How healthy do you eat while pregnant?

[I.Dup.]

The poll is anonymous, so please be honest. Explain if you want to. :)

[Guest inoubliable]

Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha *wipes a tear*

 

Healthy?

I ate BOXES of swiss cake rolls with my first pregnancy. Every. Single. Day.

I was on bedrest and told to eat more calories. So I did. And I loved every delicious bite.

 

I ate 3 - 4 of those frozen Stouffer's mac-n-cheese with my second one. I can't even look at a box now without wanting to puke.

 

With my last one, I craved gallons of milk. Real cow's milk. Literally, gallons. 3 - 4 gallons every day. It was gross, but I couldn't stop.

[I.Dup.]

yeah...I am seriously craving unhealthy things right now and feeling really guilty about it. Hence, the poll. I'm really hoping I'm not alone, so thanks. :laugh:

[MomtoCandJ]

I ate whatever my body would keep down, didn't cause heartburn or any other evil side effect (well besides gas but if did that then There wouldn't have been any food). I ate lots of McDs French fries, pickles, eggs, tacos and salad.

[Murphy101]

For all except one of my pregnancies, I had awful hmg sickness the first 5 months and lost a lot of weight.

 

During that 5 months, protein stayed down the most.

 

The rest of the pregnancy, I loaded up on proteins as much as I could and indulged any cravings I had too. Ime cravings usually were my bodies way of seeking a need, such as iron or vit c or whatever.

[jeninok]

I ate frozen fruit by the bagful when I was pregnant, and bacon. Lots of bacon.

[I.Dup.]

The rest of the pregnancy, I loaded up on proteins as much as I could and indulged any cravings I had too. Ime cravings usually were my bodies way of seeking a need, such as iron or vit c or whatever.

 

 

I've thought the same thing, but I'm not sure what nutritional need Skittles could be fulfilling. :tongue_smilie: :blushing:

 

To be fair, I've been testing my fasting blood sugars and they've been fine, but I've been overly indulgent in the Skittles lately. I only seem to crave really sugary foods when pregnant. I feel very guilty!!!!!!

[Guest inoubliable]

I've thought the same thing, but I'm not sure what nutritional need Skittles could be fulfilling. :tongue_smilie: :blushing:

 

To be fair, I've been testing my fasting blood sugars and they've been fine, but I've been overly indulgent in the Skittles lately. I only seem to crave really sugary foods when pregnant. I feel very guilty!!!!!!

 

 

Pfft. Eat the skittles! They have fruit juice. Somewhere in there.

[I.Dup.]

They have fruit juice. Somewhere in there.

 

 

That must be it! :thumbup:

[SunnyDays]

Seriously, whatever gets you and the baby to the end of the line well, go for it. :)

 

I've only had one pregnancy, and it wasn't exactly a model of nutrition! ;) My first trimester, I wasn't hungry, I lost weight. I remember wanting orange juice and peanut butter all the time - there's the protein and vitamin C cravings!! (Yeah, I know, *now* you're not supposed to eat peanuts much. This was 10 years ago, and I did!!) By the second and third trimesters, I lived on pizza and ice cream probably four days a week, no lie. My poor husband gained more weight than I did. I had a lovely, smart, 8 pound baby boy.

[PachiSusan]

I increased my veggies and water but that's about it.

[LucyStoner]

Well with my last pregnancy anything I ate was just vomit in the making (hypermesis). I ate whatever I could keep the longest. That was mainly diluted vitamin water, cheerios and bananas. The first time around, I ate a lot of chicken tacos but not more or less healthy than before. A number of the no-nos for pregnancy are things I dislike anyway like sushi and lunch meat.

[Laura Corin]

I had to vote 'other'. I ate extremely healthily, making every mouthful count towards the health of my boys. I'm not sure that this is entirely necessary, however, so I couldn't subscribe to the 'everyone should do this' message. It was what made me feel in control of the process, so it was necessary for me. Whether it was necessary for my babies, I don't know.

 

Laura

[SFM]

I admit that I ate a lot of fast food and/or junk food while pregnant and I don't feel guilty about that- my baby was and is fine.

 

I voted for this.

 

1st - after the first few months I ate Sonic, Taco Bell, and whatever I wanted to include Mexican food almost everyday, soda, etc....he was completely fine.

2nd - tried to be healthier but craved nothing really so pretty much ate my normal fare.... she was completely fine.

3rd - a mix bag of the other two, indulging occasionally but overall not too bad.... she was completely fine.

[HelenNotOfTroy]

I ate a ton of premium ice cream and my baby turned out very big and healthy. I did feel guilty about it.

