester because of the changes in their bodies and the growth of the fetus, so the few pounds lost due to morning sickness are usually offset by the normal gain in weight.

Weight loss should be a source of concern when it is excessive or occurs in the second or third trimester. The cause might be hyperemesis gravidarum (severe nausea and vomiting) or thyroid dysfunction. Other causes are day-to-day fluctuations in fluid retention, poor baby growth, low levels of amniotic fluid, pregnancy-induced hypertension, or preeclampsia (extremely high blood pressure).

A visit to your doctor is essential to find out the actual cause of weight loss or excessive weight gain and to form an effective plan for staying at a healthy weight.

Keeping a Healthy Weight During Pregnancy

Your doctor can recommend the best plan to follow to obtain the nutrients you and your baby need.

• Take prenatal vitamins daily. Try vitamins with a lower dose of iron to avoid aggravating nausea.
• Eat small healthy portions of meals whenever you can. An empty stomach triggers nausea, as do low blood sugar levels. Always eat before you feel hungry and keep healthy snacks handy. Healthy fats, proteins, fruits, and veggies are important.
• Visit your doctor for medical advice on exercises to do to keep you and the baby healthy. Taking a brisk walk, doing prenatal yoga, swimming, cycling, and doing aerobics are safe for most women. Do not engage in strenuous exercise because that may harm the baby.
• Eating ginger may ease nausea. It can be found in ginger ale, ginger candies, and ginger tea.
• Drink 8 to 12 glasses of water daily as it helps you stay hydrated.
• Get enough sleep. This works wonders in helping you to avoid stress and keeping your appetite healthy.
• Wear an acupressure wristband to ward off motion sickness.

How Obesity During Pregnancy Affects Your Baby

Your baby relies on you to provide nutrients for growth and development.  Women who are obese during pregnancy have higher risks of certain disorders and poor outcomes.

• Premature birth
• Stillbirth
• Cesarean delivery
• Heart defects in the baby
• Gestational diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Preeclampsia (very high blood pressure that affects organs such as the kidneys)
• Sleep apnea
• Blood clots in the legs
• Infections

You do not want these disorders to occur. A consistent plan that focuses on a healthy lifestyle is your best option for keeping a healthy weight. In fact, doing this should be your number one goal.

Determine the weight that is appropriate for you. There is a baby inside of you who needs your fat stores. Losing too much weight will definitely affect the development of your baby, and this is not good.

Reduce Your Caloric Intake

One of the fastest ways to lose weight during pregnancy is to reduce your caloric intake. Kindly note that it takes a 3500-calorie deficit to lose 1 pound over the length of a week; that’s 500 calories per day that must be cut.

Know just how many calories you need to eat to reach a healthy weight. Visit a dietician to discuss food plans before you embark on a weight loss regimen.

Note that pregnant women need to eat 1700 calories per day to ensure that mothers and babies are getting enough energy and nutrients for growth and development. Try this:

• Eat smaller portions of food
• Cut out condiments
• Swap unhealthy fats such as butter for olive oil
• Eat more fruits
• Eat vegetables instead of carbs
• Avoid sodas and drink water instead
• Do away with junk foods
• Exercise for 30 minutes daily
• Walk briskly every morning, and consider taking pregnancy yoga classes to help you relax

Exercise During Pregnancy

Exercising is an excellent way of keeping your weight healthy during pregnancy, and it also has many other benefits. Stretching, swimming, and yoga are some of the exercises you can do as a pregnant woman.

Stretching During Pregnancy

Stretching is an essential part of physical health during pregnancy. Many new mothers fail to do stretching exercises, and this can cause them discomfort.

One of the main reasons pregnant women have back pain is because they are not stretching their backs as much as they could be. They are being overly taxed with their movements, but have trouble finding a way to get the benefits they are looking for.

Regular stretching will allow you to stay in good health, as well as promote good health in your baby. A baby’s well-being and overall health are important, especially at such a vulnerable time.The main idea is to stretch the muscles and increase the blood flow. It is just as important to stretch as it is to exercise to lose weight.

Stretch before, during, and after exercise. Not only does this loosen your muscles and the tendons that are holding them in place, but it also increases blood flow and oxygenation. This increased oxygen supply will help the body retain nutrients, while reducing the risk of common ailments. It will also help you to lose weight if that is appropriate for you.

