Calorie deficit while pregnant?

It's not that you don't need to increase your calorie intake from what you're currently eating. It's that in the first trimester (only), you do not add any calories from what your MAINTENANCE calories would be. So if you require 2000 calories to maintain your current weight, then you eat 2000 calories. And then you begin adding calories in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

You should absolutely NOT eat at a deficit while pregnant, UNLESS you are being supervised by a doctor (your OB or a dietician referred to you by your OB). No, 1200 calories in not "safe" for you. An no, even if you're eating the "recommended" 1800-2000 calories, you are not going to start gaining like crazy. You may see an initial gain, which is actually your glycogen stores replenishing, but that is not the same. You'd have to eat 3500 calories OVER your maintenance weight to gain a single pound. So even if you're increasing your calories to maintenance, it's not the same. That's simple bath and biology.

Eat your recommended amount for maintenance and then in the 2nd/3rd trimester add more calories. I know it's frustrating to gain weight, but you're going to gain, whether you will it or not. You can be smart about it still though. I logged my entire pregnancy and gained my recommended amount. Just having the accountability will help keep things in check.

Weight can be lost after the baby comes. Put your goals aside for now and pick them back up after your get the all-clear at your post-partum check.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_pregnancy-weight-gain-what-to-expect_1466.bc


"If you were overweight for your height (a BMI of 25 to 29.9), you should gain 15 to 25 pounds."

I've read similar stats elsewhere as well. So...after the 1st trimester, you will have to eat a little over maintenance. Somewhere between 250 and 500 calories OVER maintenance (40 weeks of pregnancy - 12 weeks 1st trimester = 28 weeks of gaining between 1/2 and 1 pound)

Definitely not at a deficit.

There is some great advice above! I just want to add that you need to seriously think about the health of your baby above and beyond any thought of how much you want to weigh. If you eat at a deficit you will be unable to provide proper fuel and nutrition for your body to build, and feed your growing child. Do you really want to potentially harm your baby because you don't want to gain weight? Eat at maintenance for the first trimester, and then add calories as needed (see above) after.

Also... congrats!

Make it easy to make your mind over to follow the good advice above.

Research diet during pregnancy at reliable sources, and look at all the risks possible to you and baby - that way you can get over this hump of thinking the number is more important that more important things.

Shoot - people try to lose a number to the detriment of their overall body health anyway, let alone when another life is of concern.

7 lbs though, I'll bet if you carried those 7 lbs differently, you'd think differently.

Did you lose all that weight by cardio only, or include some good strength training in there?
That 7 lbs may seem to be a bigger deal than it needed to be if the weight lost included muscle mass.

You can start resistance training now, though you may have to skip squats and deadlifts at some point. That is some other valuable research.

If you were to eat in a deficit and fail to get all of the nutrients you need for both yourself and the baby, your body would probably cannibalize its own tissues for the sake of the baby. You'd be weak and miserable at slighter deficits and cause real damage to yourself (bones/teeth, organs) at greater ones that would continue after pregnancy. Can you get in to see a nutritionist for the best advice?

I would try something close to maintenance. There is no magic number that fits all pregnant women. At least the first months, not gaining any weight is normal and safe, even losing some is in general safe, so experiment with eating around maintenance. Then you might increase a bit later in pregnancy. As for cravings, of course there is fighting them. You have a choice, as you have already found out, you still end up with extra weight otherwise, pregnant or not. Maybe talking to a dietician in the hospital and having a plan will help.

atypicalsmith wrote: »

I started gaining way too much weight during my first pregnancy and asked my obstetrician what I should cut back eating to slow the gain. His eyes narrowed and he looked at me so sternly I thought I was going to shrivel into the ground. He said this isn't about YOU, this is about the child. Do not do ANYTHING that can harm the child. You can lose weight after he's born." I followed his advice and had a very healthy baby boy, and then I lost my weight.

Considering that gaining too much weight during pregnancy, or even just starting very overweight, automatically labels you as high risk and increases risks for baby, this advice sounds at least unusual. Or perhaps extremely outdated?

atypicalsmith wrote: »

aggelikik wrote: »

atypicalsmith wrote: »

I started gaining way too much weight during my first pregnancy and asked my obstetrician what I should cut back eating to slow the gain. His eyes narrowed and he looked at me so sternly I thought I was going to shrivel into the ground. He said this isn't about YOU, this is about the child. Do not do ANYTHING that can harm the child. You can lose weight after he's born." I followed his advice and had a very healthy baby boy, and then I lost my weight.

Considering that gaining too much weight during pregnancy, or even just starting very overweight, automatically labels you as high risk and increases risks for baby, this advice sounds at least unusual. Or perhaps extremely outdated?

I was 105 and had gotten up to 120 by my fifth month.

is that a lot..? I gained 83lbs with my first child. imagine my dismay when he only weighed 7! BUT I used my pregnancy as a reason to eat all the crap I had not eaten. I ate donuts and pancakes, like every day. maternity jeans were comfy. with my second i gained 25.

my 1st is now 6, and I am still 50 lbs heavier than I was when I got pregnant with him.

1200 calories is too few. I was actually dieting when I found out I was pregnant with my first, I was eating 1300 calories a day..i climbed a ladder and fainted at work. That is how I found out i was pregnant. I was 7 weeks.

I can't believe this is even a real question.....your body is growing a human being, it's working really hard right now! you need to eat healthy and consume far more than 1200 calories a day. You can bet your *kitten* that 1200 isn't safe during pregnancy....1500 doesn't sound much better either