I can already tell this is going to be a problem...

I refuse to obsess over food. That's why i'm over weight to begin with.
My doctor wanted me to cut carbs but really wouldnt say what to cut it to or how much I could have so I went to a nutritionist who put me on this crazy diet plan that my father just told me if the same diet hes on for his diabetes.
I don't have diabetes. I'm just over weight and my doctor doesn't want my weight to get out of control during this pregnancy. So far this pregnancy i've gained the least out of all 3 pregnancies so I think I'm doing good- but I also weigh more this pregnancy then I did my others.

This diet plan is overwhelming to me. All I've done sense yesterday is think about food. What can I eat? When can I eat it? How much of it can I eat? Is that a protein or a fat?

I'm done! Yes I give up on it already...

The nutritionist suggested a 2100 cal diet. 1800 is what *I* need and an extra 300 for being pregnant. The meal plan says its based on 40-45% carbs. I think what I'm going to do since doctor did say to cut back carbs is to follow the cal and carb recommendations but ignore the rest (drink milk at this time. eat fruit only with lunch and supper. etc).

So entering in 45% carbs into MFP it gives me 236 allowed carbs/day. This still seems like A LOT to me! Im curious what everyone else allows for carbs who are using a 2100 diet. Am I just that out of it or is 236 carbs a lot? After breakfast and lunch I've had 91. And i'll probably only have a snack and then dinner. I cant see using that many carbs!
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Replies

  • p0pr0cksnc0ke
    p0pr0cksnc0ke Posts: 1,283 Member
    Please don't diet while pregnant.
  • SARgirl
    SARgirl Posts: 572 Member
    MFP has my carbs at 209 a day, so yours doesn't sound too far off?
  • NYCDutchess
    NYCDutchess Posts: 622 Member
    I would say eat NO WHITE carbs only whole grains...and no refined sugars.
    Limit how many whole grain carbs you have and substitute with vegetables and fruits.

    Sometimes it is necessary to diet while pregnant. I'm sure your nutritionalist KNOWS what they are talking about.

    Also, try to walk every day for a half hour or so, this will help your body stay fit for the pregnancy.

    Good luck.
  • jerzypeach
    jerzypeach Posts: 176 Member
    I think your doctor's office is the right place to have this discussion.
  • militarydreams
    militarydreams Posts: 198 Member
    Calm down a bit, cutting carbs will make you less hungry but you can eat whatever you want within your calorie allowance provided you're getting a decent amount of protien and healthy fats.
  • fitnesspalloser
    fitnesspalloser Posts: 15 Member
    I would focus on carbs that are long lasting like fruit and vegetables. You can pretty much eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want. The more vegetables the better (hopefully you like them!). Then, I would say to eat whole grain carbs like brown rice vs. white rice and whole grain breads vs. white bread. Don't leave out rice and bread and potatoes, but don't make them your main focus. The new "plate" for nutrition is 1/2 plate of veggies, 1/4 starch, and 1/4 meat. Keeping this as your focus will help you to feed your baby and keep you in good shape as well. Don't give up! Try walking more. You don't have to walk fast, necessarily, just walk more - each day.
  • MissyJessy
    MissyJessy Posts: 1,279 Member
    you shouldnt be dieting while pregnant unless under supervision of a doctor or nutricionsit which she is and as long as she is eating the right amounts of foods she will be providing more than enough for the baby.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Don't stress yourself about it. Most people usually eat around 50% carbs so that is a good figure. You don't want to cut carbs too low.

    Your plan sounds good. Just go with that. And if you have a craving, it's okay to indulge once in awhile.
  • TracyAnn90
    TracyAnn90 Posts: 20
    Please don't diet while pregnant.

    It doesn't sound like she is, it sounds like she doesn't want to go overboard. No one needs to gain crazy amounts weight while pregnant. I gained 12 lbs with my first pregnancy and had a healthy 7 lb 14 oz baby and I only weighed 112 lbs pre-pregnancy.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    I refuse to obsess over food. That's why i'm over weight to begin with.
    My doctor wanted me to cut carbs but really wouldnt say what to cut it to or how much I could have so I went to a nutritionist who put me on this crazy diet plan that my father just told me if the same diet hes on for his diabetes.
    I don't have diabetes. I'm just over weight and my doctor doesn't want my weight to get out of control during this pregnancy. So far this pregnancy i've gained the least out of all 3 pregnancies so I think I'm doing good- but I also weigh more this pregnancy then I did my others.

    This diet plan is overwhelming to me. All I've done sense yesterday is think about food. What can I eat? When can I eat it? How much of it can I eat? Is that a protein or a fat?