[butterflymommy]

I knew absolutely nothing about nutrition until after the birth of my 4th daughter. I started reading on vegsource, bought Eat to Live, and it dawned on me that maybe greens are life saving. I don't think I ever ate anything green in my entire life before that. I'm a picky eater so there was never much for me to indulge in. I like 1 or 2 types of cakes and cookies but that's it as far as sinful stuff. I did eat a lot of white flour stuff before my turnaround. I was always thin so I never paid much attention to what I ate.

 

I get pretty bad MS while pregnant so I often just ate what I could... sometimes junk sometimes not.

 

I think people are more like rats than anyone wants to admit. Yes, if we ate a picture perfect diet we might look and feel somewhat better, but we can survive and even thrive off most anything in terms of sheer calorie intake. I've watched documentaries about extreme athletes who did VERY long distance runs (1000+ miles). The bulk of what they ate was candy and refined carbs during the trip because it was lightweight and calorie dense.

 

For my past 4 pregnancies, I've had intense cravings for ice. By the third trimester I prefer ice to food. Has anyone else had this?

[TravelingChris]

I wrote other. First of all, I don't think that white flour and sugar are a problem. With soda, I hardly ever drink it. WIth all my pregnancies as with my life know, I eat a varied diet. I don't eat one thing to the exclusion of othrs.

 

With my first, I know I ate a lot of tuna because 24 years ago, that was recommended and it was easy to bring to work. I don't think I was eating lots of junk because I had a very hard time gaining weight. I think I gained like 15 pounds finally and my son was 6 lbs. 8 oz.

 

With number two, I also had problems gaining though she was my biggest at 6 lbs. 11 oz/

 

With my third, I didn't have problems gaining but I don't think I was eating anything different, really. But I know I wasn't eating very much after about four months in. I was living in Sacramento and it was really, really hot and my appetite always disappears then. Then towards the end, I got a DVT (undiagnosed then) and didn't feel like walking around or standing up making food. I am not sure what I ate then nor my other kids. That one was the smallest at 6lbs. 4 pz.

 

I never had any cravings or obsessions.

[BarbecueMom]

I have lost five pounds the first trimester this time because I have an aversion to sugar. Other than that, I eat what sounds good, no more or less healthy than usual.

[Soror]

#1 I followed the brewer diet so lots of protien, but I also ate lots of icecream and sugary stuff

 

I think in pregnancy #2 I ate part of a thing of doritos once. Otherwise it was high protein, nearly no sugar(any I did have was in fruit and such). #3 and #4 I've been gluten free. I was higher in carbs and sugar last time. I don't eat refined white flour though obviously because of the gluten. I did indulge in a good amount of chocolate. I just don't generally eat junk and don't like the taste. Most fast food is out anyway and I'm kind of anal.

[butterflymommy]

I wrote other. First of all, I don't think that white flour and sugar are a problem.

 

I am wont to agree with this. There are so many cuisines in the world that are touted as healthy (and even backed up with studies) that include refined flour and white rice.

 

My paternal grandmother, her brother, and her sister ended up scattered over the world as adults. One in south america, one in the US, one in italy. The only one still surviving is in italy-- she has outlived both siblings by many years (decades in fact)-- and I can't help but wonder if it's the diet she's been eating since young adulthood, which I know contains ample amounts of refined pasta.

[GSOchristie]

I am nauseous from 5 weeks until I deliver every. single. time. This is the primary reason I am not having any more kids. So, I tried to eat lots of protein because it makes me feel marginally better, but if I wanted something I ate it, because I was so miserable. Lots of lemon gelato, key lime pie, and lemon meringue pie, and minty things like peppermint patties. I gained 60 pounds with my first two, I was underweight before the first, normal weight before the second. With my third, I knew I could not gain another 60 pounds because I am unwilling to do the work after to lose it, so I ate pretty healthy. I only gained 25 pounds with her. In the end, I realized eating what I was craving did not make me feel any better, so it wasn't work the extra work to get rid of it.

[MissKNG]

I don't eat fast food regardless but I did eat sweets while pregnant.

[Parrothead]

Way back when I was pregnant I ate what I thought at the time was a healthy diet with the occasional cheeseburger thrown in. But over the last 14 years I've come to know that what I thought was healthy then really wasn't.

 

I don't dwell too much on it though. I didn't gain a lot of pregnancy weight and dd was healthy at birth.

