Fast Weight Gain

Gain weight during pregnancy is one of the most dreaded scenarios of women who are so figure conscious. And why not worry? Aside from the pains and major intellectual, emotional, physical and financial adjustments pregnant women should go through, they still have to worry how pregnancy would ruin the years they spent to achieve their figure right now.

But, no matter how frightening or alarming that thought of weight gain during pregnancy is, gaining weight is inevitable. These findings are supported not just by researchers in the field of science but also by some pediatricians, obstetricians and other those who know the real pains of pregnancy.

The importance of weight gain during pregnancy



Experts say that weight gain during pregnancy is inevitable because the hormonal change in a woman’s body triggers it. Studies show that when women are conceiving, there are drastic changes in their hormonal levels that increase their appetite.

Aside from hormonal changes, women gain weight during pregnancy because they tend to eat a lot in order to supply the nutrients needed by the growing fetus.

Providing food and nutrients for the baby inside the womb, experts say, is the main advantage of weight gain during pregnancy. Aside from supplying nutrients to the fetus by eating a wide range of nutritious foods, gaining weight during pregnancy will also help the woman to protect her back from the belly that grows heavier by the month.

Weight gain pregnancy is very important during the early stages of conception because it will help the woman to adjust to the major changes in her body.

But, too much weight during pregnancy—especially at the latter stages—can also be a disadvantage because it may lead to diabetes mellitus, a condition wherein there is too much sugar in the blood caused by large amounts of starches and other sources of sugar from foods.

For you to know the how weight gain during pregnancy can be beneficial to you, make sure that you visit your ob-gyne right away.

Today, studies say that women should go to ob-gynes even before they conceive to ensure that proper monitoring will be done. If you visit the doctor as early as possible, there is a bigger possibility of a healthier pregnancy because you get the right amount of information and guidance that you need.

During you ob-gyne visit, she or he can tell you how much weight you should gain during your pregnancy, how will it affect your body and you overall health, as well as of your baby, what kind of foods you should and shouldn’t be eating, how can gaining weight help your pregnancy to be easier and less stressful or painful, and how can you get rid of the weight you have gained during this stage.

Ideally, the weight a woman should gain during pregnancy should depend on her height and current weight or the total body mass index of her body. Once this has been determined, proper calculation will be done to ensure that you would gain just the right amount of weight during pregnancy.

Ideally, women who are slightly overweight should still gain at least 10 to 15 pounds while women who are underweight should gain more weight, at least 20 to 40 pounds to ensure that her body can supply enough nutrients for the child inside.

Weight gain during pregnancy should also depend on the type of pregnancy that the woman has.

For single pregnancy, the mentioned weight gain standards should apply. But for those who are having double, triple, or quadruple pregnancies, more weight gain is needed to ensure that that babies will get the same amount of nutrients just like the others.

Aside from the overall condition of the fetus inside the womb, one of the major things that stress women when they are conceiving is pregnancy weight gain. This is because they are so afraid to gain so much weight and be among those women who are suffering from a condition called obesity.

Women who have babies in their wombs cannot be blamed for worrying too much over pregnancy weight gain because the society largely contributes to this thinking. In fact, with all the commercialization and hype on weight loss, women—even if those who are pregnant—are tempted to cut down on their weight so the people in the society won’t ridicule them.

Today, some studies show that more and more pregnant women are trying to regulate their food intake. They do this because they don’t want to be fat without thinking that it could severely affect the condition of the baby inside the womb.

Experts say that pregnant women—regardless of their condition—should always stay healthy throughout the duration of pregnancy. Being healthy does not only entails having a positive outlook in life but also good eating habits to supply the nutrients needed both by the mother and the baby.

Why weight gain during pregnancy?

Doctors say that that number one reason why pregnant women should gain weight is to support the nutritional needs of the growing fetus inside her. Since food intake is the number one source of all nutrition in the body, pregnant women should keep on eating especially during the first few months of pregnancy to provide al the nutrients needed by the baby.

Aside from supplying all the nutritional needs of the fetus, weight gain also indicates that the mother is healthy enough to carry on with the pregnancy.

Experts agree that the weight of the woman before the pregnancy does not matter once the first trimester rushes in. It means that no matte how light or heavy you are, you still need to gain weight when you are pregnant.

Medical findings prove that women who are overweight during pregnancy still need to gain weight with at least 20 pounds. Women who are underweight are advised to gain more, ranging from 20-40. These figures are ideal for women who are having single babies.

For those who are expecting two or more, they need to gain much more weight in order to provide the needs of the growing babies.

Pregnancy weight gain is very important for this special period in time because it will benefit the baby a lot. Aside from providing him or her nutrients needed through the foods that you eat, it also ensures their overall health once they come out in this world. Studies show that pregnant women who did not gain weight during conceiving are mothers to small and sickly babies.

For pregnant women to gain weight the healthy way, they should stick to the recommended number of calorie-intake which is 400 to 500 daily.

