How Much Weight Is Safe To Lose
How much weight is safe for me to loose in the first trimester? I'm not talking about dieting, I'm talking about morning sickness. I'm 8 wks and I've lost 8lbs, throwing up pretty much all the time. It's strangely not distressing, I simply vomit and move on, but I'm hoping I'm not losing too much too soon. Or will I just gain it back right away. Oh, and I was a little bit overweight to begin with
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Guggie Daly on -
Specific weight loss questions should probably be fielded to your health care provider, as they will have a better history and can help you identify an individual threshold.
From what I recall, weight loss becomes dangerous when you begin to lose muscle mass, along with other symptoms such as dehydration from not being able to keep water down.
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Permalink Reply by Katie on -
Hi, Emily, and Congratulations on your pregnancy!
When I worked as a PA in an OB/GYN office (I've since moved on), we counseled women frequently on the phenomenon of weight fluctuation in early pregnancy. It is entirely common to see weight oscillate up or down by 5-8 lbs in the first trimester due to a host of factors:
1) Hormonal: Surging progesterone levels can cause fluid retention and constipation, which can lead to transient weight gain (normally 3-5 lbs, depending on your height and build).
2) Increased Vascularity: Conversely, due to increased renal (kidney) blood flow, some women lose a small amount of water weight due to increased urine output. This, too, is time-limited.
3)Morning Sickness: This seems to be your biggest problem area. Frequent vomiting, of course, will limit the amount of calories absorbed by your body and can result in weight loss. However, a lot of women with bad morning sickness complain of weight GAIN because they have to eat every minute of the day to keep the nausea from coming back. The biggest worry is dehydration, but the digestive system is actually pretty quick at absorbing water into the bloodstream, usually in a few minutes to an hour (depending on the amount of food in your stomach). So drink, drink, drink! If your urine remains clear to pale yellow, you're probably doing just fine.
Regarding the amount of weight you've lost--one way to see if you're utilizing enough calories through food is to check urine ketones (this test can sometimes be purchased in a pharmacy or you can have it checked at your doctor's office). If you are "spilling" ketones, which are byproducts of fat metabolism, into your urine (in the absence of diabetes or other metabolic diseases), it may be evidence that your body is having to use fat stores for energy. This would indicate that you are NOT receiving enough calories through food intake to support the energy demands of both you and your baby. If you were overweight to begin with, this may not be a big concern, because the end of morning sickness is approaching soon, anyway (fingers crossed!!). I would definitely talk with your OB and see what they think, but chances are, you are doing great.
Hope this helped a little. Best to you and your growing family!
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