Talk show host Coco Austin is expecting her first baby with husband Ice-T, and she says her pregnancy hasn’t been anything like she imagined it would be — or anything like most moms imagine.
For example, instead of gaining weight from the get-go, she says she actually lost weight during her first trimester even as her boobs continued to grow.
In her new celeb pregnancy column on E!, the star of Ice & Coco describes her pregnancy journey so far. For example, when it came to morning sickness she experienced little to none. “My first thing was I called my doctor and said ‘Are you sure I’m pregnant? I don’t feel pregnant,” she wrote. “I was only sick one time. What’s the deal?’ He said everybody is different.”
She notes her boobs are bigger, and that not only did she not gain weight during the first trimester, she lost it — and then advises pregnant moms to not eat anything extra during the first trimester to avoid gaining any weight in those first three months, and that’s questionable at best.
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Weight gain is an interesting topic because as Austin points out, women vary wildly in their results as they go through pregnancy. Not gaining weight the first 12 or 13 weeks is not unusual — many women suffer from morning sickness and food aversions and wouldn’t be able to put on weight if they tried, and yes, some women do lose weight during those early months. Studies have even shown that it’s not a big deal for overweight or obese women to actually lose weight over the course of a pregnancy (provided that’s what their doctor advises).
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But it’s not something to be taken lightly for the average pregnant mama. Some women do have a severe aversion to gaining weight during a pregnancy, and while the term “pregorexia” is not universally recognized by professionals, the behaviors that make it a thing definitely are. Weight gain during pregnancy is a normal, natural result of growing another human being, and even though this particular celeb isn’t championing losing weight during pregnancy, her advice needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Traditionally, doctors have differing weight gain recommendations that are based on a woman’s pre-pregnancy weight. According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, women who are underweight should strive to gain anywhere from 28 to 40 pounds, average weight 25 to 35 pounds and overweight 15 to 25 pounds.
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Overall, it should be between a woman and her health care provider how much weight she can or should safely gain, and often, it doesn’t seem to matter what you do during pregnancy — sometimes you pile it on, other times you struggle to gain just a few pounds. It’s critical to work carefully with your doctor or midwife to create a plan that works best for you, your health and the health of your fetus.
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