How many calories during pregnancy...

radiatorbells
radiatorbells Posts: 2 Member
edited November 19 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
How many calories would you suggest my intake is per day to not gain so much weight?

Replies

  • janjunie
    janjunie Posts: 1,200 Member
    Talk to your doctor. Saying "not to gain so much weight" sends red flags, what about eating to have a healthy pregnancy.
  • MrStabbems
    MrStabbems Posts: 3,110 Member
    Talk to your midwife or doctor about it but don't set yourself a "goal" so to speak. Eat a broad range of good quality foods, try not to overindulge and eat what you and your baby need. Remember you're body is growing another one! not to mention the calorie expenditure prepping for childbirth. This is a massive calorie expenditure!

    You only get one shot at growing this person, you have the rest of your life to lose baby weight.

  • yksdoris
    yksdoris Posts: 327 Member
    MrStabbems wrote: »
    Talk to your midwife or doctor about it but don't set yourself a "goal" so to speak. Eat a broad range of good quality foods, try not to overindulge and eat what you and your baby need. Remember you're body is growing another one! not to mention the calorie expenditure prepping for childbirth. This is a massive calorie expenditure!

    You only get one shot at growing this person, you have the rest of your life to lose baby weight.

    Well said. However, gaining too much weight too quickly during pregnancy can also lead to complications, which are much easier avoided rather than fixed once they appear.

    Numbers, though: take the caloric amount/day that would let you maintain and add 300-500 kcal to it.

    I would suggest you also read up on pregnancy weight gain curves, because it's not linear and sometimes has nothing at all to do with how much you actually eat (instead it's your hormones doing their thing). Which can totally freak you out if you don't know to look out for it :)
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 994 Member
    As a start, change to maintenance for first trimester. Add 200 for second tri, and at least 300 for third tri. In reality, it's more complicated. Morning sickness in the beginning and a teeny tiny stomach at the end change things, and indeed, it's not all up to you.

    Stay active. Do what you were doing before as long as it is comfortable. Swimming and walking are generally safe throughout pregnancy.
  • Trylletrylle
    Trylletrylle Posts: 1 Member
    If you are concerned with weight and babies, do a breastfeeding class and long-term breastfeed. The reason you put on weight is that breastmilk is really fatty and that fat needs to come from somewhere. Unless you are already obese, you should gain quite a bit of weight or you might fail bf due to being too skinny.. which would obviously be a shame for both you and the baby..!
  • janjunie
    janjunie Posts: 1,200 Member
    lissgoril wrote: »
    If you are concerned with weight and babies, do a breastfeeding class and long-term breastfeed. The reason you put on weight is that breastmilk is really fatty and that fat needs to come from somewhere. Unless you are already obese, you should gain quite a bit of weight or you might fail bf due to being too skinny.. which would obviously be a shame for both you and the baby..!

    Lol no, just no.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,187 Member
    lissgoril wrote: »
    If you are concerned with weight and babies, do a breastfeeding class and long-term breastfeed. The reason you put on weight is that breastmilk is really fatty and that fat needs to come from somewhere. Unless you are already obese, you should gain quite a bit of weight or you might fail bf due to being too skinny.. which would obviously be a shame for both you and the baby..!

    Back in the days when MFP, computers, internet, calories counting and ultrasound didn't exist doctors were pretty much aware that gaining too much weight could lead to mom and baby problems and they use to monitor weight gain very closely.

    I was and still am, a small/petite lady and I only gained 21lbs during my first pregnancy and my baby was 8.9lbs. What about that!

    So the correct response should be: ask the doctor because he/she will decide what is best for the OP and the baby, based on the mom's stats.
  • ashliedelgado
    ashliedelgado Posts: 814 Member
    edited June 2017
    I started out obese, with the approval of my doctor, set about to keep it under 20lbs. I gained 15. I set my calories at maintenance for the entire pregnancy. If I was hungry and went over, I went over. If I wasn't hungry and didn't eat, I didn't eat. But I tried to keep my 7 day average right around maintenance. I walked. I swam. I did some yoga towards the end. I tried to eat a diverse diet and indulged on the occasional craving. My nugget was a perfectly middle of the road, average 6lbs10oz.

    Talk to your doctor about what an appropriate gain for you is.

    Edit: If I wasn't hungry and didn't eat ALL my calories, I didn't eat ALL my calories. I ate every day.
  • trjjoy
    trjjoy Posts: 666 Member
    edited June 2017
    I only gained 12kg during my 42-week pregnancy and I gave birth to a 3.78kg baby girl. My breastmilk supply is fantastic because I am feeding on demand 24/7, not because I'm fat. I'm actually 2kg below my pre-pregnancy weight at 4 months post-partum.
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
    edited June 2017
    annacole94 wrote: »
    As a start, change to maintenance for first trimester. Add 200 for second tri, and at least 300 for third tri. In reality, it's more complicated. Morning sickness in the beginning and a teeny tiny stomach at the end change things, and indeed, it's not all up to you.

    Stay active. Do what you were doing before as long as it is comfortable. Swimming and walking are generally safe throughout pregnancy.

    There are several pregnancy group forums here, and this is what I always see recommended..

    TDEE for 1st trimester, +300 for second, +400 for third (well close enough to what @annacole94 posted.

    If you search for 'trimester' in the food diary, you will see entries for 'second' and 'third' trimester that add calories to you daily goal, if you don't feel like manually adjusting your target.
  • yksdoris
    yksdoris Posts: 327 Member
    janjunie wrote: »
    lissgoril wrote: »
    If you are concerned with weight and babies, do a breastfeeding class and long-term breastfeed. The reason you put on weight is that breastmilk is really fatty and that fat needs to come from somewhere. Unless you are already obese, you should gain quite a bit of weight or you might fail bf due to being too skinny.. which would obviously be a shame for both you and the baby..!

    Lol no, just no.

    I'd heard this about the bf-fat loss too. I didn't really look it up at the time but I have since and while it's true that women *usually* lose weight at a faster tempo when breastfeeding, it's not because the milk is extra fatty. It's because your body makes a whole different sort of hormone cocktail. I went through more of a hormonal upheaval after stopping with bf than I did after the actual delivery, both physical and emotional side-effects.

    Also, there's loads of reasons why breastfeeding might not work out: lost too much blood, baby won't latch, your hormones for some reason work against you... Being skinny or fatty (uhm. that's not a great word, but honestly, most women carry a little extra fat right after delivery. nothing wrong with that!) has very little to do with it unless you're *extreme* on either end. In the end, if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. Fed is best.
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