Calories during pregnancy

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n_green_l
n_green_l Posts: 74 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, I've started pregnancy 4-5lb overweight, which isn't the worst but I'm worried about gaining too much. Would it be okay to eat at a slight deficit, setting calories at losing 1/2lb a week at sedentary? I'm relatively active, go on 30min walks most days and do body pump one-two times a week. Obviously most important thing to me is being healthy for my baby.

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  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
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    Congratulations on your pregnancy!

    Ask your doctor or midwife about weight loss during pregnancy. Generally it is not recommended to deliberately lose weight. If you are still in your first trimester, it is very possible that due to the nausea many women experience you might lose weight anyway - which sounds extreme, but really, if food doesn't smell or taste appetizing it can be difficult to eat at maintenance, This is normal and OK.

    I think it's fine to track calories during pregnancy. Typically, the bulk of weight gain will happen at the end. In your first trimester, you can eat at maintenance if you feel up to it. A couple hundred extra are typically sufficient for the second trimester, and 500 or so extra for the third trimester (and you will need those 500 extra afterwards if you breastfeed, too, and perhaps more - which if you want to continue weight loss you can do so with a very convenient deficit already built in!)

    If you eat sensibly you can gain a reasonable amount of weight during pregnancy (your doctor or midwife will probably recommend 20-25 lbs) and then work to lose it afterwards. It can be frustrating to be patient with this sometimes, because it is a very big change for your body but it's possible, normal, and nothing to worry about at this stage. Eating at a caloric deficit does stress your body, and pregnancy puts stress on your body too. So please be mindful of that. Five pounds overweight is really not a lot.
  • Lhenderson923
    Lhenderson923 Posts: 102 Member
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    No, pregnancy is NOT the time to loose weight (unless directed to by your doctor- but that only happens when you begin your pregnancy much heavier than you are). You will have all the time after you give birth to loose weight and prioritize your health. I just had my first baby in Jan! I started the pregnancy over weight and was obese when I delivered (but my son was over 9lbs). I gained far more then I should have. But by three months postpartum I had made it back to my prepregnancy weight and now at 5.5 months postpartum I am 20lbs below by prepregnancy weight and am at a healthy weight. I say this as motivation that you will be able to lose weight once your baby is born! Of course, your doctor is the only one to answer these questions as it is very specific to the person and the pregnancy. But as a rule of thumb, don’t try to loose weight while pregnant. Most of the weight gain is baby, placenta, boobs, and increased blood/fluids anyway which is super important to remember.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
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    5 lbs overweight is nothing. I bet your doctor will recommend you gain the average amount of 25-35 lbs. I started my pregnancy overweight by 20-25 lbs so they gave me the ok to gain less, between 20-25 lbs. Eat at maintenance and then the second trimester you can eat a little more, 250 calories, then 500 calories in the third trimester. Those are general recommendations. I am now 34 weeks and am also a provider myself, although I work in ER, not OB.

    If a woman is very obese some doctors do give the ok to lose weight during pregnancy and studies have shown it won’t harm the baby. Some women lose weight due to severe morning sickness and the baby takes from your fat stores. With you being only 5 lbs over, you don’t need to eat at a deficit and shouldn’t at this point. But of course, talk to your doctor and go from there.

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