Lauryn!!! Is that ticker a joke?? You are supposed to gain 1lb/week...!

I gained about 20lbs in my second month, and then stayed about the same since. I've fantasized that I'll stay the same for the last 10 weeks, meaning baby gains + I lose, by eating low carb from now on, but whatever. I'll just do the best I can, and soon enough I'll be back on track.

Re the paleo guy: I think people don't realize how touch and go it can be. Not all pregnant women can just eat exactly what they believe is healthiest, whether that's paleo, or VLC, or even SAD. If body says no, it means no, and will reject food if it wants to. And the cravings I've had, at least, have been way stronger than the "plain old" cravings I've had after a sugar binge. I don't want to say I'm not responsible for my actions, but I do think it's a different game than, say, keto-adapting, where you struggle for 4 or 5 days and then it's mostly easy.

I think any man who gives a pregnant woman advice regarding ANYTHING is asking for it

I gained 80 with my first (all that take-out!) and lost it all and then some. Try not to let it get to you too much, ESPECIALLY if you're planning on breastfeeding. That's the best diet ever!

There I go giving advice right after I declared this an advice free zone... we'll see if I can take it myself

Hey - I've been thinking about this since I read it. I know there are studies both that support and negate the idea of cravings as a means for the body to meet nutritional needs, but for me, ESPECIALLY when I'm pregnant, it's important for me to pay attention to what might lurk beneath.

When I was vegan and experienced such strong cravings for meat (& equally strong aversions to EVERYTHING else, including vegetables & fruits!) - my body really told me how it was going to be.

For a while around week 6 all I wanted was meat and fruit - anything else was wrong wrong wrong! I even ate a yam and black beans at one point because I NEEDED them - and I think I really did! Right now I wouldn't eat a steak if it were in my face, but I could probably eat 20 chicken breasts with mushrooms, onions and bbq sauce. Skinless breasts, at that (laughable considering what a fat fiend I usually am).

So yeah - we're responsible for our actions, but that doesn't mean our actions, though maybe contrary to our "normal" "ideal," are wrong.

I also know the difference between my obsession with layer cakes and a serious fixation on raw beef or the NEED of a yam, but I think they both deserve credit where credit is due

Regardless, adaptation is excellent practice for parenting I know I had LOTS of ideas on the "how to's" of parenting until I actually got in the thick of it

We'll see what happens! I'm pretty good at rolling with it... I've already accepted that I'm "in for it" with 2!

I have been wondering about the glucose test thing, how does that work on a low carb diet? will it spike up because you haven't been used to having that much carbs? i would hate to have been really good at keeping my insulin and what not inline, and then blow it by the actual test itself! last time, i remember it was like a sickly sweet orange fanta... that just sounds disgusting to me now!

you know, the other side to cravings during pregnancy is the emotional comfort we get, and I don't think that should be over looked. Emotional eating isn't always bad. If done in excess and to a point where it's disastrous, then of course. But if indulging every now and then in something that while not maybe optimal for your waistline (or dietary dogma) or whatever, the emotional comfort can sustain you to get through the long term, you know? And a happy mom does trickle down to happy kids most of the time.

I think they advise to eat at least 150 carbs a day for three days prior to the test to get accurate results.

HI Ladies,

I have been LCing off and on for years now ...I am 10 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child and would like this to be a low carb pregnancy but I just don't know what to eat. Most meat makes me gag these days. All I crave are plain things with little seasoning. Mac and Cheese, PB and J sandwiches, baked Potatoes with cottage cheese. Nothing is very low carb. What did you all eat? What are some LC comfort food ideas? Is this just a 1st trimester thing? (my aversion to meat and the nausea)

Also...I have been hearing stories about Moms who had LC pregnancies....and their babies sleeping through the night right from the very beginning. How true is this????

Thanks for the help


Cindy

That's right. I found a paper showing how the results will be affected: Glucose tolerance test standardization simplified by urinary ketone testing. The point of the article, I think, is that you should check for ketones before bothering to do the test, but it could also potentially be used to adjust the numbers.

