Lina has gained no weight with her pregnancy

[Beeks]

Lina is 17wks pregnant and has gained 0lbs. This combined with her comment about maybe not getting a big belly because she's vegan has me pretty convinced the girl has some food issues.

veggout.blogspot.com

[Kitty]

Holy shit. that can't be good. Unless she's one of those people who just never show until really, really late.

[Beeks]

Holy shit. that can't be good. Unless she's one of those people who just never show until really, really late.

Yeah. With my first pregnancy I lost weight in the first tri (morning sickness) and, while I'd finally gained a few pounds, didn't show hardly at all at 17-18 weeks, but something about the way she is obsessed with food rules and the way she has commented makes me think she's purposefully not eating a whole lot.

[makepeace]

Her post could be a response to discussion on here about the amount of food she eats.

[Beeks]

Her post could be a response to discussion on here about the amount of food she eats.

I missed that. Were people saying she eats a lot?

[Witsec7]

Her post could be a response to discussion on here about the amount of food she eats.

I saw that. I replied with some info about cooking and using soy products. I really don't know anything about eating soy while preggers thou. Goddess knows I ate pounds of it when I was pregnant.

[baristachica]

I am hesitant to say it's bad thing at this point. A very close friend of mine didn't have a NET gain in her pregnancy (she lost 8 pounds the first trimester) until past 20 weeks at least. She only gained around 16 total, including gaining the 8 back. She was average weight before she started, so that had very little to do with it. Some women gain at different rates and I am just as hesitant to gain "too little" gain as I am to criticize "too much". I only gained 6 pounds by 17 weeks, but after that it REALLY start piling on.

Now, I do think there are some concerns about her diet and food issues, but as long as her care provider encourages some weight gain and Lina is eating for her appetite and listening to instructions, then she will be ok. I would certainly rather hope she's just one of the few I am so jealous of that gain JUST enough and lose it easily. :roll:

[makepeace]

I missed that. Were people saying she eats a lot?

No, the opposite. People were worried about her veganism and the small amounts of food she is eating according to her food diary posts on her blog.

[Aurora]

Lina is back?! How did I not know this?

[Morton Fan]

For whatever reason, I didn't gain any weight until 21 weeks (and only about nine pounds the whole pregnancy, even though I am small to start). And then, lo and behold, it turned out my baby had growth problems (and was super, super tiny -- still is at 2 months). I don't wish that on Lina, but there aren't always wonderful outcomes with low weight gain for expecting moms. Eat, Lina, eat!!!

[keen23]

I gained very little with any of my pregnancies, and any weight gain came after 30 weeks. I gained 12 lbs, 9 lbs and 11 lbs respectively, and with #3 it was on a high protein diet to hopefully combat IUGR.

[GryffindorFTW]

I posted this in the other thread about Lina's pregnancy, but it's topical here:

Yeah, this.

I noticed some red flags in another post of hers earlier today, and just now went back over some of her older posts and found them to be a recurring theme. The blog seems to have been almost as much about her weight as the food itself, at least before her long hiatus. Don't get me wrong, veganism can be a very healthy and ecologically responsible lifestyle, and obviously eating healthily and exercising regularly are invaluable for health and wellness. That being said, Lina seems to be a naturally slim girl, and there is a fine line between health-conscious and food-obsessed, especially where dieting or food restrictions aren't an immediate necessity (as in Lina's case.)

This is only one quotation, pulled from a single post, but it is potentially illuminating and definitely in the same vein as many of her other posts:

For a physically active teenager, that is nowhere near enough food, period, never mind the fact that her list doesn't include a single protein source. Significantly, this kind of fastidious list-making and calorie-counting in general, coupled with her many references to strenuous work-out goals and rituals, ought to at least serve as symptoms, or at least warning signs, of disordered eating.

ETA: She admits to starving herself to lose weight "in the past," and says that after one significant period of weight loss, her parents were concerned she might be anorexic. Yeah. Reasonable concern is reasonable.

Given her history, she may just be using veganism as a convenient excuse to radically limit her caloric and fat intake.

Obviously there is a broad spectrum of pregnancy weight-gain, and in the U.S. it seems that many women use "eating for two" as a pretext for completely losing control, diet-wise; gaining 40-60 pounds during pregnancy is not healthy, either for the mother or the baby. However, in light of Lina's past food and weight issues, I'm far more inclined to be worried/concerned about the fact that she hasn't gained any pregnancy weight yet than I would be for someone who had a healthy relationship with food and their body image, especially since she is crowing about it on her blog. She already mentioned that she did not have severe morning sickness, and that what little queasiness she did have passed several weeks ago; considering how small she was to begin with, zero weight gain just doesn't sound right.

