Barbara Luke, love or hate?

SWA80

My new MFM pushed me to get Dr Luke's book. I had been resisting since looking at the reviews on Amazon. I don't want to read it if it is going to add unnecessary stress to my life. What do those of you that have read it think?

NDGOIRISH

LOVE... definitely recommend.

Brummy14

I think it can be a LOT of overwhelming information -- particularly the nutritional requirements. I think the "24 lbs by 24 weeks" rule of thumb is pretty common -- and I hit that exactly without stuffing my face full of calories.  

I think it has a lot of good, directional insight. Both my RE and my OB encouraged continuing to exercise, which she doesn't really condone, so I think there are different views all over the place. I don't think you need to follow it to a "T," and many women here have echoed similar sentiment in the past.  

SV917

I'll summarize it for you: don't move; eat ridiculous amounts of red meat and dairy.
For a vegan marathon runner, I'm not a huge fan of her nutritional advice. I also think the horror stories are super stressful. However, I am eating more, doing less activity and gaining more weight based on her advice. My doctor only recommended gaining a total of 25 to 30 pounds when I was at the lower end of a normal weight range prepregnancy. Luke obviously has a lot of experience, but I find the book hard to read.

SWA80

SV917:

I'll summarize it for you: don't move; eat ridiculous amounts of red meat and dairy.
For a vegan marathon runner, I'm not a huge fan of her nutritional advice. I also think the horror stories are super stressful. However, I am eating more, doing less activity and gaining more weight based on her advice. My doctor only recommended gaining a total of 25 to 30 pounds when I was at the lower end of a normal weight range prepregnancy. Luke obviously has a lot of experience, but I find the book hard to read.

I'm also a marathoner and mostly vegetarian but have started eating eggs and full fat dairy since pregnant. I've already gained 22 lbs at 20 wks so I figure I'm doing okay. Not sure why I have such an aversion to the book when I haven't even read it. Curious, how much exercise did your Dr recommend? I haven't been allowed to run at all since March and really miss it.

CNYBride05

Meh, I'm not a huge fan

ceechie

I liked it and feel like it gave me a good perspective of what to expect. My nutritionist who specializes in MoMs follows a lot of the weight guidelines. But since making my self eat more, I'm not that hungry in general, I do feel better in the long run. If I just followed my natural cues I think this pregnancy would be harder.

silverbells3562

Did anyone follow her recommendations for vitamins/supplements? My OB seemed to indicate that I could if I wanted to, but didn't seem too excited about it. 

SWA80

silverbells3562:

Did anyone follow her recommendations for vitamins/supplements? My OB seemed to indicate that I could if I wanted to, but didn't seem too excited about it.nbsp;

My doctor actually recommended pretty strongly that I get the calcium, magnesium, zinc supplement.

Gritsinalaska

My Mfm has me on about the same additional supplements as the book suggests. I think those that don't agree with the book feel that it's so different than there normal diet that its just to much change. I love the book and the advice that it gives. I am much more comfortable knowing that I am following expert advise since I have never been pregnant with twins! I have been pregnant but only with singletons and it is not the same at all!!!

SV917

SWA80:

I'm also a marathoner and mostly vegetarian but have started eating eggs and full fat dairy since pregnant. I've already gained 22 lbs at 20 wks so I figure I'm doing okay. Not sure why I have such an aversion to the book when I haven't even read it. Curious, how much exercise did your Dr recommend? I haven't been allowed to run at all since March and really miss it.

I am not running either, which has been super hard. I walk, spin, do yoga, and I have a pregnancy workout DVD. If it ever stops raining here, I'll start swimming, too. With the exception of walking which is already easy, everything else has been taken down several notches in the intensity scale.

elliotandnicole

SV917:

SWA80:

I'm also a marathoner and mostly vegetarian but have started eating eggs and full fat dairy since pregnant. I've already gained 22 lbs at 20 wks so I figure I'm doing okay. Not sure why I have such an aversion to the book when I haven't even read it. Curious, how much exercise did your Dr recommend? I haven't been allowed to run at all since March and really miss it.

I am not running either, which has been super hard. I walk, spin, do yoga, and I have a pregnancy workout DVD. If it ever stops raining here, I'll start swimming, too. With the exception of walking which is already easy, everything else has been taken down several notches in the intensity scale.

I ran a half a month before I found out I was expecting and am mostly vegetarian too.  I really miss running too.   I really enjoyed my running days, but my doctor suggested that I only do things like elliptical.  The gym isn't as fun as getting out and hitting the pavement for a good run.  

elliotandnicole

SWA80:

My new MFM pushed me to get Dr Luke's book. I had been resisting since looking at the reviews on Amazon. I don't want to read it if it is going to add unnecessary stress to my life. What do those of you that have read it think?

I have gotten about 2/3 of the way through.  I also think it's overwhelming, but it provides so much more information than any of the other pregnancy books I've read.  The weight gain guidelines are extreme, but it seems that many people that follow them get great results.  I gained 50 lbs with DS, though, so I'm not that concerned I won't gain enough weight.  