They should also be mindful about what they eat and how often they eat. During the early stages of pregnancy, pregnant women are allowed to eat almost anything they want to. But, as the pregnancy progresses, some foods are prohibited for pregnant women because these contain ingredients which can be harmful to the baby such as caffeine in coffee and in other drinks, alcohol and beverages with alcohol content, as well as cigarette smoking because it may cause mental problems to the baby.

Aside from eating healthy foods, pregnancy weight gain can also be achieved by performing a list of exercise regularly to keep the muscles fit and firm.

Menopause weight gain is one of those stages that most women are afraid of. This is because weight gain during menopausal does not only indicate that they are indeed aging but also means that they cannot really control the drastic changes that their body will go through.

But, women should not sulk into the great pit of depression once they start to gain weight during menopausal because this does not mean that they are not doing something for themselves. They should realize that as people—especially women—age, their bodies will not have the same function as it did ten years ago. They should realize that this weight gain caused by menopausal is really inevitable.

Once they have accepted this fact, it will be easier for them to get out of the depression and start thinking of ways that can help them minimize the gaining of weight. Experts say that weight gain is one of the common problems women in their midlife stages—those who are in their 40s and 50s—complain about. Most of the complaints include the “uncontrollable” bulges in the hips, thighs and abdomen which can be unsightly of they remain using the clothes they used to wear.

Although there is nothing much that can be done once weight gain in menopausal stage rushes in, there are some things that can be done to minimize and totally prevent it while you are younger.

What causes weight gain menopause?

To be able to avoid suffering from too much weight gain caused by menopause, one of the things that younger women should do is to understand what the reasons behind this weight gain are.

Once they were able to discover and understand these causes, they can do something about it.

The following are just some of the common reasons that causes weight gain. Younger women should be very well aware of these causes so they can plan some ways to avoid gaining weight too much:

1. Less exercise. This is the considered as the number one reason why more and more women experience menopause weight gain. Studies show that as women age, they tend to move slower that is why they keep on accumulating fats on specific areas of their bodies. To avoid menopausal weight gain, younger women or even those who are in the border line can start increasing their physical activities by having regular sets of daily exercise and workout that is specially designed for them.



2. Increased food intake. This is also a major reason why women gain too much weight during their menopausal stage. Experts say that as women grow older, their appetite increases which leads to the accumulation of too much calories which later on becomes fat since they are not able to burn it right away.

3. Inability to burn lesser amounts calories. Studies show that this is also a great factor that contributes to menopause weight gain since it replaces fat with calories which are harder to burn. Once the muscles in the body are replaced with fat, the metabolism will be slower which will lead to deposits of fats in the body.

Women who have menopause weight gain in their family histories are more prone to this condition.

To avoid suffering from the burdens of menopausal weight gain it is best to include healthy foods in the diet, having a regular set of physical exercise and visit the doctor once in a while for a general check up.

Menopause and weight gain are closely associated with each other. Women undergoing menopause seem to suffer the unwelcome results of weight gain. Nearly every woman struggles through it during perimenopause and menopause. A woman gaining from 10 to 15 pounds during this stage in her life is not unusual. What makes it even worse is that various studies also show that weight gain before and during menopause can actually increase the risk of breast cancer in women.

There are many factors involved that allows women to gain weight during menopause. One of them is hormonal changes with age. During menopause, women begin to experience having lower levels of estrogen in the body. Estrogen has been linked to weight gain in menopausal women along with the decreasing levels of testosterone.

Another factor that has a role in weight gain among menopausal women is the development of insulin resistance. This can occur during the menopausal years when the body becomes inefficient in metabolizing every calorie taken in, eventually converting it into fat. Eating mostly processed and refined foods can make the body resistant to insulin that is being produced in the blood stream over time. This is being cited as one of the causes of weight gain in women after the age of 40.

Another probable reason for weight gain in women during menopause is stress. Stress is a major factor involved in weight gain during menopause. When stress hormones are produced in the body, they signal it to go into storage mode, making weight loss even more difficult. The stress hormones enable the body to undergo what is also known as the "famine effect". In this stage, the stress hormones lead the body into thinking that it won't be getting food again for a long time so that it shifts to storing every calorie it takes in, thus causing weight gain.

It can be very difficult for women to undergo weight loss during menopause. What most women can do is to learn how to accept weight gain during menopause as a natural thing. Weight gain during this period of a woman's life is not entirely bad. Weight gain may even provide some good. A little weight gained may help in lessening anxiety as well as hot flashes that are also the usual symptoms that is associated with menopause. Weight gain during menopause is also a means of the body to prepare itself from osteoporosis or other types of illnesses.

There is a way that women may be able to do in trying to keep weight gain during menopause in check. Eating a balanced diet may help make weight gain during menopause a benefit instead of a burden. Women should avoid the consumption of refined sugars as well as processed foods and instead fill up their daily diet with fruits and vegetables.

Women undergoing menopause and weight gain should also try to avoid crash diets. It will only makes things even worse as starving the body will only cause one's metabolism to slow down and cause even more weight to be gained in the process. In the same way women during this stage in their lives should avoid losing large amounts of weight.

Drastic weight loss or becoming very thin during menopause can result in increased risks of developing osteoporosis later on. Remaining active may help in increasing metabolism and burn some of the fats in the body during or after menopause.