I’d just like to add that she still looked great right after having the baby! A little chubby or not, women need to have more self-confidence these days and not dwell on their shortcomings. Just enjoy life, get exercise by walking the baby, and watch portions and the weight will melt itself away!

Well I’m 11 days away from my due date right now.. and I’ve gained somewhere between 75-95 lbs with this pregnancy… It’s my first pregnancy and I can honestly say I haven’t aten any different than I used to! I eat healthy, yet I do eat a little bit of chocolate every day, since I’ve been pregnant. Not a lot, a little. I fulfill my cravings yet don’t over indulge. I even went to a dietician and she agreed that it seemed I was on the right track as far as what I’ve been eating. However, I DID just quit smoking a few weeks before I became pregnant, so maybe that has something to do with it? I’m not sure. But I don’t FEEL really FAT, just a tiny bit more pudge than I had before on my body. But I’m really not worried because once I”m able to hit the gym again and take the baby for walks, and not have such strong cravings, I’m sure I’ll be fine. .big deal if it takes a little while. Besides, like I said. It’s not like I’m HUGE now, even though it does seem like a lot of weight to gain. I’m not sure what’s going on, because my belly is humungous but not my whole body.

Well she looks great, and her daughter is almost 2..She is just losing the weight..She didn’t crash diet or anything…anyway Sophia is so beautiful, and she looks a lot like her daddy..So cute…I haven’t see any pics since she was born I believe…

Well she looks great, and her daughter is almost 2..She is just losing the weight..She didn’t crash diet or anything…anyway Sophia is so beautiful, and she looks a lot like her daddy..So cute…I haven’t see any pics since she was born I believe…

Well she looks great, and her daughter is almost 2..She is just losing the weight..She didn’t crash diet or anything…anyway Sophia is so beautiful, and she looks a lot like her daddy..So cute…I haven’t see any pics since she was born I believe…

I like the article… didn’t think I would… but it was a good point about the fact that normal… aka… most… women do have to work to get the weight off… and that the juice diets and shots and weird stuff just simply don’t work… she lost the weight through regular exercise and good nutrition.

Well, I agree that eating junk food is not good, and that weight is not at all “good weight” but I think like so many other posters have said, that gets lost in the weight obsession. It isn’t “you should gain on nutritious foods and not eat empty calories” as it should be. It seems the emphasis is more on “don’t go over 30lbs or else!!”

Anyways, Moxie you can find Dr. Brewer’s general diet guidelines here: http://www.bradleybirth.com/PD.aspx which the Bradley childbirth method’s site. They use Dr. Brewer’s diet. The late doctor also had a small website: http://www.blueribbonbaby.org/ which has good info on it. It’s really hard to find his books, but they’re excellent and detail his 12-year nutrition case study in a prenatal clinic and the excellent outcomes he helped the women achieve. Hop over to my website and send me a note if you want to discuss it further, I feel pretty strongly about prenatal nutrition XD

Here’s a scan of the article that goes with the photo – obviously I can only post so much of it, but since this topic is getting a lot of responses I figured the interest is there! Leah talks about all the crap she ate, and how she took the weight off too.

http://i2.tinypic.com/viiafo.jpg

Leah has been open in other interviews about how poorly she ate during her pregnancy, and about how naive she was in thinking that the weight would fall off right after the birth. She even said that she brought her pre-pregnancy jeans to the hospital with her. That works for some women, none of whom gained 80 lbs. though, I’m sure.

Doctors are right to emphasize a certain range for weight gain as a GENERAL GUIDELINE to follow, because no one eating healthily with an emphaisis on nutrition will put on 80 lbs. unless there is something seriously malfunctioning somewhere within the pregnancy. There needs to be some ackowledgement that the extreme weight gain doesn’t just cause harm to your own health, but also to that of your unborn child.

Where society is WRONG is in expecting women to take the weight off rapidly after birth.

I was a little overweight when I got pregnant with my daughter. I have high blood pressure, and my doctor was very concerned about that and tried different ways of getting it under control. All through that time I kept gaining weight. I do take partial responsability for the weight I gained, about 70 pounds , because I know I didn’t eat like I should. However, I really think my doctor should have been paying more attention to something other than just my BP. Part of the weight I gained was just water weight, and after my daugther was born, I was able to lose a quick 20 to 25 pounds (boy was that nice). However, 19 months later I am about 100 pounds heavier than my ideal body weight. I am determined to get it back off, but boy is it hard. If I ever get pregnant again, I won’t be gaining that much weight, that is for sure!!!