Weight Gain and Pregnancy.

This is such a great post!

I am with you. I’m a scale hater. I definitely went through the same thing as you: weighing myself constantly, and that number completely determined my mood for the day. It was awful.

I found that once I ditched the scale and started focusing on how I felt and how my clothes fit (just like you said), I was SO much happier. I definitely still struggle on some days, but I always try to focus on the fact that I am healthy and fit!

While I’m not pregnant now, I do hope to have children one day and I definitely hope that I can adopt that same attitude as you: the baby’s needs come FIRST! :)

So excited for you!!! I love reading your pregnancy updates!

My lower abdomen hurt during pregnancy and I didn’t run :) There are a ton of ligaments that help hold the uterus in position, and I think I strained quite a few – especially with my second pregnancy. They make special support belt/girdle type things that “hold things in”, but I never wanted to spend the extra $$ on them. I have a love/hate relationship with the scale. Those numbers can totally make or break my day. I’m trying to lose weight, and I’m forcing myself to only weigh myself twice a week. Going from a 2-3 times a day weighing to twice a week takes a lot of strength, but I’m trying. I gained 40 with my son, and then 50 with my daughter (but after my son was born, I lost 60, so I actually weighed less with my daughter). I watched what I ate with my son the first 6 months, and then just kind of ate when and what I felt like after that. With my daughter, we had some issues going on (thought I had miscarried or that she was a blighted ovum), and I stress ate the first 3 months pretty hard-core. I think I gained most of my weight then! I’m still trying to lose the baby weight from her, and she’s almost 2! It’s all good though, my kids were TOTALLY worth not looking good in a bikini :)

Great post, girl! I weigh myself on occasion, but I’m not someone who lets the number affect my mood for the day … usually haha. But I think it’s great that you know what’s best for YOU and your body!! Love ya! ;)

I don’t even own a scale! I’ll check in once in a while at my parents house, because they have one … mostly because I’m curious about the amount of muscle I’ve gained. I can see it in the mirror, but I like seeing the number go up and know it’s a good thing :) But I doubt I’ll ever buy one!

I appreciate your approach to gaining weight during pregnancy. While it’s easy to say “eating for two” all of the time, it’s just as easy to obsess over every pound gained. I did keep track of the scale numbers, but I didn’t freak out over each weigh-in because I knew that it was all for the health of the baby.

Also, I ran until I was 33 weeks along, and I did get some lower belly pains, especially in those later weeks. I think it was just due to the pressure of the baby and my body not being used to carrying the extra weight. My doctor was totally ok with me continuing to run, so I did. You may just want to keep an eye on it and if you notice anything odd (sharp pains, constant even after finishing the run) I’d call the doc just to be safe.

I started to use a support belt and that helped with muscle soreness in my abs and back.

I never weigh myself either and when I was preggo, I only peaked at the scale a few times. If you gain a normal amount of weight (25-30 pounds), you will be amazed at how fast it falls off. i was back to my normal weight at my 2 week appointment. There must be a lot of fluid in there.

Really smart to stay away from the scale. It messed with me a bit while I was pregnant, but luckily I was able to combat it. As for running, my low abs would get a little sore sometimes after a run. Nothing too incredibly painful, but a little bit. I think it’s pretty normal. I ran until 25 weeks when I did a half marathon and jacked up my hip because of the loosening joints (felt fine during the race… and then could barely walk afterwards). I’ve loved reading about your pregnancy! :)

Thanks so much for posting about this Janae! I also OBSESSED about my weight and I actually struggled in the beginning with what being pregnant was going to do to my body. It’s comforting to hear your mindset on the whole thing, I also do not have the nurse tell me what I weigh, and just ask to be told if I’m on the right track!

I actually love that you posted this and I think it’s such a smart thing to do, especially with a history of being overly concerned with numbers. Randomly, I do the same thing (not pregnant), but just at the doctors in general. I don’t weigh myself at home, and at the doctor’s I turn around so I don’t see the number. I prefer to just go by how my clothes fit, and make sure I’m eating a healthy diet instead! You’re going to be such a great mom, that little baby is going to be lucky to have you!

