Pregnant and overweight with a meany doctor

[ZweetiePie]

I am 22 weeks pregnant. I was 199 when I found out I was pregnant(sometime in August). My dr told me that since I was obese I needed to only gain 18-25 pounds my entire pregnancy and that it would actually be more natural for me to lose weight. Well I have gained 21 pounds so far. She was visibly irritated at my last visit. My hubby and I had been walking about 3-4 times a week from August to Thanksgiving. From Thanksgiving to Christmas we really haven't exercised just because of busyness from the holidays. My diet is really not too bad either. I have been craving meat and vegetables most of the pregnancy and am eating way less sweets than I did when I wasn't pregnant. I understand that gaining a lot of weight puts you at risk for problems with the pregnancy but I don't think I am gaining an astronomical amount of weight....or that I am particularly obese to begin with. Granted, if I wasn't pregnant I would probably be trying to lose weight just because I know that I am not as healthy as I should be. At this time for the last 3 years I have been training and doing the marathon or the goofy at Disney in a week. It kind of depresses me that I am not involved in a race just because it is something that I have looked forward to every year. I am thinking of signing up to walk a 10k at the end of March to try to up my exercise. Any thoughts/advice/ramblings/suggestions would be appreciated (particularly in the area of what I should focus on eating/not eating to try to stay as healthy as possible without going crazy and or depriving my little boy).

 

[dis-happy]

I am 22 weeks pregnant. I was 199 when I found out I was pregnant(sometime in August). My dr told me that since I was obese I needed to only gain 18-25 pounds my entire pregnancy and that it would actually be more natural for me to lose weight. Well I have gained 21 pounds so far. She was visibly irritated at my last visit. My hubby and I had been walking about 3-4 times a week from August to Thanksgiving. From Thanksgiving to Christmas we really haven't exercised just because of busyness from the holidays. My diet is really not too bad either. I have been craving meat and vegetables most of the pregnancy and am eating way less sweets than I did when I wasn't pregnant. I understand that gaining a lot of weight puts you at risk for problems with the pregnancy but I don't think I am gaining an astronomical amount of weight....or that I am particularly obese to begin with. Granted, if I wasn't pregnant I would probably be trying to lose weight just because I know that I am not as healthy as I should be. At this time for the last 3 years I have been training and doing the marathon or the goofy at Disney in a week. It kind of depresses me that I am not involved in a race just because it is something that I have looked forward to every year. I am thinking of signing up to walk a 10k at the end of March to try to up my exercise. Any thoughts/advice/ramblings/suggestions would be appreciated (particularly in the area of what I should focus on eating/not eating to try to stay as healthy as possible without going crazy and or depriving my little boy).

Congratulations on your pg!!!

I needed to lose when I had a surprise pg. 3 years ago. I gained a bunch (typical with me) but it's been much harder coming off this time (older age and peri-menopause is not helping!). Anyway, I did want to encourage you on the exercise. It's one thing I kept up with during the pg. and it really helped my blood sugar. Usually I'm right on the edge for gest. diabetes when pg. but passed the test with flying colors the last time due to the daily exercise. Have you had your sugar test yet?

 

[ohMom]

((HUGS)) i am so very sorry to hear that your doctor is bullying you about your weight! is she supportive otherwise? I'm sure she feels she's acting in your and baby's best interest but she should realize that a negative approach is not going to be helpful. I find it very intimidating to assert myself to doctors, but maybe think about that she is just a human with a large ego, and though she is very educated and intelligent she is wrong to belittle you. You hired her to guide you medically through a beautiful process in your family's life.

i think you sound very balanced in focusing on healthy eating and exercise, don't give up on the exercise though! walking 4-5 times a week would be fantastic and you don't want to let it go so long into the pregnancy that you can't return. it's been awhile since i've been pregnant and maybe advice has changed, but i was told it was safe to continue my routine but not start anything new. that's where i'm coming from

 

[scootch]

Walk, walk, walk. I was not overweight by much(10lbs maybe), but had mild gestational diabetes. I walked even just around the house for at least 20 minutes after each meal. Kept my diabetes in check and only gained 11 lbs my entire pregnancy. Get smaller plates and drop serving sizes. For my second pregnancy, I just tried to eat like a diabetic. I still ended up with mild gestational diabetes(may have been age related, I was in my late 30's)... but did the same thing, and only gained 13 lbs total. Congrats on your pregnancy and good luck.