[happypamama]

Other, I guess. I eat with an eye to protein and veggies and not too many grain-based carbs, but that's pretty much how I eat when not pregnant as well. At the same time, I don't worry about the occasional indulgence of sugar or even more processed food (or even french fries, LOL). I do avoid a few things, though. All of my babies have been very healthy. I tend not to gain much weight, no matter what I eat, but my smallest baby (#4, with whom I only gained about 10 pounds total) was 8 pounds at 38.5 weeks, and my largest was almost 10 pounds. The biggest thing I do watch is my water intake; I tend not to feel very thirsty, but especially when I'm pregnant, I REALLY need plenty of water, and early in the day, or I feel woozy and dizzy later. I also do have to watch that I eat a big chunk of protein in the morning; I can eat some grains later in the day, but not so much at breakfast, or I feel icky later. I don't tend to be sick, though, which is nice. Sometimes I get aversions to meat (it happened with my first pregnancy and has happened some with this one; I don't remember that much with the other three, so part of me thinks there's a good chance that this baby is a girl, hehe), and sometimes, if I don't eat, I'll get way too hungry and won't want to eat anything, and then I feel lousy. So sometimes I have to go make myself eat some cheese or something.

 

I probably ate the absolute best with my third pregnancy -- everything was local, or organic, free-range, pastured, etc. No appreciable difference in him vs. the others.

[T'smom]

I tried to eat healthy and then indulge. Like, I could eat the candy if I'd already eaten green beans and chicken... So while I was eating lots of veggies and such, I also ate a cotton candy blizzard almost every day before my ds was born. A few days after he was born, my inlaws came and wanted dh and I to get out for a it by ourselves, so we went to Dairy Queen and I could not eat more than a bite of my beloved cotton candy blizzard.....it was soooooo sweet.

[MrsMommy]

I had to be difficult and vote "other." :)

 

I had gestational diabetes with my pregnancies, so I ate very low carb/high protein. I lost a good deal of weight, especially during the last pregnancy, because morning sickness lasted well into the second trimester, and my diet was pretty limited.

 

That being said, I still drank diet/caffeinated sodas, and I did allow myself the very occasional treat, if I was willing to exercise more to make up for it. I occasionally felt guilty about the artificial sweetener, but Diet Coke (from McDonald's...it had to be from McDonald's), was the only thing that would alleviate my constant heartburn in the third trimester!

[lavender's green]

Generally balanced and healthy, with occasional indulgences (actually probably more than once a week, but I figured the answer was close enough to not have to go with "other"). I always go easy on the sugar because of a family history of diabetes. Last pregnancy I lost 7 pounds in the first trimester because of nausea, so I completely understand about eating whatever you can keep down! I lean toward a (very) non-strict paleo type of diet, but I don't believe that's the only healthy way to eat.

[beaners]

I'd say we eat a pretty average American diet. I cook pasta with canned sauce. I love corned beef hash from a can. I make macaroni and cheese. I drink soda. But that isn't a complete reflection of our diet. I serve weird green stuff. ;) We eat a lot of fruit and a lot of legumes and a lot of ethnic foods. I don't change my diet when I'm pregnant, except to reflect certain cravings. I can't eat a ton of candy because I'm a little more carb sensitive when I'm pregnant, but things like pepperoni are fair game!

[Ewe Mama]

During my first pregnancy, I could only keep lemonade and potato chips down for the first four months. I hated it because I was accustomed to eating only healthy foods. I felt like I was poisoning my child.

 

Second pregnancy, I lived on fruits and veggies. Everything except tomatoes. I could not stand the smell of pizza, pasta sauce, etc for my entire pregnancy. Two days after Faith was born, I ate half of a lasagna by myself. It was so good!

[Bree]

First trimester I was too sick to eat much, but after that I would eat healthy most of the time but I did drink my coffee (decaf) ;) I know that's a total nono but I started craving it during pregnancy with my #2.

[justamouse]

Whatever I could keep down is what I ate.

 

And, every child was different.

[mytwomonkeys]

when i was pregnant, i ate whatever i wanted. i was fairly healthy already - but i did not count calories or watch my food intake. i was a toothpick back then, so i wasn't concerned with weight gain. i did watch caffeine intake (half a cup of coffee in the morning), otherwise, i just ate whatever i felt like eating.

[kalanamak]

I said I ate whatever I wanted, but I was lucky and craved steamed veggie doused in fresh lemon juice. And salads doused with lemon juice.

 

I ate so much lemon, I took to gargling with baking soda to keep the enamel on my teeth.

[wapiti]

If I could do it over again, I'd eat more fat, probably a whole lot more.

[VeganCupcake]

I strongly believe in eating well, but sometimes while pregnant, I found it hard to do because of nausea. I did the best I could. It was more than one indulgence a week, but I did really try to do the best I could.

[UrbanSue]

 

 

For my past 4 pregnancies, I've had intense cravings for ice. By the third trimester I prefer ice to food. Has anyone else had this?

 

Usually this is a symptom of pica--iron deficiency.

[butterflymommy]

Usually this is a symptom of pica--iron deficiency.

