Pregnant and looking for a buddy who has gone through a lower-carb pregnancy
 

Thanks!

Pregnancy and Low Carbing
 

I understand not wanting to gain weight when you are pregnant, I was 280 lb. when I was pg, and my doc told me that he did not want me to diet when I was pregnant... Atkins suggests doing his lifetime maintenance while pregnant... not going all out and doing the whole low carb thing.

"During pregnancy I’m following the guidelines of the Lifetime Maintenance phase of the Atkins Nutritional Approach™, which is the most liberal in carbohydrate intake. (The weight-loss phases of Atkins are not appropriate for pregnant or lactating women.) This phase will not only ensure normal growth for my babies and help prevent potential complications, such as neural-tube defects and gestational diabetes. It will also keep me healthy." This is off of Atkins website, www.atkinscenter.com, and there is quite a bit of advice regarding pregnancy on there. Don;t put yourself and your baby in jeopardy and not eat enough of the right foods, you both need the food, nutrients,vitamins and minerals at this time~ I wish ya the best!

Hi Julesmck (and Suze_C :) )

I weighed 241lbs when I got pregnant and was terrified that I would gain another 80-100lbs, but I also knew it was more important to nourish my baby than worry about the diameter of my butt. I was amazed when I only gained 25lbs with the pregnancy and weighed 10lbs less than my start weight (231) on the day after I gave birth. I craved fruits and vegetables like a madwoman while I was preggo and I indulged those cravings, but I also followed the What to Expect When You're Expecting diet...the Best Odds Diet, which was surprisingly easy to follow. It doesn't tell you what not to eat, but recommends that you eat a certain amount of food (at least) in different categories every day so that you know you are taking in the proper variety of nutrients. The carbs it recommends are low-glycemic and the emphasis is on fruit, vegetables, protein, fat and calcium.

If you email me at digwig~hotmail.com, I'll send you a word file with a little chart/checklist I used every day to make sure I was getting something from all the different categories. My appetite was never out of control while I followed this...now, don't ask me about the period right after my daughter was born when I seemed to think gummi bears were an official food group.

Good Luck and Congratulations!

Digwig

P.S. If this is your first child, I can't stress this enough;before your child is born, go to the movies, go out to dinner, clean your house, and whatever you do, don't put anything important off until after the baby is born. It won't get done! :daze:

The Checklist
 

Here it is as a pdf.

Hope this helps!

Digwig

Hi!

First of all congratulations on your pregnancy. What a wonderful and exciting time.

I remained low-carb throughout my last pregnancy. I wish I would have known about low-carbing for my first two! What a difference in how I felt. : )

I did a maintanance program thru my pregnancy and until my son was done nursing. I have just recently returned to induction level to get the remaining pounds off.

I did not count carbs much, but I did stay sugar and flour free. I added wasa crackers (great help in that early and late pregnancy constipation), and melon and berries, which I hadn't previously indulged in, ate as many veggies and such that I wanted. Ate lots of cheese for that good calcium and took my vitamins every day.

I gained 24 pounds and felt marvelous the entire time.My son is healthy and perfect in every way! : )
Best of luck to you. Wishing you a happy and healthy pregnancy

Nancy in Iowa