My Doctor Has Become Concerned

[HeatherO 7]

My doctor expressed today that she is becoming concerned about my weight loss. I started around 154 when I conceived and now I am at 142. I lost 1 pound since my last OB visit a month ago but she said that now that I am nearing the halfway point I need to start going up.

I am not dieting at all right now. I eat when I am hungry and drink plenty or milk and orange juice. I am trying to avoid the junk food but I eat plenty of healthy foods. I am eating somewhat cautiously but not depriving myself. I am not sure why on earth I haven't gained because I am certainly eating a lot more. I have also being eating a bowl of Cereal as almost a fourth meal everyday.

She said that if I had been around 200 pounds to start, it wouldn't make a difference but she needs me to start gaining healthy weight now. She even mentioned supplements like Ensure.

I feel like I am in the twilight zone . . . I am losing too much weight, are you kidding???? My OB has never had a bandster before and I can tell by the questions she asks that she doesn't know a whole lot about it.

So what are your thoughts??? I am probably eating anywhere between 1500 to 2000 calories per day right now. I am also still physically active so this must have some impact. I don't feel like I am doing the wrong things, I just can't explain my lack of weight gain. If you were in my shoes, would you make a concerted effort to gain weight or just continue with current habits?

[Brockbabe82 0]

I would call around and see if you can find any obgyn docs who have experience with bandsters. Not necessarily to deliver your baby but to see if there is anything extra you can do. Other then that I hope everything goes well, and you and your baby are healthy:thumbup:

[Jachut 487]

I think that's a good idea.

That said, the whole you need to gain 25lb thing is a bit of a myth. Your baby needs nutrients, not calories. It takes very few extra calories to grow a baby, perhaps 250 a day in your third trimester. If you are taking in the nutrients your body needs during pregnancy, things will probably be just fine.

In my third pregnancy, I gained no weight at all. I kept it completely stable BY DIETING. Moderately - weight watches, 27 or so points a day. With my doctor's blessing. I took a good supplement and I ate really really well because I was already about 210lb when I conceived and had had blood pressure probs resulting in induction twice before. When I had Eliza, she was a healthy 8lb and perfect, and I left the hospital 10kg (25lb) lighter than when I'd conceived. Mild fat loss from YOUR body wont harm your baby.

But that said, you've actually lost while pregnant, which would indicate your energy needs arent being met. I'd consider a supplement like your doc suggests, I wouldnt curtail physical activity because it is so good for you, but supplementing calories AND nutrients might be a really good idea. You dont want to lose any more but it probably wont matter if you dont manage to gain much. But bear in mind, that without the weight of your baby, and all the extra fluids in your body now, you actually probably weigh a bit less than 142. You want a bit of condition on you if you want to breastfeed!

Good luck, dont let it worry you though, once upon a time a much much smaller weight gain was considered healthy in pregnancy, the standards quoted today are just current trends is all.

[HeatherO 7]

But that said, you've actually lost while pregnant, which would indicate your energy needs arent being met. I'd consider a supplement like your doc suggests, I wouldnt curtail physical activity because it is so good for you, but supplementing calories AND nutrients might be a really good idea. You dont want to lose any more but it probably wont matter if you dont manage to gain much. But bear in mind, that without the weight of your baby, and all the extra fluids in your body now, you actually probably weigh a bit less than 142. You want a bit of condition on you if you want to breastfeed!

Although it seems obvious to me now that you mention it, I wasn't really thinking that I was at an energy deficit. Of course I would have to be to lose weight.

I could probably start adding in a supplement like a once a day nutrition shake and just watch the weight gain. Perhaps I could just knock out the shake or cut back if I gain more than 2 pounds in a week.

I just realized that with my pregnancy half finished, even if I gain a pound a week from this point forward I am still well within the appropriate range. I might have just become a little too uptight about weight loss after being so dedicated for such a long time. I guess I am a little nervous about losing my momentum.

[lellow 1,713]

How is your baby doing though? I think that more importantly, if your baby is the right size for your dates, and you're eating the correct amount of calories to sustain your baby's growth, then those factors should be taken into account first and foremost?

Losing weight is probably not ideal when you're pregnant, but if you're not dieting, and are eating normally (in fact more than usual) perhaps your body is simply taking what it needs for the baby, and for you. And if both you and the baby are otherwise healthy and, in baby's case, growing well, perhaps some allowance for the fact that you have a band in may need to be incorporated into your ob's assessment of you?

[ckelly37 1]

Is your band unfilled? Maybe u have restriction thats why ur losing weight? I would say as long as ur takin a prenatal Vitamin (and regular vitamins) u should be ok..is ur belly growin? As long as the baby is ok everything should be fine...just add in some ensure like they said and maybe boost up ur nutrients more Protein, Calcium etc... let us know what happens...o yea did ur doctor order another ultrasound? i would say if she wants another then she is more than concerned? keep us posted

[Daisalana 33]

I would supplement with a shake every day, and give band doc a call and see if they have anything to say on the matter.

I'm green with envy, I could split how much I've gained with you so far and we'd still both be gaining too much! :laugh:

[HeatherO 7]

My doctor does want another ultrasound in 4 weeks but she said it was because they had difficulty getting good pictures of the brain eventhough everything looked normal from what they could see.

Baby size is on target so far, with the gestational age expectations she is right on track. She seemed healthy and active and the tests all came back positive with no cause for concern.

I started showing a little early but since the initial expansion my stomach is not getting much bigger. At around 8 weeks out I started wearing size 10's again because they were more comfortable around the waist . . . I am still wearing them and they are not tight at all, only comfortable. I can definitely feel my uterus which is like a hard cantalope under the skin, but I think I am just one of those people who is carrying more internally than externally for now.

