Nutrition & Diet Pregnancy Nutrition

[mollycakes]

Since I am trying to conceive right now, I have been practicing eating for two as a vegan, following all the recommended guidelines.
Per day I need to have 2300 calories, 71 g protein, and 27mg iron (up from 2000 cal, 46g protein and 18mg iron)
I wrote a food diary for one week. I seem to be doing awesome at getting protein, but am lacking in calories and iron. I was putting 2 cups of spinach in my smoothies every morning for iron, but it doesn't seem to be enough, but I don't want to take supplements. I could barely break 18-1900 calories for the day because I generally avoid processed and sugary foods, its difficult to get so many calories on fresh foods. I was super full and almost sick trying to force myself to eat more.

Any suggestions for the calories and iron increase? I would like to avoid supplements (besides a prenatal and b12 vitamin).

 

[Fyvel]

Quinoa, pepitas, baked/black/etc beans are all high in iron. If you need to supplement, liquid floravital/floradix is good.

It's great that you are preparing! But honestly, your body is not your own during pregnancy, the hormones take over and you could be ravenous, craving strange things, or have nausea or food aversions and not want to eat anything at all (that happened to me - all I wanted to eat for months was fries - ugh!).

 

[mollycakes]

the aversions get me. (well, my last two pregnancies) But it was mainly aversions to eggs and meat, which I do not eat anymore
That is my fear, is that I'm not getting enough calories while trying hard with no nausea. I might be struggling.

Good suggestion with the quinoa, I haven't been eating it lately, but have a big bulk bag of it in my pantry.

 

[thefadedone]

For calories what about peanut butter or some other nut butters? Or nuts in general? Avocados?
Dried fruits like dates and raisins. Sunflower or pumpkin seeds, beans (especially chickpeas) , hummus, oatmeal, tofu for iron.

 

[Fyvel]

How were you meeting your calorie needs before when you were having aversions to meat/eggs during pregnancy?

Smoothies are great. I just made one with coconut milk (native forest brand has bpa free cans), frozen bananas, peanut butter, chia seed and cinnamon. Chia seed is a source of calories, protein, healthy fats, iron, and more.

 

[mollycakes]

How were you meeting your calorie needs before when you were having aversions to meat/eggs during pregnancy?

I wasn't tracking anything then. I wasn't under scrutiny for my diet either My midwife wants me to make a week long food diary to make sure my vegan diet is sufficient enough for the development of the baby. She is supportive of my diet, but wants to be cautious about it. Isn't it funny how nobody asks for a food diary when you eat meat and dairy?

I have a green smoothie every morning, good suggestion with the coconut milk- I should add that in.
I make almond butter from scratch and throw in a lot of chia seeds. I eat that everyday on a bagel. I think the biggest problem is that I am eating all this, but also eat tons of fruit and veggies, which fill me up all day. Then I'm not hungry for fat and calorie dense foods. It almost turns my stomach at the end of the day to have to eat something when I realize I'm only at 1800 cal or something.
Honestly, this is all super funny to me. I never in my life had to worry about not getting enough calories before I was vegan. I was always worried about cutting them out!

 

[IamJen]

You may not necessarily need 2300 calories then, if you were watching them before. I know for me, when not pg at least, I would gain on 2300, even with moderate exercise. 2000 Kcal is the recommended intake for a non-pregnant/lactating woman, but 1800 seems to fit me a bit better. Can you make an educated guess as to what your caloric intake was before you started this endeavor?

Be wary of using spinach as a way of getting iron. It's pretty high in oxalates (sp?), and can actually cause problems with iron absorption. From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinach#Iron

Also, just a note of encouragement re nausea/morning sickness. If it's only at the beginning, getting few calories is not of much concern as far as fetal development. You don't need extra calories at all until later in pregnancy and, as my doctor put it when I visited her around 8 weeks, fetuses are "very efficient little parasites". Heh. They get what they need from you, it's just that you may feel like crap from lack of energy and may have some issues with getting proper amounts of vitamins/minerals for your own self. My midwife said too, that it's really not a big deal in the beginning..just to eat what you can, and not to worry if it's low in volume or not very varied.

<<<sends baby dust your way.

As for the midwife, there are many of us here who can attest to the healthfulness of vegan diets, even for preggos and then babies. If you take a look at me and my little one, we are clearly not wasting away.

 

[Fyvel]

Yeah nobody worries if someone is eating meat they just assume that their diet is fine.

Maybe you can't eat more because it us all your body needs right now? Are you currently losing/gaining weight or is your weight steady? If you aren't underweight and not losing at the moment I wouldn't stress about adding extra calories at the moment. Honestly, a vegan diet shouldn't be putting you under any extra scrutiny as long as you are eating a variety of fruits/veggies/beans/grains/etc, especially since you will be taking a prenatal as 'insurance' (which all pregnant women should do, regardless of eating habits).

Could you add some foods to your food diary to make up the calorie deficit and put a star beside them and say, I wasn't hungry but this is what I could have added to my diet to provide enough calories? Just to show that you know how to meet your needs on a vegan diet?

*sigh* I was so super prepared and eating great pre-conception and very early in my pregnancy and then got horribly sick with colitis and ate next to nothing for weeks. I still managed to gain the proper amount of weight lol. Maybe that is why the kiddo is a bit quirky (just kidding, he totally gets that from his dad!)

 

[mollycakes]

Maybe you can't eat more because it us all your body needs right now? Are you currently losing/gaining weight or is your weight steady?

Yeah, I'm thinking that I should really just listen to my body. I am actually gaining a bit of weight because I quit running a couple weeks ago. I had complications with my last two, and even thought it should be perfectly healthy to continue running, I personally just don't want to risk it this time around. I feel like if I am gaining, then there really should be no concern, I will just have to show the increase to my midwife and I'm sure she would be okay with it.

 

[Fyvel]

If you're already gaining weight you are getting more than enough calories and no need to be adding even more (assuming no underlying issues here that would require it). I think the bigger issue here is whether your current diet is balanced. Keep in mind you don't need to have a perfect diet every day, the goal is to get everything you need over time. I think that is something that is often overlooked. Add in a prenatal and you have even more wiggle room. I am not suggesting you don't strive to have good nutrition, just don't obsess over having perfect nutrition (I think the stress of that would not be worth it).

 

[mollycakes]

I downloaded MyFitnessPal, which actually has an option to calculate how you can gain 1/2 lb a week, like you are supposed to. I'm 2 days into it and feel like it is really easy to use to track everything. It doesn't tally protein, but you can look up nutritional info of most products on there and get the protein. Then add it up at the end of the day.

 

[IamJen]

Cool. I was just talking with someone about that program. I had it on my phone, pre-baby, and need to download it again so I can starting taking off the weight.

 

[peacefulveglady]

I just now seen this and I am subbing to this as we are going to try after my D an C and its going to be mostly Veg Pregnancy. I hope what the others are suggesting helped you or helping you. I'll come back when I have more time to read more.

 

[mollycakes]

My midwife suggested I take vegan DHA supplements. I know we can get omega 3's from walnuts, flax, exc- but I've been reading that they are not good sources of DHA. Only fish or the algae they eat. since I won't eat the former, I just ordered an algae supplement online. I didn't think about any of this. Just thought it might be of help here!