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?

hey kathy , first congratulation for your new baby!!!  i just want a recomend some things to you.  Bier already recomended couple of right things. first you need 150 extra calories of your manteinance weight on your 1st trimester (12 weeks) then you should increase to 300 extra cal on your 2nd  and 3rd trimester. 

you can continue doing same exersise that you were doing before pregnancy. remember is ok to feel fatigue but not more than that while you are excecising. after 12 weeks do not perform any exersice on supine position ( flat on your back) , this can decrease blood flow to your  uterus.

studies show that exercise don't affect your weight gain but we know that if you get more cal than burning  we'll gain weight!!! 

exercise shortnes the lenght of actve labor!!! so you will push better!!!! and mentally you will feel better if perform excersice !!!!!

by 5 years down the road babies of womens who exercise before and during pregnancy have healthier and leaner babys!!!!!! 

easier to loose wt after delivery

all this are good outcomes from excersise on pregnancy and there is no side effects just from exercise unless you are doing too much!!!

so keep excersing and increase your calories!!!!  google excersise in pregnancy or go to aafp.org and goolge it there

good luck!!!

I have just come out of my second pregnancy (and last!!) and it totally is different for different people, a good friend of mine put on 12lbs in the first trimester where I had only put on 5lbs by my third, my friend levelled out and put on a normal amount of weight by the end, but everyone if different, all my weight came in the 3rd.  DOnt freak out, just eat sensibly and continue to exercise and that will help. 

Hi and congratulations on the news of your pregnancy.  I wanted to give you the advice of definitely watch what you eat and monitor your calories while pregant with the help of your obgyn of course.  He/she will help you with knowing how much to gain and everything.  The reason I said to definitely watch what you eat and how many calories you intake is because during my 4th child's pregnancy I decided I had a license to eat and was eating for 2 or 3!  I gained 55+ pounds and at 24 weeks had gained almost 35 of it.  My hips and joints were terribly sore from the excessive weight, I had trouble keeping up with my other 3 and worse after the baby was born, I had trouble sleeping and I had a poor milk supply (I don't know if these problems were directly related but keep reading).  I lost about half the weight at 7 months postpartum and learned I was pregnant with my 5th child.  We were so excited but I was determined not to gain a huge amount of weight.  I continued to watch what I was eating and  I continued exercising (I had to take a couple of month long breaks 1 in early pregnancy from nausea and being too tired and the other about 7 months along due to moving).  The outcome of this pregnancy?  A healthy 8lb 4 oz baby boy, a mama who gained 18 pounds (I was still approx  15 pounds overweight when my pregnancy began) and no sleep problems or milk supply problems this time (like I already said I don't know if these were related) and throughout my pregnancy I did not have joint aches and soreness.  When I did start exercising again after my 6 week checkup, I didn't feel like I was going to die because I wasn't that out of shape :)  Anyhow, best wishes during your pregnancy and be sure to take prenatal vitamins and be sure to discuss with your ob your reservations about weight gain.  AND try to make every single one of those 1600 calories per day you're taking in to be nutritious even though that is way easier said than done!

