MFP and Pregnancy

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Replies

  • slightlycrunchy
    slightlycrunchy Posts: 42 Member
    Congratulations! I am a childbirth instructor, I teach a twelve week class. Nutrition is a HUGE component of a healthy pregnancy. All of the mothers in my classes keep track of everything they eat and turn it in to me for review each week. I am looking for a balanced diet, vegetables, protein (you need 80 - 100 grams / day), and water intake (1/2 of your weight in ounces everyday). I think MFP is a great place to log your food and make sure you are getting everything you and your baby need to have a happy and healthy pregnancy.

    That's a lot of water! If someone is heavy to begin with, and they are drinking half their weight in water, I'd be worried about over hydration and the effect it could have on their potassium and sodium levels in water.

    But definitely make sure you get plenty of protein!
  • nrgott
    nrgott Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks so much for the responses, everyone! I truly cherish all of your advice, it helps a lot.

    I'm definitely not planning on just eating whatever I want...I try to eat fairly clean already (not a lot of processed foods/meat, low sodium, etc) so I hope to continue that. The thing I have been craving most so far is pickles! I definitely want to make sure I am eating healthy for my baby, and I know that I shouldn't expect to lose weight or even stay the same. Hearing some of your success stories about gaining during pregnancy and then losing afterward makes me feel much better!

    I think I may try using MFP just to keep basic track of what I'm eating but I'm not going to stress myself out about it. Thanks again for all of your honest and helpful advice!
  • Arianaml
    Arianaml Posts: 8
    Just a suggestion...if you go to your "goals" page "your diet profile" shows how many calories you burn through normal daily activity...you could use this as a baseline, then do some research as to how many extra calories you should be taking in per how far along you are in your pregnancy and adjust your goals through the "custom" setting by putting in how ever many calories you need at that time. You could also adjust amounts of protein, etc. depending on how much is recommended during pregnancy. MFP could be a good tool right now to make sure you're getting the nutrition you need!
  • Lolli1986
    Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
    I don't know about leaving or not, but I would definitely get advice from a doctor specifically regarding calories if you plan to track them.

    There is a lot of conflicting and generally dodgy word-of-mouth advice around here, and it is hard to steer clear of.

    Congratulations, and best of luck to you (both <3)
  • blueeyedcristi
    blueeyedcristi Posts: 304 Member
    Congratulations! We have been TTC our first child since late last year. I must admit I am a little nervous about losing weight only to gain it right back. However, I feel more confident about it since I have completely changed my lifestyle. I know what I should/should not be eating and plan to stay on this site to continue to track calories & eat correctly. Feel free to add me if you'd like support.
  • jessicae1aine
    jessicae1aine Posts: 885
    I strongly suggest you ask your doctor how much they'd like you to gain overall, discuss with them the work you've done losing weight, counting calories, etc, and ask them how many more calories they'd advise you to add to what you currently eat. As long as they don't see any problems, a moderate gain can be perfectly healthy, especially if you're on the border of being overweight.
  • JOEYJACKMOM
    JOEYJACKMOM Posts: 72
    Congratulations! I am a childbirth instructor, I teach a twelve week class. Nutrition is a HUGE component of a healthy pregnancy. All of the mothers in my classes keep track of everything they eat and turn it in to me for review each week. I am looking for a balanced diet, vegetables, protein (you need 80 - 100 grams / day), and water intake (1/2 of your weight in ounces everyday). I think MFP is a great place to log your food and make sure you are getting everything you and your baby need to have a happy and healthy pregnancy.

    That's a lot of water! If someone is heavy to begin with, and they are drinking half their weight in water, I'd be worried about over hydration and the effect it could have on their potassium and sodium levels in water.

    But definitely make sure you get plenty of protein!

    It is not that much water when you consider the increase in blood volume and the extra water necessary to support the growth of an additional person and the amniotic fluid. Over hydration is very rare and even more rare during pregnancy, where as dehydration is very common during pregnancy.

    The pickle craving is your body's way of letting you know that it needs more sodium to increase your blood volume and production of amniotic fluid. A good rule of thumb during pregnancy is "salt to taste."
  • DiannaMoorer
    DiannaMoorer Posts: 783 Member
    Definitely don't dump MFP!! It is the perfect place to make sure you are getting your nutritional and calorie requirements. Reset it to track iron and calcium. Since pregnant women need more. Keep up that exercise. Just make sure you get an ok from your doctor to keep it up and know your limits. My biggest mistake during pregnancy was not to exercise. Congratulations and good luck!
  • katherines2230
    katherines2230 Posts: 276 Member
    Holy moly, congrats!!! I'm 9 weeks pregnant also and hopped on this morning looking for support! I say definitely DON'T dump MFP! I hadn't even heard of MFP when I was pregnant with my first and was seriously out of control, I gained 60 pounds with her and after 2 years, I found MFP and just got the weight off about 6 months ago now I'm pregnant again! From about 6 weeks until now I was sort of MIA but now I'm back with a clear head and determined to keep the weight gain to a minimum. As far as the calories go, I put in to maintain my current weight then manually added an extra 300 calories, which is what you need during pregnancy. Im still weighing regularly and have picked back up at the gym and it really has made a difference. Feel free to add me as a friend!!
  • divatigs
    divatigs Posts: 2 Member
    I'm looking for ideas to slow down my pregnancy weight gain. I am 25 weeks pregnant. I workout a minimum of 6 days a week (usually 7), I eat approximately 1800 calories a day of the right food (fruits, veggies, light protein, light carbs...so I'm technically doing everything "right", yet.....here I sit already gaining 30 pounds? It's so frustratining...I gained 70 pounds with my first child and didn't workout or watch what I eat and this time....10 years later I'm working my butt off, my look like one of the pregnant women who just don't care....help?
  • qtiekiki
    qtiekiki Posts: 1,490 Member
    I don't think you need to dump MFP, and changing to maintenance calories is a good idea for now. I wasn't on here when I was pregnant, so no first hand experiences. My advice would be to listen to your body, and eat when you are hungry. Do not see the pregnancy as an excuse to eat for two. I've heard people say "oh eat whatever you want, because you will lose all the weight when you are breastfeeding.", and that's not a healthy mentality to have. That was my approach during my pregnancies. I lost all the weight I gained within the first year. Best wishes for a happy 9 months.
  • qtiekiki
    qtiekiki Posts: 1,490 Member
    Congratulations! I am a childbirth instructor, I teach a twelve week class. Nutrition is a HUGE component of a healthy pregnancy. All of the mothers in my classes keep track of everything they eat and turn it in to me for review each week. I am looking for a balanced diet, vegetables, protein (you need 80 - 100 grams / day), and water intake (1/2 of your weight in ounces everyday). I think MFP is a great place to log your food and make sure you are getting everything you and your baby need to have a happy and healthy pregnancy.

    That's a lot of water! If someone is heavy to begin with, and they are drinking half their weight in water, I'd be worried about over hydration and the effect it could have on their potassium and sodium levels in water.

    But definitely make sure you get plenty of protein!

    It is not that much water when you consider the increase in blood volume and the extra water necessary to support the growth of an additional person and the amniotic fluid. Over hydration is very rare and even more rare during pregnancy, where as dehydration is very common during pregnancy.

    The pickle craving is your body's way of letting you know that it needs more sodium to increase your blood volume and production of amniotic fluid. A good rule of thumb during pregnancy is "salt to taste."

    Definitely drink more water. I ended up having a kidney stone during my second pregnancy. It was horrible. I was drinking about 64oz, so I upped it to 96oz after.

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