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Pregnancy Weight by the Pound

LilSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:34 -0800

A pregnant woman is expected to gain anywhere from 11 to 40 pounds, depending on her weight before carrying her child. Unless they're breaking records, most babies aren't tipping the scales past 10 pounds so what is causing all the extra weight? Ice cream and pizza aside, we've detailed where expecting mamas can anticipate the extra baggage to come from during those nine blissful months.

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Did You Pig Out in the Final Days of Pregnancy?

LilSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:00:01 -0700

Can the final days of pregnancy be compared to a scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where Augustus Gloop is seen gobbling up a buffet of wonderful foods? Maybe. For women who watch their weight throughout their nine months, the final days of pregnancy can be an opportunity to indulge in the tasty treats they deny themselves throughout the rest of the prenatal period.

A friend recently told me about her week of gluttony following her final doctor's appointment. Not a fan of her weekly weigh-ins at her obstetrician's office, my friend left her 39-week appointment pleased with her overall weight gain. Given baby's breech presentation, the doctor had scheduled a c-section for the following week. Knowing that she would not have to get on the scale before her surgery, my friend spent her final days of pregnancy gobbling up the hamburgers, ice cream sundaes and pizza slices she had forgone over the past nine months. Though she said she really wasn't hungry due to the little space left in her stomach, she was enjoying the tastes of her favorite foods before she would have to focus on losing her baby weight.

My friend's week of indulgence got me thinking: did you treat yourself to some special foods before giving birth?

Want to talk pregnancy with other expectant mamas? Join the LilSugar Community!

LilSugar Exclusive: Celebrity Trainer Provides Postpartum Exercise Tips

LilSugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:00:28 -0700

Eating for two may sound like fun during pregnancy, but after the baby arrives, the reality of nine months of eating quickly sets in. While 75 percent of LilSugar readers kept track of their weight throughout their pregnancy, the thought of returning to a regular exercise routine is a task few new mamas are ready to tackle. From group exercise classes to at-home videos, there are a variety of methods for shedding baby weight.

Celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak, creator of 5-Factor Fitness and Diet Plan who helped Milla Jovovich lose the 70-plus pounds she gained during pregnancy and is now working with Jennifer Hudson, recently provided us with his take on how to jump-start a postnatal workout routine.

Following a vaginal birth with no severe tearing or complications from gestational diabetes, Pasternak recommends checking with your doctor and beginning this routine:

Start slow. Begin with one 10-minute walk each day. Slowly add a minute a day thereafter until you reach the 30-minute mark.

Add strength training. Once the doctor gives you the green light, begin with only one set per body part. Work your way up with multiple sets and gradually increase resistance and intensity.

Keep it simple. Don't turn to the most difficult machines you used prior to delivery. Stick with simple movements using your own body weight, dumbbells, barbells, or a HarleyBar for some light weight training.

Avoid high-impact movements for a while. The body is still filled with hormones that increase joint laxity, so it is important to monitor your activities.

Try a 5-Factor workout. (1) A cardio warm-up (2) A strength circuit with upper body (3) Lower body (4) Abs (5) Finish up with a cardio cool-down

Do these sound like tips you can put to good use?

Baby Fat: Did You Decide Not to Know Your Pregnancy Weight?

LilSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:30:52 -0700

Pregnancy is a natural process that usually packs on the pounds. Some ladies eat for two and aren't surprised when the scale tips in a not so favorable direction while others retain water, which accounts for some of their excess weight. Depending on how much of a tracker the expectant woman is, she may choose to monitor her growing figure down to the ounce or decide to opt out of the entire process.

A fit friend recently told me she enjoyed her nine months with child by instructing the nurses who weighed her in not to disclose the numbers. Not realizing this was an option, I inquired about it at my last doctor's appointment. The staff said it isn't uncommon for a healthy mom-to-be to not want to know and they are happy to oblige her request by having her step on the scale with her back to the weights.

Pregnorexia, Starving for Two

LilSugar — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Eating for two is one of the delights expectant mothers take in their pregnancies. A double scoop of ice cream here, a second slice of pizza there, it all adds up to the 25-35 pounds an average-sized woman is expected to gain throughout her nine months. The new weight gain guidelines reduce the amount of weight an above-average-sized woman should gain. But what about mamas-to-be who don't gain enough and count every calorie?

