Weight loss and pregnancy

by Shahrazad
(philadelphia)

I have been on a diet for about a year now trying to lose 15 lbs. I have cut my calories down to 1200 per day and I walk 90 mins a week.

My question is, does it matter if I eat alot of sweets if I stay at my calorie goal and my second question is, now that I have found out I am expecting, what is a healthy 'diet' calorie goal per day?

Also, I had been thinking about taking up hydraulic weight lifting to augment my weekly cardio. Is it safe to do while pregnant?

Third question, I read that I should gain about 25 lbs, but that seems excessive. If I aim for 15-20, is that still healthy so I don't have too much to lose after the baby comes?

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Diet, exercise and weight gain for healthy babies
by: Dr. Dan

Shahrazad,

If you are eating 1200 calories per day and not losing weight then your calories may be too low. And that will cause you to have low metabolism.

You would be better to eat more and to increase the intensity of your exercise. You might need more than 90 minutes per week as well.

Almost any exercise is safe in pregnancy, as long as you aren't getting blows to the abdomen. Swimming is great -- but rugby isn't a good idea.

By the way, Michelle Moss has helped a lot of women who don't want to go through pregnancy feeling overweight and unattractive.

How much weight should you gain? It depends on how heavy you are when you start.

Overweight women are at risk for having heavy babies. And when they have heavy babies they have more risks at delivery and need assisted delivery -- like a cesarean section.

Underweight women are at risk for having low birth weight babies. They need to gain a little more weight in pregnancy.

A study was done in Hong Kong, and they came up with this information:

Pre-pregancy BMI less than 19 -- recommended weight gain 13 to 16.7 kg (28-37 lbs.)

Pre-pregancy BMI 19-23.5 -- recommended weight gain 11-16.4 kg (24-36 lbs.)

Pre-pregancy BMI greater than 23.5 -- recommended weight gain 7.1-14.4 kg (15-32 lbs.)

So if you keep your weight gain in that range you and your baby should be fine.

(J Am Diet Assoc. 2000 Jul;100(7):791-6. A new recommendation for maternal weight gain in Chinese women. Wong W, Tang NL, Lau TK, Wong TW.)

Dr. Dan

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