    I'm done! Yes I give up on it already...

    The nutritionist suggested a 2100 cal diet. 1800 is what *I* need and an extra 300 for being pregnant. The meal plan says its based on 40-45% carbs. I think what I'm going to do since doctor did say to cut back carbs is to follow the cal and carb recommendations but ignore the rest (drink milk at this time. eat fruit only with lunch and supper. etc).

    So entering in 45% carbs into MFP it gives me 236 allowed carbs/day. This still seems like A LOT to me! Im curious what everyone else allows for carbs who are using a 2100 diet. Am I just that out of it or is 236 carbs a lot? After breakfast and lunch I've had 91. And i'll probably only have a snack and then dinner. I cant see using that many carbs!

    First of all, congrats on your pregnancy!

    Second, congrats on seeing a nutritionist and getting a plan in place. It sounds like a reasonable plan that will benefit you and your child.

    Third, you don't have diabetes NOW. You have a family history (your father) and you are overweight. You may be at risk for gestational diabetes. These are all good reasons to follow this plan (which is supported by your doctor and your nutritionist).

    I would suggest that you take a deep breath and follow their instructions. It may seem overwhelming, but I'm sure they are doing this to benefit you and your unborn child.

    And despite what poprocksncoke said, many women can lose weight while pregnant, especially if they are overweight to start with.

    You've got the best reason in the world to do this, and to do it right! Good luck!!
  • gogophers
    gogophers Posts: 190 Member
    While you're pregnant, before you CHANGE anything about your diet/exercise routine, you should talk to your obgyn.
  • Please don't diet while pregnant.


    I was very overweight (okay, obese) during all 3 of my pregnancies. Each time the doctor's told me they would not be concerned if I lost weight durning the pregnancy, they would actually be happy.
  • sammniamii
    sammniamii Posts: 669 Member
    236 isn't that low for a "low carb" diet, I keep mine between 50 & 100 and that's still high for many low carb versions. I try to keep my cals to 1800. But you have to take into consideration that you are pregnant as well, dropping too many carbs may be bad for the baby and that's why they gave you that amount.

    How much fiber & protein are you eating? Both of those help "fill" you up and if you feel full, it can help the cravings. Plus, being pregnant is gonna make keeping your cravings in check, very hard.

    Are you drinking enough water? I found if I'm thristy, I feel hungry, so I try to keep water with me at all times. I tell myself - drink some water, wait 30 min, if I'm still hungry then I can eat.

    Did your dietian tell you to eat many small meals or just the normal 3 ones?

    Are you doing any exercise - even if it's just some extra walking?
  • p0pr0cksnc0ke
    p0pr0cksnc0ke Posts: 1,283 Member
    Please don't diet while pregnant.

    It doesn't sound like she is, it sounds like she doesn't want to go overboard. No one needs to gain crazy amounts weight while pregnant. I gained 12 lbs with my first pregnancy and had a healthy 7 lb 14 oz baby and I only weighed 112 lbs pre-pregnancy.

    on a 3rd time around pregnancy.. its par for the course to know you are going to gain some weight and you also know what you ate the previous times that made you gain the unwanted weight.

    Eating healthy, non processed, well balanced meals while pregnant is ideal. Stressing over everything you put in your mouth (giggity) and worrying about macros while pregnant is adding unnecessary stress.
  • Christine1110
    Christine1110 Posts: 1,786 Member
    Eat healthy...u should not eat junk. Make sure your eating enough protein!! Drink lots of water...not soda. You need food rich in vitamins while your pregnant.
    Lean meats, veggies, and fruits. If you eat that way ...after you have the baby you can cut back on calories.
    It depends what your weight is now...if you can cut back now or need to wait, your doctor is the best person to tell you!

    You should listen to your doctor!!
  • happythermia
    happythermia Posts: 374
    Congrats! I say just work on cutting out refined bad carbs, and eat whole grains, fruits & veggies (awesome carbs). Other than that, I wouldn't stress over it! :-)
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    Please don't diet while pregnant.

    It doesn't sound like she is, it sounds like she doesn't want to go overboard. No one needs to gain crazy amounts weight while pregnant. I gained 12 lbs with my first pregnancy and had a healthy 7 lb 14 oz baby and I only weighed 112 lbs pre-pregnancy.

    on a 3rd time around pregnancy.. its par for the course to know you are going to gain some weight and you also know what you ate the previous times that made you gain the unwanted weight.

    Eating healthy, non processed, well balanced meals while pregnant is ideal. Stressing over everything you put in your mouth (giggity) and worrying about macros while pregnant is adding unnecessary stress.

