Weight Gain

[Jersey Shortie]

Jersey, I can't find it, who said that??

 

 

I am not understanding the eyeroll followed by your question.

[kostoronto]

Aren't you a teen? I was a twig in high school and thought the same thing. Trust me, once your metabolism stops at 19/20 you'll be hit like a brick wall. I'm thin & fit now, but don't act like it can't happen to you

 

Jersey, I can't find it, who said that??

 

My dad's thin, too. Our metabolisms combined with lots of exercise and healthy eating = staying thin

[bean1]

I am not understanding the eyeroll followed by your question.

 

Sorry, the eyeroll is in regards to whoever spouted that drivel, not you!

[Els]

This is a load of nonsense. There is no biological imperative to get fat after having a child. I know - I've had 3 and weigh the same now as before I had them. And, no, losing the baby weight did not require hours in the gym or lots of moeny. Eating well and exercising -- yes, even with a baby around -- is possible at any stage of life (barring illness/injury).

 

There's a big difference between someone who gains weight for reasons that are truly beyond his/her control and someone who just lets him- or herself go.

 

YOU may not have. But it is a widely accepted fact that the hormonal changes after pregnancy can lead to weight gain as well as postpartum depression. I'll go search for the medical papers again when I've some time to spare -- I've read them. Not ALL women might have them, and certainly not all will have them to the same degree, but it happens to a significant extent.

 

What you said would be akin to an overweight man saying 'Being fat doesn't give me heart attacks. I should know -- I'm 200 lbs and have never had one in 50 years'. I hope you get my point.

 

Of course it's AVOIDABLE. But it's the cold, hard truth that women who've just given birth ARE scientifically proven to be predisposed to it. Which makes it HARDER, especially with a baby, to do so. It is not just an EXCUSE, not just a convenient scapegoat.

 

And you've probably never lived in a poor family. I live in a third world country -- the people are predominantly poor. Even the middle class typically work from 8am to 8pm on AVERAGE. If you factor in the baby there is virtually no time (and probably concern) for weight-loss exercises -- they'd just want to take the baby off the nanny's (who is usually the exhausted old grandmother's) hands and sleep, because they'd have to be up for the commute at 6am the next day.

[Chocolat]

But it is a widely accepted fact that the hormonal changes after pregnancy can lead to weight gain as well as postpartum depression.

 

"Widely accepted" is meaningless. It was once widely accepted that the earth is flat. Please show the data to support your assertion.

 

Here are some facts for you. http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nbreastfeed/0,,48kp,00.html Note that the best way to lose weight after delivery is by breast-feeding. And it's free.

[Chocolat]

What you said would be akin to an overweight man saying 'Being fat doesn't give me heart attacks. I should know -- I'm 200 lbs and have never had one in 50 years'. I hope you get my point.

 

p.s. Your point seem so to be quite confused. First, at 200 pounds, a man may or may not be at increased risk of heart attack, depending on his height and other factors. Second, being significantly overweight is a risk factor for heart disease but there is a big difference between risk factor and cause-and-effect. Finally, you are comparing apples to oranges as childbirth is not a risk factor for (nor cause of) obesity.

[Els]

"Widely accepted" is meaningless. It was once widely accepted that the earth is flat. Please show the data to support your assertion.

 

Here are some facts for you. http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nbreastfeed/0,,48kp,00.html Note that the best way to lose weight after delivery is by breast-feeding. And it's free.

 

Your link proves nothing about there NOT being a scientific link between pregnancy and weight gain. All it shows is that breastfeeding helps reduce it. In fact, your article supports the fact that weight gain after pregnancy is a common problem -- which is why it is addressing ways to prevent that.

 

Also, while we're at it, medical articles please. That website quotes no scientific journals as reference.

 

Childbirth is not listed as a risk factor or cause of OBESITY, correct. But it is a frequent TRIGGER OF WEIGHT GAIN in many women. It's called postpartum weight retention.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14534032

 

http://books.google.com.my/books?id=p1b8uasbGMgC&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74&dq=postpartum+weight+retention+patho&source=bl&ots=HX9yND3UK4&sig=Fla2Kt23Y1JUls7rI_OWgsCatW0&hl=en&ei=jE4tSvbCOajW6gPl_9D2CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4

 

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118963639/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

 

'For some women pregnancy is a trigger for developing overweight and obesity. Seventy-three per cent of 128 female patients at our Obesity Unit indicated that they had retained more than 10 kg after each of their pregnancies, and for this subgroup weight development after pregnancy was of crucial importance for their future health. Although mean weight increases after pregnancy generally are modest, there are wide individual variations. In studies at the Obesity Unit, weight retention ranging from up to 26.5 kg one year after pregnancy to a loss of 12.3 kg was reported, although the mean weight gained was only 0.5 kg. '

 

http://www.nutritionj.com/content/6/1/21:

'For some women, pregnancy is a triggering factor for long-term overweight and obesity [3]. Postpartum weight retention is usually highly variable and a subgroup of women retains large amounts of weight after pregnancy. In some studies, up to 20 percent of women have retained at least 5 kg by 6–18 months postpartum [4]. The average postpartum weight retention varies from 0.5 kg to 3 kg in different study populations [5].

Excessive gestational weight gain is the primary risk factor for retaining weight in the postpartum period [4-6]. Other factors associated with an increased risk of high postpartum weight retention include high pre-pregnancy BMI, primiparity, short duration of breastfeeding, stopping smoking, high energy intake and low physical activity, although these associations have not been found in all studies [4,7]. Only few studies have assessed the influence of diet and physical activity on postpartum weight change. Higher or increased energy intake and lower physical activity were associated with higher postpartum weight retention in some studies [8-10], but not in all [11].'

 

So, let me reiterate. Postpartum weight retention, like postpartum depression, does not affect everyone. But it is REAL. It is not just an excuse. Would you say that there's no excuse for a woman to be depressed after pregnancy? Or that there's no biological imperative to be depressed after pregnancy? I'm sure you wouldn't. Is postpartum depression/weight retention managable/preventable? Yes. Is it difficult to manage/prevent? That depends on the individual woman and her circumstances.

 

I'm glad it was easy for you. It's not so easy for many women I know who are juggling a crazy job, a baby, and an unhelpful husband.

[Jersey Shortie]

Sorry, the eyeroll is in regards to whoever spouted that drivel, not you!

 

Poster was Mixwell, Bean. He hasn't been back on this thread since.

[loser101]

back to the original post: yes a weight gain would put me off. I am a woman and I disagree with the others that claim we don't care about male bodies that much. I am very active and outdoorsy and I would not have sex (let alone marry) with some lazy slob with flab. To me it is the mentality of laziness that's unattractive - as some of the others said before

[Els]

p.s. Your point seem so to be quite confused. First, at 200 pounds, a man may or may not be at increased risk of heart attack, depending on his height and other factors. Second, being significantly overweight is a risk factor for heart disease but there is a big difference between risk factor and cause-and-effect. Finally, you are comparing apples to oranges as childbirth is not a risk factor for (nor cause of) obesity.

 

Also, I made that analogy because you were saying that my facts were bull**** because YOU had not experienced any form of weight gain after pregnancy. That analogy is just meant to show that one person not experiencing something does not mean that it is bull**** for everyone else to.

 

P.S. My apologies, internet finally loaded your site fully with the references at the bottom. Doesn't change anything though.