Nutrition Questions

kristinc06837

Hello Ladies!

So this is Baby #2! Just found out last week! Haven't formally announced to everyone on social media but I need to reach out for help for nutrition and weight! I gained 65+ lbs with my first and am still starting out over the obese mark at 188-190ish. I want desperately to have a healthier pregnancy this time and so I am still going to be tracking my calories. I have been eating 1200-1500 calories before I found out I was pregnant and Have used a pregnancy calorie trackers to get a BMR calorie need of around 1700 calories and figured I would count my activity as well. I see a Dr next week to get the go ahead for what ever exercise I can do. I have been a jillian Michaels devout fan for a year and a half and have found a couple of her work outs i can modify to still work atleast in the frist trimester.

I guess my question is does anyone know what I need to set my macro nutrient goals for daily? I have read so many different things and I didn't know if leave my 40% carbs and 30% fat and protein would be appropriate or going the wrong direction for my nutrients.

Also I have done the eating 4 meals a day essentially breakfast lunch snack dinner try to eat every four hours. I don't feel like that's going to work any more is it better to eat small meals every two hours? Or just eat when i'm hungry? It has been so long of trying to ignore hunger its like trying to re wire my brain now!

Also are protein shakes safe while pregnant?


Congrats everyone on the arrivals!

RBXChas

Congratulations!

I'm not sure on your macros question, but as far as eating 4 meals a day, I think that's a pretty good start. I would say stick with that but listen to your body. I'm not sure how bad morning sickness will hit you and/or how hungry/tired you will feel, but just go with it and log. The general recommendation that is passed around on here is to set your MFP goals to maintain for the first trimester, then +1/2-lb/week for the second, and +1-lb/week for the third. At your weight and seeing as you are still in the obese category, 1500 calories is probably too little. (I started out at the top of "normal" weight range, and my maintenance was 1700/day.) So you may want to up your calorie intake a bit (it might help with any fatigue you're having) before you talk to your doctor.

But yeah, don't ignore hunger. That doesn't mean you need to eat cake every time you feel hungry, but don't ignore it - just have a healthy snack and then don't sweat it! I found fruit to be the most satisfying thing throughout my whole pregnancy this time (I'm 38+ weeks), and what fruit I desired changed as I progressed. At first it was all citrus fruits, then it became berries, then apples and pears, and now I'm into peaches, which are thankfully coming in season here! (I think part of the peaches thing is because I am thirsty all. the. time. these days, and, well, good peaches are incredibly juicy.)

As far as protein shakes, I would ask your doctor, but either bring one with you or take note of the ingredients. I quit on protein shakes/bars only because I wasn't sure what protein sources were ok. I know a lot of people here continue to drink soymilk and stuff (personally my stomach can't handle certain soy products), but I thought I remembered something about limiting soy protein while pregnant. I could totally be imagining that, though, which is why I say ask your doctor! I prefer whey protein, but that's just me - and I just figured I'd get my protein from "normal" sources while pregnant to be safe. But that's just me being overly cautious. Honestly I haven't craved protein bars or shakes the whole time until this past week, so I bought some shakes that were on sale at Costco but have put them aside for postpartum use when, as you know, it's hard to squeeze in a meal (especially a one-handed meal).

Congratulations again, and best wishes! You'll find a lot of support here - the ladies are wonderful and very non-judgmental! From what I understand, not all pregnancy boards are like that...

aprilkida

Protein is your biggest nutritional change while pregnant. You need to about double your protein intake because your body has no way of storing extra protein. The guidelines say to increase from 45g/day to75g/day, although some sources, that encourage staying low risk for natural delivery, say to aim for 100 grams of protein per day. On your own, 100g/day is very difficult to achieve. I personally use a protein shake with 30 grams of protein in it and I'm able to hit the 100 mark most days. The nice thing about these kind of shakes are that they also include 50 grams (half your daily goal) of calcium, along with many other vitamins. They also only have 5 grams of carbs and 1 gram of sugar so they won't lead you on a path to gestational diabetes. Definitely ask your practitioner their take on the shakes as well as their specific nutritional guidelines. It's also very easy to look up the nutritional guidelines for pregnancy online, that are legitimate.

TinaBean007

There is only one part that I can help with:

Also are protein shakes safe while pregnant?

My doctor said protein shakes are very controversial during pregnancy mainly because the protein sources can be chemically derived/altered. She recommended only organic non-soy protein shakes. Since I decided I'd rather be safe than sorry, this is what I switched to: http://www.gardenoflife.com/Products-for-Life/Foundational-Nutrition/RAW-Protein.aspx

Obviously this is the opinion of one doctor, so I would highly recommend bringing this up at your first appt.

Rubyayn

There is only one part that I can help with:

Also are protein shakes safe while pregnant?

My doctor said protein shakes are very controversial during pregnancy mainly because the protein sources can be chemically derived/altered. She recommended only organic non-soy protein shakes. Since I decided I'd rather be safe than sorry, this is what I switched to: http://www.gardenoflife.com/Products-for-Life/Foundational-Nutrition/RAW-Protein.aspx

Obviously this is the opinion of one doctor, so I would highly recommend bringing this up at your first appt.

Another thing to watch out for in protien shakes is that they often use artifical sweeteners. The jury is still out on thier safety and it is a risk I choose not to take, especially in pregnancy. I have found that a diet rich in whole foods usually meets my protien goal, even though I do not consume very much meat. I would think a meat eater would have an even easier time.

You can also make your own protien shakes using cottage cheese, peanut butter and other good sources of protien like hemp and flax seeds. I put them in my oatmeal every morning. There are some pretty good recipes on pinterest.

I have considered using the RAW powder in some bakes goods though. Do you have a review on the flavor?