    Or, following a plan outlined by a doctor and nutritionist which provides plenty of caloric intake for the mother and fetus while promoting general health and possibly preventing gestational diabetes......yeah, I think that might be a better idea than "eating healthy" and saying "know you are going to gain some weight".

    Leave it to the doctors and professionals people......not the internet!
  • jessdylan2010
    jessdylan2010 Posts: 5 Member
    I know how u feel im pregnant too with my second child, dieting is fine while youre pregnant. You can lose fat in and around your thighs hips arms ect. without lacking on your daily nutrients. If you notice your stomach getting flat or the baby isn't growing enough then you are not eating enough but so long as the baby is at a good growing rate then you can continue dieting like you are, thats what i am doing. Drs recommend me to also eat about 2000 calories in the beginning but i dont eat that much and they say the baby is doing great and growing fine. They dont know im only eating about 1200 calories yet but my body metabolism sucks and i eat plenty of healthy foods and avoid fatty foods. Keep doing what your doing make sure baby is healthy 1st before continuing :)
  • RunLaraRun
    RunLaraRun Posts: 3 Member
    Congrats for taking the right steps!

    Next: if you are really confused about what to eat.... then ask the nutritionist to give you some menu plans. If they can't do that, then you need a different nutritionist!

    Or.. there are other free diet sites that will give you menu recommendations. Or... pick up a book with 'clean eating' in the title. This will send you towards whole foods, that you cook from the basic ingredients. No artificial stuff. (good for you and for baby). Then, plan your meals. Figure out what you like for breakfast, lunch and supper. Plug those menus in the tracker. See what you get. Take some time, play around with food combinations. You'll get it. Just don't panic, don't go crazy, and take it one day at a time!
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Please don't diet while pregnant.


    I was very overweight (okay, obese) during all 3 of my pregnancies. Each time the doctor's told me they would not be concerned if I lost weight durning the pregnancy, they would actually be happy.

    My mother successfully lost 100 lbs while pregnant with me. The doctors weren't concerned as long as she didn't lose more than 4 lbs in a week. Poprocksncoke isn't worried about her losing weight. She is concerned about the OP stressing out about what she is consuming. Stress isn't any better for the baby than junk food. The OP seems to be making this more complicated than it has to be. Either that, or the nutritionist did.
  • fabandfunat51
    fabandfunat51 Posts: 117 Member
    Fyi a Diabetic eating plan is VERY healthy and balanced. Not something to be wary of, but a great way to get good carbs and lean proteins into your diet. Even sweets - its about watching carbs not sugar. Good Luck!
  • lmarshel
    lmarshel Posts: 674 Member
    My calorie allowance for maintenance is about 1500. After I add in my exercise cals for the day, I usually end up eating about 2000-2100 calories each day. My carbs look like they run between 200-250g every day. I don't really try to stay within a specific range...that's just where they end up. Feel free to take a look at my diary to see where those carbs come from, if you like. Mostly they are bread, cereals, fruits & veggies and sweets. One bowl of cereal can be 50g of carbs, so it doesn't take long to make it over the 200 mark.

    And remember that you don't have to eat a specific number of carbs every day. The figure is just a limit. If you only eat 200, should be no big deal.

    Congrats on the baby, and best of luck to you! :)
  • p0pr0cksnc0ke
    p0pr0cksnc0ke Posts: 1,283 Member
    Please don't diet while pregnant.


    I was very overweight (okay, obese) during all 3 of my pregnancies. Each time the doctor's told me they would not be concerned if I lost weight durning the pregnancy, they would actually be happy.

    My mother successfully lost 100 lbs while pregnant with me. The doctors weren't concerned as long as she didn't lose more than 4 lbs in a week. Poprocksncoke isn't worried about her losing weight. She is concerned about the OP stressing out about what she is consuming. Stress isn't any better for the baby than junk food. The OP seems to be making this more complicated than it has to be. Either that, or the nutritionist did.

    HEYYYY at least someone on here can read and comprehend! Derp! :flowerforyou: :smooched:
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 928 Member
    your doctor probably suggested a diet such as that because you run the risk of getting diabetes since you are over weight AND it runs in the family. so i would listen to your doctor instead of trying to figure it out yourself.
  • Bearman45
    Bearman45 Posts: 46
    Don't give up! Ditch the "diet" if you like but don't give up your wish to become healthier. If it's all overwhelming, then just keep using MyFitnessPal to record what you do eat. Try to reduce your sugar intake first, and record your weight every few days. Doing just that will allow you to look back at your logs and start to learn which foods affected your weight and which ones didn't.

