Raw pregnant and losing weight??

[RebeccaI]

Okay maybe this is just hormones ;0) but I would be interested in others experiences. I am overweight. I am 14 weeks pregnant. I have been high raw since September and all raw for about a month. I am STILL losing TONS of weight - 5 pounds so far this week. I am eating and eating and eating. I have salads and smoothies and gourmet dishes and Lord anything else that even looks remotely appetizing but .... still the weight is melting off. Now mind you normally I would be THRILLED but .... no lifestyle no matter how good it makes me feel is worth it if it puts my baby in any danger whatsoever.

I feel a bit queasy a lot and then feel terrific but all in all am a bit worried about weight loss continuing. Should I be concerned about continuing to shed my "false body" while growing a new little body at the same time??

Has anyone else experienced this or known anyone who has I would sure appreciate your thoughts....

Thanks a bunch

Rebecca :confused:

[Rawkinlocs]

I'm no doctor or expert and I really don't know much about the harm (or lack of harm) to a woman losing weight during pregancy (even though I have 4 children), but my first thought was, if you are overweight, then perhaps your body is just shedding what it should shed and not enough to harm the baby. According to your midwife or OB-GYN, how is the baby's growth and development?

I'm sure someone with more knowledge in this area will come along and perhaps you may want to discuss this with your doctor if you're concerned. What's a typical day of eating look like for you (give amounts if you can) so we can see if you're really eating enough or not...sometimes we think we're eating a lot but we're really not and vice-versa.

Oh...and in our "Raising Raw Kids" area, there are some threads on raw pregancies...a few women here have had raw/high raw pregnancies and perhaps can shed some light on this for you. Unfortunately, all of my pregnancies were SAD-based :(

[RebeccaI]

Okay typical really varies with the taste buds but here goes

Breakfast: Fruit - this morning a pear, an apple and a banana
Snack - Alissa's fudge ball
Lunch - Jimaca chips and mock blue cheese dip and a salad
Snack - guacamole and salsa on corn chips
Dinner - Been craving pasta lately - last night was Tomato Mozarella Linguini
Bed bed - pineapple smoothie

Feels like I am eating ALL the time but since I am not counting calories I have trying to get in at least 6 small meals a day - serving of appetizer size approx rather than entree size if that makes sense.

There is not doubt there is a lot of un-needed weight on my body - just want to make sure there is enough to do what needs to be done. Ya know?
We birth our babies at home and don't usually start seeing the midwife till after 16 weeks so help there yet. I have been thinking about going into Ultrasona to get an ultrasound and make sure our new little person is coming along "swimmingly". :p

[Rawkinlocs]

hmmm...well, I'm not a calorie-counter either, but I've often read the calorie folks say that eating many small meals a day IS the thing to do to help with weight loss so...perhaps you may want to have just a few heartier meals (not necessarily heavy as in a lot of fat, but just more quantity at each meal) instead of so many mini-meals. That's just a suggestion based on things I've read.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I have heard and read of overweight or obese pregnant women continuing to lose weight over their pregnancies and giving birth to healthy children.

I am not sure what to offer and if you are not seeing a midwife right now, maybe you need to ask yourself how you are feeling in general. If this is a first pregnancy you may not know what "normal" feels like, on the other hand

I never had very comfortable pregnancies although I was on the SAD at the times, I don't think I ever felt "normal" myself even though I gave birth to health children. But at the time all those years ago, I thought I was supposed to feel all kinds of symptoms and side-effects at the time, for I didn't know any better.

Be sure to ask your midwife about all this when you do see her, and also be cautious about telling her you only eat raw fruits and vegetables - some of them do not accept this with a very good reception!

[Vegan Princess]

A friend of mine was overweight and super naueous in her first trimester. She was sick so much that she lost weight until the baby really started gaining. But I do agree...best to ask a doctor to be safe. Best of luck to you and good job eating so healthy!

[luckitri]

I lost alot of weight on a SAD pregnancy. I could not eat enough for that baby even though I had food around me all the time and ate constantly. I made up for it later on in the pregnancy. I was skinny to start with.

[juliebove]

I lost weight when pregnant. I finally gained 12 pounds at the very end of my pregnancy and it appeared to all by caused by swelling in my feet and lower legs. They really ballooned up. I should add that I was not on a raw diet during pregnancy but was eating a lot of raw foods, salad and fruit in particular.

I lost weight for two reasons. One, they told me I had gestational diabetes and I was put on a very strict diet. Two, I developed a thyroid problem (very common in pregnancy). My thyroid was flipping back and forth from hypo to hyper. Very frustrating and draining physcially.

I found that my appetite went all wacky during pregnancy. For most of the day I was not hungry and did not have the cravings you so often hear about. I did not want to eat snacks between meals and felt very bad about this because snacks were part of the strict diet I was on. But I did seem need to eat about every 4-5 hours apart. As soon as meal time rolled around I'd be starving. I'd start ripping into my food and after about the 2nd or 3rd bite I would feel just stuffed. Yet I knew I hadn't eaten enough food so I'd have to force myself to try to finish it. And I rarely finished it. I know I was not taking in enough calories (or as much as the dietician said I needed) but there was just no way for me to eat any more. I'd struggle with my meal for as much as 2 hours then throw the rest of the food away.