"Pregnorexia," the occurrence of anorexia during pregnancy, often occurs when a mama-to-be uses extreme dieting and exercise to ward off weight gain. The lack of calories and nutritional intake can lead to premature delivery, low birth weight and long-term health problems for the baby. Since the media scrutinizes celebrity moms' postpartum figures, some people blame television and magazines for the rise of the eating disorder. What's your opinion?

Catch Some ZZZs to Lose the Baby Weight

LilSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:00:00 -0700

Is getting shut-eye a form of exercise? Your newborn may not be the only one to benefit from a good night's sleep. Studies show that postpartum women getting less than seven hours of sleep each night have a harder time losing their baby weight than those who do.

According to one of the studies:

Sleep deprivation can cause changes in the levels of hormones involved in appetite regulation. Keep in mind, though, that there are multiple factors involved in causing postpartum women to sleep less. These include just having a newborn, having other small children at home, possible postpartum depression, illness of the newborns, if any, work, etcetera.

Most every mother would love to hit the hay for a bit longer, but making it happen isn't necessarily a matter of choice. What's your take on the issue?

Do You Agree With the New Pregnancy Weight Guidelines?

LilSugar — Sun, 31 May 2009 05:00:00 -0700

It's not news that Americans, on the whole, are overweight. For the first time in almost 20 years, the Institute of Medicine has issued new national recommendations regarding weight gain during pregnancy. While the guidelines have not changed for under- and average-weight women, for the 55 percent of women of childbearing age who are overweight the new limits are strict:

Normal-weight women, as measured by a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9, should gain between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy.
Overweight women, as measured by a BMI between 25 and 29.9, should gain 15 to 25 pounds during pregnancy.
Obese women, as measured by a BMI of 30 or higher, should only gain 11 to 20 pounds.
Underweight woman, as measured by a BMI less than 18.5, should gain 28 to 40 pounds.

Do you agree that the weight gain limits should be different based on a woman's pre-pregnancy size?

Shedding Baby Weight Has Been a Cinch For Rebecca Romijn

LilSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:00:46 -0700

Motherhood seems like a natural fit for newbie Rebecca Romijn. The wife of Jerry O'Connell is featured on the cover of the latest issue of InStyle and posed for an inside spread with their darling duo - 5-month old twin daughters, Dolly Rebecca Rose and Charlie Tamara Tulip. And, it seems that though the celebmama ate for three during pregnancy, the postpartum pounds have been anything but stubborn. Rebecca said:

I'm a jeans size up from where I usually am, but there's nothing about it that freaks me out-I've always said that sexy is having a really strong sense of yourself and never taking yourself too seriously.

After debuting a svelte figure just weeks after leaving the hospital with her new babes, the actress has attributed her rapid weight loss of about 60 pounds in four months and fit physique to two things - breastfeeding and Spanx, not exercise. To see what she said, read more. Last month, Rebecca told People:

I think within the first three weeks, I took off like 35 lbs. without doing anything! I haven't been able to work out that much because I have twins. It's impossible to get back into a regular schedule.

It looks like the former model turned mama has some amazing genetics.

Probiotics Help Melt Postpartum Belly Fat

LilSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:00:35 -0700

The battle against those postpartum pounds may have just gotten easier.

A recent study by researchers from the University of Turku in Finland followed 256 pregnant women in a study on weight gain. The women who received probiotics during and after their pregnancy saw the best results. According to one of the doctors conducting the study, "One year after childbirth, they had the lowest levels of central obesity as well as the lowest body fat percentage."

Probiotics can be found in both yogurt and yogurt drinks that contain live cultures.

Source

Nine Ways to Lose the Baby Weight

LilSugar — Wed, 13 May 2009 06:00:40 -0700

Nine months up, nine months down. That may be the adage we follow to remind ourselves why we are still wearing our maternity pants several months after a baby's birth, but there are plenty of methods for losing those pounds faster. Sixty-five percent of lilsugar readers said they lost the weight by baby's first birthday. Some studies show that women who aren't well on the road to dropping pounds within six months of childbirth will have a tougher time the further out they are. Most doctors will clear a woman for exercise in the month or two after their delivery. Take a look at some of the methods that are most effective for mamas.

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