Calorie Counting When Pregnant

OK, it's official. I'm 6 weeks pregnant -- still totally awesome and unbelievable to me. Thanks for all the congrats in my previous post. OK, so here's my "dilemma". I joined this site in January to lose weight. I needed to lose 50 lbs. I lost 20 when I discovered I was pregnant. That was literally a week go. :)  I have always been up and down with my weight and have never been pregnant before. I knew it would obviously be wrong to continue on my 1350 calories/day plan. So last week I upped my calories - they ranged from 1600-2000 and did a little bitty bit of exercise. Well, today I am feeling more bloated than I ever have in a LONG time. And the scale was up 3 lbs, which HAS to be water weight, right -- since the baby is like the size of an orange seed? I'm really freaked out that I will gain a ridiculous amount of weight during this pregnancy. I realize I need to eat healthy and not starve myself since there is a little person growing inside of me. But how much is too much? How little is too little? And is it normal to feel so grossly bloated so early on? I literally drank like 3 huge glasses of water after dinner and have yet to pee. (I think the vege. chili I made is the culprit -- hidden sodium somewhere?! argh!). I was hoping at the end of my first trimester to have gained 4 lbs -- everything I've read said 2-4 is normal at that point and that most of the weight comes in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

Thoughts? Advice?

I wish I had advice on pregnancy but I dont. I would go ahead and say though that as long as you eat your maintenence cals I think you should be fine. Remember that if you lost 20lbs before you can do it again. Also I think just take brisk walks and consult your ob/gyn... they should have some good ideas for you :).

Good luck & congrats :)

in first trimester you really dont need alot of extra calories at all only 100-200 more.  But make sure you start your prenatal vitamins NOW.  Those are extremely important

Get lots of rest excerise the same

And good luck and congrats

I agree with spuckine: you don't really need to up your calories the first trimester. At the same time, make sure you're eating maintenance calories without a deficit. During the second trimester, up your calories by 150-300 (this is what my doctor told me, yours may tell you otherwise). After birth, should you choose to breastfeed, up your caloric intake by another 300-500 calories daily. This sounds like a lot but you'll need them!

I would say it's not too early to experience pregnancy symptoms, especially bloating since it's one of the first and probably most common.

Don't worry too much about gaining the weight. I gained 70 pounds with my first pregnancy and managed to lose all the weight without much knowledge about calorie counting :) Like littlemalynda said, you've lost weight already, you can do it again! If you choose to breastfeed, the weight will most likely drop right off. I'm 5 months postpartum and have lost 36 of the 40 pounds I gained while pregnant. I gained all the weight eating mostly healthy things (I'd sneak in a fast-food meal every once in a while when I was so nauseous and that was the only thing that sounded good) and the weight has been much easier to lose. My first pregnancy, all I ate was take out and fast food. The weight proved much more difficult to get off.

During my most recent pregnancy, I gained 5 pounds in my first trimester, 30 pounds in the second trimester and 5 pounds in the third trimester. I'd go a couple weeks with no weight gain and then pack on 5-6 pounds in a week. My doctor never mentioned my weight gain.

Just remember: you're growing a human being! Eat when you're hungry (and not nauseous!) as long as you eat sensibly. Congratulations!

All of these suggestions are great, but I would talk to a doctor about it. You can get over the counter pre natal pills, or if they make you sick to your tummy then you can take flinstone vitamins. I can't stress how important the Pre Natals are! It helps with the fatigue and all that.

 

I'm in 2nd trimester and eating 2000-2200 cals a day and I work out 4 days a week. I think that upping your cals was a good idea, since the 1350cal you were eating was a weight loss level. If 1600 is your maintenance, then you can stick there, but you may find that you are still hungry. If so, spukine1 is right, add 100-200 calories. You just want to make sure that you're not at a deficit (burning more than consuming).

