How many calories should be eaten in 3rd trimester?

musicgirl99

Hi ladies,
Any idea how many calories are recommended for the third trimester? My dr. had told me that I should be eating 2,000 in the 2nd trimester but that seemed like a lot so early on. Have any of you ladies heard anything about calorie recommendations from your docs or midwives??

acampbe2umd

there are tons of pregnancy calculators out there that would be specific to you. Google them and come up with a number. That said, I ate just under 2000 for 2nd trimester and I'm eating 2160 plus exercise calories for my 3rd trimester.

rosy003

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

I used this, but I underestimated my activity level b/c it seemed a bit high.

TLCEsq

I'm eating about 2,400/day right now (37 weeks) and that's only about 150 above maintenance for me. I gave myself that cushion because: 1. I'm still gaining plenty of weight (32 pounds) and 2. Calorie counting is not ever exact as we all know; and 3. I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm not! :-)

BBeccaJean

I also looked at the free dieting pregnancy calculator. Add anything from 0-300 calories a day above non-pregnant BMR for third trimester, but watch carbs, because most of us become insulin resistant!

http://books.google.com/books?id=HQoD24VfFiIC&pg=PT171&dq=50-70%+women+become+insulin+resistant+during+pregnancy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1qXdUK3JK6iU2gWpmoDABg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA

mrs_dwr

I also looked at the free dieting pregnancy calculator. Add anything from 0-300 calories a day above non-pregnant BMR for third trimester, but watch carbs, because most of us become insulin resistant!

http://books.google.com/books?id=HQoD24VfFiIC&pg=PT171&dq=50-70%+women+become+insulin+resistant+during+pregnancy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1qXdUK3JK6iU2gWpmoDABg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA

0-300 above BMR? Not TDEE? That seems odd.

I've been aiming for 2160, which is maintenance for me while not pregnant. I wasn't tracking during 1st Tri because of nausea - I just ate whatever I needed to keep from being sick. I gained 20 lbs in the first 16ish weeks because of that but since going back to tracking I've gained only 3 more lbs in the past 10 weeks (eating at maint). I've been waaaaay over on sodium the past couple weeks, though, so I'm not even sure how much of my scale gain is real or not. At my next appt (when I'm 28 weeks) I'll ask my OB if he thinks I should increase cals, but so far I figure my body has enough reserved from the 1st Tri :laugh:

neelia

My doctor told me around 2,300 for third trimester.

musicgirl99

Thank you all for your responses. I'm trying to slow down my weight gain without harming the baby by eating too few calories. Now I have a better idea of how much I should be eating.