[fundyfunland]

Maybe the whole pregnancy thing is just one big lie for attention, not that Lina would EVER do anything to get attention. :whistle:

[GryffindorFTW]

The pregnancy isn't a lie, just her due date...

[Sweetpea1]

Yippeee!!! I knew Lina couldn't stay away for too long.

[nonymouse]

Um, yeah, I'm guessing food issues. I only gained 16 pounds, and didn't obviously show until 24 weeks, but my diet had to be carefully controlled to keep my gallbladder in until the baby was born, and have scar tissue that prevented my belly from growing a lot. I was constantly monitored for IUGR and ate a very low-fat but balanced diet. Does she really believe that one meal and one snack have made her belly grow? :doh:

ETA: "lots of little kicks"?? At 17 weeks I just barely felt movement, let alone kicks. Those must be some huge feet TT Jr. has.

[tropaka]

Um, yeah, at 17 weeks it's unlikely to feel much of anything in a first pregnancy (well, unless she's fudged her dates by 3 or 4 weeks, as predicted).

[Beeks]

I definitely felt flutters around 15wks with my first. I was pretty thin and so is Lina - I think that makes a difference in feeling the movement.

[Kishiria]

Add me to the list who think Lina's lying. About what, I'm not sure, either the lack of weight gain or the pregnancy itself.

[Austin]

There is no one "right" weight to gain for all women. I started out both pregnancies at a normal weight, gained 25 pounds with the first and 30 pounds with the second (the second was twins) I was right on target according to my doctor for the first, and five pounds shy of my target for the second, but I delivered five weeks early, so that probably makes sense.

For some women, it would be appropriate to gain 40 pounds, and for some women it would be appropriate to gain 15 pounds.

[emmiedahl]

I gained more than 40 lbs with all of my pregnancies despite trying everything. I would restrict food to the point where I worried about the baby, gain 5 lbs. Have morning sickness so bad I could not even keep water and Saltines down for a few days, gain 1 or 2. It was crazy. With exception of this last pregnancy, I lost all the weight within weeks of the birth.

If there is anything worse than starving yourself when you are in the throes of food cravings, it is doing such only to have a doctor and/or nurse scold you for pigging out, and then to have friends forward you articles on the risks to the baby when the Mom gains so much weight. I am highly weight sensitive and had an eating disorder, so all the harder. A relative was pregnant at the same time and could not gain weight if you paid her. We have the same non-pregnant body type, so why was she scarfing down entire cheesecakes and not gaining a damn pound? Maybe I need to take this to the whambulance thread...

I really hope Lina is eating well and eating constantly, getting a good balance of nutrients and not worrying about her weight. But she might just have a body that does not do what it is told. I suspect she is trying to look/act a few weeks less pregnant than she is, but only time will tell.

[Beeks]

There is no one "right" weight to gain for all women. I started out both pregnancies at a normal weight, gained 25 pounds with the first and 30 pounds with the second (the second was twins) I was right on target according to my doctor for the first, and five pounds shy of my target for the second, but I delivered five weeks early, so that probably makes sense.

For some women, it would be appropriate to gain 40 pounds, and for some women it would be appropriate to gain 15 pounds.

I 100% agree with this and if the only thing Lina mentioned was her lack of weight gain I wouldn't be worried. It's a combination of her obsessive food history and her comment about hopefully not getting a big belly by following a vegan diet that have me worried.

[Witsec7]

I weighed 110 when I got pregnant, delivered and 8#8oz baby 20 days early. I ate huge quantities of healthy food, no red meat, volumes of tofu, massive quantities of water melon and fresh fruits and veggies. I puked, and I would eat again, and puke some more. I weighted in at the hosp at 126. But I took vitamins, and was in my best physical shape ever when I got preggers. I surfed, ocean swam, walked miles daily and worked until the weekend before I delivered. Every woman is different, but I do question her lack of food intake, and her unhealthy logging of food.

As other posters have mentioned, her food and weight gain obsessions are a concern. There is also no mention of a Dr. only a midwife.

edited for accuracy

[DistantStar]

emmiedahl, you should be glad you weren't pregnant when my mother had me back in the Dark Ages of the mid 70s. She was strictly instructed that she was not, under any circumstances, to gain even an ounce over 25 pounds. When my brother came along eight years later, she was told that she should gain at least 25 pounds, and more was perfectly fine. The look on her face when they told her that must have been something to see.

Vegan is one thing but vegan plus a history of eating disorders? Not good at all. Add pregnant and it worries me.

[Austin]

I 100% agree with this and if the only thing Lina mentioned was her lack of weight gain I wouldn't be worried. It's a combination of her obsessive food history and her comment about hopefully not getting a big belly by following a vegan diet that have me worried.

Sorry, I should have made it clear that I wasn't really referring to Lina but to another poster who said something about gaining 40-60 pounds is unhealthy. Sometimes it may be, but sometimes it isn't.