I was exactly like you. When I got pregnant last year I decided nothing else mattered. I was blessed to get pregnant and I was going to blessed with a baby. I ran until I was about 18 weeks and then I felt like I was going to die so I did a lot of walking. The less I worried about the weight gain the greater I felt. My child was born 6 weeks early and was in the NICU for 2 weeks (she is now a healthy/chubby 4 month old). It is during those moments when you realize nothing else matters. The more I focused on my baby the less I worried about my body (which was freeing and an awesome feeling! first time in years I felt this way). I am finally ok with my body, it grew and continues to feed a baby. I can grow a human and for that I am grateful. The more I focus on her the happier I am with myself. Plus your boobs will get so big nursing it will make your waist look tiny and you will feel a little “pron- starish” then you will have a whole bunch of funny thoughts and conversations about your new figure. congrats on the pregnancy, i love your blog and am so happy for you and Billy!

during pregnancies I did not want to know my weight
A lot of it had to do with deny
deny of how big I was and how hard it would be to loose the weight
I would not look at the number and would ask the nurse to not yell it out loud because I was really embarrassed
I did not want my husband to know the number either…
now I am all good and I dont stress about it anymore

Sometimes I swear you just always say the right things :) I’m not even pregnant yet but I am going to be always going on the scale backwards at the doctors from now on. I’ve battled the scale many times, and I’ve been too skinny, too heavy (in my own opinion at least) and then too skinny again about 3 more times. Throwing out the scale was a huge part of that. The number could ruin my entire day. It was really my starting to read healthy living blogs, like yours, that made my relationship with food, weight and exercise healthier than they have ever been. The hubby and I are hoping to have babies in the next few years, and I’ve already been thinking about the body/weight stuff. I really think the backwards scale thing is going to really help! This kind of rambled..but the point was, thanks! :)

Never been pregnant so no real advice but I love how you weighed in at the doc. Don’t know if you’ve ever read Sweet Potato Queen Book of Love by Jill Connor Brown but she took the same approach to being weighed at the docs office when pregnant. (she talked about it in her first book I think — I dont know her personnally). For whatever reason I always thought it was a brilliant approach.

Scale hater!! I used to use it to predicate my mood and was usually in a bad mood b.c. it didn’t tell me the number I wanted. I gave it up and have been a happier person b.c. of it!

I just threw out my scales last week, once I realised I’m never going to be the weight I was before my babies were born. I’m not overweight by any means, it’s all about loving yourself and setting the example for my kids (I would be so upset if my son or daughter let weight control their lives like I have done). I had lower abdomen pain when I tried to run while pregnant, so I gave it a break and did a lot of walking, low impact aerobic and swimming. I have never eaten so well like I did when pregnant, because I allowed myself to eat what my body craved which luckily for me was mainly healthy foods.

It is so funny that you quit craving as much sugar while pregnant and want salty stuff. I am normally a savory person but could not get enough sugar while pregnant. I could have lived off of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and root beer (I didn’t of course, I at least tried to get some nutrients)

Good call on not weighing yourself. What does it matter? In December I had baby number four at home with a midwife an neither of us knew my weight at all during the pregnancy. We knew that I looked alright, felt fine, ate when I was hungry and kept running all the way through to 41 weeks. As for post partim your body should look after that too. Just this week I’m finally ravenously hungry (baby is three months yesterday) which is a sign to me that my body is back where it wants to be and now needs so help to stay there. I’ve been runnig since 9 days post (obviously not for everyone) an amount up mileage towards a half in May. It was Sunday’s 12 miles that pushed me into hungry and experience tells me I’ll stay super hungry from now until I’m done nursing. My advice, pregnancy is one of those things your body knows more about than your mind. Trust it and you’ll be fine.

After your posts recently about body imagine and loving ourselves I decided to stop weighing myself and get ahold of some weird food issues. I am making my way through Intuitive Eating and haven’t been on the scale in a couple of weeks. I know pregnancy is in my future (sooner than later) and for my children’s sake, I need to get a grasp on better body image. I told myself that when I was pregnant I would step on the scale backwards too! Glad I am not the only one. Thanks Janae!!! You are going to be a great Mom!

Also, ligament pain is very real. A belt may help. I find them hot but it may help releive the pressure an pulling. Oh yeah, and just wait until abating in your side suddenly means a pain somewhere way out in front of you.

Sounds like a perfect idea, making sure you are taking care of Le bebe without stressing yourself out!

I have always been a weigh every day kind of person … and like you it made my day or made me grumpy … even now I am unable to not weigh myself … I don’t know why as by looking at the mirror I can pretty much tell you accurately my day’s weight.

Oddly enough during my 2 pregnancies I did not mind the weight gain … and I gained a lot of weight and at 5’3″ well, lets just say even a pound shows :) … I still weighed myself but at that time did not care.

Congrats … again :) … enjoy …

My lower abs were so sore from about 20 weeks on — even with my 2nd pregnancy when I wasn’t running! I think it’s totally normally. My hip pain is what killed running for me though – I could deal with the other stuff!

