New to Atkins but not to the low carb lifestyle.

[Butterfly73]

And pregnant.

No, I won't be asking whether it is okay to eat induction level carbs while preg.

I suppose here is a good place to give my history and current status, such as it is.

My first experience with low carb eating was eight years ago, after my second baby--Protein Power (can I name *other* plans on this board?) worked well for me and I was pleased with how well the weight came off and was able to maintain until my next preg. In keeping this short and fairly easy to read, I can happily say that I have been able to rely on the low carb as a means to remove baby fat from the two following rounds of pregnancy as well.

With morning sickness and that icky tired feeling through the first trimester, I have trouble eating right and exercising until at least the 4th month. By then, I have lost some muscle and am sure I have slowed my metabolism some and when my appetite comes back, it seems like everything I eat gets stored as fat. Of course it doesn't help that much of what I eat is starchy/sugary because of cravings or food aversions. My midwife told me that eating too little protein will cause sugar cravings, and that makes sense, considering my eating habits.


I admit that although I have never done Atkins 'by the book', I have read the book and do tend to follow induction level carb counts and foods for a couple weeks when I first kick off my 'evict the baby fat campaign'. So, even though I 'know' the effectiveness and science behind low carb, I am not an expert in the Atkins method. Willing to learn, though and happy to be interacting with others who have adopted the low carb way of eating as a healthy lifetime option. Looking forward to offering support as well.

At any rate, I found this site as I was searching for ideas on how to safely eat for pregnancy while avoiding excessive carbs, weight gain and gestational diabetes, which I am probably a candidate for as I know I am carb sensitive and my babies tend to be bigger than average. It seems this site has a good pregnancy support group. I don't want to try to lose weight right now or cheat my baby of nutrients, but I do hope this membership will help me to be accountable for what I am eating so I can hopefully gain closer to 25 pounds than the almost 40 I usually do.

[*Emma*]

Hi Butterfly, welcome to ADBB! great to have you! youve obviously seen the pregnancy forums so you know where to go!

Iyshia is just about ready to give birth in there and is the perfect example of Atkins while pregnant! i think shes gained 15 pounds while pregnant and is still exercising and looking fantastic!

Best of luck to you on your journey and congratulations on the pregnancy!

[dreamof145]

Welcome and congratulations on the pregnancy!

Dr. Atkins suggests that pregnant women should do the "LIFETIME MAINTENANCE PHASE" during their pregnancies.

Best wishes and so happy you've joined us! *Do check out the pregnancy forums, they have great information.

[sillygirl]

Hi Butterfly, welcome. Yup, there's plenty of women who continue eating this way while pregnant. It's all healthful for you and baby!

[sallyseachange]

Hiya Butterfly! Welcome to the board, and I hope you'll stick with us for the long haul, during and after your pregnancy. Congratulations on this too!
You won't hurt your baby by doing Atkins maintenance and then, after birth and breastfeeding reverting to induction/OWL (ongoing weight loss).

Glad you found the pregnancey forums. Lots of support to be had there!

Happy Atkineering!

[Butterfly73]

Thank you for the welcomes! I am hoping to make the right food and exercise choices with this pregnancy. It makes sense that I would have a better chance of a healthy baby as well as a healthier me next spring.

I've never followed any specific eating plan (even a maintenance phase) through a pregnancy and hope this will give me that little extra bit of accountability so I don't mindlessly eat junk foods as I have in the past.

Guess the only thing to do is live one day at a time and see what happens