Just found out I'm pregnant and would like to lose some weight before I start really gaining.

[Anonymous]

I was also in this situation. The other thing I found difficult was learning how to eat healthy consistently. Before getting pregnant, I'd have days where I'd overindulge and then "make up" for those days by having a few days where I'd eat very little. Obviously, neither is ideal when pregnant, and I certainly couldn't starve myself for a day or two to make up for the bad days.

What I found helpful, and I think this may help a lot of typical women in DC (Type-A, slightly OCD, like lists and plans, have a difficult relationship w/ food, etc.) was putting together a chart of all of the food groups I needed each day (5 grains, 2-3 fruit, 3-4 veggies, 3 proteins, 3 dairy) and each day, trying to make sure I got all of those in. Generally, I'd start by planning out my lunch and breakfast, and bringing both to work. At dinner, I'd check the list to see what groups I hadn't filled and make sure to incorporate that into dinner (e.g., an extra serving of veggies).

The benefit to all of it was that (1) it took the focus off of "what tempting goodies can I justify b/c I'm pregnant", (2) the foods I needed to eat amounted to quite a bit of eating, so I really didn't have room or time for other snacking, and (3) I ate pretty healthy, both in terms of nutrients and vitamins for the baby, and in terms of not overindulging for myself.

[Anonymous]

I definitely added more than 300 cal/day by my second trimester, but that's because my diet beforehand was pretty poor--coffee for breakfast, with maybe a piece of fruit. Lunch of a turkey, tuna or a hummus sandwich, a luna bar before working out, a late dinner consisting sometimes of something healthy (a salad), sometimes a slice of pizza or bowl of pasta with a glass or two of wine. Now it's a protein smoothie in the morning, a healthy lunch (sandwich with veggies on side or a salad with lean protein), a healthy dinner of veggies and protein and whole grains with snacks of fruit, non fat yogurt, almonds, etc. the occasional ice cream or frozen yogurt too. And I still find it hard to get in all the required protein and calcium which is why I do the protein shake in the am (skim milk, banana, protein powder) and take calcium supplements.