Is it ok to diet (slightly) in pregnancy?

[Newfamily2014]

Have just found out I'm pregnant whoop! Very early days only 4 weeks pregnant.
Before I found out I was thinking I'd like to loose a bit of weight. Would it be ok to diet a bit? Perhaps replacing one meal with a milkshake type drink? Or perhaps I'm best just to cut down on carbs for a bit? Would obviously not want to do any harm to the baby.
Any thoughts?

I'd wait to see how you feel in the coming weeks. I lost weight in first tri due to nausea and food aversion. You might not be able to stomach meal replacement shakes.

Thanks newbian that's a very good point. This is my second pregnancy and I had awful nausea in the first trimester last time..so yes I'll wait and see what happens..
I wonder if I'll get the same nausea this time around...

Personally I would say no. Those diet shakes are full of so many chemicals and nasties, I wouldn't want to put them into my own body let alone my unborn child's. Secondly, cutting out carbs for me in my first trimester would have been impossible! I was so exhausted I needed a carb kick at lunch time to keep me going through the afternoon.
Not only that, you're probably fighting a losing battle as you will more than likely gain some weight while you're pregnant (even if it is only a little).
I think changing your diet to a healthier one is fine though. Start by cutting out unheathly snacks you used to eat and exchange them for healthy tasty alternatives, like nuts and seeds. Also try adding some extra fruit and veg to your diet. Adding a bit of light exercise into your day will keep weight gain down, and might even help with the fatigue too.
Congratulations on your pregnancy.

Unless you are overweight and have been told by medical professionals to monitor your weight, I really wouldn't advise it. For the baby to thrive, the mother needs to easy a balanced and nutritious diet - diet shakes are neither of those things!

Just eat healthily, lean meats, fruit and veg and grains and pulses
And move
It's what we all should be doing :o

I lost over a stone in each of due to hyperemisis, so I don't think losing weight slowly by sensible eating would be too bad, but I would use normal food, not meal replacement shakes.

Thank you all, sound advice.
I wonder if I'm feeling a bit 'fat' because of pregnancy hormones and I feel my tummy is a bit bloated which maybe not pregnancy related at all.

Don't go the milkshake route! Not very good for you and often have high vitamin levels etc. plus you need real food, not shakes.

There's nothing wrong with eating a healthy balanced diet and doing a bit more excercise but pregnancy is not the time to consciously lose weight. Overhaul the eating habits to be better yes. Deprivation no.

You might surprise yourself - I'm a bit overweight to start but eyeballing it, although I have a nice big bump I think the rest of me has shrunk. Just eat well (not for two) and excercise moderately and you'll be fine. There's a really good book called feeding the bump that is great for recipes and nutrition. When I'm not puking my guys up from morning sickness I've found some of them to be very good ;)

my (health freak) friend swore by this when she was pregnant - healthy eating cookbook with real food for pregnant ladies!

www.amazon.co.uk/Skinny-Bitch-Becoming-Healthy-Mother/dp/0762431059

I attend Slimming world as I have a high BMI and was recommended to do so by my midwife. I'm 23 weeks with twins now and have only put on 8lbs which I think is not too shabby! They focus on you staying the same rather than loosing weight. Ask your midwife what they think though

The Royal College of Midwives only endorses Slimming World when pregnant so maybe pop in to your local group? It is fine to loose a bit of weight on it provided you stick to the pregnancy programme they have and don't cut corners with calcium or fibre. I'm doing it and it's fab.

I wouldn't diet no, but all the healthy eating you will be doing plus the fact you may not eat a lot in the coming weeks and months if you are unlucky and get morning sickness - will probably see the lbs fall off anyway. It depends how much overweight you are I suppose.
I didn't lose with the 1st but I wasn't overweight and didn't have bad MS - I did lose with the 2nd and 3rd but was overweight before getting upduffed and I also had awful MS with them both.

Totally depends on your BMI

jelliebabe and blue wisteria - I was a SW target member and stopped going when I found out I was pregnant because my consultant was really mean to me about having HG and not managing to eat properly. Is the plan exactly the same or can you have extra healthy a and b or syns while you're pregnant? I've done exactly what I was scared of, stopped going to group and gained 2.5 stone already by 28 weeks. I really want to try and get back on track for the last few weeks

I would just eat more healthily, great time of year for salads and fruit etc. Also you don't want to lose to much in case of sickness. 30 weeks and weigh 3kg less still. But I am much healthier and put it down to heaps more fruit, defo having more than 5 a day, no alcohol, no sweets,cake, pastries etc....

Milkshakes don't sound a good route, Slimming World is the only one I know of that is OK - but only if you have a 26+ BMI.

Tbh I've found with all my pregnancies that the combination of morning sickness and digestive issues early on and then raging hunger combined with your stomach being squished so you can only eat a little at a time later on, become their own diet!

bear I'm so sorry for your experience, what a cow! Is there another group you can join?

You have extra HEA and HEB, so two A's and B's a day

I wouldn't strictly diet, and certainly wouldn't do meal replacement shakes. Mind you, I'm not convinced of the benefit of them for a non-pregnant person either. Just (if any morning sickness will allow) try to stick to unprocessed food. Lots of veg, lean meat, salad, fish (taking into account recommended limits on e.g salmon) fruit, whole grains.

But when breast feeding you have loads of healthy extras, all depends on how big baby is, if exclusively breast feeding etc. but you'll need to get a leaflet from group on it.

quark is a great free calcium source

I wouldn't do meal replacements.
I gained so much (4 stone) with dd1 and was determined to be more careful second time around.

The first time I ate constantly and would have the whole apple pie or the whole tub of ice cream.
The second time I still gave into my cravings but I had a slice of pie or a scoop of ice cream. I only gained 1.5 stone and had lost it by 3 months post baby.

It's all about moderation. I would have toast and peanut butter for breakfast, a cereal bar as a mid morning snack with fruit, lunch was porridge and a yoghurt, then a banana at about 3pm, healthy dinner like home made spag Bol or chicken and sweet potato mash etc. then in evening I would have a fun size choc bar and a fun sized haribo bag as a treat. I certainly didn't feel I was depriving myself but it stopped me going nuts.

Bear! Yes you get two As two Bs and 15-25 syns. Find a different class your leader sounds like a tool!

Thanks, I am definitely going to a new group once the baby comes but for now I'm just going to do the plan at home