How To Keep Losing Weight While Pregnant

While it is possible to lose weight safely while pregnant through daily exercise and smaller portions, it isn’t necessarily a good idea. Most pregnant people need to gain weight, although those with higher BMIs should gain less.

Pregnancy, while exciting, may lead to a weight dilemma if you are already overweight. This is because of the inevitable weight gain associated with pregnancy.

But there are some general ways you can lead a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy to help ensure an optimal weight for yourself and your baby.

Myths About Exercise And Pregnancy

However, weight loss during pregnancy is also associated with a chance of delivering a baby with low birth weight. For this reason, maintaining your weight might be the safest approach.

, researchers concluded that eating a healthy diet and exercising can reduce weight gain during pregnancy and lower the chances of needing a cesarean delivery.

It is typical to gain weight naturally during your pregnancy, with most of this weight gain happening in the second and third trimesters. Your baby also grows rapidly during the last 2 months of pregnancy.

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Since you will gain some weight during pregnancy, it’s important to know how much is healthy. Aim to follow these pregnancy weight gain guidelines from the

If, at any point during your pregnancy, your weight falls within the shaded area of the graph provided in that guide, you should not be trying to lose weight.

The first thing that can help is to manage your daily calorie intake. Eating more calories than you burn is the most common cause of weight gain. It takes a 3, 500-calorie deficit to lose 1 lb. In the span of a week, this equates to cutting out about 500 calories per day.

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If you had a suitable weight for your height before pregnancy, you will likely need 2, 200–2, 900 calories per day during pregnancy, but this will vary by trimester:

You can start by keeping a log of how many calories you usually eat. Then, talk with a registered dietitian about how much you can safely cut and which food plans will help.

Taking a daily prenatal vitamin is essential to ensure that you’re getting all the nutrients you need. Folate is especially important because it helps decrease the chance of developmental irregularities in your baby.

Losing Weight While Pregnant: What's Safe And Healthy For You And Your Baby

And even if you’re cutting calories, it’s essential to consume enough to provide energy and nutrients for yourself and your growing baby.

Some people may be afraid to exercise during pregnancy, assuming that it may harm their babies. But this definitely isn’t true. While some exercises, such as situps, can possibly be harmful, exercise overall is extremely beneficial.

It can help you maintain your weight, reduce the chance of developmental issues, and even ease some of the aches and pains you might experience during pregnancy.

How To Lose Weight During Pregnancy Safely

The current recommendation is the same as for those who are not pregnant: 30–60 minutes of activity per day, 3–5 days per week. If this is too much for you at first, consider breaking up the 30 minutes into shorter blocks of time throughout the day.

Involving 114 pregnant women with obesity found that those who received nutritional advice between weeks 7 and 21 of pregnancy were less likely to gain excess weight in the third trimester. The participants also benefited from weekly support group meetings.

Be sure to speak with your doctor and come up with a plan early on. Your doctor can refer you to a dietitian for more advice and meal planning, if necessary.

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In the first trimester, it’s common to experience nausea and morning sickness, which can make it difficult to eat. In addition, if you have an underlying medical condition that isn’t well managed, such as type 1 diabetes, you may experience unintentional weight loss during pregnancy.

It can be beneficial to monitor your calorie intake and to exercise during pregnancy. But overdoing it to an extreme could potentially harm your baby.

This is why most doctors don’t recommend weight loss during pregnancy unless you’re significantly overweight. Discuss any questions or concerns you have with your doctor.

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Your doctor can help you make the safest decision for yourself and your baby. You can always revisit a weight loss plan after your baby is born.

Has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy. I was recently interviewed by Aaptiv, the world’s original Audio Fitness App,  and asked if it was safe to lose weight during pregnancy. Read more below.

If you’re worried about gaining pregnancy weight, then you’re not alone. In fact, some women experience concerns about pregnancy weight gain, so they try to get a head start on postpartum weight loss. Others may already have started a weight loss regimen pre-pregnancy and want to know if it’s safe to keep it up. But, is it safe to lose weight while pregnant? We’ve turned to prenatal and postpartum specialists to give us the answer.

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The answer to this common question depends on your weight prior to your pregnancy. Your body needs some extra support, so to speak, as the baby grows, so typical weight gain is normal.” Dahlas Fletcher, pre and postnatal exercise specialist at Fitness explains,

“Weight loss during pregnancy would only be beneficial for women who are extremely overweight or obese. For the health of you and your baby, you may want to skip trying to lose weight while pregnant, but that doesn’t mean that you should stop exercising.”

However, you need to consult your doctor first before making any decisions. If your doctor does deem it safe for you to lose weight while pregnant, then he or she can determine how much is appropriate. Usually, this will be based on your Body Mass Index (BMI). Your doctor will also keep you under strict supervision to monitor both your process and baby’s growth. Obesity during pregnancy can be a risk factor to your baby’s health in utereo and in the formative years learn more.

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While it is not advisable to try and lose weight while pregnant, unless approved by your doctor, exercise is still important to keep healthy and fit. Cunningham says, “During your first trimester, most workouts are still okay, as long as you’re cleared by your doctor. However, you never want to start something new once you find out you’re pregnant because of unwanted stress it can put on your body.”

“Beginners should start by exercising ten minutes at a time and slowly build up to 30 minutes a day for three to five days per week, ” recommends Fletcher. “Don’t go for the burn, and don’t exercise to exhaustion.”

In the second trimester, Cunningham advises that you stay away from supine movements, that is, exercises such as push-ups, planks, crunches, and sit-ups. You don’t want to increase the risk of diastasis recti, which refers to a bulge or “pooch” in the stomach.

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You also need to make sure that the exercises you do are pelvic floor safe. Aaptiv Trainer Cunningham says, “You have to pay attention to impact or really wide lateral movements towards the second/third trimester, due to relaxin and other hormonal shifts and increases occurring, ” she says. “Relaxin, in particular, is released to aid in pelvic expansion in our hips for actual labor, but can cause unwanted dislocations, as well, if you do too much prior to.” So try swimming or low-impact aerobics classes for cardio. Water aerobics is also a really great option, not to mention fun!

But, make sure you don’t neglect strength training. Building your strength is so important, especially while you’re pregnant. As Fletcher highlights, mothers have a lot of carrying to do—groceries, boxes of diapers, and a baby (or two). Strength training can really help prepare you for this. Not only that but, as bone density decreases during pregnancy, resistance training is a really efficient way of maintaining it. So, make sure you fit in a mix of cardio and strength training to get a well-rounded workout.

Don’t try and work on getting your heart rate up as you probably would have prior to being pregnant; this should not be your main concern. As Fletcher says, “The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines advise [that] you should be able to hold a conversation during any form of pregnancy exercise.”

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But, if you are feeling out of breath faster than usual, don’t worry; this is completely normal! “During pregnancy, your blood volume increases, so your heart has to work a bit harder to distribute oxygen to you and your baby, ” she explains. “[This] increases breathlessness.”

You definitely should not be restricting your calories as a way to lose weight while pregnant. In fact, Fletcher explains that for the average woman, “Being pregnant means you need approximately 300 extra calories a day … pregnant women also need at least 15 percent more protein daily.” Cunningham agrees, “You will have to increase your intake somewhat as you progress through the pregnancy, due to feeding more than yourself.”

Your focus should be on nutrients and eating a balanced diet. “Remember [that] your baby is getting everything you

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