    We're all different, and you'll be surprised by which foods affect you and don't.

    I was overwhelmed too. But you can get past it. For me it was about educating myself. I watched a video called "Hungry For Change" and it was a real eye opener for me. Google it.

    Reduce sugar, use this site, and think about how getting healthy will benefit your kids!
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Please don't diet while pregnant.

    It doesn't sound like she is, it sounds like she doesn't want to go overboard. No one needs to gain crazy amounts weight while pregnant. I gained 12 lbs with my first pregnancy and had a healthy 7 lb 14 oz baby and I only weighed 112 lbs pre-pregnancy.

    on a 3rd time around pregnancy.. its par for the course to know you are going to gain some weight and you also know what you ate the previous times that made you gain the unwanted weight.

    Eating healthy, non processed, well balanced meals while pregnant is ideal. Stressing over everything you put in your mouth (giggity) and worrying about macros while pregnant is adding unnecessary stress.

    Or, following a plan outlined by a doctor and nutritionist which provides plenty of caloric intake for the mother and fetus while promoting general health and possibly preventing gestational diabetes......yeah, I think that might be a better idea than "eating healthy" and saying "know you are going to gain some weight".

    Leave it to the doctors and professionals people......not the internet!

    Obviously, the plan is not working for her. Believe it or not, being pregnant doesn't mean that your choice no longer matters. The OP should revisit the nutritionist to work out a more manageable meal plan.
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
    If I were you, I'd listen to them. If you ignore it, you may have full blown gestational diabetes. This is a risk the bigger you are when pregnancy begins... and it's no fun to eat THAT diet! O.o What's worse--my mother had GD, which s later resulted in full blown diabetes type II. Which is now diabetes type I because her pancreas just decided to stop making insulin altogether...

    It's really better to just listen to them on this matter (and I'm a bit of a rebel)...
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    just do your best to hit the dietary reccomendations you were given.

    I would go for whole grains--brown rice, multi-grain bread instead of white bread. Back in the day, about 12-13 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter, there was a book called "what to eat when you're expecting" it was a companion book to "what to expect when you're expecting" and went over a lot of dietary guidelines for a healthy pregnancy


    Being overweight, although not diabetic, a diabetic diet is not a bad one to be on. It focuses on healthy choices. Many overweight women who eat a super healthy diet when pregnant will only gain like 15 pounds, and will actually be lighter than their pre-pregnancy weight by the time they go to their post-partum visit.
  • debussyschild
    debussyschild Posts: 804 Member
    So entering in 45% carbs into MFP it gives me 236 allowed carbs/day. This still seems like A LOT to me! Im curious what everyone else allows for carbs who are using a 2100 diet. Am I just that out of it or is 236 carbs a lot? After breakfast and lunch I've had 91. And i'll probably only have a snack and then dinner. I cant see using that many carbs!

    That sounds about right. I eat about 40% carbs in my diet. It's actually really hard for me not to go over that 40%, lol. I love carbs, but who doesn't? I think the key here, especially for your baby, is getting as many healthy and complex carbs as you can. Sweet potatoes, brown rice, whole grain bread, and even some dried fruit (although they are usually sweetened) are great sources and are very dense, so you don't have to eat a ton of them to meet your goal. Refined carbs taste great, but they add up on calories way too fast. They're just too easy to eat. To make it easier to get in your carbs, try eating more smaller meals throughout the day. Granola bars, apples, yogurt (especially chobani), those are great snack foods that can add to your carb total without making you feel too stuffed. Good luck!
  • CLCH3
    CLCH3 Posts: 7
    i havent read all of the replies yet but
    -im not DIETING! if i want to eat something, i do. all im trying to do is become more aware of what is really going into my body. with my first pregnancy I gained 80 pounds because i just didnt pay attention. I dont want to repeat that! I'll put my focus into losing the weight after the baby is born. for now, if i lose weight because i making healthier choices- great. but again, i just trying to be more aware at this point.
    -my doctor isnt the one who has me on the diabetics diet plan and ive passed the pregnancy diabetes test so i dont have it. all he wanted was for me to lower my carbs a bit because im a carb-a-holic. he wouldnt however say how many I should eat. he just stressed cutting back. that is why i went to a nutritionist because i dont know how much is a reasonable amount. my OB is not worried about me getting diabetes at this point either. i've asked him several times about it and he tells me not to worry right now, because everything looks fine.
    - i plan to take this diet plan with me to my next appointment and ask him what, if any of it HE wants me to follow. but for now i just want to focus on what he told me at my last appointment, which was cutting back on carbs.