Is this normal?

Kairalie

Alright so I plugged my height and weight into the MFP calculator thing and it tells me for those stats that my calories to drop is 1550 a day. Not bad, not a problem. However, I am pregnant, and in my 3rd trimester so I'm NOT trying to drop weight at all I just wanted to log my foods and whatnot to be able to create good habits for later and keep track of what I'm eating. So on top of the 1550, I should be eating 200-300 more calories a day for the growing baby, and then even afterwards 300-500 extra calories a day for a good supply of breastmilk (I plan on breastfeeding)

Anyways, the problem I've noticed is that consistently I am eating less than the actual 1550 number they gave me. I'm eating at decent intervals, I'm eating good foods, and I'm not feeling hungry at all ever. I've even dropped 8.8 lbs since my last doctor weigh in. He says I'm still within the amount of weight to gain for pregnant women, but he did refer me to see a nutritionist. I am STILL waiting on the appt to see them. Figured I would come here for some honest answers before I went in.

Worst thing is the morning sickness STILL. I'm sick every morning before I even eat breakfast, but that can't be helped.

I'm wondering if I'm hurting myself or the baby by not forcing myself to eat more? Like I said I'm not feeling hungry, and most of my cravings are gone simply because the foods I'm eating are pretty balanced. Help?

3rdof7sisters

You need to follow your doctors advice. Your baby gains the most weight during the last trimester.
I am pretty sure you do not want to be losing weight now. Follow the instructions your nutritionist gives you.
Best of luck! You will get through this!

CMNVA

So you should probably look for nutrient dense, high calorie foods. Nut butters, avocadoes, bananas. Your diary is not public so I can't see what a normal day looks like for you.

I think at this point, it's important to be nutritionally sound for everything you put in your mouth and try to up some things where you can. Not sure what you like, but full-fat Greek yogurts are delicious for snacks and should get you up there easily. But not sure what you can "stomach" at this point.

I hear you on the morning sickness, I had it for 6 full months and it was "all day" versus the morning.

Kairalie

CMNVA wrote: »

Your diary is not public so I can't see what a normal day looks like for you.

You are welcome to add me to see it, not a problem at all
I'm almost 7 months now and the morning sickness has been a daily thing. Some days it's just the morning, before breakfast, sometimes it's all day where I can't keep anything down. It's killer..

VintageFeline

So you have your calories set to lose not maintain?

perkymommy

If you are in the last trimester of pregnancy then I honestly would wait until the baby is born or until the last month closer to the actual due date and then start on MFP. You shouldn't be losing weight while pregnant but shouldn't get extremely overweight either. You can only eat or not eat as your body tells you to do whether pregnant or not pregnant - so I don't see what the issue is but maybe I'm missing something. Why is it the doctor wants to send you to a nutritionist?

perkymommy

I will also add that I don't know if this is your first pregnancy or not but with my first child many years ago I only weighed 118 lbs the day I gave birth to him. I was extremely fit and exercised for hours a day six days a week back then. The doctor tried to say I needed to gain more but I didn't. I was in shape and had gained 28 lbs which is recommended for most pregnancies to gain around that amount. It was just the fact the doctor didn't think that 118 lbs was enough for a pregnant person. Just do what feels right for you. If you are overall healthy then eat or don't eat when you feel like it.

LivingtheLeanDream

Change your settings to maintain and ask your doctor how many calories above maintenance is advised for third trimester, its probably an extra few hundred a day...

mitch16

I was plagued by morning sickness throughout my pregnancy as well. Have you been able to link it to anything that you're eating? The prenatal vitamins (the iron taste) were definitely a trigger for me--I couldn't take them first thing in the morning. Garlic also seemed to be a trigger, which was kind of hard because I really do like garlic-y food (and my son likes it too but just didn't like it while he was in my belly!). I had to cut back on that and I found that eating smaller bland meals (snacks--even if it was just graham crackers and fruit) throughout the day helped to keep my nausea to a minimum (although it came back with a vengeance when I was at the hospital in labor).

Kairalie

perkymommy wrote: »

Why is it the doctor wants to send you to a nutritionist?

He wants to make sure things are going well I guess. I'm within the norm for pregnancy weight gain he said, so not worried there. But because certain things I used to eat often have recently started making me sick he wants my meals to be checked out since obviously I've eliminated things that make me sick!

perkymommy wrote: »

I will also add that I don't know if this is your first pregnancy or not

Second pregnancy, first one was 8 years ago though, things have certainly changed! And I'm not feeling overly hungry even at meal times, so I kinda just eat whatever amount until I'm content and that's it. Overeating, even when hungry isn't going to help anyone now or later.

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

Change your settings to maintain and ask your doctor how many calories above maintenance is advised for third trimester, its probably an extra few hundred a day...

I can certainly do that! I never even thought to set it to maintenance calories, since in the past I've only ever used mfp to lose, and like I said before I'm not looking to lose anything! But even still I'm eating less without even trying too, It would be the same if I wasn't tracking it :S

mitch16 wrote: »

I was plagued by morning sickness throughout my pregnancy as well. Have you been able to link it to anything that you're eating? The prenatal vitamins (the iron taste) were definitely a trigger for me--I couldn't take them first thing in the morning.

Actually in the beginning I had to switch which brand of prenatals I was taking because they were making me sick. Apparently the first brand I was using had lactose in them which makes me sick ALL the time pregnant or not.. so I switched brands to a lactose free and it's been better. However the morning sickness is just something I have to get used too I guess. This pregnancy (my second) it's in the morning before I even start thinking about food, so no real trigger, just... BOOM between 7-8am I'm sick no matter what. I'm hoping it tapers off a little before I go into labour in the very near future lol

vikinglander

Being male does not preclude me having an opinion, having fathered a child and been very involved in her mother's pregnancy, mostly doing all of the cooking throughout. It occurs to me that your body knows exactly how to build a baby already, without any help from you, except to eat normally. I know a lot of women get caught up thinking they need to eat extra to create a healthy baby, but that just adds weight to Mom. Extra calories are required while breastfeeding, yes, but not during pregnancy. A normal, balanced diet is all that's required. Note that weird cravings are usually your brain asking for specific nutrients to aid in creating a healthy fetus. Just my point of view, and my "two cents"...