pregnant questions

mamara79
mamara79 Posts: 20
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
Hiya! I'm 4.5 months pregnant and just started working out again.....it was a really rough 1st trimester, then some delays including colds, realizing I had to get a new swim suit, and such.

Anyway, I just started back here....is there a pregnancy setting? I know i'm supposed to eat like 300 more calories a day. Does that include the exercise calories that are deducted?? I'm not really trying to loose weight, I'm just trying to not gain an excessive amount like last time and to have a healthier fitter pregnancy. Thus far (I saw my ob last week) I've been eating really well and only gained 6lbs! Which is on the low side of normal. i eat lots of fruits and veggies, and lean protiens (i eat hummus almost daily!) If I have a craving, I go for it.....the way i see it if I'm craving it, then that's something the baby needs. But on a typical daily basis, I've been lucky that this baby made mommy a health nut!

For exercise, (just getting my routine started) I do swim aerobics M-W-F (1 hour) and swim laps T&T (trying for at leaast 30 mins in the beginning). I also recently bought a prenatal yoga DVD that I'd like to fit in the evenings whenever I'm feeling up to it.

If you have any advice or words of wisdom, I'd appreciate it! Also, please let me know if there is a pregnancy setting....if there isn't perhaps admin could add one? Being on here is a good way to keep me motivated and keep me healthy during this "weird stage" of life.

THANKS!!!

Replies

  • 1sisrat
    1sisrat Posts: 267 Member
    no pregnancy setting (i'm 7 months along),. you will want to set the MFP calories to maintaining or to 200-300 cal higher once you are later in the pregnancy (third trimester). I've managed to gain the healthy amount of weight and am well within normal limits for 7 months. I was 133 lbs when I concieved and am now at 155. Keep in mind that it is about maintianing and healthy gaining for you from here on out. Also, stay active, even if it's an evening walk or prenatal workout routine.
  • Cynzilla
    Cynzilla Posts: 4
    I actually froze my gym membership because i had such a hard first trimester, and now im feeling some energy back but im just going to keep it light at home until i deliver... im 19 weeks with my 3rd now...

    how many total calories are yall consuming per day?
  • Silvercivic
    Silvercivic Posts: 156 Member
    When you log your foods you can do a search for "pregnancy" and there are a few options called "eating for pregnancy". This will give you some more calories each day. Just an option if you care to use it! :)

    I worked out through my pregnancies and found that it was much easier to take the weight off after having the baby because of this.

    Congratulations and good luck! :)
  • Reedern
    Reedern Posts: 525 Member
    There is not a pregnancy setting that I know of, however, if you are planning to breast feed, there are options to deduct the calories that you will burn doing so. You go into you food diary and put in "breast feeding" and it will give a couyple different options. I know that doesn't really help now, but it may come in handy for you after baby arrives and you are trying to lose the baby weight.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    When I was pregnant, I set it to gain 1/2 lb per week. That pretty much covered the extra 300 calories. I also ate back all my exercise calories (or, well, I tried to. I was struggling for a while to eat them all). When I hit about 7 months, at the advice of doctor & nutritionist, I set it to gain 1 lb per week. I also tracked calcium and iron, since those are big needs in pregnancy.

    It's fine to exercise moderately - pretty much anything you did well before pregnancy and that doesn't cause pain or too high of heart rate. Just make sure to listen to your body and not overdo things. It's not the time to break set new personal bests, in general.

    And drink lots of water! My doc told me 90-100 oz per day! (I'll admit, I never got that much, but I did increase water intake).

    For me, the best thing was that, by using MFP, I stayed active and didn't give myself license to just eat anything and everything (the "you're eating for 2 now" mentality), so I kept the gain down to ideal for my starting weight, and 5 months post-partum I'm already 5 lbs below pre-pregnancy weight!
  • mamara79
    mamara79 Posts: 20
    WOW! This is some great advice! I'm going to do the 1/2 pound a week and remember that breast feeding one! I'm a huge breast feeding advocate, so I'll do it as long as I can. The exercising I'm doing is pretty much what I did before I was pregnant.....I'm starting slower and working up as I see fit and able. I totally know to take it easy....if I need a break doing laundry I'll take a break.....so I really try to listen to my body. Oh....and I've never had a problem with water intake. I drink at least 8 of the big GNC shaker cups on a regular basis.......I just always have to have a drink with me.
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