Anyone watching their calories/nutrition while pregnant (not to lose weight!)

[CycleGirl20]

Just wondering if anyone has counted (a healthy amount of) calories per day while pregnant? I went off most salad and vegetables in my first trimester. Just managed to get through the last bit of food aversions at 22 weeks and wanted to make sure I was eating the right amount and getting enough veggies and proteins. I want to make sure I don't gain too much and also trying to rebalance my diet following 4/5 months of carbs being largely the only thing I could eat without feeling sick. How much should a pregnant woman eat?

Up until mid 2nd trimester I ate 2 meals a day with healthy snacks in-between. Tried not to go mad on the carbs unless I had a craving. When I got bigger and had less space I had about 4 small meals a day and would treat myself to an ice cream or something a couple of times a week. By the time I gave birth I had only put on a few pounds. I never felt restricted nor did I feel like I over ate. If I had bigger cravings I would have given into them though

It depends on your BMR. In the third trimester you'll need approx. 300-450kcal extra per day. For the average woman maintenance is about 2000kcal so if you aim for 2300-2500 you should be alright.

I'm not counting myself, I'm just eating normally and prioritising getting enough healthy foods in before reaching for the snacks. I've been lucky though that my pregnancy cravings are apples and light summery pasta dishes! I've not stayed away from the crips and chocolate either though, as they are so easy to grab when feeling exhausted and offer a quick boost of energy.

Thanks @Superfoodie123. I had to eat every couple of hours in the first trimester or I'd end up feeling really sick. I had this pre-pregnancy idea of eating really well, but then couldn't face most veggies and a lot of proteins! I'm really happy to be able to eat vegies and proteins again.

Hi OP, I’m 19 weeks. My first trimester was horrendous as I was so sick, weeks 6-10 were basically me barely eating and having massive food aversions. I lost about 5lbs from that. But then weeks 10-13 although I still felt sick and was still being sick, for some reason if I didn’t eat something heavy and carby every 2 hours, I would get so nauseous and throw up so I spent weeks 10-13 basically eating constant, carby shite which was really distressing for me as I tend to watch my weight/ figure usually. I put on the weight I’d lost plus 3lbs in those few weeks

That went about 13/14 weeks and now for the last month I’ve been back to eating healthily/ normally with the odd treats here and there. I’ve also been able to exercise more due to feeling better so have now dropped about 4lbs and plan to try and just maintain what I can now and accept that I’ll be putting on a bit of baby weight. Baby weight I can take, but not piling on a load of weight in general.

I usually eat about 1250-1400 cals a day and am still eating that and plan to continue to until the 3rd trimester when ill up it by 200 (my midwife said you only need an extra 200 cals in the 3rd trimester) I hope by doing this and continuing the exercise, I’ll put on the least amount possible but honestly who knows.

I find it hard to have a balanced discussion with anyone IRL re this as people tend to get hysterical and ‘but you’re having a BABY, you HAVE to put on weight, you must eat as much as you can’ blah blah. I’m certainly not restricting myself but I’m being sensible because quite frankly I’m vein and like being slim!!

If you do a desk job then I don’t think you need to be eating anymore than 1200-1500 cals a day personally (depending on how much exercise you do obviously)

Hi @Bountifull. I'm quite tall and have kept cycling and walking so I've been aiming for about 1,800, which seems about right. It is so hard to get actual good advice about pregnancy & diet. It's all 'eat a balanced diet and it'll happen naturally', as if you can't eat a balanced diet of too much food. Everyone has an opinion about what pregnant women should eat and how much weight to gain, but there's a bit of a lack of actual, practical advice. I get worried that, if it turns out 1,800 was too little and I actually needed 2,000 then it'll affect the baby.

I had that nausea that if I didn't eat carbs constantly I would be sick so stuffed my face. The idea of a vegetable made me sick even though I normally love them. It all seem to balance out though as in total I put on the usual weight. Didn't think about it though & don't track my calories normally anyway.

If you do a desk job then I don’t think you need to be eating anymore than 1200-1500 cals a day personally

This would be far too little for an average woman. It might be enough for someone really tiny and really sedentary, maybe. That's roughly the BMR for an average woman, meaning that'll be the amount of calories to keep bodily functions going. Most women, desk job or not, will require closer to 1800-2000kcal for optimum health. The problem with eating so few calories for a prolonged time is that your body starts conserving energy and isn't performing optimally, so it may look like that's all you need but it's only because your engines are running at reduced power. As an anecdote, I've lost weight and body fat on roughly 2500kcal per day, being 5ft3 and 58kg so I'm not even a tall girl. I work a desk job, but was exercising 5 days a week.

Hi @CycleGirl20 I've been tracking my food intake but this is something I tend to do in cycles throughout the year anyway.

My main reason for tracking is that my appetite is HUGE at the moment so it's good for me mentally to make sure I'm roughly within my boundaries each day, it also stops me from restricting myself from including treats each day as I know they fit in my targets.

I'm also tall and have exercise almost every day (10k steps or weight training). If you're exercising and tall then I'd honestly say 1800 cals would be putting you in a deficit compared to what you're burning daily. Do you use a tracker?

For reference I burn anywhere between 2100 and 2600 cals per day, and I aim to eat within that range too.

I work from home in an "office job" so I'm pretty sedentary during working hours but my daily exercise and NEAT activities increase my calories burnt.

1200 calories per day as suggested by a PP would be honestly be considered enough for a toddler not an adult and may lead to longer term health issues such as problems with bone density, lowered metabolism and nutrient defficiencies.

@DanniG1 thanks that's really helpful. I'm seeing how I get on with 1800, but am defo quite hungry at times with no calories left, so maybe I'll up to 1900 or 2000 and see where I get to!

How are you finding weight training? I did CrossFit before I got pregnant but we moved house and I'm not sure now is the time for rejoining! I'm thinking about just joining a gym. I've tried pregnancy work out classes but find them too gentle!

@CycleGirl20 if you're hungry then you need to listen to your body 🤗 don't punish yourself with food in such an important time. Especially if you're remaining active!

Weight training is something I've done for years now and for the first trimester I found things tricky because I was so exhausted and ended up taking around 5 weeks out to rest. I've been back now since around 16 weeks (currently 25 weeks) and I've just adapted my work outs, lowered weights and generally just to listen to my body 😊

For example now a leg day may consist of the following;

Leg Press - 4 sets
RDL - 4 sets
Dumbbell Squats - 4 sets
Lunges - 4 sets

I'm sticking to very simple movements and making sure my form is spot on and honestly I feel SO good. My body feels strong and agile and I have more energy.

@DanniG1 I miss my gym sessions so much! I have kept up cycling but can't do the 60-90km I was doing pre-pregnancy so sticking with a few 30km sessions a week. Going to the gym was a great way of balancing out cycling cardio with weights. I've just emailed the local CrossFit to see if they do anything for pregnant women. If not, I think I'll join the gym and just take it steady

@CycleGirl20 I'm also a CrossFitter but have actually put my membership on hold for now. I was so tired over the winter and because of work could never make it in daylight hours and had to admit to myself that leaving the house after dark is not something I will do. So I bought myself a set of 15kg dumbbells and have been using them to do workouts at home. I do a little circuits of lunges, alternate db snatches, squats, thrusters, deadlifts. It's been enough to keep me free from any aches and pains and stay active and feel like I'm not completely slacking off. I also walk my dog 1-2 hours per day.