How many calories during pregnancy?

[user1471481356]

Just found out I’m pregnant (4 weeks). Have been sticking very strictly to a 1200 calorie a day diet for the last 3 months. Now that I’m pregnant I’m wondering what a normal daily intake would be? Google is confusing!

Oh 1200 a day I feel satisfied, but I’m losing .5-1kg a week, and Im unsure if that’s ok during pregnancy or not? Any advice welcome please!

You should be eating 2000 calories a day, our bodies burn 2000 calories daily so to maintain your weight you should eat that many calories as that is what provides you with sufficient energy especially when creating your baby! If you cant quite make yourself eat that much I'd suggest drinking high protein milkshakes which are also high calorie just to up the number, maybe talk to your dr about it first though:)

Stop dieting. Eat healthy, when hungry. You need about 200 more calories a day when pregnant.

If you are satisfied at 1200, then I think that’s fine for now- I’m 23 weeks and try and stick to 1500 a day which is absolutely fine and fulfilling, just means I can’t snack on unhealthy foods which is best for the baby and me anyway! I’m doing fine and staying on top of my weight and baby is measuring all fine so works for me

@crossstitchingnana

Stop dieting. Eat healthy, when hungry. You need about 200 more calories a day when pregnant.

You only need to extra calories in the last trimester.

Losing at 1kg a week is quite a lot for a sustainable diet (unless starting from a high weight), and I’d definitely be stepping away from only 1200 cals at this point. That said, pre-pregnancy and at my normal BMI of 23, 2000 calories a day (as suggested above) in a sedentary week would see me put on weight as everyone’s TDEE varies.

Rather than focus on calories, can you focus on a sensible, varied diet? Lean protein good for your baby’s development, lots of colourful veg and fruit, complex carbs, good fats. Cut out as much crap as you can. I find now I’m on my second tri that 4 smaller meals a day make me feel better than 3 normal meals. I try not to snack.

Additional calories are only really needed in the third tri, and only around 200 more. That’s the same as an extra banana and a boiled egg, or an apple and small portion of nut butter, or half a pitta and a small amount of hummous.

Not everyone needs the same calories per day in general or in pregnancy.

You can calculate your resting metabolic rate online, then any active calories get added on. Mine is about 1400 kcal per day resting and then roughly 400 active per day if I don't do specific cardio exercise.

I found I started burning more calories in early pregnancy and was really really hungry. You may or may not find this. I also found eating regularly kept nausea at bay.

If you are overweight, have a chat to your Dr about the best way to manage pregnancy and weightloss.

As said above, you only need the extra calories in the third trimester. Here's the NHS guidelines: www.nhs.uk/start4life/pregnancy/healthy-eating-pregnancy/

I was eating around 1300 calories per day before pregnancy; that was plenty for me, not dieting, just staying steady with my weight. So much depends on individual bodies.

The first two trimesters I stuck to what I would usually eat which was 1500 - 2000 depending on how active I was.

As I drank pre preganncy I immediately gained food calories as I was no longer allocating any to alcohol so felt like I was eating more anyway.

secondly - take the opportunity to eat a little bit more of what you fancy, this doesn't mean dive head first into every treat you see but lighten up on any restrictions you had before.

You need to eat amount of calories that's enough to maintain your current weight +200 cal during first trimester. +300 for the second and +400 for the third.

@bluemints

You should be eating 2000 calories a day, our bodies burn 2000 calories daily so to maintain your weight you should eat that many calories as that is what provides you with sufficient energy especially when creating your baby! If you cant quite make yourself eat that much I'd suggest drinking high protein milkshakes which are also high calorie just to up the number, maybe talk to your dr about it first though:)

This is wrong actually

Those calories were actually based on when people did much more active jobs - think working down mines active

If you do a desk job or lead a sedentary lifestyle for women it's more like 1500

If you eat 2,000 a day and work in an office you are going to put on a lot of weight.

I'm pregnant with twins and was also sticking to 1200-1400 calories a day - I'm upping it a bit but apparently you don't really need to add that many more calories in until your third trimester

Unless you need to lose weight for medical reasons I would be looking at slowly increasing the amount you eat until you maintain your weight and then in the second and third trimester eat enough to maintain a steady weight gain ~4lbs a month.

It's important to eat frequently throughout the day, I have had to introduce breakfast into my diet which took some getting used too. I keep an eye on my weight and have found there has been times where I have had to make a conscious effort to eat a bit more because either I started to lose weight again or my weight has stalled. I have had pregnancy sickness through out the first and third trimesters.

The exact numbers you need are quite personal, I'm on a medication that reduces my metabolism and my lifestyle is more sedentary than before I was pregnant. If I ate the same as some women I would gain weight whereas they might be losing or maintaining at that amount.