Everything old is new again.
Posted on 11/30/2013 6:49:08 AM PST by Morgana
(CNN) -- Mom-to-be Maggie Baumann knew she most definitely would not be "eating for two." She couldn't.
During her first pregnancy, she was extremely preoccupied with just how many calories she consumed and stuck to a very strict exercise routine.
"Getting on the scale at the doctor's office was very triggering for me," said Baumann of Newport Beach, California, who is now an eating disorders specialist and trauma therapist who devotes some of her practice to pregnant women and moms suffering from eating disorders.
She gained 32 pounds during her first pregnancy, which is very much in line with the 25 to 35 pounds doctors say, on average, a woman who is expecting should gain.
But, during her second pregnancy, she was not going to let "that" happen again, she said in an interview.
'Pregorexia'
"I was just like, I am not doing that again, I am not getting that big. I am not getting that out of control," said Baumann, who first went public about her experience in a blog in 2009 and is now co-writing a chapter on pregnancy and eating disorders in a book to be published in 2014. Tracey Gold's new show How yoga helped an anorexic recover Catherine makes 1st post-baby appearance Conventional wisdom on pregnancy wrong?
She didn't realize it at the time but she was one of a number of women with an extreme obsession with weight during pregnancy, battling what has become known as "pregorexia."
Pregorexia is not a formally recognized medical diagnosis. It is a term coined by the media, public and doctors in recent years to describe the eating disorder behaviors experienced by women while pregnant, which could include intense dieting and exercise, but also binging and purging.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I can understand exercising, even to extremes, because that isn’t harmful to the new born as long as care is taken to ensure good care of the mother otherwise.
But to not eat properly when the unborn child would need it the most. That’s wrong.
Actually exercise is okay, even more so if one was doing it before pregnancy. The problem lies with all these celebs that have flat tummies a month after giving birth. Sometimes sooner. The average woman does not have nannies for the baby, personal trainers and cosmetic surgeons on hand. So they starve themselves to be thin after the baby is born. It’s crazy.
The bogus claims of "obesity" have some sheeple running scared of the "disease".
I blame the media for these women's poor self-image.
My body is still bouncing back after number three, who will be three months old in a few days. Getting back into shape is so important because I have so much more energy and sleep much better. I also like that the kids see us work out together. However, crash dieting is just too dangerous and is not a long term fix.
It’s tough. Society places such a value on thin, attractive women that we criticize or stigmatize women who gain while pregnant and seem incapable or unwilling to slim down. If we had the right priorities, we would not subject women to this pressure.
Then again, I think it is natural for women to want to regain their figure because it signifies they are eligible for mating again.
In the parrot world, the females will pluck out all their feathers when they deem themselves to be unattractive and, thus, unsuitable to reproduce. I think some women do the same thing only with packing on weight instead of plucking feathers. It’s all subconscious.
As a male, I can only try to understand what that’s like but I see it all the time. So women like the one in this story are trying to a) fight the natural weight gain that happens in pregnancy and b) try to get a head start on looking suitable for mating again.
And to bring an underweight, probably sickly child into the world? What earthly good does that do for the mother? Dumb broad.
I belong to Weight Watchers. WW forbids pregnant women from joining or continuing the program, but you would not believe how many women have tried to do the program while pregnant. What the H are these women thinking?
I should also add that pregnancy is not a free excuse to pig out. At no time is mom eating for two. You couldn’t tell I was pregnant from the back. I gained the appropriate amount of weight and still wore my pre-preg skinny jeans unbuttoned almost through the third trimester. Our obese society that that encourages women to love their curves does not help. I was criticized plenty for not plumping up, simply because so many women do.
I’m still bouncing back and my “baby” turns 34 next month.
I gained a ‘normal’ amount of weight when I was pg. 15lbs. Since I was already about 30lbs overweight that was the number my OB threw out when I asked. The calories/day were about 300 more than I had been eating prior to pregnancy. I continued to ride the recumbant bike 3 or 4 times per week.
I was criticized for not eating for two and ‘starving the baby’ plenty I might add.
I’m the ONLY woman I know with kids my kids age who weighs ANYTHING close to her prepregnancy weight after kids. Most of them gained at LEAST SIXTY pounds. One gained ONE HUNDRED POUNDS. They skipped b/fast because of morning sickness. Then ate lunch, after lunch, afternoon snack, pre dinner snack, dinner, after dinner snack and bedtime snack. These were all full meals too BTW. It wasn’t unusual for these women (there were 3 of us pregnant at the same time in our social group) to make a trip to sonic in mid afternoon and get a meals worth of food topped off with a large shake or brownie fudge sundae. And bring home a walker of tater tots and onion rings. It was almost a sport to just watch them eat.
I was the ONLY woman in the group who did NOT have issues with diabetes and blood pressure later on in the pregnancy.
One of the women ‘outgrew’ the 3XL maternity clothing and had to have clothes made for her. She had been in a regular size L prior to pregnancy. At 5’8” she was ‘large average’ prior to pregnancy. She’s never lost the weight since.
From looking around I’d say the ‘too skinny’ moms are greatly in the minority compared to the ones who have a food free for all for 9 months because the two they eat for are apparently two NFL linebackers.
still wore my pre-preg skinny jeans unbuttoned
__________________________________________
LOL
Thats what I did every time I was pregnant
Instead of wasting money on preggie pants I wouldnt be wearing again...
I just used mens suspenders to hold up the jeans and wore a smock or extra big shirt that hung way down over the top..
Worked like a charm...
Baby stuck out the front and was not squashed..
:)
I had both babies naturally, in three hours from start to finish. I was down to my pre-pregnancy weight in no time with both as well.
I should add I gained about 40-45 lbs with each.
It is all so natural. You gain weight when you are pregnant because you are growing another human inside you, and it takes lots of protein. You lose about 25 pounds in childbirth, and if you nurse, you use from 500-1000 calories a DAY doing that.
It is a beautifully designed system, right from the git-go. I will say, however, it is unsettling to get on a scale and weigh 25 pounds more than you usually do. The obsession is where the problem lies.
I had to take it easy with my first pregnancy, and I put on 40 pounds.
Second pregnancy was interesting because I had twins. I was always hungry. It was very primal. I ate so much more the 2nd time, and still only put on 40 pounds. I also couldn’t do much. I was on complete bedrest for over 10 weeks.
It was easy to lose weight after the babies.
Funny how they don’t mention the studies finding skinny women are less healthy and die younger than average weight women. Wonder why?
Pray America is Waking
Gaining enough weight in pregnancy to resemble a Carnival cruise ship can’t be healthy at all-when I was pregnant, the military docs were very intent on keeping women from doing that.
I’ve been struck speechless seeing some of my daughter’s pregnant friends-only a couple of them have returned to anything resembling their pre-pregnancy weight-the rest lumber around in polyester pants and long tops, barely able to crawl into their vehicles, and develop complexes about their looks...
I gained 17 pounds in pregnancy, and my military OB was very pleased. I’m 5’9”, and never weighed more than 115- some of my friends were sure I was starving my kid. She was born perfectly healthy, just over 6lbs-not one of those huge C-section guarantee kids, thank God. I still weigh 108, but that may be because I eat only fresh, unprocessed food, and my job requires physical work...
I don’t think it is healthy to be overweight, especially in pregnancy-there is already a strain on the heart and other vital organs from carrying the child-why make it worse?
Actually, WW does have a program for pregnant women. Or at least when I’ve been on their regime. I got pregnant while on WW, followed their guidelines and felt great.
Encourages healthy eating of good foods. Not to lose weight while pregnant, but to eat healthy.
Everything old is new again.
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