Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Many mums struggle with post-baby fat and look enviously at slim-line celebrities who seemingly snap back into shape just weeks after giving birth. But the thing that most celebrities know is that if you don’t gain too much excess weight during pregnancy, you are not going to have a problem afterwards. Getting pregnant need not lead to you having to throw out most of your wardrobe after baby arrives. Many women go back to their usual size. Some women actually find that if they improve their diet during pregnancy, afterwards they are even slimmer than they were before! Eating a healthy, balanced diet will ensure that your baby get the nutrients he or she needs to grow at a healthy rate. And you only need to take in a couple of hundred extra calories a day. That’s four apples, three bananas or two more slices of bread a day. It certainly is NOT “eating for two” Your GP will keep an eye on your weight gain during your pregnancy and will advise you accordingly. A woman of average weight before getting pregnant should gain 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. Underweight women - 28 to 40 pounds. But an overweight woman’s weight gain should only be 15 to 25 pounds. A rough guideline is to gain two to four pounds during the first trimester then one pound a week for the remainder of the pregnancy. If you are carrying twins you will need extra calories and will probably gain 35 to 45 pounds. Only seven to eight pounds of the weight gained is baby. The rest is made up from the placenta, amniotic fluid, breast tissue, stored fat, increased blood and an enlarged uterus. If, since getting pregnant, you are gaining too much weight, talk to your doctor. Here are some healthy tips to slow your weight gain: • When eating fast food, go for the lower fat options such as lean chicken breast sandwich with tomato and lettuce (with low fat mayonnaise), side salad with low-fat dressing, plain bagels, or a plain baked potato with beans. • Be careful with dairy products. Use skimmed or semi-skimmed milk products and low-fat cheese or yogurt. • Soft drinks, fruit drinks, iced tea, lemonade, or powdered drink mixes have lots of empty calories. Choose water, club soda, or mineral water. • Don't add salt to foods when cooking. Salt causes you to retain water. • Limit your intake of sweets and high-calorie snacks. Biscuits, sweets, chocolates, cakes and potato crisps have a lot of calories and little nutrition. Replace them with fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt, or pretzels as lower-calorie snacks. • Try lower-fat alternatives of cooking oils, margarine, butter, gravy, sauces, mayonnaise etc. • Avoid cooking in fat. Baking, braising, grilling, steaming and boiling are healthier ways to cook. • Do some form of moderate exercise such as walking or swimming. Ask your GP’s advice before getting started.