Does pregnancy change calorie calculations?

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justkeeprunning91
justkeeprunning91 Posts: 96 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all, I've been around for a while (not on the forums lately) but have, over my lifetime lost about 90 lbs, 70 of which were using MFP, and had been successfully maintaining at my goal weight for about 10 months when I got pregnant. I adjusted my calories to maintain at my goal weight and started packing on weight at an alarming rate. I'll admit that I was loose with my logging for the first trimester because I felt terrible. I have been more on top of things lately and I'm still packing it on. My calorie goal is maintenance for my goal weight (138) but this morning I weighed in at 163 at 21 weeks pregnant. I know I shouldn't be losing but my gain is getting overboard. Do I need to keep tightening my logging up or should I just keep trying to be as healthy as possible and ride it out, and let it be what it will be? This is incredibly frustrating for me because I figured that now that I had "figured out" weight management after a lifetime of obesity, I would be able to gain within normal guidelines and have a relatively uneventful pregnancy weight wise.

Note - I use a garmin to track my activity levels, and keep MFP set to sedentary, so I don't think that's the culprit here. Thanks to anyone who can offer some insight!

Replies

  • FireOpalCO
    FireOpalCO Posts: 641 Member
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    A bit of both? "Healthy" is vague for eating terms. Your body is going to want food like crazy and isn't "smart" enough to know how many calories it needs. I would say have lots of fresh/steamed veggies & fruits, drink water like crazy. Don't let your body talk you into fruit juices, soda, hot chocolate, etc. You'll figure out the substitutions for cravings (lean steak instead of a big hamburger). I will say when I was pregnant my body was happier with small frequent portions instead of meals, and not just when the baby was big enough to be putting pressure on my stomach.

    Just remember a portion of that weight gain is water volume, your blood volume is increasing in addition to the fluid inside the placenta.

    Of course keep moving. Exercise like normal (except for items with a fall/hit risk) and that will help.

    What does your doctor say about the weight gain?
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
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    Talk to your OB about what is a reasonable weight given your individual situation. Keep your activity level going as long as it is reasonable (given your individual situation) to do so. And everything FireOpal said.
  • justkeeprunning91
    justkeeprunning91 Posts: 96 Member
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    My doctor doesn't seem concerned about it and tells me not to worry about it when I bring it up. Maybe because I was in the middle of a healthy BMI before? It still seems like fairly excessive weight gain to me, but as of last week, baby is measuring 30th percentile. I had terrible morning sickness my first trimester and am still getting sick pretty much every morning, but getting through the rest of the day with anti-nausea medicine. I haven't been able to keep up with my normal distance running, but have still been walking and doing pre-natal exercise classes.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
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    The general recommendation I always saw when I was pregnant is that women need to eat 250-300 calories more per day during the second and third trimesters to support fetal growth. I think in general the statement is that you should gain 0.5lb/week during the second trimester and 1lb/week during the third. This is of course VERY general advice and I'm not a doctor.

    I don't think there would be anything wrong with you tightening up your logging as long as you maintain a reasonable goal and your doctor isn't concerned about your or baby's health. Just also be sure to remember the importance of mental health during this time and don't drive yourself insane over your weight.

    I'm sure you have seen all of the advice regarding nausea, but one thing recommended by a friend that really saved me was to eat nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter, etc.).
  • Running2Fit
    Running2Fit Posts: 702 Member
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    puffbrat wrote: »
    The general recommendation I always saw when I was pregnant is that women need to eat 250-300 calories more per day during the second and third trimesters to support fetal growth. I think in general the statement is that you should gain 0.5lb/week during the second trimester and 1lb/week during the third. This is of course VERY general advice and I'm not a doctor.

    I don't think there would be anything wrong with you tightening up your logging as long as you maintain a reasonable goal and your doctor isn't concerned about your or baby's health. Just also be sure to remember the importance of mental health during this time and don't drive yourself insane over your weight.

    I'm sure you have seen all of the advice regarding nausea, but one thing recommended by a friend that really saved me was to eat nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter, etc.).

    This is what I've always read too.
  • betterwhenimdancin
    betterwhenimdancin Posts: 31 Member
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    I'm 27 weeks pregnant and have similar stats. :) I gained an unnecessary extra 10 lbs in my first trimester because I had awful morning sickness and had to eat every 90 minutes. Nuts were one of the few things I could keep down and those things are calorie dense!

    Now that I can control my eating, I'm logging with 300 calories above maintenance each day. That's helped slow things down quite a bit. I try to remember that I'm putting on a lot of water weight. After giving birth I'll have lost an 8 lb baby, 2 lb placenta, and any where between 5 - 10 lbs of water weight. So even with logging, if there's a sudden jump in weight it might just be water weight from pregnancy, eating more salt/food, or constipation. At some point baby is going to start gaining close to 0.5 lbs per week so I need to be putting on more than that each week.

    I know it's discouraging to be gaining more than the recommended weight but remember that you know how to lose weight! Better to feel good now while you're pregnant by eating a little extra and have a couple extra weeks of dieting a year from now.
  • grsmithlaw1
    grsmithlaw1 Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi love. Congrats on the pregnancy!! Funny enough, I weighed 138 to start and am at 160 23 weeks pregnant. I’d say that with my last pregnancy (healthy 30 lb gain) I gained most in 2nd trimester, leveling off during third. Your appetite will likely decrease as your stomach has less room to expand. 10-15 lbs is fine at this point. Aim at .5 lbs a week if you’re worried. Remember that weight generally falls off if you nurse. Just try to enjoy such a happy time 🤗

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