Calorie counting while pregnant and obese...

Since I am no dr or health professional I would say to talk to your dr. I know when i was prego with my daughter I was pretty overweight to begin with. The 1st 2-3 months I lost weight and the Dr told me everything was still normal because i was so overweight. But as for how many calories you should be eating you really need to discuss that with your OB or your family physician. But make sure that if you are going to diet while you are pregnant you MUST take your prenatal's diligently EVERY day. That way it will still help fuel the baby even if you aren't eating tons.

If it were me, I'd set my calories to maintenance. WHAT?!? Really. Here's why.

1. Now is not the time to be concerned with weight loss, it's the time to focus on healthy nutrition for your new little guy/girl.

2. When I was pregnant, I read that "building a baby" burns the same amount of calories as mountain climbing. Don't know how true that was, but it would explain why I was so tired all the time. As such, you'll be burning more calories than before so you could still lose a few lbs. just by being on maintenance

3. Your baby NEEDS nutrients to grow. If he/she doesn't get it from nutrition, he/she will take it from your body (and not necessarily fat, it can come from your muscles and organs).

4. Personally, I would cut out unhealthy foods (processed foods, sugar, "white" stuff) and focus on a good healthy diet. If you're eating good and healthy, you shouldn't have to worry about calories too much. What I mean by good & healthy - fruit, veggies, protein, whole grains. Also make sure to supplement with your pre-natal vitamins.

*jmo, I'm not a doctor. Perhaps your doctor can refer you to a nutritionist that specializes in pregnancy??

When you're not pregnant you need to eat about 1,200-1,600 calories a day.
When pregnant you need only about 300 extra calories and thats in the second and third trimesters.
Eating more smaller meal is great because it increases your metabolism.

Here is a great link about exercising while pregnant.
http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/exercise-during-pregnancy

My OB said to watch my heart rate but other than than i could do what i felt i was capable of.
oh and however many calories you burn off you should eat half of them back.

One more note be sure you are taking 800mcg's of Folic Acid

Congrats on your pregnancy!

According to the IOM (Institute of Medicine), the 2009 guidelines, the recommended weight gain for each category of prepregnancy BMI is as follows:

• Overweight (25.0 - 29.9 kg/m2); total weight gain range: 15 to 25 pounds

• Obese (≥ 30.0 kg/m2); total weight gain range: 11 to 20 pounds

If you go above the recommended amount, you increase your risk for preeclampsia, large-for-gestational-age, risk for c-section, and probably most importantly, your baby's future risk for obesity! Babies who are born to moms who gain more weight than recommended are more likely to be overweight/obese at age 7, according to one study that I saw (sorry, don't remember which journal this was in)

I also found an article, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100106093640.htm, entitled "Obese pregnant women should gain less weight than currently recommended, researcher suggests" in which an obstetrician who researches pregnancy weight gain, stated that he "recommended obese women eat a nutrient-rich diet of between 2,000 and 2,500 calories a day, which would cause them to cap their weight gain at 10 pounds, and in some cases, lose weight."

Hope this helps. Remember to focus on getting a nutrient-dense diet with a variety of whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and sources of adequate high quality lean protein.

That sucks about the insurance issue. This is why I'm a supporter of standardized health care, though the current administration is mucking it up and doing it wrong...

Anywho... when I was pregnant with my youngest, my husband was deployed for military training. I found out two weeks after he left that I was pregnant, and she was born six weeks before he got home. One of the things that helped me pack on the weight to begin with was being pregnant with our older daughter, and him being overly indulgent to make up for the cutting and at times overly critical comments from other people in my life. With him gone though, after I gave birth I was down 12lbs from when I got pregnant.

1. You can buy prenatal vitamins at Target (the store brand was like $10 for a bottle of 100), and they are super important.

2. My husband is one of those "Don't lift heavy things! That's what I'm here for!" kind of guys, so with him gone I had to lug the groceries up, lug the trash down (we live in a second floor apartment), and haul the 3 year old everywhere. So the extra activity helped A LOT. Also, walking helps prep your body for labor, so try to fit in lots of walking where you can (even just picking a parking spot farther out in the lot from where you work/shop helps).

3. I had terrible kidney infections while pregnant with our older daughter (doc's think it was all the stress I was dealing with at the time), and not having a husband here to run me to the ER at 2am when the pain was terrible and I couldn't drive gave me even more incentive (as if avoiding horrible pain wasn't enough, lol) to make sure it didn't happen again, so I drank TONS of water. Probably about 60 oz per day. This is important for healthy weight loss and a healthy baby to stay hydrated.

4. I wasn't really watching my cals, but I was a lot more conscious of the kinds of things I was eating. I tried for less processed foods, whole grains, etc, all the stuff they tell you to add more of when you're trying to lose weight.

Now, for the first month, I didn't gain any weight, and I asked if this was a problem. They said no (I am as well in the 'obese' BMI range). Then at my appointment around week 12, I'd actually lost 3lbs. I kinda freaked out until the doc shrugged it off and said they were fine with it. Baby gets first of whatever you take in, so since everything says you need to add about 300 cals per day to sustain weight and support the baby while pregnant, that means you should be taking in no less than about 1500 cals per day. I would say if you're sticking around 1700 per day, you should be good. That would be like eating 1400 cals per day if not pregnant, which is enough to not put your health at risk, but also low enough to create a weight losing deficit.

Above all else though, if you're feeling fatigued, disoriented, dizzy, or anything like that, get some quick burning carbs in. Fruit, veggies, breads, anything like that. Listen to your body, it will tell you if it's not getting enough of what it needs because the baby is zapping all of your resources first and you're not giving yourself enough for the rest of your body to function.

Congratulations on the baby, and I hope I was helpful

"Unfortunately I have no doctor except Planned Parenthood. Thank you for all that information!! "

It may not seem like it sometimes, but the people at PP actually ARE doctors, they are there to help!