Here are some stretching routines for your pregnancy.

This pregnancy stretching routine can help with many pregnancy symptoms such as insomnia, sciatica, restless leg syndrome and more. Do this safe, pregnancy stretching routine to help you combat your pregnancy symptoms and help you in preparing for labor!

Learn the Top 10 Prenatal Stretches. Relaxing and highly effective stretches to increase flexibility, prevent lower back pain, open up the pelvis, reduce sciatica caused by pregnancy, ease round ligament pain, reduce leg cramps and help prepare your body for labor! This full length prenatal stretching routine is safe for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy.

Swimming During Pregnancy

Are you pregnant and thinking about swimming? Swimming is one of the most popular forms of exercise and is great for sustaining a healthy weight during pregnancy.

Pregnant women may find that swimming helps them to relax and unwind. It is also an excellent way to help you build and stretch healthy muscles and lose extra weight while also keeping the body limber and balanced. It’s fun and easy, as well.

Swimming provides lots of blood flow to all of the muscles in the body. It increases the heart rate and improves circulation. This is ideal for a pregnant woman, who needs all the oxygen she can get to provide her baby with everything it needs to grow and develop.

• Swimming can be the best exercise for pregnant women because it can alleviate many of the aches and pains of pregnancy. It is a gentle form of exercise that can be done by many women. It is advisable to start with short sessions every few days and then slowly build up to 30-minute sessions on alternate days or daily.
• Swimming helps blood to circulate in your body and from your body to the fetus.
• It helps balance the body, especially in the third trimester if you are overweight due to fetal growth.
• The great thing is that you don’t necessarily have to be an experienced swimmer. If you knew how to swim before pregnancy, you can safely continue during pregnancy.
• Swimming can help a lot if you need to lose weight during pregnancy.

Yoga During Pregnancy – Losing Weight During Pregnancy

Yoga can provide lots of benefits to an expectant mother, such as relief from stress, a boost in emotional balance, and an increase in flexibility. Yoga can make you feel more energized and encourage you to move around, and this can help you look and feel good. It also has a positive effect on your flexibility and muscles, and this is essential for your health and your baby’s health.

Women who practice yoga regularly during pregnancy were less likely to have preterm labor or deliver a low-birth-weight baby according to a 2012 study. 

Yoga postures are meant to increase oxygen flow in the mother’s body and make her fit to carry a baby. It is also considered beneficial for improving her muscle tone and memory.

Other benefits of yoga include increasing maternal endorphins, which make the mother less tired and more receptive to further sessions of yoga. Pregnant women have a lot of stress and may benefit from a program that teaches them how to cope with it. Prenatal yoga trains a woman to remain calm and relaxed while dealing with stress.

When you practice yoga, you can work on strengthening your core, posture, and muscles. Having strong bones and muscles is also beneficial for back and joint problems.

Prenatal yoga tones the physical body, especially the pelvic floor, hip, and abdominal core muscles, in preparation for the birthing process.

Liz Owen – the co-author of Yoga for a Healthy Lower Back: A Practical Guide to Developing Strength and Relieving Pain.

Liz Owen and Holly Lebowitz Rossi have written a book called Yoga for a Healthy Lower Back: A Practical Guide to Developing Strength and Relieving Pain, which has information on back problems and yoga.

Stretching muscles that have been weakened during pregnancy can help improve their strength. Also, you will be able to recover from any pain caused during delivery. Stretching is an integral part of yoga.

One of the significant advantages of yoga is that it helps you to lose extra weight, and this is believed to improve immunity. It also increases bone density and thus decreases the risk of developing osteoporosis.

You don’t need to rush through the exercises. It helps to choose a practice you enjoy so you feel satisfied when you finish. Your energy level should improve. So go slow and take a break when you feel you have reached your limit.

The healthiest person is one who is fit and healthy. As you and your baby continue to grow, you will find that the most important thing is to keep you both in good shape.

