Eating enough?

[Givinguph0pe]

I'm struggling a little as I've been sick much of the pregnancy and now feel constantly anxious which I think has taken my appetite. I'm nearly 22 weeks and every day I eat:

Breakfast: piece of toast with peanut butter
Lunch: Apple
Dinner: veggie burger (220kcal) sometimes with some salad but often on its own.

I suspect I'm not eating much more than 500kcal a day. Is this likely to cause any problems?

Are you gaining weight?

My bump has grown bigger but my weight has stayed the same. I think. I haven't weighed myself for a couple of weeks. I lost weight to start with as I couldn't eat anything.

You taking vitamins as well?

I think the baby will take what it needs, but it will leave you quite depleted.

Are you only eating those particular foods because that's all you can stomach?

Not taking any vitamins.

There's nothing much I fancy to eat and I haven't got any appetite. I do feel exhausted and sad a lot of the time though.

You should try to get more calories in. I don't know if thats enough for the baby but it's certainly not enough for both of you. Not eating will also be adding to the general exhausting nature of pregnancy as you won't be getting any energy from food.

Be careful. I've just had a mw appointment at 18w, and was told I have a small amount of ketones in my urine, usually caused by not eating and drinking enough! I am certainly eating a lot more than you are yet was advised to eat more...

How are your iron levels? Sadness and tiredness may be due to anaemia.

You can buy liquid iron (which doesn't upset the stomach) over the counter - Spatone, and good quality pre-natal vitamins too. B vitamins should boost your appetite.

Are there emotional reasons why you're not looking after yourself that well at the moment do you think, or are you just physically feeling sick, tired and lacking in appetite?

Could you manage any smoothies as a drink to get some more nutrients into you? Baby will take what they need, but it will leave you very depleted and won't help your energy levels.

Irrespective of your appetite (as hard as that sounds sorry) you should be eating a varied diet to ensure you get the full spectrum of nutrients you need. You should also be taking vitamin D daily.

Are you physically unable to eat due to sickness or are you struggling due to low appetite and anxiety?

You need to speak to your midwife. The baby will take what it needs to a point, but that's going to leave you feeling wretched and on 500k a day you're into very dangerous territory. You need to get more calories in you. See your midwife - make an extra appt if you have to. They will be able to help! They may do this by giving you fortified supplemented liquid meal stuff, or by helping you to see where you can fortify your food. If constant vomiting is your issue you need medication (and tree sparrow I do see your point but I spent months vomiting 12 + times a day, if the op has hg, then with the best will in the world, she will need help to eat)

I had severe sickness and I'm still sick with a week to go. It has been a real struggle for me to eat and I can't take pregnancy vits because I can't find an iron free one (annoying.) the advice my mw gave me was sod healthy eating - eat anything,anytime you feel OK to do so (of course while still following guidelines on stuff that's an absolute no no.)

And forgive me if I'm totally wrong here, or if you don't want to answer... but a.) are you underweight to start and b.) do you have pre existing issues around eating? The peanut butter/Apple menus, plus knowing the exact no. of cals in a veggie burger would seem indicative.

500 kcals a day is what folk on the 5:2 diet eat on their diet days. The rest of the days they eat as usual.

For a pregnant woman to be eating 500 kcals everyday, and no supple to on top of that signals a problem. Please raise this with your healthcare team ASAP?

Your username is also worrying. I hope you get some help OP.

I took vitamins but struggled to eat more than a bowl or cereal and sometimes some toast each day. It was due to sickness so went to gp to get medicine to help. I still couldn't eat much but definitely helped

I only know the calories in the burgers because I checked as I suddenly wondered how many calories I was consuming.

I'm 5 foot 5 and was just below 9 stone to begin with so about average I think? I'm struggling to drink anything too really. Everything tastes horrible since I fell pregnant. I'm now mainly sick in the afternoons and evenings but it was all day until about 18 weeks.

I do feel very anxious and stressed and I know that isn't helping. I'm really struggling to work and look after ds. I'm shattered, as in I could go to sleep every time I sit down and everything is in effort. Climbing a flight of stairs makes me feel out of breath.

