How Many Calories Per Day While Pregnant

Determine the amount of calories you should eat by using the number of calories you used to eat to maintain your weight prior to your pregnancy and then add an extra 100 calories to support your pregnancy.

How many calories per day while pregnant. Uk recommendations call for an extra increase of 200 calories per day in the 3rd trimester only. For most women 2300 to 2500 calories a day is a good range to aim for during the first trimester. The total energy cost of pregnancy has been estimated at 77000 calories 2. According to the academy of nutrition and dietetics most pregnant women need between 2200 and 2900 calories per day.

It is true that your nutrient needs increase but energy requirements only increase by about 300 calories per day for the second and third trimester of pregnancy. Now that you are pregnant you should be eating for two. Additional calories should come from nutrient dense foods including lean protein whole grains low fat or fat free dairy vegetables and fruit. For the first six months of your pregnancy first and second trimesters you wont need to have more calories than you did before you became pregnantthats about 2000 calories a day on average.

According to the american college of obstetrics and gynecology a woman pregnant with multiples needs an additional 300 calories per day per baby. This will combine to a healthy weight gain of about one pound each week. This is usually about 2000 calories per day. Usually during the initial 6 months of pregnancy that is 1 st 2 nd trimesters you will not have the need to consume more calories.

During the second trimester an additional 340 calories a day are recommended. For the third trimester the recommendation is 450 calories more a day than when not pregnant. The mean weight gain during the 9 months of pregnancy is 26 pounds 12 kilograms. So a woman carrying twins should aim to consume.

Instead you should focus on choosing nutritious foods that keep your energy up while supporting your babys development. During the first trimester when your weight gain is the slowest you generally do not need to eat more than usual. Over 9 months this averages out to 285 calories per day. The rule of thumb is most women need about 300 extra calories every day during the last five to six months of pregnancy for good fetal development.

Up your daily calorie intake by 300 to 350 calories per day thats the equivalent of say two glasses of skim milk and a bowl of oatmeal not the all you can eat sundae bar you may have been envisioning.