Pregnant Women aren't fat

Pregnancy and Weight Gain

Gaining the right amount of weight during pregnancy by eating a healthy, balanced diet is a good sign that your baby is getting all the nutrients he or she needs and is growing at a healthy rate.

It is not necessary to "eat for two" during pregnancy. It's true that you need extra calories from nutrient-rich foods to help your baby grow, but you generally need to consume only 100 to 300 more calories than you did before you became pregnant to meet the needs of your growing baby.

Ask your health care provider how much weight you should gain during pregnancy. A woman of average weight before pregnancy should gain 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. Underweight women should gain 28-40 pounds during pregnancy. Overweight women may need to gain only 15-25 pounds during pregnancy. You may need to gain more or less weight, depending on what your health care provider recommends.

In general, you should gain about 2 to 4 pounds during your first three months of pregnancy and 1 pound a week for the remainder of your pregnancy. If you are expecting twins you should gain 35 to 45 pounds during your pregnancy. This would be an average of 1 ½ pounds per week after the usual weight gain in the first three months.

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
Fat stores for delivery and breastfeeding	5-9 pounds
Uterus increase	2-5 pounds
Total	25 to 35 pounds

Is It Safe to Lose Weight When Pregnant?

In some cases when a women is very overweight, it is safe to lose weight during pregnancy under the supervision of a medical provider. However, in most cases women should not try to lose weight during pregnancy. 

How Can I Gain the Right Amount of Weight During Pregnancy?

If your health care provider recommends gaining more weight during pregnancy, here are some suggestions:

• Eat five to six small, frequent meals every day.
• Keep quick, easy snacks on hand, such as nuts, raisins, cheese and crackers, dried fruit, and ice cream/yogurt.
• Spread peanut butter on toast, crackers, apples, bananas, or celery. One tablespoon of creamy peanut butter will provide about 100 calories and seven grams of protein.
• Add nonfat powdered milk to foods such as mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs and hot cereal.
• Add condiments to your meal, such as butter or margarine, cream cheese, gravy, sour cream, and cheese.

What Should I Do If I Gain Too Much Weight During Pregnancy?

If you have gained more weight than recommended during the beginning of your pregnancy, talk to your medical provider. In most cases it is not appropriate to intentionally attempt to lose weight during pregnancy.

Be sure to eat a variety of foods to get all the nutrients you and your baby need. Here are some tips to slow your weight gain:

• When eating out at a fast food restaurant, choose 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 fried 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 amount of calories and fat you eat. Also choose low-fat or fat-free cheese or yogurt.
• Limit sweet or sugary drinks. Sweetened drinks such as soft drinks, fruit punch, fruit drinks, iced tea, lemonade, or powdered drink mixes provide many calories with little nutrients. Choose water, club soda, or mineral water to avoid extra calories.
• Do not add salt to foods when cooking. Salt causes your body to retain water.
• Limit sweets and high calorie snacks. Cookies, candies, donuts, cakes, syrup, honey, and potato chips provide many calories with little nutrition. Try not to eat these types of foods every day. Instead, try fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt, angel food cake with strawberries, or pretzels as lower calorie snack and dessert choices.
• Use fats in moderation. Fats include cooking oils, margarine, butter, gravy, sauces, mayonnaise, regular salad dressings, sauces, lard, sour cream, and cream cheese. Try the lower fat substitutes that are available for these foods.
• Prepare meals using low-fat cooking methods. Frying foods in oil or butter will increase the calories and fat of that meal. Baking, broiling,grilling, or boiling are healthier, lower fat methods of cooking.

Exercise. Moderate exercise, as recommended by your health care provider, can help burn excess calories. Walking or swimming is generally safe, effective exercises for pregnant women. But, be sure to talk to your health care provider before starting an exercise program.

Source 

For malay version information, please click here:  http://bayi-ibu.com/risau-berat-badan-bertambah-semasa-mengandung/