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MalGC
Posts: 10 Member
Hey I just found out that I am pregnant, I am only about 4weeks4days. I am excited. This is our third child. I am currently overweight at 212 and not looking at gaining any unnecessary lbs. What caloric intake should I aim for?
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Everybody is different and I had the same issue when I became pregnant. I was told a number of different calorie ranges. I however am Bulimic so any extra calories that I eat is a good thing. I was netting 900 a day before I got pregnant.
My nutritionist said that I have to eat a minimum of 1200 a day to keep me and the baby alive. That blew my mind only because I know that when you are not pregnant you have to eat at least 1200 a day just for yourself.
I have had a doctor tell me that eating my 1500 calories a day was fine (which is what I do eat daily) and I have had a very healthy pregnancy so far with only a slight complication of premature labor (from dehydration when I was sick). I haven't had an issue since the antibiotics knocked the infection out of me.
Then, I had a doctor tell me to eat 1800 a day since I am about to enter my 3rd trimester next week. It depends on how far along you are. In the beginning you need about 300 extra calories daily for your fetus. Towards the end you need about 500 calories extra daily. Certain circumstances though will change this.
If your limited on how much weight you can gain because of being overweight, your doctor may not recommend a higher calorie amount. You may only be asked to gain 10-20 pounds instead of 25-30.
Again, it depends on your situation, Never eat less than 1200 a day and I personally would aim for 1500. My logic was in the beginning that I needed 1200 and the fetus needed 300 so that would = 1500.0 -
Congratulations!
The ladies on here have posted (multiple times) a good link to caloric intake for pregnancy, but I can't find it at the moment. I'm hoping someone will chime in with it.
Generally the guidelines are to set your MFP calories to:
-maintenance for the first trimester
-gain 1/2 pound/week for the second trimester
-gain 1 pound/week for the third trimester
This is based on your pre-pregnancy weight, too, so if you are 212, they will be based on a weight of 212.
Otherwise, your doctor/midwife should give you an idea of how much weight you should be gaining or if it's ok for you to lose weight. It's not advisable for most women to lose, even if overweight, and it should only be done under the supervision of a doctor.
However, you should really focus on nutrition more than the numbers on the scale. Here's a great blog post on this topic, from PregosaurusRex, a regular here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/PregosaurusRex/view/liz-s-guide-to-pregnancy-nutrition-and-fitness-4696460