• Pain Relief and Blood Circulation: Yoga during pregnancy can help a great deal to ease the pains of childbirth. You can practice deep breathing exercises to relax your body and calm your mind. These exercises improve blood circulation and increase the capacity of the body to heal itself. Recent studies show that yoga during pregnancy helps to lower the blood pressure.
• Improved Mental Health: Many psychological problems can occur in pregnancy. The stresses of pregnancy may lead to high blood pressure, headaches, nausea, anxiety, and depression. Stressful situations at work and in relationships and trying to parent children can cause mental strain. Yoga can make a big difference in coping with these situations.
• Increased Emotional Balance: Pregnant women need balance in their lives. Not only do they need the right nutrition to nourish their babies, but they also need time to nurture themselves. Maintaining emotional balance while pregnant is essential so that mothers-to-be can feel happy and healthy throughout pregnancy. By practicing yoga, pregnant women can overcome psychological problems that may arise.
• Increase in Physical Strength: Pregnant women require extra strength to perform daily tasks. Yoga helps increase a woman’s endurance, strength, and flexibility.
• Increased Flexibility: Yoga is a physical activity that helps increase flexibility. A woman’s posture and breathing are also improved. Pregnant women can strengthen their muscles and gain flexibility, which will help them for the duration of their pregnancy.

Yoga Throughout Pregnancy

During the first trimester, pregnant women who are already taking yoga can continue with regular classes but should inform the teacher that they are pregnant. Women who have never taken a yoga class can try a prenatal yoga class. This class takes into consideration the nausea and tiredness that pregnant women can experience and lets the mother take it easy during the first trimester. It can also help her to lose weight if that is right for her.

Practicing yoga in the second trimester is excellent for stretching and toning the muscles of the pelvic area and hips and will help get your body ready for labor.

Prenatal yoga in the third trimester can continue to prepare you for labor and delivery.

Yoga Poses to Avoid During Pregnancy

Yoga Modifications for Pregnancy – Prenatal Yoga

Here is some advice from an expert on prenatal Yoga and how you can modify some poses for safety.

Revolved Side Angle Pose | Prenatal Yoga Modification: Supported Side Angle

Full Wheel | Modification: Bridge Pose

Bow Pose | Modification: Camel Pose

Chaturanga to Upward-facing Dog | Modification: Chaturanga to Upward-facing Dog On Blocks

Forward Fold | Modification: Wide Leg Forward Fold

Twisted Chair | Modification: Wide Leg Chair With A Heart-Opener

Yoga Poses You Should Avoid During Pregnancy

Headstands. Inversions are perfectly safe during pregnancy if they were part of your practice before pregnancy. Some instructors will advise you to avoid them during the first trimester, however, this is simply a precaution during this uncertain time. There’s no research to suggest that they are unsafe when performed properly anytime during pregnancy.

Core work. Aside from crunching and twisting, many core exercises are safe during pregnancy. You want to avoid compressing your baby’s space, but exercises like plank and other isometric moves are totally fine.

Lying on your back. I have a detailed post on this issue coming soon, but in the meantime, lying on your back is generally recommended against past about 20 weeks. I continued to lie on my back, however, well into my third trimester and research shows this is likely OK for most people. Talk to your doctor about it and do what is best for you.

Whitney E. RD

Videos You Might Be Interested On Prenatal Yoga for Pregnancy

A gentle 30-Minute pre-natal yoga flow, lead by Andrea Bogart. With an emphasis on breath work, pelvic floor exercises, restorative poses, and core strength, this pregnancy sequence is designed to help you connect with your breath, relieve any tension or stress in the body, improve your circulation and build stamina. Andrea offers her tips and modifications to ensure a safe and comfortable practice for mother and child.

Kukoon Yoga’s this yoga flow is designed for your first trimester. A 25 minute journey of energy and connection.

Please avoid anything that:

• Makes you dizzy
• Causes you pain
• Is performed in a hot room
• Relies on balance, such as bike riding or skiing
• Requires that you lie on your back, especially after 12 weeks of pregnancy

Address the Issue of Weight Early

Do not wait until you are in your third trimester before attempting to lose weight, as that might be dangerous. Your baby starts growing rapidly in the third trimester so you can’t control the weight you gain during this time and continue to support the baby and placenta. It’s best to address weight issues earlier in pregnancy. Losing weight during pregnancy can be dangerous without your physician’s advice and planning.