I freaked out in my first trimester too! I gained 9lbs (better than the 12lbs I gained in the first trimester with my first baby!). Anyway, I've defiantely been carefull since. My midwife suggested the 2000 cal mark as a starting point and then adding cals if it is a big workout day or if I'm still feeling hungry (not bored). It has definately put me back on the right track!

Congrats on your preg and good luck!

I'm a few days shy of 11 weeks and I'm equally worried about weight gain.  When I try to workout (real cardio of any kind) I start gagging, so I'm pretty much left with walking. I've mostly stopped counting calories and just try to eat nutritiously.  I log every once in awhile because I've been good at getting deficits for so long that I have to conciously think about eating enough. 

I'm trying to use this as a guide, but it's a lot of food to eat. 

Some of the weight gain is bloating, which is normal.  I felt bloated at 6 weeks - my breasts started growing a little around then too. 

Congratulations!

I would try not to worry too much about calories while you're pregnant, the most important thing is the healthy development of your unborn baby.

Just make sure you're eating the right amounts of everything, and try and cut out the junk food.  It's only the last trimester that you need to consume a few more calories.  As long as you eat when you're hungry, and you're eating the right stuff, you can't go far wrong.

Any extra weight gained during pregnancy you can lose after you've had baby. 

Good luck, and congratulations!

Thanks for all the good advice. I freaked out alittle because I was up 3 lbs last week but it HAD to be bloating. I definitely didn't consume that many extra calories. I have been pretty good at eating healthy food and I started taking prenatal vitamins too! I agree that if I eat right, I should just let nature take its course. I'm going in for an u/s on friday and will talk to my doc more about nutrition. Thanks again everyone!!

I'm in the same boat!  I'm in my 7th week right now and pretty excited.  I agree with everyone else - just maintain for a while and don't worry too much about those random pound spikes.  I can tell that my few pounds of gaining are mostly because I can't poop despite the huge amounts of water and fiber I consume.  :) 

Just don't worry, talk to your doctor, and enjoy!

I have to agree with holynut - don't worry about calories when you're pregnant.  I'm at 31 weeks now, and I was trying to count calories for a little while at first, but it's hard to get out of the weight loss mode.  I was finding that I was so concerned with gaining weight and calories that I maybe wasn't eating all that great, and probably not enough.  The fact is, you're going to gain weight, so just try to eat good food.  If your doc/midwife says that you're gaining too much, eat less.  You will lose the weight afterwards.  Plus, now is the only time in your life when you're allowed to pretty much eat whatever.  I would never eat stuff like muffins or ice cream before, but now I allow myself to have stuff like that occasionally.  Pregnancy is hard and there's no reason to make it harder.

 

Good luck!

I am 11 weeks pregnant and I was horrified when I stepped on the scale yesterday.  I was up almost 10 pounds.  It doesn't help that my doctor banned my beloved running for the first trimester.  I have started logging my calories again with no real goal in mind.  I find that it keeps me conscious of what I consume.  For the past few weeks, I would get so hungry that I would eat whatever I could get my hands on.  I have a feeling that if I had been logging my calories, I would have grabbed some carrot sticks rather than those devilish Girl Scout Cookies. 

ekp - cookies are the devil!  I have to agree - logging my cals has made me far more aware of my choices and I find myself striving for an A- or A rating for the day.  I am still a little obsessive about my daily cals, but I'm trying not to be.  I gained a lot in my first trimester, but it has slowed down (i think b/c of the logging of food).  hope the food journaling works out for you!  good luck with your pregnancy ladies!

I am now about 8 weeks pregnant, second child, and whoa did I gain the first time around. I was an excessive sweller too, thanks to Taco Bell. I weighed in at 180 right before I gave birth and dropped most of that weight through breastfeeding and staying active/diet modification postpartum. It was not until this January that I became resolute about losing the last 20 pounds, and that's when I joined here and started calorie counting. Well, lost about 5 pounds in Jan. and then found out I was pregnant in Feb. I start bloating the moment after conception, no matter how much water I drink and how much fiber I eat. So, I'm back at my 147 pound start weight, which is acceptable for me I guess. My goal is to continue my exercise program: 2-3x cardio per week and lots of preggo safe yoga and some weight training. Hopefully I can maintain this weight into the 2nd trimester. I find I am ravenously hungry during pregnancy though. And carrot sticks just don't fill me up. Good luck to all the other preggie moms!