I stressed about my weight the first pregnancy. Not that I DID anything about it, but I still weighed myself regularly and had a hard time giving up that “control.” I didn’t care AT ALL with my 2nd pregnancy (and french fries were my BEST FRIEND) and you know what? I gained exactly the same amount. I definitely learned that your body is going to gain what it wants to – and if you stay active you’ll loose it very quickly!!

YES! Lots of things were sore! haha! Here’s a little TMI for you… My pelvic bone- like.. down there- was SO SORE. Like- it felt like I got kicked in the crotch! Turns out its called pubis symphisis (sp?) and I had it with both pregnancies! YOWCH! I also got a TON of Braxton Hicks contractions when I ran, but my doctor said that as long as they stop when you stop – its safe. The peeing, the braxton hicks, the pain, the unbalance and awkwardness, the lack of speed and endurance.. working out while preggo is hard work- but TOTALLY worth every single bit of it!!! You and your body (and your healthy baby!) will thank you for taking such great care of yourself! And as far as weight gain– good for you not worrying about it! Seriously! I gained 20lbs in 20 weeks with both pregnancies- but by 40 weeks- I totalled out at 28 lbs. Everyone gains differently. I happen to pack it on in the beginning of pregnancy and then barely gain at the end- lots of people are the opposite. Your body will come back! Congrats again!!!!

i weighed when pregnant but only bc I wanted to make sure I was weighing enough. The health of the baby was the ultimate concern. I weighed only at my doctors’ visits.

I hate the scale. The only time I get weighed is when I’m at the doctor’s office, and even then I don’t look. My fiance recently asked me if I wanted to register for a scale for our wedding, and I said “no, thank you”!

I did the same thing during my pregnancy and it was one of the best decisions I made. Especially, as you said, after the baby (babies – in my case!) is born. I just had a goal to have my clothes fit again … I didnt obsess over numbers.

As for the lower abdomen pain, get a belly band. There are some really scary looking devices that I shied away from, I used the BeBand from Target until I got really big and just that little bit of support took the pressure off of my lower abdomen.

Hi my friend!

Yes, I do remember my lower abdomen being sore while running. Some days I’d feel it more than others. But, I don’t recall it being too much of a problem.

Scale hater. I judge by how my clothes fit & Rocky is a good mirror for me. He’ll tell me…”you’re losing your butt, so you prob. need to eat a little more fat & protein.” He’s prob. smart for not saying the opposite. for example…”are you SURE you want that apple pie because your butt, is looking a little more puffy than usual!” :)

When I was preggers with Ryan I was a little too concerned with weight only because of our wedding. We had our wedding when I was 8 mos. pregnant. With Rissa & Royce I was more comfortable & less restrictive. I ate what I wanted & stayed active. They were all very healthy 7 1/2 lb. babies! :) xo

This is a great post and I love that you don’t check your weight. I think that’s a great route to take, especially if you have been obsessive in the past. I have friends who have been obsessed with gaining as little weight as possible and I think that’s sad.

I gained a little over 40 pounds with both pregnancies (!!) though I didn’t look it the second time around and was running/spinning up to 7.5 months. My problem seems to be I the first tri BC of major food aversions to things like veggies and chicken. I have to continually eat salty carbs to quell the nauseated feeling…..ICK. So I am currently in that stage now and getting up at 4:30 a, to run is a struggle right now! Hoping to gain a little less than 40 this time. I did lose all of the weight and then some both times by 6 months post partum and my babies were very healthy which is what is most important!

I weigh myself, but usually it’s for novelty. Like, how much weight did I gain from morning to night (basically, how much water did I drink).

i really like your approach to not knowing the # on the scale. i have never cared about #’s and never weigh myself. but once i was pregnant and had to get weighed so frequently i think i became a little obsessed. i am naturally thin and have a great metabolism. my mom did not gain a lot of weight with either of her pregnancies. i only gained 17lbs with my son last year. and i am happy about that but not happy about how i would get so obsessed with that number. i def. ate everything i wanted (including ice-cream literally every night) but i wish i had relaxed more and focused on the baby.

