Can You Lose Weight While Pregnant?

Pregnancy is not necessarily the right time to diet, though there are some occasions where losing weight during pregnancy could be useful. Most doctors will recommend waiting to diet until the child is born, unless the mother is very overweight or obese. The developing fetus inside a pregnant woman's body needs extra calories to grow and form, so a reduction in overall caloric intake can result in the child not getting the calories and nutrients it needs. If obesity is an issue, however, there are safe ways to diet and lose weight during pregnancy without risk to the developing fetus.

Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Too much weight gain during a pregnancy can be just as bad for a mother and her growing baby as not gaining enough weight. While women who are underweight or of normal weight should gain up to 40 pounds during pregnancy, women who are already overweight should avoid gaining quite so much weight. Women who have a body mass index of 25 to 30 are considered overweight, and should gain between 15 and 25 pounds over the course of their pregnancy. Women who are heavier than this and who have a body mass index of more than 30 should only gain between 11 and 20 pounds. Women with a very high body mass index may actually be encouraged to lose weight over the course of their pregnancy to ensure their developing child's health.

Eat Smaller Meals More Often

There are several benefits to eating small, frequent meals during pregnancy instead of eating large meals three times a day. By eating five or six small meals throughout the course of the day, a pregnant woman can increase her metabolism and give herself more energy while maintaining a healthy pregnancy weight. Smaller meals can help to maintain blood insulin levels, preventing low blood sugar and ensuring that the developing fetus has sufficient energy for growth. The eating of smaller meals also helps to make sure that there is not an excess of sugar and fats at any given point during the day that adds excess pounds, since the increased metabolism will burn through the sugars and calories of the meals more readily.

Dealing with Cravings

When trying to maintain a healthy pregnancy weight or lose excess pounds during pregnancy, it is important to regulate and control cravings. Pregnancy cravings are the primary cause of excess weight gain during pregnancy, as many of these cravings tend to be for fatty or sweet foods. Learn to ignore cravings for sweets like ice cream and chocolate, instead focusing on healthier snacks such as carrot sticks, cucumber slices and fresh fruit to meet snack cravings.

Exercise

While heavy aerobic and high-impact exercise is frowned upon by doctors and should be avoided during pregnancy, standard low-impact workouts such as walking or swimming are important for both the mother-to-be and her developing baby. These exercises can also be one of the keys to losing excess weight during pregnancy. Pregnant women should discuss any potential weight loss plan or exercise regimen with their doctor before they begin, and should also listen to their bodies while exercising. A mother-to-be should end her workout early when she begins to tire in order to avoid excessive fatigue and muscle strain, and putting undue stress on the developing fetus.

Keeping Track of Weight Loss

If a woman wishes to lose weight while pregnant, she needs to keep a fairly accurate record of what she is eating, when she is exercising and how much she weighs on a weekly basis. Too much weight loss too quickly is dangerous for any woman; but for a woman who is pregnant, it is also dangerous for her developing baby. A pregnant woman attempting to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy should discuss with her doctor how much weight is healthy to lose in a given amount of time, carefully watching her weight gain or loss in order to avoid creating a dangerous situation for her child.