Pregnancy Books

[CyndiLowCarb]

I recently discovered I'm pregnant. I haven't been following the Protein Power Plan (I have read the book though) but I have been low-carbing in the sense that I keep my carbs below 75g per day. I was just starting to see steady weightloss. (My intention is to follow the PP plan from start to finish after I have the baby)

I've been reading pregnancy books and there is NO WAY I can follow those diet instructions. 6+ servings of grains! I'll gain too much weight, be bloated and gassy, and start craving sugar and bread again.

I worked really hard to break those problems.

I haven't been to the doctor yet but if she tells me to eat a bunch of grains and low fat foods we may have to part company.

[Spruce Goose]

Dr. Mike talked about pregnancy and diet a little here: http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/uncategorized/so-big-and-so-healthy-indeed/

My wife had been on low-carb for a while when she got pregnant. We sent in a comment on the blog and the response was along the lines of "switch to maintenance level carbs" but the suggestion was to up the carbs a little each day (instead of each week when in true maintenance).

She sort of followed that but after not gaining most of the pregnancy she overdid it on carbs toward the end and put on some weight that wasn't related to the baby and didn't go away after she had him.

I'm not a doctor and don't know much about what is "healthy" during pregnancy.

[Spruce Goose]

Found the email. Hope this helps!
Pregnancy and nursing put a tremendous added metabolic stress on a
woman, primarily in calories, essential fats, and protein. However,
we usually recommend that pregnant women follow a maintenance level of
carb intake, even if it is of the purist paleolithic variety, simply
because of the added requirements for building another human. Plenty
of protein, plenty of essential fats, plenty of veggies and low-sugar
fruits for plenty of calories to meet the need. If tolerated we
usually recommended plenty of organic dairy, too, though that probably
isn't in sync with our paleo heritage.

Folic acid in at least 8000 mcg per day is important for pregnant
women, since it's been shown to decrease the chance of neural tube
defects in children. Lots of dark green leafy veggies provide folate.

Plenty of essential fats is critical for brain and eye development,
but eating fish can be a problem in pregnancy because of the potential
for concentration of toxins, such as mercury, other heavy metals,
pcbs, dioxin, furans, and other compounds. Supplementing with a
purified omega 3 supplement is a good option for many women.

We would recommend that any pregnant woman should speak to her
obstetrician/gynecologist to be sure that the diet she elects to
follow during pregnancy is appropriate for her specific circumstances.