Staying healthy during pregnancy

heatherdevine77
heatherdevine77 Posts: 22 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been on here for a little while now and I have lost 5 pounds! Might not sound like alot to most of you, but for me... Let's just say I never dieted. Ever. Day two was usually the limit and I would sprint back to my nutella, pancakes, and ice cream. But more importantly than the 5 pounds, I've lost some inches. I just started measuring so I can't say how much. But the mirror AND my husband can see a difference.
But my son is about a year and a half now and my husband and I are thinking about trying for another baby soon. Now, MFP has told me that I need about 1360 calories a day to lose weight. (I'm really short, so there's not much of me to feed.) All the doctors and baby books say that you need 300 extra calories a day while preggo. So when I do get pregnant, do I add 300 onto that 1360, giving me 1960 calories a day? Or do I reevaluate and figure out my maintenance level, and add 300 onto that? The whole reason I started dieting in the first place was to get myself healthy after a miscarriage that we never expected. When we try again, I want to be as healthy as possible for this baby. I didn't gain way too much during my first pregnancy, but enough that it was hard to shake those few extra pounds.
Also, if anyone has any good advice on staying fit while pregnant, PLEASE chime in! I'm all set with some prenatals, morning sickness bands, and B-natals preggo pops. But I'll take any advice I can get.

Replies

  • allshebe
    allshebe Posts: 423 Member
    To get yourself healthy and maintain it, I'd start with a "mostly clean" balanced diet, with emphasis on fruits and vegetables (regardless of whether you are eating at maintenance or a deficit). It doesn't look like you have tons to lose anyway, so I'd keep eating at your current calorie level (or a bit more if you need to increase calories to get most of your vitamins and minerals "naturally") until you're sure you're pregnant and then gradually up the calories , aiming for a "healthy" rate of weight gain. The 300 over maintenance is a bit of a tricky calculation, in my opinion, because you normally gain 20-30 pounds (or more) during pregnancy, and I'm not sure what weight you use to calculate maintenance.
  • allshebe
    allshebe Posts: 423 Member
    To stay fit, just stay active. Any exercise you are doing now should mostly be fine once you're pregnant, at least for the first two trimesters. The "baby belly" may affect what you can reasonably do during the last trimester, but walking and swimming and lots of other things should remain OK (I rode one of my horses the day I delivered my second child, though I did pick a reliable mount and only walked for about 15 minutes)
  • FitnessBeverlyHills
    FitnessBeverlyHills Posts: 189
    When I work with my pregnant clients I really encourage healthy eating from lean meats, fruits, vegetables, and high fiber carbs like wild rice, sweet potatoes, barley, and I love alternatives like quinoa. Just think of giving your baby as much nutrients as possible and load up on those veggies and fruits. As long as you are eating good foods there is no need to calorie count, but still keep a journal to encourage you. Instead of tracking calories try tracking your vitamin intake, fiber, iron levels. For exercise I do a lot of Pilates, I;m a certified instructor and it is great for pregnant women as its low impact but still uses light resistance training. Yoga can also be great to improve your flexibility and circulation as well as nice daily walks.
  • heatherdevine77
    heatherdevine77 Posts: 22 Member
    Thanks everyone! I've actually been doing a little more research on this and I found out that I don't have to change how I'm eating right away. I can stay the same for now, and then once I'm in my second trimester, that's when doctors recommend about 300 more calories a day. So I'll add a yogurt or something! Then third trimester should be around 450 calories more than normal. If I keep going with this, and I'm not gonna be crazy about it, then I should be able to stay healthy and not gain too much like I felt like I did last time. But that's also plenty for me and the baby to stay healthy.

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