Speaking from experience twice- I can say stick with fresh and natural foods through pregnancy. My first son I ate whatever I wanted and ended up gaining almost 75 lbs! I had so many problems with the pregnancy too (hypertension, preclamsia, fatigue) But with my daughter I ate as much fruit and raw veggies as I wanted and watched everything else. I gained the recommended 20 and felt soo much better the second time around. I also walk 45 mins 4 days a week and did prenatal yoga 2 times a week. Nothing to hard, very relaxing.

With the bloating, watch your salt intake. It can also add to hypertention (making your blood pressure rise) at any time during your pregnancy.

Hi Kathy1124, before anything Congratulations, you are now doing one of the most important and valuable things you will ever do in your life!!        &nb sp;           I was pregnant a short while ago...(found out that there was no baby just the baby sac at about 14 weeks, wen I went for my  first scan... not a nice experience) and while I was pregnant I read a lot about pregnancy. I think you should try and keep it as natural and home cooked meals as possible, use plenty of olive oil and natural condiments to prepare the food and you should be ok, cause you will also start noticing that you wont be able to eat as much each time, but you will be eating more times, this is actualy good for you, cause it gives you a proper consumption of cals (i.e. when you feel hungry its because you have nearly finish the cals from your previous meal). Also if you excercise, even if just going for a walk after dinner you will feel better, help you loose the cals you don't need and it helps when the time is come for the labour! So basicaly, eat home cooked food (as healthy as possible), drink pleanty of whater but not too much( your doctor should be able to tel you how much you should drink a day, but should be about 2lt), eat pleanty of fruit and veg (try and eat diferent colours of fruit, i.e. orange-oranges, red-aples, green-pears,...) (don't forget to wash the fruit a nd veg very well, for the veg you can leave them in whater with a bit of vinagre for a few minutes, it will kill the germs), go for a walk after dinner and don't forget to have plenty of rest!
Also know that if you dicide to breastfeed after it will help you burn the extra wheigh, and it's the best for the baby! So it's always a good choice!!!        &nb sp;  Congratulations once again and I hope you have a lovely pregnacy!! xx

 

Please don't worry about calories and weight gain while you are pregnant...enjoy this magical time.  Get plenty of sleep and exercise (daily walks are great) and make sure that everything that you put into your body is nutritious, you may not need extra calories right now but you need plenty of nutrients.  Everyone is right that prenatals are of the utmost importance especially folic acid.  But please love your body right now, enjoy the bump that grows and the first time that your little person moves and let's you know he/she is really there.  Pregnancy can make you feel more beautiful and sexy than you have ever felt no matter what your weight.  worry about losing after you have the baby, if you have been making healthy choices throughout the pregnancy it won't be hard, especially if you breastfeed, you will lose the weight and then some very quickly again if you are making healthy food choices and breastfeeding your new little joy.  good luck

Hi, and congrats I just delived my son in November and was overweight to start with with diet and exercise I only gained 20 lbs my advice is to ask your OB what the best caloric intake for you would be and exercise daily I did the  Denise Austin  Fit and Firm  Pregnancy workout dvd 6 days a week it is only 20 minutes fromn start to finish and ate 2300 calories a day.  My baby is now 5 and a half months and I weigh 10 lbs less than I did before getting pregnant I also breast feed daily. Good Luck and Congrats again

;0) 

kathy,

So I'm going to share my story with you Kathy.

