Minimising weight gain in pregnancy

I'm sure I'll get lambasted for this, but the fact that you are avoiding weighing yourself out of fear of weight gain and keep insisting that you are eating enough because you aren't withholding quite as many calories as you were before makes me wonder if you might benefit from talking to someone. I don't think it's normal for a pregnant woman to have that much worry over gaining weight. I get that you're worried because you gained too much with your first 2, but this seems a bit extreme honestly. And yes, I do think that since you're taller than I am, started at a normal weight, are in your second trimester, and currently eat less than I eat to lose a lb a week, that you are undereating.

I have a slow metabolism. Even eating 1200 calories I did not lose a pound a week. It took me over 2 years to lose 70lbs! And that's with exercising a lot and generally being active.

I gained loads with my daughter and don't want to be as miserable as I was then ever again!

Sigh.

I have a slow metabolism. Even eating 1200 calories I did not lose a pound a week. It took me over 2 years to lose 70lbs! And that's with exercising a lot and generally being active.

I gained loads with my daughter and don't want to be as miserable as I was then ever again!

Instead of thinking you have a slow metabolism (the odds are overwhelming that you don't), I'd suggest rephrase your line of thinking to 'I'm probably not accurately measuring my calorie intake, and if I were to do so I'd be better able to see where I'm having trouble'.

Yeah,I'm a total moron who can't count calories! Even if it weren't accurate, when I was eating 1200, if I went over, I was still at a big deficit!

I used to starve myself years ago, and that has affected my metabolism as I got older unfortunately. I managed to improve it by gradually increasing my calories. My dad has weight issues, and he's seen a specialist at the hospital, and he does actually have some sort of imbalance that causes him to gain weight. No idea what, he doesn't really like to talk about it.

I didn't call you a moron and I wasn't trying to insult you.

There's a reason most tests having to do with nutrition don't have isocaloric intakes as requirements. That's because it's freaking hard to accurately measure intake. If scientists with specialized equipment have a rough time getting accurate calorie counts, what makes you think your intake is perfect?

Most people don't do simple things like weigh all their food or include all ingredients when cooking. But even if you do, there's still tons of room for inaccuracy.

You do know that the numbers in the MFP database are estimates and that some are wrong (and in some case tremendously so)?

You also know that at least in the US the FDA dictates that the nutrition information on labels be accurate with a margin of error of 20%, and that many companies breach even that range?

Through no fault of your own, your intake estimates could easily be way, WAY, off.

I don't think you're a moron and cannot count calories. In fact, the only thing I think would constitute any slight on your intelligence is a belief that your intake estimates are completely free from error.

You're not eating enough. Even if you DID eat 1800 cals, it wouldn't be enough (you yourself said this is a deficit for you). But I looked at your diary and you're not even hitting your goal. You're not eating your exercise calories back so you're eating at an even bigger deficit. You said you used to starve yourself. I think you haven't quite gotten your ED issues sorted out yet.

Just went back two weeks in your diary - you're averaging 1519 NET cals per day (I left one day out of the calculations because it came to NET 559 and there was no dinner entry so I assume you just didn't enter all your cals for that day). You should rethink your approach I think.

I have a slow metabolism. Even eating 1200 calories I did not lose a pound a week. It took me over 2 years to lose 70lbs! And that's with exercising a lot and generally being active.

I gained loads with my daughter and don't want to be as miserable as I was then ever again!

Instead of thinking you have a slow metabolism (the odds are overwhelming that you don't), I'd suggest rephrase your line of thinking to 'I'm probably not accurately measuring my calorie intake, and if I were to do so I'd be better able to see where I'm having trouble'.

Yeah,I'm a total moron who can't count calories! Even if it weren't accurate, when I was eating 1200, if I went over, I was still at a big deficit!

I used to starve myself years ago, and that has affected my metabolism as I got older unfortunately. I managed to improve it by gradually increasing my calories. My dad has weight issues, and he's seen a specialist at the hospital, and he does actually have some sort of imbalance that causes him to gain weight. No idea what, he doesn't really like to talk about it.

You opened a conversation and now you are taking it personally when people offer feedback.

Why are you so reluctant to look at the possibility that your metabolism is not slow and that you are underestimating calories in and/or overestimating calories burned? It's such a common problem. I've been there before too (not the pregnant part, the over/under estimating calories. :bigsmile:).

Even if you starved yourself years ago and slowed your metabolism, your metabolism most likely has repaired itself by now. However, if you truly feel that your metabolism is that slow, you need to get to the doctor and have your thyroid checked ASAP because you have a baby on the way.

I am going to be blunt here- the bottom line is you have no business eating at a calorie deficit while you are pregnant, because that leads to weight loss. You have a little one on the way and he/she comes first.

OMG! yes I know it's been a while now since this was started but I disagree with everybody! I'm 5'8" 179 lbs, 26 years old. my tdee is supposedly almost 2000cal. but I know from this past year of exercise and tracking - I used a different site because I found MFP to be way off on it's estimates. - that my actual tdee is 1700. while running 3 - 4 x a week. if I ate 1700 I maintained. I managed to drop down 30 lbs only by eating under 1700. after gaining 40 lbs in my first pregnancy not losing anything and then 25 more in my second pregnancy. I'm scared of the scale now too in my 3rd pregnancy. I don't paln to try to eat over 1700 / day until atleast the second trimester because I know I will gain way too much.