Eating the right amount

Nechie122 · August 2010

Before I got pregnant, I was using SparkPeople to track my calories and 14 nutrients to make sure I was eating healthy. Now that I'm KU, I changed the settings to gain three to five pounds by the end of the first trimester. Even still, I'm trying to balance the constant hunger with wanting to keep my weight gain in check (for health, NOT vanity). Anyone have any tips or are most people just listening to their bodies and worrying about weight gain later?

nital · August 2010

i keep very little junky snack food around the house, so when i get the munchies (which is every 15 minutes right now), i grab fruits and veggies because that's really all i have.i also have lots of nuts handy, because those will fill me up quickly.

rosesandpeonies · August 2010

i don't even think about it at all....if you listen to your body you should gain the weight naturally. Most people don't even gain weight in first trimester...or gain just a little bit. I didn't gain anything with my daughter until the second trimester...but with this one I already gained 7 pounds. I don't worry about it at all. Your body should tell you

Beccaboo0713 · August 2010

With both pregnancies I just listened to my body. I ate what I could, kept moderate portions, and stopped when I felt full. Just because I wanted 3 bowls of ice cream didn't mean I needed them. I gained 23 lbs with DS and so far with this pregnancy I have lost 7 lbs.

I think being on any kind of 'diet' or food tracking program would drive me nuts because pregnancy really messes with my eating habits. Some days I would be super hungry and eat a fair amount and other days I wouldn't be hungry at all and eat like a bird. The later was especially true in 3rd tri when DS was smashing my stomach and I never felt hungry.

Your body should tell you what you need and what you can handle. Good luck.

AudreyHpbrn · August 2010

I'm closing out my 1st Trimester and I only gained 5 lbs. There are some days I could eat everything under the sun and other days I'm not that hungry. For example, Sunday night, I was starving!! I mean to the point where I wanted to eat two appetizers, a pizza, and dessert. We ended up going to a chinese buffet and I ate a lot of soup and egg rolls but was pretty full and satisfied. Today, I'm really hungry again as well and by 10:50 already had my lunch and I'm still hungry.

The benefit though is I haven't snacked too much on crazy foods. Yes, I would love to have loads of ice cream all the time but I don't. I gorge on fruits and instead of 1 jello pack, I may eat 2.

Do as others say, eat as your body tells you and then when you are not having those major hungry cravings, eat sensible as you normally do.

circe811 · August 2010

Nechie122:
Before I got pregnant, I was using SparkPeople to track my calories and 14 nutrients to make sure I was eating healthy. Now that I'm KU, I changed the settings to gain three to five pounds by the end of the first trimester. Even still, I'm trying to balance the constant hunger with wanting to keep my weight gain in check (for health, NOT vanity). Anyone have any tips or are most people just listening to their bodies and worrying about weight gain later?

I agree with the PP who said to keep a lot of fruits and veggies handy. Fruits and vegetables are very low in calories so you can eat a lot to help sate your hunger and not have to worry about weight gain. Well, as long as you aren't covering them in butter or anything. Wink

MegGriff1n · August 2010

My diet went out the window once I got my BFP. I've already gained 8lbs. I'm not happy about it but it is fun eating foods I normally don't get to eat. Between the nausea and the constant hunger I couldn't help myself. But now that I'm feeling better I'm slowly starting to add more fruits, vegetables and beans to my diet. I think by next week I'll but eating much more healthy and I'm actually looking forward to it.

I gained 30lbs with my first pregnancy and I'm pretty much doing the same thing so I'm not too worried yet.

happyin10 · August 2010

I'm trying to just listen to my body...but I"m gaining weight for sure! Part of it must be due to all of the extra carbs I"m eating to try to keep my stomach full and the nausea away. I'm not going to worry too much about it yet. I'm only 5'2" though and typically pretty slender, so an extra 5 pounds is definitely noticeable.

azuremama · August 2010

I think it's hard for some of us who may have struggled with weight in the past to just "listen to our bodies." Last pregnancy, I would have sworn that my body was telling me I needed cookies and lots of milk! After spending about 2 years losing the baby weight, I'm a little more cautious this time around.

This time, I'm trying to recognize the difference between true hunger and just wanting to eat something because it sounds good. And I try to make healthy choices when I snack--fruits and veggies or some protein instead of a cookie. It's still hard because sometimes I'm just really hungry and sometimes I don't feel great, so I eat what sounds good instead.

I know some people who have used babyfit while they're pg. It's similar to sparkpeople for tracking nutrients, etc.

ttarnold23 · August 2010

I'm pretty much just eating what my "body" is telling me to but also trying to set limits. I'm keeping frozen yogurt or sorbet in the house instead of ice cream, trying not to drink sprites or a ton of juice even though I'm really bored with water! The problem for me has been that the only way to keep my m/s at bay is to eat about every 2-3 hours so i am eating a good bit for that reason. One thing that helps me in the morning and health-wise is I get some fresh sliced fruit and keep it really cold and i eat that a lot, really helps with the nausea. 12.5 weeks and have gained 5 lbs. good luck to you, just "go with your gut

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Pachita · August 2010

I also use Sparkpeople! I'm not really tracking down everything I eat. I do have a mental summary of everything I ate at the end of the day. I'm just eating regular foods, with some sugary ones once in a while. I'm also exercising (that I do track on Sparkpeople).

I weigh myself twice a week. For now just keeping it simple seems to be working.

Nechie122 · August 2010

Thanks everyone -- lots of good advice here. I guess I am on the right track by trying to make healthy choices and get enough calcium, iron, folate, etc. I just need to stop obsessing about whether I need 1500, 1700, or some other number of calories each day!

schoolsoutbride · August 2010

I think you should eat healthy but eat as much as your body is telling you. PG is not a time to count calories. Also, try to get as much protein as you can (80-100g a day)

Avoid junk and empty calories and you'll be fine.

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