Right, so you're not carrying extra weight to start with. 5'5" and under 9 stone is definitely below the uk average ;)

Your level of nausea isn't normal - and you don't have to suffer with it ! You need to get over to the hyperemesis support threads, they are fabulous.

Then, tomorrow, book an apt with your GP. You need to let them know that you're not keeping down food and fluids and you want medication. They may try to fob you off with the whole "sickness is normal in pregnancy" stuff. Don't listen - it is not normal to be sick all day every day for weeks on end and there ARE medications that are safe in pregnancy. It is NOT true that there's nothing they can give you.

Hopefully they'll give you something. If not, the ladies on the hg threads will have advise.

Then you need to address trying to get some food into you. Firstly, go get some prenatal vitamins and take them. If you can't keep them down, try a liquid tonic like spatone or floradix. Try taking them at night as well, that can help, or when're you feel least sick. I can't take extra iron so I make do with a half a berocca.

Try to get calories and nutrients into you any way you can. You might want to try:

Smoothies - you can sip them gradually over an hour or so
A bit more oil/cream etc in food.
Very finely cut up fruit - at one point, wafer thin apple slices kept me going. Fruit seemed to be ok where anything else triggered sickness.
Get others to cook for you
Small portions - nibble little and often
Pre prepared foods - means you don't have to cook.
Fortified breakfast cereals - most cereals have vitamins in
Fluids! Very, very important - if you can't keep them down, get a teaspoon, and take a teaspoon of liquid every few minutes. If you're dehydrated, it's very important you seek medical help.

Good luck - you absolutely have to get some help and get this sorted.

As Christina said, your iron could be low which won't help. Supplements could help (especially ones with iron, B vits and vit D), but I'm sure your midwife could advise you on your dietary needs on top.

You sound lacking in iron at the very least.

Please sort this out - a trip to Boots for Spatone will be a step in the right direction.

Sorry, keep going on about the iron because in my second pregnancy, my iron levels were reportedly normal but I felt exhausted, just like OP describes, that I could sleep at any given moment.

I started taking Spatone, and felt like a rag doll being woken up. I took it all through my third pregnancy and, yes, was tired, but not the zombie like feeling that OP describes.

I did take a multi vitamin for a while but it made me REALLY sick. The only thing I persevered with was the folic acid.

I will try a liquid multi vitamin, maybe that will be better.

Hi op.
I was (well still am!) 5'5, and weighed just under 8 stone at the beginning of both pregnancies. Was 9 1/2 stone at 40 weeks.

5'5 and 9 stone is perfectly average still as just over a bmi of 20.

A pregnant women needs 500 extra calories a day only in the last few weeks. So your should be looking at 1800-2000 calories a day which the average, and don't worry about the extra 500 year. However only 500 will be leaving you super tired

Foods that I managed to eat when not feeding Hungry were porridge surprisingly and plain chicken. Also added snacks in and I don't usually snack

Can you maybe add something extra at each meal? So instead of 1 slice of toast at breakfast, can you try 1 1/2 slices? And add some plain snacks in between like biscuits or nuts.
When I really wasn't hungry at all I could usually still make myself drink a glass of milk and eat a biscuit late in the evening still before bed, adds an extra few calories quickly if you can stomach it. Most people also feel less sick before bed

5'5" and 9 stone is not underweight. 112lbs is underweight for that height, about 8 stone-ish.

I'm not saying op is underweight - she has a BMI of about 20, which is fine and perfectly healthy. She said she assumed she was average - uk average is about a size 14, I think?

My point is that as a slim woman (I'm assuming that weight and height makes you roughly a size ten) you're not going to have large fat reserves to rely on. 500kcal a day is under the level the W HO considers starvation. Op needs to address the factors that are causing reduced intake such as sickness, loss of appetite and anxiety, in order to maintain her health.

Also please check before you take iron supplements - get your ferritin levels checked. Too much iron is harmful.

For future reference, what calories would be recommended for someone who's just on the normal/underweight border, Skipton? I'm naturally that weight, always have been. I would have no idea about calories and how many to have, as I've never been on a diet.

Trying to eat more healthily, for me, would be cutting out a lot of the calories I'm used to eating.