Prenatal vitamins Now. Also get the Cocoa butter to rubon your stomach, arms, and your lower back now. I know you may be thinking it's too early but literally rub it on every day starting as soon as possible. Everyone in my family got stretch marks and I am the only one who didn't. I went from 142lbs to 191lbs when I checked in.

Everyone is different with pregancy and their body. If you exercised before hand (like running, cardio) you can continue through out your entire preganacy. The only thing you can't do, and this is the middle of your 2nd trimester, is weight lifting. That's a big no no. If you exercised before and during pregnancy it's easy to get back into shape after delivery. 40% of women who were pregnant had their abdominal muscles split. It sounds painful, but it's not. However, it's harder after words to retrain those muscles and get them back. You canlower your possibility by continuing to exercise. If you decide to do this, increase your calorie intake, but still eat healthy foods.

My weight increase was so high at the end because I had pre-eclampsia. Only two weeks after delivery I went from 191 to 167lbs because of all of the water weight and extra swelling. So 1) remember Cocoa butter everyday 2) continue exercise 3) don't lift weights 4) increaes calorie intake.

And congratulations! :)

Hi Kathy!

Congratulations on your pregnancy and your recent weight loss!!  This is a very exciting time for you in so many ways!  I hope I can offer some advice that I used with my own pregnancy and that I use with clients in my coaching, training and nutrition business. 

I looked at my pregnancy as an honor to carry a very precious little person.   Since I had been given this "gift" of carrying new life, I wanted to make sure the new little life growing inside me had the best care possible, just as you will do after your baby is born and for decades after your baby is born---your children will always be your "babies", no matter how old they are!

First, I read the book, What to Expect When You're Expecting.  This book provided sage wisdom on caring for yourself and baby while pregnant.  Highly recommended!  In this book, it explains how everything you eat goes to the baby, too.  You know what sugar can do to you, right?  The highs and lows of a sugar rush, not to mention the empty, non-nutritious calories and the pounds that come about because of the sugar.  So, if the sugar buzz is happening to you and the non-nutrition from the sugar is affecting you, just think of what it's doing to your little baby?  You would not feed your baby soda, nutrasweet, chocolate bars or cookies, right?  The same can be said for caffeine.  So, if you don't eat it, your baby can't be adversely affected by it!  Before I was pregnant, I always ate lots of sugar, drank lots of diet cokes, had lots of caffeine, and ate lots of bread and pasta.  This all changed when I became pregnant.  I stopped the sugar, caffeine, nutrasweet, and 'carbo loading'.  After delivering our baby (10 yrs ago), I continued to eat mostly whole foods and it is a way of life/eating that I still use today with great results in how I feel and look!

Second, give the baby, and yourself, whole, nutritious food---fruit and vegetables are so flavorful this time of year so that is a great bonus for you!  Eat whole wheat products and lean meat.  Organics would be great too if you can find them in your area.  Your baby will grow healthy and so will you during your pregnancy. 

Third, I never looked at my pregnancy as a license to eat whatever I wanted, as some women do, thinking that it's a tough time in their lives so they're going to treat themselves to anything they want.  I thought just the opposite---It is a wonderful time in our lives, we are very fortunate to have the opportunity to experience new life growing in us and that is a reward enough, especially when you think of all the wonderful women who are not able to get pregnant and want desperately to feel the experience of a pregnancy.....So, my 'treat' was not food, but the thrill of carrying a baby.

Fourth, when I got pregnant, I exercsied very regularly and the pregnancy did not stop me from continuing to exercise.  However, I did buy a heart rate monitor to track my heart rate during exercise.  After figuring out my resting heart rate and my zones, I knew exactly how high my heart rate should go with exercise.  If it went above that number, I backed off and did a less strenuous form of exercise.  I was very tired, bloated, and had morning sickness all day long for the first 4 months.  I did not look at this as a negatative, but as a positive---I had the opportunity to experience pregnancy and new life and I planned to relish every last bit of it all!!  I did not let the "ill feelings" stop me from exercising.  During that time, I never felt like exercising but I made a deal with myself that if I didn't feel good after the first 10 to 15 minutes, I could stop exercising and go home.  You know what?  I always felt better after I began to exercise, so I never stopped.  I continued to run, bike ride, swim, walk, and lift weights the entire 9 months.  I also took cat naps whenever my body called for it---I'm talking 10 to 20 minutes of closing your eyes and just resting---this was my other 'treat'!

