Gain Weight Safely

Eating a heathy, balanced diet will help your baby get the nutrients they need and grow at a healthy rate. You may wonder how many extra calories you need. Yes, you do need extra calories, but you don't need to necessarily "eat for two".

The average pregnant woman will need about 300 healthy calories more a day than they did before they were pregnant. Ask your health care provider how much weight you should gain. A woman who was average weight before becoming pregnant should gain 25 to 35 pounds after becoming pregnant. A woman who was underweight should gain 28 to 40 pounds, and overweight women may only need to gain 15 to 25 pounds during their pregnancy.

If you are expecting twins, you should gain 35 to 45 pounds during pregnancy. Because twins are often born early, a higher weight is important for their health. So it is important to gain the right amount because your weight affects the babies weight.

Where Does the Extra Weight Go During Pregnancy

• Baby: 8 pounds
• Placenta: 2-3 pounds
• Amniotic Fluid: 2-3 pounds
• Breast tissue: 2-3 pounds
• Blood Supply: 4 pounds
• Stored fat for delivery and breastfeeding: 5-9 pounds
• Larger Uterus: 2-5 pounds
• Total: 25-35 pounds

Is It Safe to Lose Weight When Pregnant?

A doctor may want a woman who is very overweight when they become pregnant to lose weight. this should only occur under a doctor's care. In most cases, woman should not try to lose weight or diet during pregnancy.

How to Gain the Right Amount of Weight During Pregnancy

Try these tips if your health care provider wants you to gain weight during your pregnancy.

• Eat five to six small meals every day
• Keep quick, easy snacks on hand, like nuts, raisins, dried fruit, cheese and crackers, yogurt or ice cream.
• Spread peanut butter on toast, crackers, apples, bananas, or celery, One teaspoon of creamy peanut butter gives you about 100 calories and 7 grams of protein.
• Add nonfat powered milk to mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, and hot cereal.
• Add extras to your meal, like butter or margarine, cream cheese, gravy, sour cream, and cheese.

1st Trimester Sample Menu

2nd Trimester Sample Menu

3rd Trimester Sample Menu

What if You Gain Too Much Weight During Pregnancy?

If you have gained more weight during your pregnancy than your doctor recommended, talk to your doctor about it. You will want to wait until after delivery to lose weight, in most cases. Here are some tips to slow your weight gain:

• When eating fast food, order lower-fat items such as broiled chicken breast sandwich with tomato and lettuce (no sauce or mayonnaise), side salad with low-fat dressing, plain bagels, or a plain baked potato. Avoid foods such as French fries, mozzarella sticks, or breaded chicken patties.
• Avoid whole milk products. You need at least four servings of milk products every day. However, using skim, 1%, or 2% milk will greatly reduce the calories and fat you consume. Also, choose low-fat or fat-free cheese or yogurt.
• Limit sweet or sugary drinks, fruit punch, fruit drinks, soft drinks, iced tea, lemonade, or powdered drink mixes have a lot of empty calories. Drink water, club soda, or mineral water so you can skip extra calories. Do not add salt to any of your food when you are cooking. Salt causes you to retain water. Limit sweets and high-calorie snacks. Candies, cookies, donuts, cakes, honey, syrup, and potato chips have a lot of calories and little nutrition. Try not to eat these foods every day. Instead, you can try eating fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt, angel food cake with strawberries, or pretzels as lower-calorie snack and dessert choices.
• Use fats in moderation, such as cooking oils, margarine, butter, gravy sauces, mayonnaise, regular salad dressing, sauces, lard, sour cream, and cream cheese. Try lower-fat alternatives.
• Fry food in oil or butter will add calories and fat. Baking, broiling, boiling, and grilling are healthier preparation methods. 
• Moderate exercise can help burn excess calories. Walking and swimming is usually safe for pregnant women. Talk with your doctor what exercise would be right for you, before you start.

1st Trimester Workouts

2nd Trimester Workouts

3rd Trimester Workouts

When to Call Your Doctor

Talk to your doctor if you:

• Want to know a good target weight for you.
• Think you are gaining too much weight
• Are losing weight during the second or third trimester
• Have an eating disorder that is keeping you from eating a healthy amount of food
• Need help setting a good menu plan to gain a healthy amount of weight.
• Gain weight rapidly. This could be a sign of preeclampsia, pregnancy-related high blood pressure, a serious health issue.

Maternity Bands are a great way to still wear your favorite pants during your pregnancy!

During your pregnancy, if you eat a varied and balanced diet, your baby will have all it needs to be healthy. Here are some helpful tips for developing good eating habits. See our sample breakfast menus on "What to Eat for Breakfast Throughout Pregnancy"

Pregnancy Weight Gain: What's Healthy?

Eating for two doesn't mean you can eat twice as much as usual. Create healthy lifestyle habits to manage your pregnancy weight gain support your baby's health and make it easier for you to shed the extra pounds after delivery.

Pregnancy Weight-Gain Guidelines

When it comes to pregnancy weight gain, there is no one-size fits-all approach. The appropriate weight gain for you depends on various factors, including your pre-pregnancy weight and body mass index (BMI). You and your baby's health also play a role. Work with your health care provider to find what's right for you.

You can consider these guidelines for pregnancy weight gains:

Source: Institute of Medicine and National Research Council

When You're Carrying Twins or Other Multiples

If you are carrying twins or other multiples, you'll likely need to gain more weight. Again, work with your health care provider to find what's right for you.

Consider these general guidelines for pregnancy weight gain if you're carrying twins:

Source: Institute of Medicine and National Research Council

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When You're Overweight

If you are overweight before your pregnancy, there is an increased risk of various pregnancy complications, including gestational diabetes, high blood pressure disorders of pregnancy, such as preeclampsia, and the need for a C-section. Work with your health care provider to determine what's best in your case and to manage your weight throughout pregnancy.

When You're Underweight

If you're underweight before pregnancy, it's essential to gain a reasonable amount of weight, your baby might be born smaller than expected.

When You Gain Too Much

If you gain too much during your pregnancy can increase your baby's risk of health problems, such as being born significantly larger than average (fetal macrosomia).  You might also be at increased risk of pregnancy-related hypertension, gestational diabetes, prolonged labor, and the need for a C-section or delivery before your due date. Excessive weight gain during pregnancy can also increase your risk of blood clots in the postpartum period.

Sources:

• Weight Gain During Pregnancy: How Much is Normal?
• Pregnancy Weight Gain: What's Healthy?