How many calories when pregnant?
I haven't counted calories since I got pregnant but I counted them this past week out of interest, partly because I wanted to check I wasn't eating too much. I'm surprised I'm coming in about 1600-1800/day, it feels like more than that, but it is all home-cooked stuff and I crave fruit and yoghurt more than anything else, so. Is this a bit low? Does it matter? I work a very busy job on my feet 40hrs a week and exercise (more gently these days!) a few times a week - yoga, walking, hiking, nothing strenuous any more.
I am 25 weeks and my bump is measuring exactly right, I don't seem to have put on weight anywhere else yet. My pre pregnancy weight was around 135lb at 5'3", I was a size 10 (6 in US sizes). I haven't weighed myself pregnant, I don't care for scales. I was never thin but was pretty toned and muscular so maybe weighed more than I looked, so I wasn't really into weighing myself, it seemed depressing and not very accurate!
I feel ok with the amount I'm eating (3x a day, healthy stuff, never really was much of a snacker) but I certainly don't want to deprive my baby. Is this ok or should I be eating more?
ps. I am cooking a crumble as we speak!
Your calorie intake does seem low. I'd say most pregnant women need at least 2,000 calories a day. Here's a calculator that takes pregnancy into account:
Thanks for the link. That suggests I should be eating 2700/day, which is quite a bit of food.
But yeah my intake seems a bit low to me too - it wasn't intentional! I keep reading very conflicting guidelines on pregnancy. The UK ones seem to say you don't need any additional calories until the third trimester whereas most US ones recommend 500 calories/day more right from the beginning of the first. Either way I could do with a bit more, and I'm nearly in the third trimester now anyway. My job's very busy and only since getting pregnant have I even regularly demanded lunch breaks so definitely no time to snack there, and I eat monster breakfasts already. Guess I just need to eat more in the evening! I feel crap eating sweet things or junk food, so I'm not keen to go down that line. MIght just eat more cheese...
The last time I was pregnant (4 years ago), my OB told me to eat maintenance in the first trimester, maintenance +150 during the second trimeseter and maintenance +300 in the third.
Eating over 2,000 calories while pregnant sounded absurd but then I realized that I had been restricting (to lose weight) for so long that I forgot what I actually eat to maintain and that I had to eat above and beyond that (although, not by much) while pregnant.
what does your ob say? do you know how much u have put on in 25 weeks. If he/she isnt worried dont stress yourself over it. your actual quantity and quality of food could be offsetting the cal intake. If you are still worried eat a handful of almonds
The most I ever in my three pregnancies is 26 pounds and the lowest was 22. I was small when I got pregnant all three times. I think the heaviest was 126.
And 2700 calories sounds way too high
