3 months down, 18 lbs to gain

Starting Weight: 102 lbs
Weight today: 109 lbs
Week: 14


For the fit mom-to-be, the prospect of weight gain during pregnancy can be quite the mental hurdle to overcome. How do you come to terms with years of working on your body to keep strong and fit, only to watch it seemingly disappear in a matter of months? Insecurities abound, especially for me, where, being under the scrutiny of my clients, I must appear the epitome of "the healthy pregnancy". At this stage in my pregnancy, even my Lululemons have gotten tight--just today a client pointed out that I was "muffin topping". Ai carumba!


How vain of me, huh? To think that the worst thing happening to me right now is that I am gaining weight and am not fitting into my clothes. I obviously can't control this, as my weight gain thus far is nothing more than the sign of a healthy pregnancy. So what are the facts about weight gain during pregnancy? How do I make sure I gain the right amount of weight?


The Facts About Weight Gain During Pregnancy
1) The phrase "eating for two" is a misnomer. Your baby is pretty small in relation to you throughout your pregnancy. At 3 months, it's only the size of your closed fist. So you don't really need to consume much more calories than you did before pregnancy. 100-300 calories per day extra is all you need. That's the equivalent of an extra slice of multigrain toast, an extra 3oz of salmon, or 1 avocado.


2) Most of your weight gain isn't fat. In fact, in the 20-35 lbs of weight you'll gain over the course of your pregancy, only 20% of it will be fat.

Baby	8 pounds
Placenta	2-3 pounds
Amniotic fluid	2-3 pounds
Breast tissue	2-3 pounds
Blood supply	4 pounds
Fat stores for delivery and breastfeeding	5-9 pounds
Uterus increase	2-5 pounds
Total	25 to 35 pound

3) Expect to gain 1 lb per week after the first trimester. You can gain anywhere from 2-5lbs during the first trimester, after which point you should gain about 1lb per week. (That would put me right in the normal range!)


4) Exercise: do what you can. During my first trimester, the last thing I wanted to do was exercise. I was tired in a way I had never felt before. My whole body just felt heavy. Going up the usual 4 flights of stairs to my apartment was tiring...This, from a woman who has trained for and run a marathon! 


One thing I've learned being involved in health and fitness for so long, is that you have to listen to your body.  You might not be able to push yourself like you did before you were pregnant. Your body's energy is being directed towards growing your baby, and your hormones are very much out of your control. Do what you can when you can, but be mindful to try and do something at least 3 times a week: go for 45 minute walk, take the stairs, do a light weightlifting workout. 


Keep yourself in good habits, because by the 2nd trimester it gets easier, and you can increase your intensity again. Even at this point, though, you may still find your heart beating in your chest after doing a brief stint of more intense cardio. It's okay, your blood volume is ever increasing and your heart has to manage a larger blood supply.