 

[ZweetiePie]

My sugar test is in 5 weeks(not looking forward to it because I have to fast). We also will get another peek at the ultrasound. Thanks for the advice.

 

[buzz5985]

I am 22 weeks pregnant. I was 199 when I found out I was pregnant(sometime in August). My dr told me that since I was obese I needed to only gain 18-25 pounds my entire pregnancy and that it would actually be more natural for me to lose weight. Well I have gained 21 pounds so far. She was visibly irritated at my last visit. My hubby and I had been walking about 3-4 times a week from August to Thanksgiving. From Thanksgiving to Christmas we really haven't exercised just because of busyness from the holidays. My diet is really not too bad either. I have been craving meat and vegetables most of the pregnancy and am eating way less sweets than I did when I wasn't pregnant. I understand that gaining a lot of weight puts you at risk for problems with the pregnancy but I don't think I am gaining an astronomical amount of weight....or that I am particularly obese to begin with. Granted, if I wasn't pregnant I would probably be trying to lose weight just because I know that I am not as healthy as I should be. At this time for the last 3 years I have been training and doing the marathon or the goofy at Disney in a week. It kind of depresses me that I am not involved in a race just because it is something that I have looked forward to every year. I am thinking of signing up to walk a 10k at the end of March to try to up my exercise. Any thoughts/advice/ramblings/suggestions would be appreciated (particularly in the area of what I should focus on eating/not eating to try to stay as healthy as possible without going crazy and or depriving my little boy).

I weighed a bit more than you when I first became pregnant. And I was 38 to boot. I was told to gain 5 to 10 pounds. I gained 8. I lost 25 right after the birth - so I must have been actually losing body weight while the baby etc was gaining. I was also working 10 hour days and I had the Doctor give me a 20 pound lifting restriction.

My best advice to you is to have your doctor write you a prescription to see a nutritionist - it should be covered by your insurance. She will go over what you should eat - and the reality for me was I needed to add 1 serving of milk and 1 serving of fruit to my diet a day for a healthy baby. That was it. I too had a healthy diet - but the volume of food was too high. Example I would drink 2 glasses of milk at a time. Nutritionist was horrified. LOL

There are a lot of complications that can arise with extra - as my Dr referred to it - Maternal fat. The Dr can't get accurate measurements of growth, it's hard to feel the baby through the fat. Your just hitting when the baby starts to gain weight - and you are already up 21 pounds. Another 18 weeks - you will gain 2 pounds/week thats another 36 pounds on top of the 21 - so you can see why your Doctor is concerned. That is close to a 60 pound weight gain. And you don't want to get gestational diabetes. I believe it's an indicator of getting type 2 diabetes later in life.

Sorry if I sound harsh - I don't mean to. It's just the reality. Good Luck.

Janis

 

[natale1980]

I was 189 when I got pregnant with my son. I gained around 70lbs. My doctor never gave me a hard time and I didn't have any complications. The weight kinda just melted off quickly once the bugger was born and I was breast feeding. I started around the same weight and gained around 55lbs with my daughter and the same thing happened again. But this time I melted down to 170lbs without trying!! Of coarse I gained it back
I'm floating around 180 now and work toward a healthier me.

My point is - Your going to be fine. Don't go overboard and eat everything in sight, but don't starve yourself and do more harm then good to both of you.

Good luck and congrats!!!
-nat

 

[goodeats]

On one hand your body is going to gain what it needs to, on the other hand you might be eating too much portion wise.

I was a healthy weight prepreg, but I gained 60 pounds! I definitely indulged too much, even on healthy foods, and next pregnancy I plan to be a more strict. I also didn't exercise at all. It ended up taking me a year to lose the entire 60, and since then I've lost another 10.

 

[Zoesmama03]

Did you have your 3 hour glucose? There could be underlying causes. I'd be looking for a new Dr. if it gets bad.

