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2nd Trimester
Anyone else counting calories?
If so, how many are you doing?
I am trying to stick to 1500-1800 a day but my cravings are getting the best of me!
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Re: Anyone else counting calories?
Can I ask why you're counting? ?Are you afraid of gaining too much??
I just kind of eat what I want. ?I try to be healthy, but if I want some ice cream or cake or whatever, I'm going to have some.
?
Omg, if I counted them I'd probably end up in a shock induced coma. I'm leaving all that stuff for after the baby is born - right now I'm focusing on eating healthy and not being hungry.
Because I don't want to be one of those girls who thinks "I'm pregnant, I can turn in to a slob".
Even my dr says, you are not eating for another person right now so stick to 300 more calories a day.
Our family blog
I don't count calories, and I definetly don't think, "well since I'm pregnant I can eat whatever I want."
I also am not turning into a slob. My doc said eat when I'm hungry and drink when I'm thirsty.
I guess my biggest thing was....whatever I put on, I have to take off after. So I am trying my best to not put tons of extra weight on.
I am not a crazy person about it, I just try to stay in the range for the day.
I agree with you there, I lost 15 lbs before getting pregnant and was at a healthy BMI, so I just took what I learned on Weight Watchers and kept going.
But while I think it's overkill to indulge in midnight cravings of triple hot fudge sundaes EVERY night - I also don't intend to stress out about what I eat. It came off before, it'll come off again. I have enough to worry about...
I guess I most be a slob because I am not counting calories.
Haha, me too! And proud of it!
this. i've always heard at least 2000 calories.
I agree with you, BUT are you saying you only ate 1200-1500 calories a day prior to LO? because you really need to make sure you're getting enough nutrients to keep you and the baby healthy
While I agree that you shouldn't just sit around and eat and turn into some slob, I don't think you're going to do this by being aware.?
It's one thing to just sit around and eat chips and cupcakes all day.. it's another to eat what you want and not stress over gaining weight, etc.
It took 9 months to put the weight on.. it's going to take at least that long to get it off. ?
I don't think you're getting enough calories if you're trying to stay between 1500-1800. An 1800 calorie a day diet is what most normal sized, active women need to maintain their current weight. I think you should be eating at least 2000 a day. I haven't been counting calories, but I would guess that I eat around 2200 a day, and I'm fine with that.
Ok but still 1500-1800 is on the light side of calories for a non-pregnant person...it should be around 2000 and if you add 300 its 2300...so you are starving because babies are good parasites...
Yes before I got pregnant I was really trying to lose weight and get in shape. I was on sparkpeople and eating 1200-1500. Of course I had days where I fell off the wagon but for the most part stuck to it.
Ok so if you were eating 1200-1500 to "really try to lose weight" then that's not the amount you should be eating to maintain your weight. Adding 300 calories to your dieting calorie range isn't enough. This isn't about you or how "slobby" you feel, it's about making sure your baby has enough to eat.
You're supposed to add 300 calories to your maintenance level of caloric intake, not your dieting intake. If you're eating 1500-1800 calories per day, you're still dieting and may not be getting all the nutrition you and the baby need.
I would figure out the level of calories you need for healthy weight maintenance and add 300 to that, if you're really intent on sticking to a number. Or, better yet, ask your doctor how many calories he/she recommends you eat.
I agree with all the PP's. You probably aren't getting enough calories. I find that making sure my unborn child is healthy is more important than sticking to my pre-pregnancy diet plans.
::Shakes head and walks back to 3rd tri::
Here's the thing, though. If you're starting from a weight loss baseline, then adding 300 calories may be only enough to maintain weight (but could even still be in weight loss territory), and you should be gaining weight. Unless you started out significantly overweight (which may be true, I don't know), your baseline should be "maintenance" calories, then 300 calories on top of that.
There's a formula to detemine your daily caloric maintenance level based on your basal energy expenditure and activity level, but a pretty close estimation just multiplies your weight by 14.25 (it doesn't take activity level into account, so if you're active it will overestimate a little bit).
My maintenance level is 1943 calories/day, and I strive to get 2100 - 2250 calories (though I sometimes have difficulty meeting that target).
I'm still counting calories, that doesn't mean I'm restricting them, I'm just still tracking them. I've found that I'm usually between 2200-3000, I'm also running about 6 miles per day which burns about 600 calories. The low end range is on days that I rest. While I think its a great idea to count calories I don't think its a great idea to restrict calories. 1200 is not enough to sustain anyone, its considered starving yourself, even when you aren't pregnant you shouldn't be eating this little, it will only prevent you from losing weight in the long run. Even when you are dieting the lower end of your calorie intake range shouldn't be below a number calculated by taking your current weight and multiplying it by 13-this is a rough estimate of what you would burn if you slept all day long. I.E. If you weigh 150lbs you should eat at least 1950 calories even if you want to lose weight, maintenance would be something like 2200 calories at that weight, none of this includes exercise which you should compensate for calorie wise. I understand not wanting to gain excessive amounts of weight but restricting your calories is a slippery slope and do you really want to be responsible for possible damage to your baby if you limit too much? Play around with it until you find a happy medium where you are slowly and steadily gaining weight but not gaining too much too quickly. Be healthy and be smart about it, it's not worth it for a few vanity lbs.
I came across this and found it helpful. It calculates your caloric needs during pregnancy based on your pre-pregnancy weight, height, age, and activity level. It even splits it out by trimester. I consider it more of a guideline than anything. It's telling me I should be eating 2400 calories/day right now, which is an incredible struggle to achieve for me, but is very close to what my doctor has told me (I'm 5'8 and was at a healthy weight pre-pregnancy).
https://www.freedieting.com/tools/pregnancy_calorie_calculator.htm
Ditto this. You've gotta get your priorities straight.
I understand eating healthy, but you have to eat enough of the right things, which is impossible at 1500-1800 calories.
If you would hvae read the original post I said I TRY to stick to it. I don't always, or usually. I eat ice cream every day, and chocolate. I am not writing down everything I eat. I just try to watch it.
My doctor says I am doing great weight wise. 11 pounds in 25 weeks. So I am not harming the baby.
Does you Dr. know how many calories you "are trying to stick to"? I don't think there is a problem with watching what you eat, the point we are trying to make is that it is important that you are aware of how many calories a pregnant mother needs.