Calories While Pregnant

ahmedsa1216
ahmedsa1216 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I am planning on getting pregnant soon, but currently eat around 1200 cals daily. I would like to lose 10 more lbs, but I think I’ve been at such a calorie deficit for so long I can’t even lose weight on 1200.

How should I change my cals when pregnant? I’ve read that the minimum cals while pregnant should be 1700 but I know if I eat that much I’ll gain too much weight. Please help!

Replies

  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 499 Member
    Unless you are extremely short and small, you are unlikely to gain weight on 1700 calories! 1200 is very low, while a diet break definitely sounds like a good idea for you if you've been on an aggressive deficit for such a long time. Definitely a good idea to ease off on the deficit if you are hoping to get pregnant, and when I was pregnant (a few years ago now) the recommendation was to eat at maintenance for the first 2 terms, and eat 200 calories over maintenance for the last term. Seemed reasonable at the time. Definitely a good idea to discuss this with your doctor though, let them know your plans and see what they recommend for you. Good luck with getting pregnant!
  • H_Ock12
    H_Ock12 Posts: 1,152 Member
    The American Pregnancy Association currently suggests 300 extra calories per day during the second and third trimesters. I know friends who have barely been able to eat during part of their first trimester, so I'd personally suggest not actively trying to lose weight unless your doctor suggests it.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    You’re supposed to gain weight when you’re pregnant. You’re growing a person. If you want to continue to count calories I would enter all of your stats into MFP In the goals section and select “maintain current weight.” This should be enough during your first trimester and then an additional several hundred in your 2nd and 3rd. you should speak with your OB if you want more guidance. I would also monitor your weight and if you aren’t gaining weight at an appropriate rate then add more calories.
  • sweetirish
    sweetirish Posts: 70 Member
    I'm newly pregnant and have a meeting with the nutritionist so that I can make sure I stay healthy for myself and my baby on this journey. I am clinically obese so I have to limit what weight I gain anyway. I agree with the recommendations to do a pre-conception appointment with your OB/GYN and maybe meet with nutrition as well to see if there are any other tweaks to your diet to make sure you're getting enough of the right kinds of nutrients. Also, start taking a prenatal vitamin with at least 800 mg of folic acid. When I met with my pre-conception team (had to do fertility treatments so there was legit a team of doctors) they actually recommended I get 1200 mg of folic acid. SO...go meet with your provider. Best advice ever.
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
    My opinion - You shouldn't ask for pregnancy advice on a weight-loss forum. There are way too many uninformed opinions and the wrong advice could harm your baby. Only an OB/GYN or Nutritionist should be giving you that information.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    conniemaxwell5 wrote: »
    My opinion - You shouldn't ask for pregnancy advice on a weight-loss forum. There are way too many uninformed opinions and the wrong advice could harm your baby. Only an OB/GYN or Nutritionist should be giving you that information.

    Technically speaking this is a health, diet and fitness forum, not weight loss.

    Nearly every single response advises to speak to OB/Dietician, so not really that many uninformed opinions giving bad advice.

    I get where you're coming from, but the OP has received pretty sound advice here.
  • kksmom1789
    kksmom1789 Posts: 281 Member
    first off I suggest talking with your doctor before and during your pregnancy about your individual needs. here's my little story when I got pregnant with my 2nd child in 2014 I was already overweight/ obese but had recently lost 30lbs the year before. I was already walking almost daily for 30-60 minutes I continued to do that. my doctor knew I was counting calories and told me 300-500 more then what I was doing (honestly forgot what I was doing at that time in life) she told me if I was hungry eat if I wasn't then I wasn't. during my first trimester I never got sick but I just wasn't hungry and I wasn't gaining weight like my doctor wanted me to so she put me on meal replacement shakes 1-2 times daily. after the first 4 months I was back to eating regularly. during my whole pregnancy I only gained 16 pounds and all around felt super healthy.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    Eat at maitenance for now. That is the best bet to get yourself healthy and give a potential baby the best start. Once into the second and third trimester you only need 200-300cal above maitenence to grow a babe. That is like an apple with pb, or a glass of milk and a cookie, or a small extra serving of your evening meal. You don’t have to gain more than 20-30lbs to grow a healthy baby. But unless you are overweight, any inkling you have of eating less than maitenance needs to be addressed. Have a good convo with your doc/midwife.

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