Pregnancy and Calories

bethfartman

I'm 6 weeks pregnant. I lost about 55/60 pounds over the last couple years using MFP, went back up about 10 since the end of the summer and was trying to loose it, but now I'm pregnant. I'm not trying to loose weight during my pregnancy, but I am truthfully pretty afraid of how much I'm going to gain. I readjusted my caloric allotment to maintain my weight for now. I'm often fluctuating between starving and nauseous not wanting to eat anything, so my food choices over the last couple of days have been iffy at best. I have a doctor's appointment at the end of the month and I will ask the midwife then what I should be eating, but do any moms out there have any advice as far as caloric intake is concerned and keeping weight gain in check throughout the pregnancy? Thanks!

scaryg53

I wouldn't try to maintain your weight while you're pregnant. You will we'd more calories and nutrients to keep your baby healthy.

scaryg53

*need

UnicornAmanda

Congrats! I am also pregnant, due in june with my second! Check this out...
figured I'd post here as well. Hope it helps!

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/pregnancy_calorie_calculator.htm

Dee_84

How much to gain throughout your pregnancy depends on your BMI. With a BMI of 20-25 it's advised to gain 25-35 pounds. With a higher BMI you should probably only gain 15-20 lbs.
As far as calories go:
1st trimester: maintenance
2nd trimester: maintenance +200-300 calories
3rd trimester: maintenance +500 calories

Congrats on the pregnancy, with the nauseau just eat what you can keep down. For me that was cereal with milk, fruit, crackers and more fruit.
I'm only days away from my due date and gained about 35 lbs. mostly baby bump and water retention in my legs.

eatingforspawn

How much you need to eat and gain are dependent on your BMI as Dee said. I happen to have a BMI of about 45... ick. I am currently 5 months pregnant and have lost about 7 pounds since the start. That is right I have lost weight, and my doctor is very happy with me. As long as you are eating very nutritious food, getting plenty of protein and not CUTTING calories you will be fine. Non-overweight people are supposed to gain weight, but obese people CAN safely maintain or lose a small amount of weight. I am eating what my normal BMR (with activity level accounted for) is, not undercutting. My body just naturally is shedding a little extra weight because it is supporting the baby with my reserves. However, someone who is not overweight MUST eat more calories, as Dee outlined.

shaumom

Here's my opinion on this: please, do NOT worry about only getting X amount of calories. Pregnancy and the human body are complicated things, which doctors do not even fully understand yet. Right now, the best thing you can do, IMO, is to listen to your body.

If you are hungry? Eat. If you are nauseated a lot of the time, that makes it even MORE important to eat when you are hungry. And when you are full, you simply stop eating so you are only getting the food that you need.

Make it healthy food obviously, but limiting calories when your body is asking for them is not a good thing for preggo mommies, you know?

And sometimes, with that whole complicated body thing, listening to your body can save you. I was pregnant when I had celiac disease - undiagnosed then - and I was SO hungry. I ate all the time from hunger, gained a lot of weight, but I was starving all the time and sincerely felt like I had to keep eating.

After being diagnosed a few years later, we realized that I was likely starving because I wasn't absorbing nutrients properly from my food because of my disease. Overeating allowed me just enough nutrients from all that extra food that it kept the baby safe and healthy. If I hadn't overeaten, I might have lost the baby.

I know that's a bit of an extreme case, but these things happen. Being pregnant with twins, or having an extra big baby that needs more nutrients, that sort of thing -it happens, you know? I was lucky to have a doctor whose philosophy was to listen to your own body, and you can imagine how happy I am that I did!

bethfartman

Thanks for everyone's advice! I'm overweight, but not obese. I generally eat fairly healthfully, so I'm not worried about getting enough nutrients. I'm just eating to maintain right now, not lose, but I'm going to keep tracking because when I'm not nauseous I'm starving and don't want to go overboard. I contacted my doctor about some other stuff and she said keeping my caloric intake at maintenance calories is fine for now.

Leana088

This is something you should ask your doctor. He needs to calculate or find someone to calculate how much you need during pregnancy.

But just so you know, you're not supposed to maintain while pregnant. You should be gaining. Remember you also have a baby inside you that needs to be nourished, its not just you alone anymore.