Weight Gain in Pregnancy

Weight gain in pregnancy

Spotlight on:

How much weight should I put on in pregnancy?

So where is my pregnancy weight gain going?

How should I manage my weight gain in pregnancy?

What happens if I am overweight or underweight in pregnancy?

We all secretly fret not just about weight gain in pregnancy but also about eating well for our baby. My pregnancy week by week online fitness and wellbeing programme is designed to keep you fit, healthy and ready to bounce back once you give birth.

Try it for FREE and see for yourself!

Not surprisingly, weight gain in pregnancy features high up on the list of concerns amongst mums-to-be, not least because of our Western obsession with body image. We all want to do the right thing and give our babies the best start in life - healthy eating, pregnancy exercise, and an accompanying ideal weight gain in pregnancy are all part of this equation. You’ll find my FREE Pregnancy Diet Quiz absolutely perfect for setting you off on the right track. So grab your copy now!

Download your FREE quiz from the top right hand corner!

How much weight should I put on in pregnancy?

I am sure that you are well and truly aware that the old belief that in pregnancy you need to “eat for two” is really not the case. For the majority of your pregnancy you do not need to consume any more calories than usual and so you should, on average, be aiming to eat around 2000kcal a day. It is only towards the end of pregnancy, in your final trimester, that your calorie intake should increase by approximately 200kcal. If you eat more than the recommended energy intake, the likelihood is that there will be excessive weight gain in pregnancy and that this will be stored as maternal fat which you will find yourself battling to lose after the birth.

How much weight gain in pregnancy who should expect, is dependent on your pre-pregnancy body mass index; this being your weight to height ratio. If you are underweight you should expect an increased weight gain in pregnancy than if you are overweight.

Pregnancy Weight	Kg	Lbs
Underweight	12.5-18kg	28-40lbs
Normal	11.5-16kg	25-35lbs
Overweight	7-11.5kg	15-25lbs
Obese	5-9kg	11-20lbs

So where is my weight gain in pregnancy going?

Well, in answer to that question you might well feel like flippantly answering that all your weight gain in pregnancy has glued itself to your hips. Don’t worry because it hasn’t, and as long as you are eating a healthy, balanced diet and consuming around 2000kcal a day, it won’t! Here, on average, is where the weight goes:

WHERE PREGNANCY WEIGHT GAIN GOES

Baby	3-4kg/7-9lbs
Maternal Fat	2.5kg/5½lbs
Uterus	1kg/2lbs
Amniotic Fluid	1kg/2lbs
Increased blood & fluid	1.5kg/3lbs
Water retention	2.5kg/5½lbs
Placenta	0.7kg/1½lbs
Breasts*	0.5kg/1lb
TOTAL	12.5+-13.5+kg/28-30lbs

*OK, I guess some of you are thinking “more like 10lbs not 1lb!” Don’t complain. I went from a triple “A” bra size to a double “A” which was not very impressive!

Is it safe to diet in pregnancy?

Whether or not it is safe to diet in pregnancy, depends on what you mean by “dieting”. If you are wondering whether now is the right time to knock off excess weight by going on the latest celebrity fad diet, then the answer is “no”. Research into the effects of malnutrition amongst pregnant and breastfeeding women has shown that their babies are born, on average, with lower IQs. Most of these quick fix diets are all about getting visible results quickly but there is usually a price to pay: they are rarely sustainable or truly balanced and healthy.

On the other hand, I would wholeheartedly encourage you to take a close and honest look at the way you are eating and to then use your pregnancy as a wonderful opportunity to start healthy eating habits which will benefit you, your partner, and, of course, the little baby you are busy growing inside you. My FREE Pregnancy Diet Quiz is the ideal tool for analysing how your pregnancy eating is shaping up, and the detailed feedback I send you will set you up for a truly healthy pregnancy. So get hold of your copy from the top right hand corner of this page right now and make sure that your weight gain in pregnancy stays perfectly on track.

Pregnancy is a time for nutritious food not dieting. Get your healthy eating and fitness on track with my pregnancy week by week online fitness and wellbeing programme.

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How should I manage my weight gain in pregnancy?

First of all I truly believe that the last thing you should be feeling is guilty or anxious about weight gain in pregnancy – it is a necessary and perfectly normal part of expecting and as such, it should be embraced. Use your pregnancy as a wonderful opportunity to reassess your lifestyle and put in place small, practical and above all, sustainable, changes which will keep you feeling happy, healthy and ready for motherhood.

Pregnancy exercise to manage weight gain in pregnancy

Pregnancy exercise will help you manage weight gain in pregnancy

So take advantage of all that’s on offer here on my website, whether it be my FREE weekly newsletters which are packed with tips, ideas and advice on keeping fit and healthy in pregnancy or my FREE Pregnancy Diet Quiz – both to be found in the top right hand corner of this page.

Or decide NOW to make your pregnancy healthy and fit....

My week-by-week online pregnancy fitness and wellbeing programme is designed to keep you fit and to help you stay on track with your weight gain in pregnancy.

Try it for FREE and see for yourself!

What happens if I am overweight or underweight in pregnancy?

Overweight in pregnancy

Being severely overweight during pregnancy has a number of significant disadvantages and so it is very much in your interest to try and avoid excessive weight gain in pregnancy and to manage your weight during the pre-conceptual period. Obesity in pregnancy leaves you at greater risk of pregnancy complications:

Miscarriage
High blood pressure
Pre-eclampsia
Excessive tiredness
Restricted movement as your pregnancy progresses and your bump grows
A larger than average baby with associated problems at the time of delivery

If you have not successfully tackled the weight situation during the pre-conceptual period, don’t give up: it is never too late to start eating healthily. Whilst you cannot and should not put yourself on a “diet” of your own making during pregnancy (a trained dietician would have to do this) you can most certainly start to follow healthy eating patterns by upping your vegetable, fruit, wholegrain and healthy protein intake, whilst simultaneously reducing your consumption of saturated animal fats, refined sugars, and swapping processed foods and refined carbohydrates (white bread, white rice, cake etc) for wholegrain. This will immediately ensure that your weight gain in pregnancy stays inline with the recommended figures.

The feedback you’ll receive from my FREE Pregnancy Diet Quiz will give you masses of simple, quick and practical ideas on how to adjust your diet with minimal effort and maximum health benefits, helping effectively manage your weight gain in pregnancy.

Download your FREE guide from the top right hand corner

Underweight in pregnancy

Firstly, if you are underweight the likelihood is that it took you longer to conceive than you might have wished. Now that you are expecting, that’s wonderful news, but you need to make a concerted effort to consume a wide and full range of nutrients. Being underweight in pregnancy leaves you at greater risk of:

Anaemia during pregnancy
Having a baby who is underweight
Delivering prematurely