how many calories should i be eating while pregnant?

lilla19

i hear you should increase your calorie intake by 300 when pregnant. what if i was dieting at 1200 calories per day? in order to maintain my weight, i should eat 1500 per day. add 300, i should be eating 1800 calories per day. is this correct or should i stay at 1500. that seems low, but i just don't want to go overboard and gain more weight than i need to or consume less than i need.

angel79202

here's a calculator that may help:

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

6Janelle13

another resource.

http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/planner/launchPage.aspx

jhmomofmany

my midwives always recommended I eat to appetite, 5-6 small meals/snacks a day. If you are eating healthy "real" food, you will gain exactly what you need to - pregnancy is NOT the time to pig out in one extreme or restrict calories in the other extreme.

Talk to your doc, but I think common sense is a good guide. Congrats, BTW

Nich0le

Your calculation is probably very close, however, it is recommended to take between 100-300 calories extra in and the most important times are the first and third trimesters. The second is important but the baby does most of it's weight gain in the third congratulations by the way!