The care after the baby is born information is helpful too.  As is the information on complications we may face.  Yeah, they are scary, but they may happen, and it's better to be prepared and informed somewhat than to be blindsided by something later.   

macchiatto

NDGOIRISH:

LOVE... definitely recommend.

Me, too!
Personally, I was excited to find something research-based that was focused specifically on multiples pregnancies b/c everything else I read was written for a singleton pregnancy and with some of it, I just wasn't sure what applied to me. I ate up that book. And like any book I read, I took it with a grain of salt, figuring out which recommendations were realistic for me to follow and which were not. Like I followed her weight gain guidelines and with nutrition, I followed them loosely (all the recommended protein and about 2/3 the amount of the other categories) and gained right on track.

And MrsLee, yeah, I hear you. I didn't feel like it was overly frightening or stressful or anything; no more so than interacting with MoMs on here or IRL and reading/hearing the real life stories. I liked reading the research and knowing the stats rather than *just* going by anecdotal stuff or research based on singleton pregnancies.

 

macchiatto

I Heart The 80s:

Hate.  THe only place I've heard anyone reference this book is on TB. People are gorging themselves to fatten up, and it's a joke. 

Curious why you hate it so strongly. A number of MFMs are recommending it so clearly it's not just a Bump phenomenon. The Institute of Medicine also based their weight gain guidelines for multiples pregnancies largely off of Dr. Luke's research, so they seem to think she knows what she's talking about, too.

MrsLnt

Love. I didn't follow it to a T but it offered guidelines on eating well and nourishing yourself and the babies during pregnancy. Other than the license for full fat ice cream, I didn't find it a license to gorge at all. If anything, the protein recs just made me be more aware that the calories I did take in were as nutrient dense as possible. 

I've read the Amazon reviews of people saying they ate everything she recommended and ended up puking from overeating. Take a little personal responsibility and stop eating when you are full, the book doesn't shove the food down your throat. 

For the most part, it was really common sense - eat well, don't overexert yourself, listen to your body.  

cailinmeister

Take away message - eat plenty, get good nutrition, and take it easy on the exercise.  I didn't like her book because it was scary and over-dramatic.  But, the take away message, I thought, really helped me go all the way with my pregnancy.

MuseumMaven

I liked it. I didn't find it to be stressful, just informative. I will say that the diet was a bit overwhelming and I didn't follow it, I just tried to increase my overall calorie and protein intake. I did exercise but stuck to the pool.

Like any book, it has some great advice but I didn't follow it to a T, I listened to my doctor, who knew the specifics of my situation.

CinemaGoddess

macchiatto:

I Heart The 80s:

Hate.  THe only place I've heard anyone reference this book is on TB. People are gorging themselves to fatten up, and it's a joke. 

Curious why you hate it so strongly. A number of MFMs are recommending it so clearly it's not just a Bump phenomenon. The Institute of Medicine also based their weight gain guidelines for multiples pregnancies largely off of Dr. Luke's research, so they seem to think she knows what she's talking about, too.

I can't speak for I Heart, but for me, it was because the book's message is couched with fear.  Eat this way or your multiples will be born at 24 weeks.   It's unnecessary and reeks of scare tactics.  A multiples pregnancy is scary enough without the foremost authority on nutrition saying you need to gain X amount of weight in your first trimester otherwise bad things will happen. 

 

JocelynB0911

It was a lot of good information. While I was only up 11lbs by 24 weeks, my boys are healthy and growing. The 'horror' stories are things that could happen but it doesn't mean they will. I would rather know of some what ifs and if, god forbid, they happen I can at least suggest something to try if mfm or ob hasn't already done it.

macchiatto

CinemaGoddess:

macchiatto:

I Heart The 80s:

Hate.  THe only place I've heard anyone reference this book is on TB. People are gorging themselves to fatten up, and it's a joke. 

Curious why you hate it so strongly. A number of MFMs are recommending it so clearly it's not just a Bump phenomenon. The Institute of Medicine also based their weight gain guidelines for multiples pregnancies largely off of Dr. Luke's research, so they seem to think she knows what she's talking about, too.

I can't speak for I Heart, but for me, it was because the book's message is couched with fear.  Eat this way or your multiples will be born at 24 weeks.   It's unnecessary and reeks of scare tactics.  A multiples pregnancy is scary enough without the foremost authority on nutrition saying you need to gain X amount of weight in your first trimester otherwise bad things will happen. 

 

I see. Thanks for explaining.

To me it didn't come across that way at all; it just seemed factual and like I said previously, I didn't find it any scarier than reading other MoMs' experiences on this board. I appreciated that she shared the odds and statistics of scary things happening so we could put them in perspective (hopefully not being overly scared but also understanding it's not just like a singleton pregnancy but that there are ways to potentially help minimize some of the risks).

sweetsugarmama

It's yet another source of info. You can read a ton of different ones, I chose her and a more humorous real life book-here they come. She was a wealth of info, I went on my gut and dr's advice and followed some of her advice.

The only thing that bugged me is everyone assuming she is an MD. She has a doctorate, which she is pretty clear about. I read reviews where someone complained and she "personally" replied. I don't know why that bugs me (that people assume) but it does. Maybe because you have to read that book or review to realize she's not a medical doctor? or I was just easily annoyed during pg.