 

 

Yes, that's what I read, but my iron levels were good. Ice actually tasted better than food!

[lea_lpz]

I ate really heathy with dd but ate desert every night and would splurge once a week on a greasy spoon type meal. With ds, I couldn't stand sweets and craved more red meats, whic is weird because I usually ate chicken and fish. I ate healthy and about the same portions pre-pregnancy (I was still nursing when I got pregnant though, so probably already consuming "extra" calories.

[Word Nerd]

I tried to eat healthy but for the most part ate whatever I felt like. No guilt.

[twoxcell]

I had to vote other because none of those answer really described me. I try to eat as healthy as I can when I'm pregnant. I avoid caffeine, soda(sugar/or no sugar), and any medications unless directed by a Doctor. I also do cut back on junk food to some extent and focus on getting good protein and extra water. When I was pregnant for the boys I craved sugar more but with the girls I barely ate any because it didn't appeal to me at all.

[Farrar]

I picked that I focused on protein and indulged, but indulged is probably too strong a word. I ate much better than I usually do and I had treats, but a lot less than usual. I had a thing of ice cream and would have just a few bites every day, for example. See, even my desserts had to have protein to make that twin quota.

[Melissa in Australia]

I eat healthy all the time. I only drink water, have a minimum of 5 different veggies and 1 fruit every single day, often more. However when I am pregnant I crave salt. I go through an enormous amount of dry salty crackers. DH use to joke that he knew I was pregnant by me buying crackers.

[linders]

I'm sure that if I ate as healthfully now as I did when I was pg, I would be in great shape!

[amo_mea_filiis.]

I was pregnant at 16 and 20, and never ate well! With dd i craved chocolate milkshakes. With ds is was eggs.

 

Otherwise i ate whatever.

[Audrey]

The poll is anonymous, so please be honest. Explain if you want to. :)

 

 

I ate a balanced diet of a variety of foods, and was never felled by nausea, but I will admit that I could not get enough spicy food. I think I may have consumed enough Tabasco for 20 people's lifetimes in that 9 months. :drool5:

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I like the "everything I ate was vomit in the making" comment. That described my 1st pregnancy and my current pregnancy. With my first I ate what I could stand to throw up. With my 2nd pregnancy I ate fairly normally (mostly healthy) and didn't worry about the occasional treat. This time around I'm eating really healthy (mostly whole foods, and almost nothing baked or processed,) but that's mostly because I can't stand hardly anything.at.all.

[Joker]

I ate whatever I could keep down. I lost weight (but wasn't overweight to begin with) both times I was pregnant. I never knew a person could be sick so many times in one day. If I felt like something, I ate it. If it stayed down, I was happy. I honestly couldn't put too much thought into if it was the most healthy option at the time. Both dds were just over 8lbs and healthy, so I consider it a job well done.

[LucyStoner]

I like the "everything I ate was vomit in the making" comment. That described my 1st pregnancy and my current pregnancy. With my first I ate what I could stand to throw up. With my 2nd pregnancy I ate fairly normally (mostly healthy) and didn't worry about the occasional treat. This time around I'm eating really healthy (mostly whole foods, and almost nothing baked or processed,) but that's mostly because I can't stand hardly anything.at.all.

 

That was me. I definitely reached a point where my food choices were guided by what would be most comfortable on the way back up. Some things are worse to vomit than others for sure. So gross but after eating an apple and then vomiting, I never touched an uncooked apple for years. Perfect hell combo of sharp and acidic.

[Dana]

That was me. I definitely reached a point where my food choices were guided by what would be most comfortable on the way back up. .

 

Yup. "Morning sickness" all through the pregnancy. I'm not sure there were any days I didn't throw up.

I did manage not to throw up in public (generally), although I got our bushes a couple of times.

Very very very very very glad not to be pregnant.

 

I ate anything that would stay down.

Only had major food aversions once or twice.

Really bad heartburn - kept bottles of Tums all over the house. And wanted a lot of milk. I'd do a gallon or two on my own in a week. (And my son has a dairy allergy. Phooey. But I doubt it was because of the milk I drank....and even if it was, there's nothing I can do about it at this point!)

[EthiopianFood]

I've thought the same thing, but I'm not sure what nutritional need Skittles could be fulfilling. :tongue_smilie: :blushing:

 

To be fair, I've been testing my fasting blood sugars and they've been fine, but I've been overly indulgent in the Skittles lately. I only seem to crave really sugary foods when pregnant. I feel very guilty!!!!!!

 

Try eating a piece of fruit. I guess sweet cravings are actually nature's way of getting us to eat lots of fruit! Maybe force yourself to eat one, and then if you still want the Skittles, at least you tried! LOL