Being plus size and pregnant is really hard, and lately it feels like no matter what I do, I’m being told it’s not enough.
At my appointment yesterday, my regular OB-GYN wasn’t there, so I ended up seeing a different doctor. That conversation left me feeling frustrated, so I wanted to share a little background.
Before I got pregnant—or at least before my doctors realized I was pregnant—I had been working really hard to lose weight. Back in December, I weighed 210 pounds. I was eating in a calorie deficit, staying consistent, and by February I had gotten down to 205 pounds.
Then life got stressful. I gave up on my diet because I just wasn’t feeling right. Looking back, that “off” feeling turned out to be pregnancy. By the time I went to the doctor in April, I weighed 207 pounds, and that’s when my pregnancy was officially confirmed.
Now I’m almost seven months pregnant, and I weigh 217 pounds.
When you’re plus size, doctors generally recommend gaining between 11 and 20 pounds during pregnancy. I’ve gained 10 pounds so far. The problem is that my doctor is only looking at my April weight because that’s when my pregnancy was confirmed. To them, it looks like I’ve gained those 10 pounds very quickly over the past couple of months, and they’re worried about my baby’s growth.
What makes this even more confusing is that they keep bringing up gestational diabetes, even though all of my glucose tests have come back looking pretty normal.
I honestly don’t know what I’m doing wrong.
The doctor keeps telling me to eat keto, but everything I’ve read in my pregnancy books says that a strict keto diet isn’t recommended during pregnancy. Even if I wanted to go low-carb, it’s not that simple. My baby has made it very clear what she will and won’t let me eat.
She’ll tolerate chicken, seafood, and an occasional burger, but steak, ground beef, and pork are completely off the table. Right now, most of my protein comes from eggs and beans. But then I’m told that while beans are a good source of protein, they’re also high in carbohydrates.
So it feels like I can’t win.
No matter what I eat, someone tells me it’s wrong. I’m trying my best to nourish my baby while also listening to what my body can actually handle, and that’s not always easy. Pregnancy is already challenging, but being plus size adds another layer of pressure that can make every appointment feel like you’re being judged instead of supported.
I’m doing the best I can, and I hope that’s enough.
