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How not to gain weight during pregnancy?
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
The answer to this question: "How not to gain weight during pregnancy?" interests almost all expectant mothers. And this is not idle curiosity, but a desire to solve the problem that most women face during pregnancy.
Although the phrase "I'm afraid of gaining weight during pregnancy" sounds... a bit naive. Don't be afraid, my dears! You will definitely gain weight! The only question is how many kilograms.
Why do people gain weight during pregnancy? Because weight gain during pregnancy is a natural, physiologically conditioned process, without which it is impossible to bear and give birth to a child. The entire body of a pregnant woman undergoes serious changes: the endocrine, hormonal and autonomic nervous systems work differently, the blood volume increases, the liver loses glycogen reserves, the heart, lungs, kidneys and urinary system receive additional stress. In addition, during pregnancy, women's fat metabolism intensity changes, so the cholesterol content in the blood increases. In general, the biological state of the body during gestation is subordinated to the main goal - the normal development of the fetus, its successful birth and feeding.
[ Weight gain norms during pregnancy
How much weight gain occurs during pregnancy largely depends on the individual characteristics of the woman's body - her constitution and body weight before pregnancy, metabolic rate, lifestyle, and diet. However, there are weight gain standards that allow doctors to monitor the progress of pregnancy and help prevent possible complications or deviations.
It is believed that during pregnancy, the body weight of an average healthy woman increases by 10-15 kg. This is with a normal weight before pregnancy. Thin women can gain more - 12-18 kg, and "heavy" women - 8-12 kg. But if a woman is going to give birth to twins, then the weight gain can be 16-21 kg.
As a rule, a third of the weight is gained in the first 20 weeks: 270-330 g every week. The remaining two-thirds of the weight is gained during the second half of pregnancy: from 21 to 30 weeks - 290-370 g per week, from 31 weeks until birth - 310-370 g per week.
It should be noted that this is also an average figure. Often, during toxicosis in the early stages, women lose kilograms, and then, when the toxicosis passes, they begin to gain them intensively. So here, too, everything is individual. But with a woman's initial normal weight, the optimal weight gain in the first three months of pregnancy is about 1.5 kg, with insufficient initial weight - 2 kg, with excess - 0.8 kg.
Please note that insufficient weight gain during pregnancy has a negative impact on the unborn child and can lead to intrauterine growth retardation and low birth weight (less than 2.5 kg).
The distribution of the kilograms that women gain during pregnancy looks like this:
- 30% - fruit weight;
- 25% - the mass of the increase in the volume of blood and tissue fluid;
- 10% - uterine mass;
- 10% - placenta weight;
- 10% - mass of amniotic fluid;
- 15% - fat reserves (maternal reserves to ensure normal pregnancy and breastfeeding of the child).
Excess weight during pregnancy: causes and consequences
Both during pregnancy and in a normal state, the reason that a woman gains weight in 9 cases out of 10 is due to the fact that food consumption exceeds the body's needs and its energy expenditure.
A pregnant woman does not need to eat more at all: nutrition should cover the costs of the formation and development of the fetus by increasing its completeness - in terms of the content of necessary proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, micro- and macroelements.
If a woman follows a diet, does not overeat, does not consume unhealthy foods, but still gains a lot of weight during pregnancy (with the exception of multiple pregnancies), this may be caused by polyhydramnios and edema. Excessive amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios) is a signal that some problems have arisen during pregnancy. To clarify the situation and begin treatment in a timely manner, be sure to consult your doctor, since polyhydramnios can lead to fetal malformations.
But swelling during pregnancy is a common occurrence. The load on the kidneys increases, the parameters of water-salt metabolism change, so the fluid is not only retained in the body, but also accumulates (up to 7 liters by the end of pregnancy) in almost all of its tissues (as you remember, the increase in blood volume and tissue fluid accounts for 25% of weight gain). Fat and connective tissues accumulate the most fluid. So when a woman complains that her "legs got bigger during pregnancy," most often it is swelling. In the morning and in the first half of the day, swelling of the legs is almost invisible, but towards evening, significant swelling appears on the feet, ankles and shins.
When women gain weight excessively during pregnancy, the risk of metabolic disorders in the form of gestational diabetes increases many times over. In such cases, children are born with a large weight (4 kg and above), and the birth itself can be difficult. In addition, with excess weight, a pregnant woman may have high blood pressure, shortness of breath, pain in the sacrum and hemorrhoids, her legs hurt and get tired, and veins on them begin to dilate (varicose veins).
"I'm gaining a lot of weight during pregnancy, what should I do?"
And yet, how not to gain weight during pregnancy? So that later you don’t have to carry around an obviously extra 10, 15, or even 20 kilograms of yourself…
Future mothers who complain: “I’m gaining a lot of weight during pregnancy, what should I do…” need to follow three main rules: eat right, regularly monitor your weight, and move more.
For the expectant mother in the first three months of pregnancy, the optimal amount of calories is 2000 kcal, subsequently - 2500-3000 kcal. Although many nutritionists claim that in the second half of pregnancy, the caloric content of food should be reduced - with an increase in the proportion of animal protein and the energy value of all other products.
The menu of a pregnant woman must include meat, fish, cereals, dairy products, vegetables, and fruits. At the same time, confectionery products should be completely excluded from the diet, not to mention fast food, chips, and sweet soda.
Weighing yourself weekly will allow you to independently monitor your weight gain and control this process with one fasting day a week (after consulting a doctor). And move more, for example, walk. This will not only prevent you from gaining too much weight during pregnancy, but will also help you give birth easier - thanks to good muscle tone.