Still today for many the word pregnancy equates “eating for two”. I like food, I have always enjoyed my food, so you bet “eating for two” sounds great…or does it? Realistically, one should really only plan to gain a few pounds during their first trimester. For many, your caloric intake should actually be about the same as it was before you got pregnant for the first couple of months. After becoming pregnant, I lost about 3 pounds on the scale before I began to gain and break even with my pre-pregnancy weight at the end of the second month. I was never sick, and stayed diligent to continuing to track my macros. I could tell my metabolism was increasing so I began to treat my diet as I would with a reverse diet client, slowly adding in more calories to my diet of carbs and fats as the scale would drop and then level back off. If you are thinking of becoming pregnant it’s a good idea to start tracking your daily macronutrient intake to establish your baseline before you become pregnant to help keep you honest here. A pregnant woman really needs only about 300 extra calories a day.
As someone who is active and eats for performance, I have been in the habit of eating equally distributed meals five or six times a day for years. If you are someone who generally eats three big meals a day, it would also be the right time to start “grazing” or eating more frequent smaller meals throughout the day. This helps to make sure that you and the baby are getting the nutrients that you both need, especially if you are working out. When you are pregnant, your blood sugar can fall quickly, especially after training. This happens as your liver works to direct sugar to fat storage. I found this most noticeable within the first trimester and got into the habit of keeping trail mix, nuts or a protein bar in my car in case I started to feel dizzy and needed something while out running errands. Also, if you happen to be nauseous, it is generally easier to keep food down if you avoid having an empty stomach and eat more small meals along with complex carbs.
Leading up to my pregnancy, I had already made a more conscious effort to focus on eating more complex carbs that included a greater amount of whole foods including: whole grains, fruits and vegetables. This made it an easy transition for me to purge the house of the empty calorie, high sugar and processed foods that I might have utilized more freely with flexible dieting before becoming pregnant. These foods provide really no true nutritional benefit, have greater calories, and will often leave you wanting more due to their low nutrient density. I have increased my daily dairy consumption, decreased my sugar intake, as well as added additional fruits and vegetables to my diet because these whole foods also provide a lot more volume. What you are feeding yourself, you are also feeding the baby…not to say that I don’t work in some chocolate or ice cream here or there. Moderation and nutrient dense foods first!
Going into the second trimester of pregnancy seemed to bring a larger increase in appetite for me. The baby has started growing at a more rapid rate and it needs nourishment. As I have continued to add calories into my diet, now at a somewhat slower rate, I have tried to continue to fill up on those healthy treats. Being at home throughout the day, I have a habit of logging my food as I go. This has helped me stay on track with my macronutrient intake as I have found that sometimes what I might already have prepared in the fridge just does not sound or smell good. I promise, we pregnant ladies aren’t just making this up!. I therefore have a fairly good mixture of both prepared and improvised meals that make up my day. I really haven’t had any true “cravings”, but if there is something I want I generally will make a healthier, more macro friendly version of it that is still satisfying.
At 22 weeks, I have now gained about 12 pounds from my starting pre-pregnancy weight. At my last doctors appointment I had gained 4 pounds, a pound a week average, since my appointment prior. My doctor was pleased with this progress, praising me for taking care of both my baby and myself. If you are starting with a pre-pregnancy weight in a healthy range for your height, with a BMI in the given range of 18.5-24.9, it’s suggested that you should gain between 25 to 35 pounds over the course of your pregnancy. 1-5 pounds in the first trimester and about 1 pound per week average for the rest of your pregnancy for the optimal growth of your baby. If you are starting at a higher BMI the doctor might suggest gaining on the lower side of this range, and if underweight on the higher side. I try not to fret too much over the scale, weighing in generally once a week. I have noticed that some weeks I will gain more, and the next week a little less to balance out my average. I do continue to utilize the scale as a guide to make sure that both myself and the baby are getting what we need, and as a tool to best prepare us both for a healthy and comfortable pregnancy and recovery period to come.