My SIL lost a ton of weight during her pregnancy. She too was put on the GD diet but she also suffered very badly from morning sickness and could not keep much food down.

Drs. generally want normal weight pregnant women to gain about 25-30 pounds by the end of the pregnacy. I don't have the actual breakdown in front of me but they factor in the weight of the baby, the placenta, additional fluids, etc. So in an ideal situation, within a couple of weeks of having the baby you would be within 10 pounds or so of where you started. Breast feeding causes additional fluids in your body and that adds weight.

But if you are overweight to start with, Drs. do not want you to gain that much weight and many times you will not. In fact some Drs. will not want you to gain any weight or might even want you to lose a little. It really depends.

How often are you seeing your Ob/Gyn? If on a regular basis and they are aware of the weight loss and have no problem with it, then I wouldn't worry about it. But if you are not seeing the Dr. often, perhaps you should schedule an appointment so they can check out the weight loss. It is possible that you've developed a thyroid problem and if so that needs to be addressed because if it is not, you're at increased risk of losing the baby. Oops! Just read about the midwife thing. I am not familiar with that since the midwife I had worked with the Ob/Gyn and only did office type work. But perhaps you need to contact yours and ask about the weight loss.

If all things check out normally, then weight loss is not a problem provided that you were overweight to start with. Not a problem for the baby that is. Now the weight loss at this time might be kind of rough on your body if you are not taking in enough nutrients. The baby will pull those from your body and you could wind up feeling run down.

[luckitri]

juliebove is right. Your body will give baby priority for nutrition so you do need to be careful. I got alot of holes in my teeth from one pregnancy.

[lissomllama]

Losing weight on raw is not unhealthy. Especially if one is overweight to begin with. also, you are most likely releasing toxins and toxins stored in fat instead of just losing weight in general.

Think about it logically, how could eating the way humans were meant to eat, possibly harm the body? How can eating only fresh, nutrient packed fruits, veggies nuts and seeds be unhealthy and a diet full of dirty animal products and dead cooked stuff (which was once food) topped off with synthetic vitamins be healthy for you. You said yourself, you eat all the time, you have an appetite and I bet you're just glowing. We've been conditioned to believe that we're all supposed to gain tons of weight during pregnancy because most mommies (typical Americans being the first in line) sit on a couch for 9 months and gorge themselves on ice cream sandwiches and ribs and usually have weight problems from then on, so because it is the norm, it is expected and the different is frowned upon. Human beings are meant to be lean and svelte with strong, limber bodies. I bet your little fetus is so happy right now, gaining perfect nutrition, it already has the best start in life you can give it by being raw.

Releasing weight is usually a good thing on the raw vegan lifestyle. I've noticed that our bodies just kind of take us where we need to be weight wise. Some people gain weight on raw and some people lose weight on raw but I've never heard of a raw vegan (after detox and adjustment) that wasn't vibrant and healthy, pregnant or not. Maybe giving your body more time to adjust is the key here, also, don't stress about it, just make sure you're getting enough food and indulge yourself in raw heaven! You're a mama, it's time to sit back, relax and dine on the luscious grapes of life with your little bundle inside. What a gorgeous thing a raw pregnancy must be. I've seen photos, it's amazing!

Don't listen to the stuff that the media and unfortunately our closest friends, relatives and yes often even doctors are telling us because while they all mean well, most people these days are grossly mis-informed. Go by how you feel and what sounds natural to you and your body. Keep eating as much as you need/want of raw vegan foods and prepare for a glorious pregnancy. There are all sorts of posts on here about raw pregnancies.

[trinity082482]

Its better to be loosing weight due to healthy habits then to be loosing weight they way I did during my first month from puking so much you cant keep anything down. Then you would have to worry about vitamins. If your eating healthy, I wouldnt worry too much. If you are loosing weight way too fast, you can talk to your doctor but I can imagine what a doctor would say if you said your eating 100% raw while pregnant. Mine probably would think im nuts even not pregnant LOL Sometimes our bodies do what it needs to do. Just take care of your self and your baby :)

[luna99]

I used to work with a girl who was maybe 30 to 35 pounds overweight when she got pregnant. Over the course of her pregnancy she lost weight and was thinner after having the baby than before. Now, she was on a regular, non raw diet, and I couldn't really tell you exactly what she ate... but I think losing weight while pregnant *can* sometimes be normal.. espcially if you are overweight.

like everyone else has said... if you're really worried make an appointment with your doctor. and congrats! :D

[RebeccaI]

Thank you soooo much Lissomllama!! I so appreciate the encouragement. :p as well as the wisdom from everyone else here. You all help me soooo much.

Now if I could just beat this terrible craving for Doritos today!! Sheesh!

;)