While it can make health problems it doesn't always have to be the case and by your exercising you should be good. I myself was hoping to keep it in the 15-25 range but ended up gaining something like 40-45 and I was about 50 lbs heavier than your start at my start. I did good up till closer to the end. My weight and the pregnancy induced hypertension that I have dealt with off and on since depending on the weight I was maintaining at the time. It has been 7 years. There are real concerns she may have but its just bad bedside manner to show her irritation.


On a side note my best friend has gained up to 60 or more lbs with some of her 4 pregnancies without any issues. Her first where she gained 60+ was nearly 10 lb baby. No GD or anything just a big baby and perhaps that is your situation. She was normal weight within her ideal range for height with the first 3(more for 3rd and just didn't get all of it off after 3 still struggling with weight after 4 too) We both got Biggest Loser related dvds so we need to start a pact and get our exercise in. She also has a bike and treadmill. She also developed hypertension after the 3rd one when she didn't drop the weight. It is a concern/worry but can be prevented with exercise. So any little bit you can increase it may help but overall I'd say you are doing good.

I would not say restrict portions if you are eating enough to maintain your current weight plus the extra for pregnancy which isn't really much. Go with a nutritionist who can tell you specifics. I just don't like the idea of trying to reduce calories if you are eating proper amount.

 

[ZweetiePie]

Thanks again for all the advice ladies. I have started a thread in the journal section if anyone wants to follow me and help me out.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2623495

 

[rainydayplay]

Just wanted to throw my support in here. I weighed in the 170s when I got pregnant and gained up to 222. It was so incredibly frustrating because I would go in, they would say I didn't need to gain much weight and should cut back here and there. I had a month where I mostly ate fresh fruit and veggies and drank water and gained 11 pounds! The next month, I said the heck with it and ate/drank whatever I wanted (within reason) and only gained ***2*** pounds. Of course, I had tons of water retention pre- and post-partum (nothing like going in for your 5 day post-partum check up and finding out that you only lost 5 pounds of your pregnancy weight after having an 8 pound baby.)

After I had my DD, I got a copy of Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell After Pregnancy. It says that you will gain whatever weight your body feels you should gain during the pregnancy. Just make healthy choices, eat within reason, and you shouldn't have to worry too much about the weight gain.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Congrats on your pregnancy

DS is now 14 but I was in a similiar situation as you. My very thin Dr gave me hell my entire pregnancy about gaining even more weight. SHe was annoying about it but I stuck with her & was glad I did cause she was great during delivery. You should think about how you'll feel having a new Dr. with you for your delivery before you consider a switch.

I did see a nutrionist & one thing I remember that helped was her advice on not just what to eat but to eat small meals over the course of the day instead 3 squares.

The extra weight can put you at risk for gestational diabetes (among other things, I'm sure ) but it can cause problems you don't want for your baby, such as a lower birth weight or to be born premature. Looking back it seemed at the time my Dr. was being mean too but it was all in my best interest & she was right about some problems we ended up with (everything turned out fine though )

If you otherwise like your Dr., I'd stick with her. THe fact you already walk is going to help out a ton so do your best with the eating part & best of luck to you This is a special time in your life & I hope you enjoy it

 

[Mrs.Malone]

No advice; just wanted to say congratulations on your pregnancy. Keep the doc's advice in mind but don't worry about it too much!

 

[diamondpixienc]

Well first of all congrats on the little bundle. Second, I am so sorry to read that your doctor is being a bully or Jack@SS to you at what should be one of the most special times in your life. You should maybe look into reporting this Doctor's behavior to the powers that be in your area. You should not have to take this from you Doctor or anyone.

 

[shan136]

Congratulations on your pregnancy. If you have a good relationship with your doctor (other than the weight issue) I would talk to her about how you are feeling. I also gained a lot of weight early in my pregnancy, and since my obgyn practice has several doctors and they require us to see a different dr during each visit during pregnancy, I didn't have anyone take my weight gain seriously until the 5th month. At that visit, I saw my primary dr and when I said I was gaining too much (by that time 30lbs) she agreed.

I had taken my blood glucose, and although the 3hr showed up fine, she recommended that I follow the dietary guidelines for gestational diabetes. It was the best advice I got during my pregnancy. My weight gained slowed significantly which helped me to be more comfortable toward the end of my pregnancy.