I tried to keep running with my 2nd kid, but i freaked out about whether my body temp was getting too hot (how should i know if it was or not!?) and decided it wasn’t worth it to me to worry about it, so i only walked. About weight gain: one book i read (the author had 4 kids) said she thinks our body is designed to gain a certain amount of weight no matter what we do during pregnancy. She exercised with one pregnancy and was on bed rest with another but still weighed about the same at delivery time. I think maybe there’s some truth to that ~ i started off about 10 pounds less with my 2nd pregnancy than my 1st but just gained more so at delivery time with each, i weighed within 3 lbs of the other. Later it’s so fun to say something ridiculous like “I gained 48 lbs with my last pregnancy!” [true story!] which no matter what makes you look so much skinnier later! You can be amazed for getting that weight off (ah, well, i got most of it anyway! ;-) I also liked doing the monthly pic of my belly. Just remember the whole “9 months up, 9 months down.” We deserve that 9 months (or more!) to lose the weight! We didn’t gain it overnight, and most of us don’t lose it overnight either! You’re doing great!

I think it’s great that you know how you respond to the scale and choose to stay away from it. I never worried about what I ate and the scale while pregnant. I’ve lost all the weight and am at the thinnest I’ve ever been. (Healthiest too!) I wasn’t a runner while pregnant, but I know that ligaments are stretching and I felt pressure on my lower abdomen, but that could be because I had to pee constantly!

I am going through the same thing. I was anorexic/bulimec all through high school and college and finally got over it. It’s been ten years and I really thought most of those feelings had disappeared. However, they really don’t! I don’t own a scale at the house but now that I’m pregnant they weigh me at the doctor’s every time I go. They said they could weigh be backwards but I didn’t think it would be a problem. However, at my last appointment I had gained 8 pounds (for the first trimester) and the midwife said, “Whoa, that’s a HUGE jump. You’re gonna need to slow it down a bit.” It took all my self control to not break down in tears. I had been fine with the weight gain but guess I wasn’t ok with gaining too much weight. Now I can’t stop stressing about what I eat. If I drink a glass of chocolate milk I wonder if it’s making me too fat, if I go out to eat I feel like I should just eat salad, etc. I am still mad at the midwife for saying that, especially since my OB records clearly state that I had an eating disorder. So, now I feel like I should tell them the next time I go that I don’t want to know my weight anymore. It’s crazy how fast those feelings come back!

Also, I have a lot of lower abdominal pain and my midwife said it’s just poop. Haha! She said that since my digestion system has slowed down my food moves a lot slower through my intestines and that a lot of the cramps/pain I was feeling was just poop cramps. Of course, you should definitely say something to the doctor/midwife at your next appointment or even call them. My midwife asked a bunch of questions about what I was feeling before she decided that it was my intestine that was painful and not my uterus. So, it never hurts to ask!

Good for you. i love that you just go by how your clothes fit and not by a stupid number. I tend to get obsessive about things like that too!!! ps would have loved to see a pic of you backwards on a scale lol

If you breast feed it will help the weight melt off…at least it did in my case. I gained a little more weight at the end than I intended, but overall listened to my body. Am happy to say that I’m below my pre-pregnancy weight & little man will be 6 month’s old in a couple of weeks. I’ve had to be consious about what I eat & trying to get activity in, but don’t feel deprived & have kept up my milk supply so far. You’ll be just fine! You’re a great role model for others:-)

Your choices, your attitude………such an inspiration!

Janae, I am a longtime reader but infrequent commenter; however, I HAD to stop by and say how much I loved this post! You have such a healthy attitude toward food and I wish more bloggers would express this instead of focusing on calories. I’ve turned to calorie counting to try to lose weight in the past, but being a VERY numbers-oriented person (ha, check my latest post for more on that), it just became incredibly stressful for me to try to get all the numbers to line up. I weigh myself once a week or so, just to make sure there’s no long term weight gain trend (I ignore the extra pound or two up or down because that’s just water weight, unless it shows up consistently), and like you, I use the fit of my clothes to determine how my body is doing. Besides, if you lift weight and build muscle, you’re going to weigh more from that anyway!

I also think this philosophy is great for running and working out – though it’s hard not to want to track the numbers there.

I did have some pain in my lower abdomen and I decided it was probably best not to run anymore and that was actually confirmed by my doc yesterday at my appointment…i have something a little off…and running…jumping could cause harm. As long as you feel good while running and it is soar and doesn’t HURT, i wouldn’t worry about it but if you do have any concerns you should call your doc … you are so healthy i am sure it is jsut growing pains :o)

Awesome posting! Thank you!
I have a random question that is kind of unrelated to the scale question but is related to the topic of food and weight. I find that I am greatly influenced by what/how much the people I am with eat…I always want to eat less than the person I am with instead of eating how much I know is right for me. Have you (or anyone else out there) struggled with this?

You are such a great role model, Janae. Would you be willing to write a post about how you gained the weight that was needed to get your period back while also continuing to run consistently? I am struggling with that and would love to get your advice!