pregnant and scared, tell me your experience.

[Mothercooter]

I just found out I was pregnant yesterday. I have been in the first couple of rungs of OWL for a month or two now. I have lost 45 lbs in 4 months.

I know that I have to move into mantainence now but am so scared that i will blow up like a balloon if i start eating oatmeal and stuff. Should I just jump right into maintainence or ease into it like try a half serving of some whole grains twice a week then see what happens after that week? I have worked so hard and this was a very VERY unexpected pregnancy. I want what is best for the health of my child first and foremost but am falling into quite a depression at the thought of gaining the weight back. This will be baby #4. I have a 5,3, and 1 yr old as well. So, you can see why it was so important for me to try and regain some kind of identity outside of being "Just a mom". That's all I feel like I am any more but as I started loosing weight and feeling pretty again, i started loving myself again. Its a little depressing to think thats going to be taken away.

I know I can still take care of myself and if i stay strong willed which hasnt been a problem in this diet so far, and not just go carb crazy, then I can keep from gaining all 45 back i hope.

My question is...

for those of you who had to jump into maintainence all of a sudden because of pregnancy, did you gain weight back really fast? Tell me about your experience with it?

[Atkid]

Can't help you with the question but wanted to say Congratulations!

[Sherrie273]

I know two friends who got pregnant while on atkins and switched to maintenance. Both of them (along with their doctors) had the goal of not gaining weight during their pregnancies, and both were successful. I looked around online, and I think this link kind of supports that type of goal as well.

http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/pregnancy.html

Good luck and most of all, congratulations!!!

[SouLThinKing]

I did Atkins Maintenance during my last pregnancy. My Dr. was very supportive. He said I didn't need all of the processed white foods anyway. He said to drink 2 servings of milk each day. He also said to eat wheat bread, sweet potatoes and fruit. I only gained 12 lbs back. I lost it imediately after the birth. If you don't eat white rice, white potatoes, white bread and sugar you probably won't gain that much. The cravings will probably be harder to deal with since the hormones will be raging but you can deal with them the same way just eat more protien. Ask your Dr. The will tell you if you show them the Maintenance eating plan that it's healthy. Also your metabolism will be higher during pregnancy and you might have to eat more so you don't lose. I lost at first buy my Dr. said it was ok as long as it didn't start affecting the growth of the baby. It wasn't much like 7 lbs which some people lost in the first trimester because of nausea. Oh, during the morning sickness I ate wheat toast instead of crackers because they make me gain. I am sure there are wheat crackers though.
Good luck. Congrats and God bless you and your little bean sprout.
Nichole

[maribelle]

Hi Mother Cooter! I'm in the same boat as you, and have been doing maintenance as best as I can for the last two weeks (minus this weekend, bad me!) I started when I first found out I was pregnant in November with 60 carbs. I started losing really fast, and that scared me, so I stopped Atkins altogether. Of course, I started ballooning up. Finally my doc told me to get back on Atkins at 100 carbs a day, and that if I didn't gain any weight, it would be fine, just not to lose any. He's had two other patients who have done this, and had very healthy babies. So, I've been doing that, and moved up to 120 carbs when I started losing weight again, although slowly. I have now stopped gaining/ losing. I eat wheat toast with my eggs and bacon, a sm. potato occasionally, lo carb tortillas filled with meat and veggies, whole grain pasta (only 1/2 cup before cooked, because it is high in carbs), and stuff like that. I found out really upping my veggies and adding some sugar free yogurt and fruit has helped get my carbs up safely too. I hope this helps. If you need some ideas, here is my journal where I post my menus every day : http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...705#post578705

Feel free to pm me anytime you want, and we can help each other through rough times if you want! Best of luck with your little one!

[Justwannaloseafewlbs]

I gained 10 pounds during the first month of my pregnancy. I wasn't on any sort of diet and ate everything I wanted. My doctor actually advised me to go on a low carb diet in order to slow down the weight gain. He said I did not need any carbs at all, just fat, protein, and pre-natal vitamins. His alternative recommendation was to eat a variety of food. Of course, I did not follow any of his suggestions. I continued to eat whatever I wanted (like way outside what would be permitted on a maintenance diet) and gained 53 pounds by the time the baby was born.

