Calorie Goal While Pregnant
neelia
Posts: 750 Member
What do you have your calorie goal set to while you are pregnant? I asked my doctor what I should eat and she didn't really give me a clear answer about calorie counts. I heard from a friend that you should eat 200-400 more calories than normal while pregnant.
I currently have mine set to lose 1/2 lb per week. What about everyone else?
I currently have mine set to lose 1/2 lb per week. What about everyone else?
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Replies
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I set mine at maintenance for the first trimester.
+1/2 for second trimester
+1 for the third trimester
That includes eating my exercise calories back.
18 lbs gained in 28 weeks for me, which is perfectly healthy.0 -
I was not really good tracking at the first trimester, but I am quite good at tracking from the 2nd trimester on. First I set 1/2 lb per week gain in the 2nd trimester , but I kept gaining 2-3 times of that. Now I set only 150 calories above maintainance, which is like 1/3 lb per week gain, and I am 35 week along.
Still I gain multiple times of that
I gained almost 60 lb already , but based on MFP I only supposed to gain like 15-20 lb max. I think hormones during pregnancy do crazy stuff and whatever you set your intake, your actual weight gain maybe totally unpredictable.
I am annoyed by the weight gain, but it it worth to have a baby anyway. Once the baby is born, I can start to work on losing the baby fat.0 -
I was not really good tracking at the first trimester, but I am quite good at tracking from the 2nd trimester on. First I set 1/2 lb per week gain in the 2nd trimester , but I kept gaining 2-3 times of that. Now I set only 150 calories above maintainance, which is like 1/3 lb per week gain, and I am 35 week along.
Still I gain multiple times of that
I gained almost 60 lb already , but based on MFP I only supposed to gain like 15-20 lb max. I think hormones during pregnancy do crazy stuff and whatever you set your intake, your actual weight gain maybe totally unpredictable.
I am annoyed by the weight gain, but it it worth to have a baby anyway. Once the baby is born, I can start to work on losing the baby fat.
A whole lot of that extra gain is fluid gain in the amniotic sac, extra blood, and actual baby. It's normal to gain more than what MFP says you will.
The hormones make fluid retention a beast too. There are days when I'm up a good 8 lbs more than the day before if I eat too much salt. So frustrating!0 -
After a bunch of playing around with numbers, I ended up leaving mine set to maintenance for pre-pregnancy weight (just to keep some perspective on what that is).
In general though, I've been eating 300-500 more than my maintenance. I've gained 35 pounds at 36 weeks (and I'm guessing it'll end up being about 40 by the time I deliver. It's more than I would have liked to gain, but I feel like I'll be able to lose it without too much drama after I deliver. I know, famous last words, right? I'm giving myself a generous goal of 6 months to do it.0 -
My doc said about 1800 calories which is what my maintenence calories are according to MFP (I'm 5'5" and started out at 140) I don't get upset if I go over as long as it's less than 500 calories over. I'm not real consistent about logging through but so far it's working alright.0
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Im going to tell you that its going to be really hard for others to let you know your calorie goal. I am 6'2" and should be eating 2300 for maintenance. I have yet to net that( i am 36 weeks and still workout alot) i have gained roughly 55lbs. I think calories are going to be totally different for each mom no matter what her height or starting weight is. I think the best thing would be to just eat to make sure you are not hungry. Most OBs wont really know a set calorie goal for someone since they really don't study nutrition. Personally i would log how you have been eating and it you have been gaining wayyyyy too much than cut it down 100 calories a day.0
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i was eating betweeen 1400-1500 before getting pregnant. Now i'm usually eating around 1800-1900...0
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I have my goal set to maintain. I do know from past pregnancies that there will be days that I don't feel well and will have trouble eating, and other days I will be soooooo hungry. I will be watching the calorie average instead of daily.0
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I set mine to maintain and have left it as such even though I just entered the second trimester because clearly I have no problem gaining weight... I really intend to log as much as possible and play it by ear, weighing in regularly and keeping tabs on how much junk I eat. I am not going to freak out if I gain too much, but I would like to simply eat as healthily as I can.0
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I went to a dietician and was put on a special diet and they set my calories at 2100. I have a hard time meeting that but I try my best. I am 37 weeks and have only gained 7lbs which I am told is fantastic because right now its all baby.0
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I was eating around 1500 before pregnancy and I am currently eating around 1750-2000. Some days more, some days less. I am 33 wks and gained 26-27lbs so far0
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I was eating 1200 prepregnancy and my dr gave me 1800 for the first trimester then bumped it up to 2000 which for me is way too much! I was just eating to eat, wasn't hungry, and put on more weight than I wanted. I felt like I was stuffed all the time so I backed it down on my own(with my drs approval) and now I eat between 1500-1800 and I'm completely satisfied. Sometimes you just have to figure out what your body wants and needs regardless of the numbers you are given.0
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I was 5'5" 143 pre-pregnancy and was at 1800 1st trimester (although I wasn't logging much) and now 2000 for 2nd trimester, although I rarely reach that.
I based this off the literature my OB in the USA gave me, my Australian OB didn't give me guidelines.0 -
I kept mine at maintenance the entire pregnancy, and then ate back whatever exercise calories I had for the day ( I worked out 4 days a week until I was 39 weeks). I gained 30 lbs (my goal), and now at 5 weeks post-partum, I still have 10 to go!0
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I kept mine at maintenance the entire pregnancy, and then ate back whatever exercise calories I had for the day ( I worked out 4 days a week until I was 39 weeks). I gained 30 lbs (my goal), and now at 5 weeks post-partum, I still have 10 to go!
Wow, that's awesome!
As long as I see myself continually gaining, I am keeping myself at maintenance and trying to stay within. My body just seems to want to put on weight regardless of what I do, so we'll see.0 -
Before I realized I was pregnant my calorie goal was 1400, which was fine because morning sickness doesn't allow for a whole lot of calorie consumption anyway. However, now that I'm headed into my 3rd trimester food is the most AMAZING thing in the universe. Seriously. Sometimes the only thing that makes me go to bed at night (insomnia) is the knowledge that when I wake up it'll be socially acceptable for me to start eating again. Just to maintain my current weight with my general level of activity it's 2,490 calories. I've never made a conscious effort to eat the much in my life. I didn't think it'd be possible, and yet, I find myself meeting it (or nearly) every day. When I'm 40 and have no metabolism I'll look back on this time with fond memories.0
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All these answers have been helpful! I just found out yesterday I'm pregnant and I'm lost with my calories goals lol. I wasn't trying to lose weight with my first two kids so I never thought about it. I don't want to gain tons of weight this time around so I want to be careful of how much and what I eat, although, I don't want to deprive the baby of anything either.. not to mention saying "no" to those awful pregnancy cravings.0
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I'm in the maintenance camp too - with an eye towards being watchful that I consistently gain.
I'll be 17 weeks tomorrow and also find that some days I'm ravenous and some days food doesn't appeal, so I'm focusing on daily protein and weekly calories as my goals.
And totally agree that your body is going to do whatever the heck it wants - it's amazing how differently we're all affected by pregnancy!0