congratulations...this is the beginning of the rest of your life as you now become a Mom...the most prized time of your entire life and to this day the most important job ...to me. I've delivered three babies with weight issues myself and I'm also a former weight loss counselor. I can tell you first hand your story is too similar to mine so therefore I also worry about your weight gain right along with you. I've only ever typed a reply twice on the web site in all the years I've been reading it...that is how important your story is to me. So ....if you go on line and research you can learn how NOT to over gain and NO it does NOT just melt off after delivery. Trust me...when my youngest was 6 mo old and I was standing in front of a full length mirror crying and on the phone to my Mom I was asking "how do I get this off my body"? I don't care what they say about "nursing" supposedly helping with weight loss because I nursed all three of my babies and I was still fat through the entire nursing time each & every time! Did not work for me although I did love the experience of nursing and still believe it is best for baby.  I did not have a computer so therefore I did not have all the wonderful on line sites to help me and believe me there are many sites out there where you can learn soooo much.  I also did not have support groups like some out there that I've heard are available for pregnant Moms....just make sure you don't all go out for an ice cream after the meeting they say! lol. Go on line...get into support groups....do anything you can to stay a healthy and a happy Mom while pregnant as this is for you as well as for baby inside.  Don't get all OCD on weight issues though...just make it as important but as matter of factly as your pre-natal vitamin...make it a daily habit. Keep a food and water journal. Heck chart your activity level to make sure you're not spending your time in front of a tv or just being sedentary. You'll do just fine if you make this fun.  Become educated on weight management during pregnancy. Google it and ask around ...read any replies on this site, but just the same as with my own reply use your own free agency to make your own decisions. You can read books for free in comfy chairs at book stores if you cannot afford the books and a library card is a good thing!  Make this a top priority, but have fun doing it. Let it put a smile on your face to enjoy all your success in all you do including this. There's lots out there to help you and you'll get hooked up if you want to. Avoid diabetes and all the other very serious medical problems that can arise during pregnancy if too much weight is gained. If you know you are being active and not over eating then you should have absolutely no worries at all and can enjoy this wonderful experienc. The medical concerns that can happen from serious weight gain are true so talk to your doctor. You can manage your weight without falling subject to the examples of us Mom's who all thought we were kidding ourselves as well as everyone else by using the excuse... "well I'm pregnant and feeding two". Not only did we give ourselves this written permission slip, but everyone around us was saying it too. And please...be assertive with people trying to "show their love" with ice cream outings or dinners they want to treat you to that are full of fattening and unhealthy food... ...or delivering cookies or cakes to you as a token of love.....food is not love. When they say the last months are the hardest for weight gain they are not kidding ......and mostly (from my own experience and all my girlfriends) it's where us Moms cave and start eating everything we've ever wanted and become huge...just huge. A lot of it is stress eating because as happy as we are about baby there's so so much pressure on us....like trying to get everything ready....and also all the weight gain scare stories....Geez. It's a lot of stress so human nature teaches us....what do we do when stressed....we eat! It's the doctor's and nurses jobs to guide us and hopefully not yell at us if the scale is up. The reason they get so upset is valid...they have seen what weight gain can do to Mom and baby both. At the end months some of us tend to just fail and we start eating everything we couldn't have earlier in the pregnancy or other times in our lives struggling with weight issues. You have to watch for this syndrome and not let it over take you . And by the way.....my admitting all my faults while pregnant is certainly NOT easy to admit to.  I am trying to share with someone who sounds genuinely interested in learning. Did you ever notice you hardly ever see  many pregnant women out and about after maybe 7-8 months? Well that is probably  because we can no longer fit into our once huge maternity clothes because.... we ate our way out of said maternity clothes! They no longer fit and we wind up trying to blame the washer and dryer. Funny how those clothes never shrank the first 7 months though. hmmmmm. Most of us are at home hanging out in the only thing we have left to wear that will fit....mumu type night gowns or over sized loose stretch fabric pajama's. We just don't want to be seen and are not about to go out in our jammies to spend more dollars on more materinity clothes in larger sizes when the baby is almost here. We stay home...which by the way I do not recommend. We just wind up gaining even more as we count the days in our four walled self inflicted prisons.  It is certainly no laughing matter though the tremendous pain and discomfort we bring upon ourselves (and our baby)  by gaining too much weight during pregnancy. We all must admit to the responsibility being ours....no excuses. When it comes time to deliver all those women who were more responsible than me and stayed fit and didn't over gain had easier and faster deliveries with way better recuperatory times. Staying more fit and not going out of control for Moms with self dicipline as well as a more defined sense of responsibility to their baby will pay off in so many ways.  I've seen this first hand with women who did a better job than what I did. It's remarkable to see those 'smart' Moms bouncing around on the bed the very day of delivery, even sitting up cross legged and it is a major difference. You might have pounds to lose right now, as did I , at the onset of your pregnancy, but I'm sure your Doctor will guide you as to how ....not..... to make it worse. If you're not getting that nurtitional advice from the doc then just become your own investigative reporter and track down the info. Check out your resources and learn what you need to do .... that I did not.  And please....forgive the "shooting straight from the hip with both barrels loaded", but too often too many people just plain sugar coat this weight gain issue during pregnancy. I don't mean to sound like I'm blaming others for what I did, but I sure might have benefited from some honesty from friends, family, doctors and nurses. The only dose of honesty I got was well after my third child and a lady said when discussing my weight gain.."oh Honey I just felt so so sorry for you"....OMG. Yup...that said it all.  I am hoping you listen to any and all good sound advice from anyone caring enough to reply to this and by the way...my reply  is coming from my heart to yours. You may find validation in this reply when I remind you I am a Mom, I am a woman with weight loss experience and  issues and I am a former weight loss counselor who worked in two separate major weight loss companies . I do hope something in here helps others to learn from my mistakes. 