Sounds like me, but it was for more than 2 trimesters. And I was eating worse than that, if you can believe it. I can *usually* eat meat now, but I can't usually deal with handling it raw or cooking it. I still vomit every week or two, and want to almost daily. I hope you have better luck!

Hey! For me pushing through the gag is only thing that works. I force myself to cook and eat it. Once I stuff my face full of food (seriously, sometimes I literally have to shovel it in & not think about it) I feel better & can live.

It might work for you, it might not. I know that my last pregnancy I "couldn't stand cooking" etc etc so I succumbed to take-out. I was sick my whole pregnancy (yet still managed to gain 80lbs)! I had a nice healthy baby, but I felt like crappola.

Forcing myself to cook & eat has saved me money for sure. WHO KNOWS if it's related (i.e. I am DEFINITELY not saying it is related!!!) but my sickness is way better than my last pregnancy, so it's working for me! I'm sooo glad I found something that works for me, because last pregnancy was killer.

As far as comfort food goes, once or twice a week I'll make homemade ice cream or something fabulous from http://healthyindulgences.blogspot.com/ Mac n cheese & potato would be easy to replicate with cauliflower & processed cheese if you can handle cooking. Do you like ricotta or strained (aka Greek) yogurt (aka yogurt cheese)? They're kind of like cottage cheese. You can also make your own cottage cheese (or just go buy some?).

Anyway! Good luck... everyone's gotta do what they gotta do!!!

As for that last idea... sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? I've heard people say that about all sorts of things. I dunno... in my experience there's no magic answer in parenting (unfortunately). If you find one, let me know!~

hmm... low carb comfort food. well i guess you could find lowcarb version of noodles on the internet and smother them with cheese, or maybe even use wholegrain, rice, or ezekiel (sprouted noodles), that you can find at a lot of grocery stores now. they are still pretty carby, but aren't going to wreak as much havoc on your insulin as white flour.
you can substitute turnips for potatoes, they are nice and carby tasting, but with very few carbs in comparison.
eggs are great if you are having a hard time with meat. you can make big egg casseroles and then just keep leftovers in the fridge to either eat cold or reheat in a microwave or toaster oven.

I drank a lot of smoothies last time I was pregnant, you can make really nutritious and lowcarb ones with greens, almond milk, and berries. an avocado or banana makes it rich and creamy... (though the banana would make it higher in carbs). we had a hand-crank blender, like the kind you use for camping, in an effort to be eco-friendly. yeah... i wouldn't recommend that. I now love my electric Oster

Cindy ...

Ditto to what everyone else has said. I really do not want to eat protein, but feel so much better when I do. I'm 19 weeks now, and just trying to move back to eating what is right, and I hope to do it now, not later. I don't know if you're a sweets person, but one of my LC comfort foods is chocolate mousse--whipping cream mixed with cocoa powder and splenda.

I've never heard about babies sleeping right through the night, and honestly, if mine did (esp if bf), I'd be concerned. After 2-3 months, it would be great, but I don't think babies are supposed to go 8-10 hours without food as a newborn.

Unless you've been low carbing (or Paleo in my case) for a significant time before getting pregnant, then you are going to find it very difficult to do it while pregnant. As you have no control over the sugar downers (carb cravings) with those hormones.

I have done two very low carb pregnancies (Paleo). My second one was more strict. Neither child slept through (7pm-7am - no dream feeds/dummy returns etc) until about 6 months of age. I had sleeping from 7pm-4am (no dream feeds/dummy returns etc) from about 3 months of age.

I think it had more to do with strict routine... though the low sugar in my diet (and thus their milk - I am still breastfeeding my 2 year old and 6 month old) did contribute.

I have heard of a child sleeping through from a couple of weeks though, but neither of their parents (not that the dad counts in that sense) were eating low carb.