Nutrition Problems During Pregnancy

[Leederz 49]

Im 9 months post op and about 10 weeks pregnant.

What a shock to me considering Ive been told my whole life I would not be able to have children because of my PCOS.

I got down to my goal weight of 142 and a couple days later found out Im pregnant. Im totally fine with that I know I can get back down to the weight I want eventually.

My question is with proper nutrition during pregnancy. I still am eating a very small portion...I cant even finish a kids meal in 2 sittings. I stopped drinking my Protein Shakes because Im afraid that they could harm the baby. Everytime I eat a couple of bites my stomache starts to hurt terribly.

Has anyone else dealt with anything like this? Any suggestions? I just want to make sure Im eating healthy enough for two.

Thanks for any respones.

[june13sleever 223]

I just read that you need a lot of protien when you are pregnant so why did you stop the shakes?

[puppyphat 397]

I would have thought that the shakes would have been good for you. High in Vitamins and minerals as well as Protein. You don't want them for weight loss, but for nutrient boosting. I would make an appointment with your Obgyn ASAP and aske them for a referral to a pregnancy nutritionist. Good luck, and congratulations.

Also, make sure you are taking a pregnancy Vitamin including folate.

[clk 3,519]

First, congrats! A number of ladies experience increased fertility with weight loss, despite how much we hate it when our docs tell us weight is a factor or no matter how many times we've been told we have a number of female issues. Somehow, with the weight loss, the body gets back on track and it surprises a lot of ladies. As you can see from all of the surprise pregnancy posts you'll find here!

I was two years out when I got pregnant but still had a very limited capacity. I could eat one scrambled egg with cheese and one turkey sausage link in a meal and feel stuffed. As my pregnancy has progressed my capacity has increased as well as my appetite, so while it's still a bit of a challenge to consume enough, I'm doing alright.

My situation was complicated by nausea. If I ate any meat, I'd get sick. I'm already lactose intolerant and while it's supposed to improve during pregnancy mine got worse - to the point where putting a tiny bit of butter on toast would make me ill. My Protein shakes were totally off limits for several months, too. So I really do understand the concerns you're having.

The solution is to go back to the way things were in the beginning, when you forced yourself to eat around the clock to hit a nutritional goal. It means choosing your meals carefully so that you can get a well balanced meal in a tiny portion. It also means trying your darnedest to get back on those shakes and make them stick. I have been able to drink mine again for the last few weeks and I feel MUCH better and have more energy since I was able to do that.

And I really can eat more in a sitting now. Your stomach should relax as you get further along and the hormones are really increased. That helps a lot.

When you say your stomach hurts are you talking about cramping and nausea? Is it hurting after dairy? I first developed lactose intolerance with my twin pregnancy and the first clue was really uncomfortable stomach cramping after anything dairy based. I would definitely bring this, and the fact that you've had WLS to your OB's attention ASAP. I am on two different prenatals, additional Calcium, B12 shots and a special Iron supplement to keep my levels up. I am only just now, five months in, getting enough nutrition that my labs come back in good shape.

While it's been a particular challenge for me, try your hardest to shelve concerns about weight gain. I was so freaked out a few months ago because I had already put on seventeen pounds. But here I am, 24.5 weeks out and I'm only up 15 pounds - somewhere along the way I lost a couple of pounds. And it's all baby (okay...baby and boobs, but I'm not complaining about that part!) and I really do realize that I'm going to do just fine losing this weight afterward. The biggest concern is making sure the baby is getting enough, and you sound like you're already working to help this issue. My doc told me and I believe it - the baby will suck every bit of energy and nutrition from my body and leave me tired, nauseated and run down before it will go without. So if you're at least trying, even when it's not easy, you should do just fine.

So, try the shakes again. Try to set a timer to eat small, regular, Protein and Calcium rich meals. Eat as much of what you're able to eat as you can, within reason, of course. Foods that are really good for protein, besides meat are lentils (lentil Soup saved me when I couldn't eat any meat a few months ago), cottage cheese, seitan (if you like it), and of course Beans always help, too.

Good luck,

~Cheri

[mdbrowneyes 3]

Thank you for this good advice.

[Leederz 49]

First, congrats! A number of ladies experience increased fertility with weight loss, despite how much we hate it when our docs tell us weight is a factor or no matter how many times we've been told we have a number of female issues. Somehow, with the weight loss, the body gets back on track and it surprises a lot of ladies. As you can see from all of the surprise pregnancy posts you'll find here!

I was two years out when I got pregnant but still had a very limited capacity. I could eat one scrambled egg with cheese and one turkey sausage link in a meal and feel stuffed. As my pregnancy has progressed my capacity has increased as well as my appetite, so while it's still a bit of a challenge to consume enough, I'm doing alright.

My situation was complicated by nausea. If I ate any meat, I'd get sick. I'm already lactose intolerant and while it's supposed to improve during pregnancy mine got worse - to the point where putting a tiny bit of butter on toast would make me ill. My Protein shakes were totally off limits for several months, too. So I really do understand the concerns you're having.

The solution is to go back to the way things were in the beginning, when you forced yourself to eat around the clock to hit a nutritional goal. It means choosing your meals carefully so that you can get a well balanced meal in a tiny portion. It also means trying your darnedest to get back on those shakes and make them stick. I have been able to drink mine again for the last few weeks and I feel MUCH better and have more energy since I was able to do that.

And I really can eat more in a sitting now. Your stomach should relax as you get further along and the hormones are really increased. That helps a lot.

When you say your stomach hurts are you talking about cramping and nausea? Is it hurting after dairy? I first developed lactose intolerance with my twin pregnancy and the first clue was really uncomfortable stomach cramping after anything dairy based. I would definitely bring this, and the fact that you've had WLS to your OB's attention ASAP. I am on two different prenatals, additional Calcium, B12 shots and a special Iron supplement to keep my levels up. I am only just now, five months in, getting enough nutrition that my labs come back in good shape.

While it's been a particular challenge for me, try your hardest to shelve concerns about weight gain. I was so freaked out a few months ago because I had already put on seventeen pounds. But here I am, 24.5 weeks out and I'm only up 15 pounds - somewhere along the way I lost a couple of pounds. And it's all baby (okay...baby and boobs, but I'm not complaining about that part!) and I really do realize that I'm going to do just fine losing this weight afterward. The biggest concern is making sure the baby is getting enough, and you sound like you're already working to help this issue. My doc told me and I believe it - the baby will suck every bit of energy and nutrition from my body and leave me tired, nauseated and run down before it will go without. So if you're at least trying, even when it's not easy, you should do just fine.

So, try the shakes again. Try to set a timer to eat small, regular, Protein and calcium rich meals. Eat as much of what you're able to eat as you can, within reason, of course. Foods that are really good for protein, besides meat are lentils (lentil Soup saved me when I couldn't eat any meat a few months ago), cottage cheese, seitan (if you like it), and of course Beans always help, too.

Good luck,

~Cheri

Thanx so much for this advice. I have an appointment with my gastro doctor tomorrow and Im going to try and go over all my questions with him. The reasons I stopped drinking my shakes is because on the bottle it says contact ur doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, and I was reading online that a lot of protein powders contain chemicals and other substances that can be harmful to an unborn child because they are not regulated by the FDA. Im switching to a new high risk doctor but my appointment is not until another couple of weeks so hopefully using this advise as well as my others will give me the tips I need.

Whenever I eat about 4 bites my stomach just has that full feeling like I cant eat anymore and I try to force it a little because I know the baby needs nutrtiion but thats when the feeling comes where Im just miserable. I feel like I should be able to eat a little more than that being 9 months post op now.