Pregnancy and couting calories

change your goals to maintenance, and then you can "add" calories for first, second and third trimester by searching for "pregnancy".

on average, people say to give yourself an extra 100cals per trimester, cumulatively - so 100 for 1st tri, 200 for 2nd, 300 for 3rd. you can do this by using the quick added calories function as well but input a negative number (that's what i do).

if you find yourself gaining outwith the guidelines your doctor sets you, then set MFP to lose 0.25kg/week instead of maintenance.

if you're overweight when you get pregnant, i'd advise eating healthily and not going overboard with the sugary/carby snacks (unless that's all you can keep down, in which case just go for it), and only do as much exercise as you feel comfortable doing. this will help you minimise your risk of developing gestational diabetes (though for some people they will get it no matter what!).

best of luck TTC

I still logged while pregnant and I did what the other poster suggested. I ate for maintenance during my first trimester and then I upped it to gain 1/2 lb during my second trimester and then a full lb during my third. In the end, I gained only 16 lbs of actual fat (the rest was was extra fluids plus baby that come with pregnancy)!

I've never been pregnant....does one actually need to gain legit fat weight? or is it ok for the weight you gain to ONLY be baby and fluids etc?

Talk to your doctor.

I still logged while pregnant and I did what the other poster suggested. I ate for maintenance during my first trimester and then I upped it to gain 1/2 lb during my second trimester and then a full lb during my third. In the end, I gained only 16 lbs of actual fat (the rest was was extra fluids plus baby that come with pregnancy)!

I've never been pregnant....does one actually need to gain legit fat weight? or is it ok for the weight you gain to ONLY be baby and fluids etc?

Gaining fat is not necessary. With my 2nd pregnancy I was so sick all the time I ended up losing over 20 lbs. Baby was healthy at 7 lbs 13 oz. My 3rd pregnancy I was also very sick and lost 25 lbs and baby was born at 8 lbs 2 oz. (Mind you I was pretty overweight for both of these pregnancies and DEFINITELY had the extra lbs to shed. This would be unhealthy for someone of a normal body weight.) My first pregnancy? I gained 50 lbs...so a LOT of fat and baby came out chunky too at 10 lbs 5 oz.

OP: Before I got pregnant with Baby #3 I was counting cals on MFP. After the 20 week morning sickness once I was able to start eating food again I just chose healthy foods and ate when hungry. I didn't log, but I am sure you could if you wanted. Your dr may be able to tell you a good calorie goal?

I'm pregnant now and the first trimester I was too exhausted and nauseated to give a flying flip about logging food. I ate way too many starches to help with nausea, never actually threw up, and gained too much weight. I'm in my 2nd trimester now and set MFP to gain 1/2 pound a week. I'm making healthier choices now- more protein and vegetables (shh, don't tell the rice krispies treat I just ate though) and am maintaining so far, even though my goal is to gain 1/2 pound a week. I guess it's not quite enough calories. I'm pretty sure my baby will be okay with me maintaining for a few weeks though- hopefully she can just get the calories to grow by sucking the fat out of my back (please??!! PRETTY PLEASE???!!!)

A word of caution on getting pregnant- I ate at a deficit for years and lost 100 pounds, and was still dieting when we were trying to conceive. It took me quite a while to get pregnant, and it wasn't until I eased up on my diet and ate more that I got pregnant. I had a regular cycle and was still a little overweight, I just think my body was hesitant to get pregnant because it sensed a food shortage. My suggestion is to only try to lose like 1/2 pound a week or less. Or, if you're young and your biological clock isn't ticking too fast like mine was (38), wait until you've lost what you want to lose and then work on getting pregnant.

Check with your OB once the time comes.

Hi!
First good luck in conception process, and hopefully you will see the + sign pretty soon.

I would start by talking to your doctor, he/she knows better than us, your current shape and health condition, so she will be able to advise you accordingly.

I personally, switched to maintenance, and added 300 extra calories when I started my 2nd trimestre. Most day though, it doesnt work that way, I just listen to my body, some days I go way over, so another days I dont, depending on my hunger, I try to always login though to keep track of the nutrientw, to make sure, i get enough protein, fiber, fat, vitamins, calcium, etc etc...

I put much more focus on the quality then the quantity of the calories. I try to make every calories count on good fat, on iron, protein,...etc..besides when its Nutella, then thoses are just heaven calories they dont count !

I think now is the best time to go talk to your doctor about all that. Good luck on your journey

Talk to your doctor about how much weight you should gain and how quickly it should be gained.

Start with finding out your true maintenance number before you get pregnant so you have a base line and then do some research in conjunction with your doctor. If you say, for example, that the normal pregnant lady should gain 1lb per week after, say, 14 weeks- then do some math. You would need to add about 500 per day to your MAINTENANCE calorie number to acheive that rate of gain. I've known one too many women who use pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever they want, when they want, and in binge quantities- this isn't really any healthier than trying to restrict calories. You can still count calories when pregnant. It will help prevent too much weight gain, ensure you are eating enough for the both of you, and it will help prevent gestational diabetes. Logging everything will give you a better balance between the good foods and the not so good cravings foods.

I personally would switch to maintenance mode now if I were trying to get pregnant and not wait for a positive test result. Find stability before your paradigm has to change...