Diet and weight

[Yazoop]

I’m nearly 28w and everything is going well so far generally. A bit concerned about my diet though - I’ve tried my best but we’ve been finishing renovation work and have limited cooking facilities.

Have worked with what I’ve got and tried not to have too many takeaways! At the moment we have an oven (finally!) so eating a lot of COOK frozen meals (bean stews, chicken dishes, beef stews, that sort of thing) with veggies / salad in the evenings. Before oven, was similar but using air fryer. Not ideal, but have no work space etc and seems better than some of the alternatives.

Lunchtime / daytime is a bit rubbish as workmen are busy downstairs and hard to make anything so tends to be a takeaway sandwich or similar. Probably eating too much sugar as often it is quick snacks like protein bars, fruit or sometimes a doughnut(!) or sugary treat that is easier to grab quickly in the afternoon without having to venture downstairs too much. When I’m in the office (1-2 x per week), I do tend to get a more balanced meal from the canteen for lunch that fills me up better.

Weight gain wise, I’m up about 6kgs/16lbs so far. Had a big growth spurt around 20-25w and plateaued since then. It seems that’s around the average (was a little overweight to start) and seems to be mostly bump so far, so not terribly worried about that at the moment but keeping an eye on it.

Kitchen should be done over next couple of weeks so hopefully can get back to cooking things from scratch. But want to know if I might be doing any damage to the baby? I have a GD test next week due to family/age risk factors, so slightly anxious about that, but my urine etc has all been fine so far.

what was your weight like pre pregnancy?

breakfast?

In the overweight category - around BMI 28/29 - I had gained some weight over 3 failed rounds of ivf (including taking testosterone) but was losing it steadily before I naturally fell pregnant. I’m fairly tall (5tt9) so I can carry a bit of extra weight fairly well / gain without noticing a great deal at first - but then it can take time to come off! I’m feeling positive about gradually losing weight after pregnancy going back to more regular intensive exercise and more consistent eating patterns. Though aware not easy!

breakfast tends to be microwaveable plain porridge with a tsp nut butter and small amount of honey, if I can get access to the microwave. Or a protein bar or banana if I can’t!

youre fine.
you’re doing your best. Make sure you’re getting enough protein, veggies and fibre wherever you can. If that means you have 5 pieces of fruit/veg, porridge, a sandwich and a cook meal, your diet will probably still be better than most pregnant women’s.
obviously everyone can always do better, since the majority of us are not growing organic vegetables and grains and preparing every single meal literally from scratch from organic whole food produce
But just do the best in the situation you are in

Thanks @Pumpkindoodles - that’s very reassuring. Think I’m overthinking it - we’re so lucky to be in this position after all we’ve gone through so I am naturally anxious about not jeopardising anything!

I really think you are overthinking it.
Biologically the only person who might be "damaged" is you.
The baby will literally leech calcium from your teeth and bones to get what it needs 😅

Take vit D and good prenatal supplement and a cod liver oil.

I ate wine gums tangerines and ham on buttered toast for about 3 months of both pregnancies as it was all i could stomach.

Porridge with fruit is a solid breakfast. For lunch and dinner just aim for vague balance... so a protein source with veg and a source of carbs at each meal.

Doesn't sound too bad, don't worry.

If you want some helpful tips though, it's easy to rely on fresh unprocessed ingredients more than frozen meals or takeaway sandwiches. E.g. you can buy some good bread, cheese and cucumber and be in control of your own sandwich (and leftover cucumber is a great afternoon nibble too). (High fat but no-sugar) Yoghurt and (sugar free) muesli + fruit are a great breakfast that doesn't require prep, especially if you buy some frozen berries. Nuts are a great filling healthy snack. Dates or figs for something sweet. I have more lol.