Congrats!  You'll be fine.  Please, consult with a doctor.  1300 calories is low especially for long term weight loss.  After a while your body will adjusrt to having too low of calories.  You should be eating around your BMR.  Also, you have to remember your baby is going to take pretty much the majority of what you eat so make sure it is very nutrient dense.  Good luck!

Congrats on the baby!!  I hope that you have a great, uneventful pregnancy!

I reccomend talking to your doctor about how many calories you should be eating a day.  I agree with the others that you shouldn't have to eat much more in the first trimester.  Definitely take the prenatals though.

You may want to back off of the water after dinner.  I drink aprox 80 ounces a day, but not any after dinner, which is around 6 pm usually.  The only water I have is a drink or two when I take an iron pill.  I found that I don't absorb the water as well after dinner.  Perhaps since dinner is my biggest meal of the day, I don't know.  I would also be up all night, when it does finally go through me.  Try finishing your water intake about 30 minutes before dinner, then don't drink much, if any, after dinner.  I personally think the bloated feeling is from all the water after dinner.  If I drink too much water, in a short time frame, I feel bloated.

Also, make sure that you exercise still.  For me, that helps get rid of excess water.  I walk on the treadmill for aprox 45 mins, and I go to the bathroom atleast 4 times.  But if I don't get on the treadmill, I don't go as much.  Maybe it helps, maybe it doesn't, but it feels like it does!

Be careful of the sodium intake.  I had no clue how much sodium I was ingesting, until I started keeping track 2 months ago.  The reccomend amount is no less than 500 mg, and no more than 2300 mg a day.  It's not easy to stick to less than 2300 mg a day, either, but I have been able to do it so far.  Using fresh foods, or prepared foods that are low sodium is the best.

Good luck with everything, and I hope you get it all figured out!

Becky

I would suggest you find a pregnancy water aerobics class to join. burns a lot of calories but it's safe.  You really need to talk to your doctor or maybe your nurse practitioner as you need a lot of advice on what is safe here.

If they haven't changed things, Weight Watchers allows you to join 8 weeks after delivery and you can be breastfeeding.

Congratulations and best of luck!

congrats!!! I totally understand what you are feeling. I am 36 wks pregnant and I am using the calorie count to keep track of my calories. Remember that your doctor's recommandations are the best to follow. I have looked up different websites that indicate that if you are considered overweight when you get pregnant than gaining 15-25 pounds is best. Again, ask your doctor what your targeted weight is. I am considered overweight due to my height and weight. I am 4'11 ft tall and pre pregnancy weight was 139-140. I have really been focusing on what I eat and have noticed that I gain a lot more pounds when I eat junk food. I usually will try to eat 1600-1700 calories per day. I asked my doctor and he said this was okay as long as I was gaining the appropiate weight which I have been. Like I said I am 36 wks and I have gained 18 pounds up to date. Everyone is different so don't put a burden on your self.

Try substituting candy with fruit or yogurt and keep counting calories. I am also taking prenatal water aorobics 2 times a week and will try to walk at least once or twice a week. Don't become obssesed remember you are not losing weight you are gaining it for your baby. Here is a website I really like and it will give you an idea of the appropiate weight you should gain: www.paternityangel.com (weight gain calculator).

Hope this is helpful!

I'm in the same boat and posted earlier. I'm having a hard time determing my calorie needs and I'm 14 weeks along. According tohttp://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calc ulator.htm

 Maintenance: 2,170 Calories/day. 171 lbs, 5', 10'' female, ( obviously!) I have been eating about 1,700 - 1,900 a day.

It jumps to 2,400 being pregnant at the 2nd trimester and 2,600 at the 3rd. That seems like a TON of food - and it's only working out 3 x's a week!

Can anyone suggest an accurate cal guide for pregnant me?

Thanks.