So this is my experience. Do not do as I did, i.e., drink two pints of milk every morning, eat taco bell four times a week, eat partially hydrogenated veg. oils, eat cake, eat cake icing from the tub, eat yet more cake, and top it off with ice cream. Eating like this really made my pregnancy more difficult than it had to be.

[Buddrfly]

First off CONGRATULATIONS!


I was unable to follow the atkins plan for the first few months of my pregnancy and gained 10 lbs as a result. Morning sickness made it hard for me to keep anything down, except for carb filled foods After visiting my doctor and getting some meds for the nausea, I lost 8lbs! I have a little more to lose to be back where I was when I first got pregnant. I advised the doc that if I follow maintenance I will continue to lose, because of how my metabolism is. She said it's ok, as long as I'm eating enough and healthy.

Iyshia

[skinnymom!]

Congratulations! I completely know where you are coming from. The first time I did Atkins back in 2003, I made my goal in four months and felt FABULOUS for the first time in YEARS. I was HOT Then about 2 months into maintaining I got pg with my third, it was unexpected but we had been planning on #3 so it was fine. However I did not stick with it and used the pg as an excuse to eat crazy amounts of carbs again. You CAN stick with this, like others said, eat lots of veggies and dairy (great for baby!) and then a few whole wheat grains and you'll do fine. With my 2nd pregnancy I only gained 13 lbs and she was 8lb 5oz - for some reason with her I craved protein, berries and dairy so I was kinda on low carb before I'd ever heard of it....and she was perfectly healthy.

Best of luck to you and just think, when you do this (notice I didn't say IF) at the end you will be rewarded with a beautiful, healthy baby and just a few extra lbs to drop, rather than 30!

[Sweetie05]

I found out I was pregnant after losing 55 pounds. I was pretty overwhelmed, because I was only 18 years old. I still continued to eat moderately low carb (about 90 carbs a day). However the last three months, I just ate what I considered to be healthy..lots of fruit, vegetables, and whole grain breads, and meats, but I did gave into temptation alot! BROWNIES! I only gained 27 lbs. However, I worked out every day and that included walking on the beach for atleast 30 minutes. It helped though! I was only in labor for 3 hours and didnt even have to ask for an epidural. Don't worry about gaining that weight. The average size woman should only gain about 25-30 lbs. Anything above that is fat that you put on yourself. Not baby! Just control yourself and tell yourself that you are not going to allow yourself to gain that weight back. Breastfeeding afterwards also helps tremendously because it burns an extra 500 calories a day, and helps contract your uterus back to it's normal size. So just take it slowly, and have a little self restraint. If someone comments on the way you are eating, or says you need to eat more, show them proof. You are only supposed to consume an additional 300 calories from what you are used to eating anyways.

[lowcarbing4ever]

Congradulations! This is also my bigggest fear because I am no where near goal and still am overweight. It is very, VERY important for me to not gain any weight with this pregnancy. I am eating more salad, fruit and veggies and bread but it is as whole wheat and no sugar as I can get it (health food stores have breads made without corn syrup and stuff) and also remembering Dr. A's words of wisdom, to not eat carbs without eating protien first to slow down the absorption and cut down the craving effect. This pregnancy was a shock for us after 7 yrs of trying and then I go low carb for a year, off and on, and Voila! Pregnant!
Protein is most important, from what I have been told, so make sure that you are getting a little more than before you were pregnant. Also, even with the peeing every minute thing happening, lol, make sure you get in at least 96 oz or liquids a day. I have been craving sugar really bad but I have really calmed it down by makinga fat-free, sugar free cheescake pudding and banana parfait. Yummmmmm! (they don't make it sugar free, reg. fat) Even if you do gain a little weight, a healthy baby is better than being fearful of gaining back a few pounds. You have worked hard and you know what it took to get it off and you know what will put it back on, I think that you will be fine. Enjoy your pregnancy and eat! ROFL! (wisely, of course!) and keep posting over here so I am not posting alone!