So what was the result of watching what I ate, resting and exercising consistently?  Well, when I got pregnant, I weighed 134 lbs.  The day before I had our son, I weighed 144 lbs, and two days later when I got home from the hospital (delivered a full term, healthy 6 lb, 10 oz baby boy), I weighed 124 lbs.   I actually lost 10 lbs during my pregnancy, but gained 20 lbs of "baby and fluid".  My doctors were never concerned about my weight.  This is just a great example of how eating well can actually put you in a better body even if you are pregnant.  I am no different from you or anyone else.  There is no magic pill, it's just making changes to your way of life, for life! 

Kathy, with the progress you've made thus far in your weight loss, I want you to continue with it and keep your growing baby healthy---you will do this with whole, healthy eating and consistent exercise.  Use a positive mental attitude, rest and relaxation as your "treats" and not food.  When you are pregnant and eat unnecessarily, thinking you can lose it after the baby is born, you soon find out how difficult that is to do because you are so busy and consumed with your new baby and trying to figure everything out, that the last thing you'll be able to think about is you!  So, give yourself a present now, in THE PRESENT moment and treat yourself well so that by month 9, it is a habit and you'll just continue it on into your life with your new, healthy, happy little baby!!

I hope this was helpful.  Please let me know if I can answer any questions or otherwise help you in any way!  Have fun and relish this magical moment!!

Sharon

 

Hi Kathy,

Best wishes to you and your growing family.  I have to agree with Sharon.  When I was pregnant with my baby (he's 6'5" now and 26 years old) I gained 45 lbs.  I am 5'10" but even so 45 lbs made me feel like a whale.  I went from 160 (skinny on me) to 205.  When I left the hospital I weighed 195.  With an 8# baby.  What Sharon says is exactly right.  Don't see this as an opportunity to eat whatever you want.  You know more about nutrition than the common woman.  You've lost 20# the right way and there is no reason to blow that and say, "well, it will come right off after the baby is born."  Most women never lose all the weight they gain with their first child.  Then get pregnant again and...well, you have seen them out and about.  The worst thing in the world is for someone to ask you when your baby is due and you have to tell them, "She's 3 months old now." You will cry.

It seems like doctors dont scold about weight gain like they used to.  Maybe they just can't stand to see us cry in their office.  Scolding didn't make me eat less, anyway.

My best friend was diagnosed early on in her pregnancy with gestational diabetes.  She ate only fruits, vegetables and lean proteins and good carbs her whole pregnancy and gained 22#.  Her baby was a healthy weight and she looked and felt great the whole time.  A big pregnant bump doesn't mean your fat but if your butt gets big you will feel awful and probably eat alot more cookies just to try to make yourself feel better. 

I wish I'd known then (1983) what I know now about nutrition. 

I rode my bike (my mother had a come-apart about that) but my balance was good and I was in labor for only FOUR HOURS.  THATS the reason to find a good prenatal exercise class and attend regularly.  Check the Y and see if there are any water classes that you could join.  Exercise class is cheaper than junk food.  Build the muscles you'll need to have a quick and easy delivery and your friends will envy you when you all get together and tell your 'labor stories'

Good luck and have a Happy Baby!  {{{}}}KSh

p.s. I used alot of cocoa butter (keep it in the fridge and it feels GOOOD to rub it on) and thought I was stretch mark free...until I could see the underside of my belly.  lolol  I think anyone who gains 40+ lbs is going to get stretch marks.  Just don't go there!