Weight Loss While Pregnant

So the next question becomes, how do you lose weight while pregnant? Now, definitely most people need to gain some weight while pregnant. If your BMI is low, like 22, 23 or less, you obviously have to gain weight. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends a certain amount of weight gain. They don't recommend as much weight gain as they used to, and then some people have actually recommended weight loss. If you're quite overweight and your BMI is in the 35, 40, 45 range, they do recommend weight loss. So how do you lose weight while pregnant? I get that question a lot. What's safe? So if I'm pregnant, let's say I'm six weeks, maybe 20 weeks pregnant, kind of in the beginning of pregnancy, you have to remember that you are eating for two people. So you will need more calories. Your caloric needs do go up. But the biggest problem I see is that people think they need much, much more calories. They think they be eating 1,000 to 1,500 calories extra per day. That's just not true. A fetus in the beginning, six weeks, 12 weeks, 18 weeks, whatever it is, requires minimal more amount of caloric intake. And if you're actually overweight, you actually should be eating less because your baby will take from your nutrients and food resources. So don't get hung up on the exact number. Just know that if your BMI is 22 or less, you probably need to gain 15 to 20 pounds. And just do that slowly, slightly increase the amount of foods that you like. The biggest thing I tell people is you've got to eat foods that you enjoy eating. You're not going to be able to stick to a diet or adhere to a diet or lose weight long term if you're not eating foods that you enjoy. Now, let's say you're one of these people that's quite overweight. Let's say you're in the 160, maybe 180 pounds or more. That's not quite overweight, but that's kind of like middleweight. You're a little bit overweight. And if you're over 200 pounds, then probably you need to lose a lot more. The safest way to do this is to just slowly start cutting your calories. You want to restrict your calories slowly over time so that you can start to see some weight loss even while you're pregnant. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology does recommend that. I want you to eat foods that you enjoy. Now, if that means you're going to eat a little bit of ice cream at night or a little bit of pizza here and there, that's fine. But just count and track your calories. If your calories add up to whatever's causing you weight loss, let's say 1,700. If you're eating 1,600 to 1,700 calories a day and you're losing weight, great. If you're eating 2,500 calories a day and you're losing weight, that's great too. But whatever your weight is, the easiest way to determine your calorie count is to measure your calories for about a week. Track all your calories on an app like MyFitnessPal. I've talked about this multiple times. Use an app like MyFitnessPal, track your calories for about a week, see where your average is. If you're averaging 2,500 calories a day, 2,600, great. Subtract 500 a day, eat 2,000 a day, you should lose about a pound per week. That's the best, most accurate way to do it. Now, the biggest problem with females is they don't get enough protein. I see this all the time. We normally recommend 0.7 grams of protein to 1.6 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. So if you don't know your lean body mass, for most females, it's probably around 100 pounds, maybe up to 120. So we recommend probably anywhere from 80 grams of protein a day up to maybe 140. And if you're really tall and muscular, maybe 180, 160. But that's about how it calculates out for most females. The biggest problem I see with females is they eat a lot less. They eat 30, 40 grams of protein a day and they just don't know it. Why protein? Because it causes fat burning, it puts on muscle, your BMR goes up, your metabolism goes up. Now, assuming you're within your caloric limit. So don't think like if you're eating 2,000 calories a day to lose weight, suddenly you start eating 3,000 calories and it's all protein that you're going to lose weight still. No, it just doesn't work that way. You still have to eat within your calorie limit. But that's the most important thing while you're pregnant. Definitely eat wholesome, nutritious foods. Take the multivitamins that they recommend, especially folate because of the neural defects. But definitely try to stay active. Try to do as many things as you can while pregnant because some of these behaviors that you start getting used to now can continue on once you give birth and are breastfeeding. And that'll probably be the next video. So if you like this, grab the checklist below to see if you're actually ready for weight loss. It's a great mom checklist to see if you're ready for weight loss. If you like this, subscribe and share it with your friends.