I have 4 cc's in my band right now. This doesn't feel restrictive to me but I am not obsessively hungry. I can eat anything without getting sick but I am not driven to eat a ton of food like I would have been prebanding.

[eejaydiva 3]

I think the fact that the baby is growing is very comforting to you and the doc. However, unless you had a loss due to morning sickness in the first few months, I can see your doctor's concern. On the weight watchers and other dieting websites, they say that the guidelines/instructions for following such programs during pregnancy are really for 2 things:

1. Possible loss during the first 4 months of pregnancy

2. Maintenance during the last 5 months of pregnancy

So, even most diet programs have a reasonable expectation that you should not be in a loss mode after a certain point. I think that if you're eating a large amount of fiber-rich foods, that can certainly contribute to weight loss, simply because that has always been the case for me. A little fat and fun food is what pregnancy is all about, so maybe treat yourself to a big, guilty meal once a week and try not to worry about the weight gain. Remember if the baby weighs 7 lbs and you retain roughly 3-4 lbs of amniotic Fluid and breast milk, that you will have lost 12-15 lbs by the time you leave the hospital just thru delivery!

And don't worry Fairy, I'm only 11 weeks and up 9 lbs....eek! However my gains have stopped these past 2 weeks, thank goodness.

Hugs.

[ellie619 0]

Hi ,,, im in the same boat as you i got prego @ 300lb im now almost 7months and im at 280 i on the other had have had a little bit of junk food but other wise eat lots of veggys and fruit chicken the usual ... My doc sais since im newly banded ( 03-12-08 ) im going to continue losing weight .. And the only thing they are doing different with me is i get ultrasounds about every month and they do blood work almost every month .... I hope this helps a little...

Good luck

[Jpet 0]

Just wanted to reply to Fairy and others and tell them that I, too, am probably gaining too much weight. The doctor hasn't said anything, but I'm 23 weeks and I've gained 25 pounds. I'm hoping that if I only gain the recommended 1 lb per week the rest of this pregnancy, then I'll ONLY gain 42 pounds this pregnancy, which seems like a lot given that I still had about 50-60 pounds to lose when I got pregnant.

So many people have told me that the body will gain what it needs, and I've met several women who ended up gaining 60 pounds and then eventually lost it just fine. But it's hard when I've seen friends only gain the recommended 25 lbs and realize that I've already gained that, and I'm only half way through this.

And then it's really hard when you see the scale creep up and realize how hard it was to get below that number in the first place. My husband reminds me that I now know how to lose weight effectively, so I'll lose it after the baby is born. But it's just hard -- psychologically. I'm jealous of other pregnant women who are able to indulge in craving-type food, while I have to be SOOOO careful about what I put in my mouth. I suppose I was hoping that I'd be one of those ladies (albeit overweight ladies) who wouldn't end up gaining much during pregnancy. But it seems that my body has gone hay-wire and is storing everything given the weight loss I was experiencing pre-pregnancy.

[Jachut 487]

Heather, what was your weight gain like in previous pregnancies?

I gained none in my third, like I said, but in my previous two before that, it was only 10 or 15lb both times. I'm just not someone who gains a lot of pregnancy weight.

Dont even talk to me about what breastfeeding does to me though, I piled it on then!

[bindi2203 0]

I would not worry about it, i was not banded with either of my 2 pregnancys, and for both of them at full term, i weighed considerably less than before i concieved. I did not have much of an apetite, and found i felt full very quickly. The baby is a parasite, as horrible as that sounds, but basically they will take from your body what they need. If you make sure you are eating plenty of fresh fruits, lean meats, dairy, nuts and legumes. there is no reason for concern. Sit back and enjoy the time, it is only such a short period. 9 months will go by in a blink of an eye. good luck with it all.

[HeatherO 7]

Heather, what was your weight gain like in previous pregnancies?

I gained none in my third, like I said, but in my previous two before that, it was only 10 or 15lb both times. I'm just not someone who gains a lot of pregnancy weight.

Dont even talk to me about what breastfeeding does to me though, I piled it on then!

My first pregnancy was my first experience with weight problems. I weighed 125-127 when I got pregnant and had never weighed more than that. I remember I was up 67 pounds on the day of delivery (I had a morning OB checkup and I remember my doctor was very upset with me so the number sticks in my head ).

I went from the 120's to the 190's so fast that I had angry, glaringly red stretch marks on my belly, thighs and arms. I looked like a road map. I remember some of the main dietary culprits of that weight gain was huge quantities of strawberry flavored milk, and lots of Mexican including taquitos and quacamole several times a week. I was living in southern California and my diet was primarily Mexican during that pregnancy.

By the way, I made a point not to have even one glass of strawberry milk or a single taquito (shredded spicy beef wrapped in a corn tortilla deep fried in oil with salsa, sour cream and guacamole on the side) during this pregnancy out of fear of repeating the past, lol.

After that pregnancy, my new lowest weight was 156 and I went ever upwards from that point on until banding.

I know I have the potential to gain a lot of weight during pregnancy. I think being banded must be impacting me in that I am eating lots of things but just not huge quantities. I think this will just be an entirely different pregnancy for me than the first, especially since I am much older and hopefully a little wiser this time around, lol.

[Daisalana 33]

By the way, I made a point not to have even one glass of strawberry milk or a single taquito (shredded spicy beef wrapped in a corn tortilla deep fried in oil with salsa, sour cream and guacamole on the side) during this pregnancy out of fear of repeating the past, lol.

Uhm.. that's what I had for lunch yesterday. :sneaky: