Too much or too little calories???
Sunshynez21
Posts: 12 Member
Just found out that I am preggo (8 weeks along!) but I still would like to use MFP to make sure I don't get carried away 
Before I used MFP to lose weight and maintain accountability. But I had my calorie count at 1250 - only because I'm in my early thirties, sit mostly for work, and exercise when I can at home. So I'm not as active as I once was, thus the low calorie count. When "me" became "we" I bumped up the calories count to 1350. Still trying to exercise but boy, does the energy leave my body! I finally have healthy snacks at work to satisfy the hunger - which increased too btw!! Both my husband and I eat healthy, but I want to make sure I'm at the right level. Doc appointment soon so I'll be asking him too - but I wanted to hear from some experts first!!! Thx 
P.S. I swear I've already gained 5 pounds too......eek :noway:
Before I used MFP to lose weight and maintain accountability. But I had my calorie count at 1250 - only because I'm in my early thirties, sit mostly for work, and exercise when I can at home. So I'm not as active as I once was, thus the low calorie count. When "me" became "we" I bumped up the calories count to 1350. Still trying to exercise but boy, does the energy leave my body! I finally have healthy snacks at work to satisfy the hunger - which increased too btw!! Both my husband and I eat healthy, but I want to make sure I'm at the right level. Doc appointment soon so I'll be asking him too - but I wanted to hear from some experts first!!! Thx P.S. I swear I've already gained 5 pounds too......eek :noway:
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Eat at maintenance, or if you can't bring yourself to do that, eat 100-200 calories below maintenance, and eat all/most of your exercise calories.
Also, look at the nutrients that you are supposed to get while pregnant and make sure you are hitting those. Protein and fat are pretty important while pregnant.
I eat about 1800 and haven't gained weight, despite being fairly sedentary (desk job also).0 -
During my first trimester I left it at "lose" but I think it was set to like a pound a week, max. I went over if I was hungry.
At about 16 weeks I upped it to maintain and have never eaten all of them. I'm 25 weeks and up about 15 lbs (more than ideal for me, as I am overweight to begin with).
For me, I think the optimal calories are somewhere between lose and maintain. If I ate full maintenance calories, I imagine I'd be significantly heavier already. I know it's lame....but I have to go with the whole "listen to your body" mantra when it comes to eating while pregnant. My doctor was, quite honestly, useless, in regards to calorie consumption. He gave me an ideal weight gain number and that was it.
Congrats to you!! Wishing you a happy & healthy pregnancy!0 -
I'm 33 and have a desk job. I set mine to maintenance 1500 at first, then went to 1600, I have been at 1700 for awhile now. If I find myself getting hungry for a few days in a row I up it 100 cal. I eat when I'm hungry, been having 2 breakfasts for awhile now. I'll be 24 weeks tomorrow, I've gained 4 pounds (9 if you count the 5 I lost then put back on, the 1st trimester).0
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You all have been super helpful!! I think I just need to eat small meals/snacks during the day and listen to what my body is telling me. I know everyone's bodies are different, so hopefully my energy levels will increase so I don't feel so bad :laugh:
I think I might watch how this week goes and adjust accordingly. Motivation is key here!!!0 -
You all have been super helpful!! I think I just need to eat small meals/snacks during the day and listen to what my body is telling me. I know everyone's bodies are different, so hopefully my energy levels will increase so I don't feel so bad :laugh:
I think I might watch how this week goes and adjust accordingly. Motivation is key here!!!
You are right on the money. Also, try not to focus to much on the scale (I know, I know... easier said than done) Your weight will fluctuate so much due to hormones, growth spurts, etc. Weight loss/gain is never linear and it's every more crazy when you're pregnant. Trending over several weeks is way more important that a week or two. Listening to your body is the #1 rule that is more important now than ever.
BTW- Congrats!!!0 -
Im 33 and have a desk job too. I also was working out alot and always on the go so i can totally related to feeling depleted faster during exerices. I am having a hard time with just "resting", but im working on it. I set my calorie intake to maintenance last week. Congrats!!0
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A good rule of thumb my doctor told me was to up your calories by only about 200 to 300. You are eating for a baby not for 2 of you. If you do that you should be fine. I am at 1500 a day because like you mine was set at 1200 per day before. Some days I am just ravished (im 25 weeks) so I will eat and go over. Just eat in moderation and watch those crazy cravings and you'll be fine.
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I found this site to be helpful for calorie needs when preggo. I am 32 weeks and eating 2350 per day. I was maintaining my goal weight at 2100 when I got pregnant. I fall right in the middle of a normal gain for pregnancy, so it has worked pretty well and I feel GREAT.
Good luck!
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/pregnancy_calorie_calculator.htm0 -
A good rule of thumb my doctor told me was to up your calories by only about 200 to 300. You are eating for a baby not for 2 of you. If you do that you should be fine. I am at 1500 a day because like you mine was set at 1200 per day before. Some days I am just ravished (im 25 weeks) so I will eat and go over. Just eat in moderation and watch those crazy cravings and you'll be fine.
I would be violent on 1500 calories a day. I couldn't even eat that low when I was trying to lose weight.0 -
A good rule of thumb my doctor told me was to up your calories by only about 200 to 300. You are eating for a baby not for 2 of you. If you do that you should be fine. I am at 1500 a day because like you mine was set at 1200 per day before. Some days I am just ravished (im 25 weeks) so I will eat and go over. Just eat in moderation and watch those crazy cravings and you'll be fine.
I would be violent on 1500 calories a day. I couldn't even eat that low when I was trying to lose weight.
I concur! My lowest calorie goal when losing was 1800-1900 per day. In fact, I lost 36 pounds eating that much! I don't do very well when I am hungry, lol.0 -
You guys are awesome! I actually found out I'm at 9.5 weeks today
I like the idea of setting it around 1500 - but I may see how this weeks goes and adjust. I can already see that 1450-1500 may be the magic number! The things you never think about until it happens to you - :laugh:0 -
I upped my calories to around 1500 for the first trimester and then just upped them to 2000 (almost to third trimester) and some days I don't get enough to eat and other days I do. I just try to stay within this range and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I find myself wanting more fruit and vegges than anything, so if I go over my calories due to these, I'm totally fine with it. You need to listen to your body and don't starve yourself and eat over your calories if that is what it takes. I've gained about 25 lbs (I'll be 26 weeks tomorrow). I gained 50 lbs with all 3 of my boys, so we will see what happens.0
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I set my calories to maintenance when I got pregnant, which for me is 1810. Some days I get hungry and eat more than that, but a lot of days I get so full so fast that I can't eat enough. I've only gained 3 lbs., but I couldn't eat more if I tried. Lately I'm trying to balance that out by making sure that what I *do* eat is high in nutrition.0
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How you eat during pregnancy can have life long implications for your baby. I just watched an interesting TED Talk on this:
http://www.ted.com/talks/annie_murphy_paul_what_we_learn_before_we_re_born.html0 -
How you eat during pregnancy can have life long implications for your baby. I just watched an interesting TED Talk on this:
http://www.ted.com/talks/annie_murphy_paul_what_we_learn_before_we_re_born.html
This is an awesome video!! I do believe we influence the baby very much by the quality and qauntity of our diets. It makes me wish I could go back and do it differently with my last pregnancy. I think it is important to note that according to the research she refers to, you can affect you and the baby's future health by not eating enough. I find that I am instinctively more worried about eating too little, than not eating enough. This is especially true in pregnancy.
Great link!0 -
How you eat during pregnancy can have life long implications for your baby. I just watched an interesting TED Talk on this:
http://www.ted.com/talks/annie_murphy_paul_what_we_learn_before_we_re_born.html
This is an awesome video!! I do believe we influence the baby very much by the quality and qauntity of our diets. It makes me wish I could go back and do it differently with my last pregnancy. I think it is important to note that according to the research she refers to, you can affect you and the baby's future health by not eating enough. I find that I am instinctively more worried about eating too little, than not eating enough. This is especially true in pregnancy.
Great link!
That IS a great Ted Talk!! The part about that babies that went from famish to feast was especially interesting! Sounds like we're doing our babies a favor by eating a healthy amount of healthy foods!0 -
How you eat during pregnancy can have life long implications for your baby. I just watched an interesting TED Talk on this:
http://www.ted.com/talks/annie_murphy_paul_what_we_learn_before_we_re_born.html
This is an awesome video!! I do believe we influence the baby very much by the quality and qauntity of our diets. It makes me wish I could go back and do it differently with my last pregnancy. I think it is important to note that according to the research she refers to, you can affect you and the baby's future health by not eating enough. I find that I am instinctively more worried about eating too little, than not eating enough. This is especially true in pregnancy.
Great link!
That IS a great Ted Talk!! The part about that babies that went from famish to feast was especially interesting! Sounds like we're doing our babies a favor by eating a healthy amount of healthy foods!
I thought it was interesting and relevant to this discussion.
For my own stats, my experimentally determined maintenance was about 1734 calories before I started lifting. While I was lifting, I was netting on average 1970 cal a day to slowly put on about 8 lbs over the course of 1.5 years. (I was trying to put weight on so as to not be underweight when trying to conceive). Since being pregnant, obviously I've knocked the weight and frequency of my lifts way back, and I'm averaging about 2025 cal per day. I'm 12 weeks tomorrow and up about 3 pounds (that's hard to peg as it fluctuates quite a bit as most is fluid gain), so right on track. They say you don't need to add much calories (above maintenance) in the first trimester, but that has not been my experience.0 -
I am so glad to have found this group -- thanks Mirandamom for telling me about it!
I'm trying to set my calorie goal as well. I just found out I'm pregnant -- I'm 4 weeks. I lift and I've supposedly been eating at a deficit, although I haven't lost weight in a long time. I'm 5'9" and I've been eating 1800 and not eating back exercise calories. My body comp has been changing but I'm not getting any lighter.
I am wondering if, since I haven't been losing weight, I should just stick to my current calorie goal and eating plan, at least for the first trimester? I don't want to deprive my baby of any calories... but I also don't want to gain too much.
In my last pregnancy, I really cut back on exercise and didn't really track eating, and I gained 45 pounds. I would like to keep that to 30 or so this time.
Thanks for any ideas or thoughts, ladies!! 0 -
Great discussion! I am 30 weeks today... and I upped my calories to ~1700 in the first trimester, ~1850-1900 in the second trimester and now usually end up right around 2000-2100 calories each day. Again, I'm 30 weeks and I've gained ~10 lbs. I was about 10 lbs. heavier than I wanted to be when I got pregnant though, so that may have something to do with it too. I hate to admit, but I don't exercise pretty much at all... I just try not to eat terrible and it's been working out for me. Hoping to not go over 20 lbs. for the total pregnancy so I only have ~30 lbs. to drop after having the baby Everyone is different, so you've got to experiment for yourself, that's for sure! 0
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One superfit new mom who lost all the baby weight within two weeks of giving birth told me to keep my calories at maintenance all through pregnancy and just adjust the maintenance calories every time you put on weight. And eat back exercise calories.
I do this and still steadily put on weight, which I guess we have to, and I exercise so I can eat more!! (And to keep fit but that is seriously secondary motivation most days!)
However, some days I have just been WAY too hungry and I go over and try not to feel bad about it
I watched that TED talk too! So good!0 -
Re the adding 200 - 300 calories during 2nd and 3rd trimester - I believe that is on top of maintenance calories (not your normal weight loss setting). That would make 1500 cals too low for most people.0
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I consume 2100 calories/day and eat back all of my exercise calories, as well. I have gained 8.5 pounds at 28 weeks (:
According to a book I read about pregnancy when I was pregnant with my first (sorry, I can't recall which one...), if you don't eat enough during your pregnancy, your baby will eat off of your fat deposits which can lead to some major issues down the road and the development will be considerably slower.0 -
How you eat during pregnancy can have life long implications for your baby. I just watched an interesting TED Talk on this:
http://www.ted.com/talks/annie_murphy_paul_what_we_learn_before_we_re_born.html
This was very interesting. Thank you for sharing :-)0 -
I just got my first positive pregnancy test and where do I turn?? MFP! I am watching this Ted talk and it is very neat. Thanks for posting... So much to think about!
I have suffered from eating disorders in the past and just want to be SO cautious about eating enough! I am new to MFP and discovered it when I got my fitbit. I am at a healthy BMI, so I am going to really try and eat those maintenance calories.0
