Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Share your experience, challenges and success implementing the McDougall program with family and children.

Moderators: JeffN, f1jim, John McDougall, carolve, Heather McDougall

Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby tcat » Thu Jun 06, 2013 8:20 pm

Joining in here, I'm due in January 2014. I was wondering if any of you ladies are still around because I'm having trouble with nausea and eating right. Ive been having aversions to all my normal foods like brown rice, oatmeal, and veggies. The only thing I've been able to eat the past week is veggie delight sandwiches from Subway, all fruit smoothies from Jamba Juice, and frozen fruit. I have mostly been getting sick from the textures but I also think I am craving junk food which explains the Subway and Jamba Juice as I hardly ever allowed myself those before the pregnancy. I was just looking for advice on how to deal with this and what you ate in early pregnancy. Thanks!
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby lfwfv » Fri Jun 07, 2013 5:54 pm

Have you been eating a McD diet before pregnancy? I am not currently pregnant, but i did just complete a McD'ing pregnancy. My son is 7.5 months old :) I did have some nausea in the first trimester and major food aversions. I am generally a simple eater (plain raw veggies, plain potatoes etc.), but in my first trimester, i cooked for myself nearly every day! My rule was that i had to try very hard to find something whole foods, low fat, plant based to eat, even if it wasn't my "normal" foods.

I ate a lot of brown rice pasta with homemade pasta sauce. i went through phases of eating a cold rice salad (aloha salad....pineapple, cucumber, red pepper, onion, rice vinegar etc.), i ate quite a bit of fruit, and i liked puffed rice cereal sometimes. I liked fruit leathers for a while. Corn tortillas fit the bill some days. There were two days where i wanted tabasco sauce on everything (?!) and now i can't look at the stuff. haha. It was crazy.

Basically, i would ask yourself what would be decent and just try hard to make it. For subway for example, how about get some good quality oil free bread (ezekiel if you have it) and put a bunch of veggies and pickles on it if that's how you like it.

Hope that helps....

Stick with it! You're giving your baby and yourself the very best nutrients you can. Give yourself the time and space to cater to your "wants" every day in terms of food.
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby lusalieg » Wed Oct 30, 2013 12:31 am

Hi I'm just new here. I'm 5 mos. pregnant. I just want to know how much vitamin B12 is required for us pregnant women? tnx and more power.
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby melissgail » Wed Oct 30, 2013 5:14 am

tcat - It made me feel so much better to see your post! I'm 21 weeks pregnant and well past the morning sickness, but still feel a little guilty for the months that I just could not stomach eating my normal healthy diet. All I wanted was morning star sausage patties and other vegan "junk" food that I'd normally never eat. It really made me feel like a failure at the diet, because if could eat great when not pregnant, how could I succumb to eating crappy foods during the most important time to be healthy?! But, I tried to give myself a break, and fortunately once the morning sickness went away, I found that slowly but surely my food aversions went away too. I think what also really made me feel better was seeing my healthy baby on the ultrasound, and knowing that although I may not be consuming all the best veggies and whole grains at the moment, I was still doing something right.

Now my biggest struggle is that I indulged in some chocolate treats and I'm getting a little stuck in the "pleasure trap," so I'm trying to get myself through a couple days of cravings until I'm off that train.

p.s. unfortunately I have to omit details from my midwife about my diet, which is frustrating. She freaked when I said I don't eat meat or dairy, and I got the typical "where do you get your protein" questions, and a lecture on the importance of yogurt. That did not help my guilt (about not being able to eat the best during the first trimester) feel any better!
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby topview. » Mon Nov 18, 2013 11:43 am

http://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educa ... -children/

Here is a link to a Dr. McDougall talking on Pregnancy and Children at a 2012 Advanced Study Weekend. It is refreshing, I wish I had seen it then...
Melanie
Meeting the needs of 6 small people - 5 boys & a little princess
The latest boy was born at home on Sept 17, 2013
Eating right to give them the best start
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby jamietwo » Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:57 am

Melanie, congratulations on your newest little one! Good for you for starting them out as McDougallers! :D
Jamie
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Not gaining enough weight

Postby jmoyer3 » Wed Sep 17, 2014 11:43 am

I have been plant-based for about 2.5 years. I am currently 26 weeks pregnant and having a hard time gaining weight (only 12 pounds so far). I have a normal pre-pregnancy BMI, so the ideal weight gain for me is 25-35 pounds (at this point I'd be happy if I can at least gain 20). Has anyone else had this issue? I have already modified my diet to include more soy milk, tofu, tempeh, avocado, nut butters. Basically I am trying to eat more calorie dense food. I feel like I'm stuffing myself all the time and really miss eating my big salads for meals. I've cut back on exercise frequency and intensity, but am still exercising (sit at a desk all day at work). My midwife is supportive of my diet (she says half of the staff at the office are vegetarians), and just says to eat every 2 hours and make sure I get a little protein with each meal/snack. Wondering if anyone has suggestions!

Typical day for me:
Breakfast: Kashi cereal with soy milk and fruit OR Oatmeal with walnuts and fruit
Snack: Banana with almond butter OR Larabar
Lunch: Dinner leftovers OR Hearty soup (w/ lots of lentils and beans) with whole grain bread
Snack: Soy yogurt OR Apple OR Hummus with pita bread or veggies (usually 2 afternoon snacks)
Dinner: some combination of a whole grain, veggies, legumes or tofu (I make a lot of Happy Herbivore recipes) and side salad with a 'high-fat' salad dressing (ie made with nuts or top salad with avocado if using normal dressing)
Snack: Peanutbutter cup smoothie: cup soy milk, frozen banana, 1 Tbsp each peanut butter and cocoa powder
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby WholeFoodVegan.com » Mon Jan 05, 2015 3:46 pm

Looks like no one had posted on this thread in a while! Well I'm 11 weeks pregnant with my second, due at the end of July 2015. I switched to a wfpb diet after my daughter was born 2 years ago. I lost all my pregnancy weight and then 20 more pounds. Now I'm a healthy BMI and very happy with the woe. My husband and daughter love it to. This time around I will have a wfpb pregnancy and I'm excited to see how it's different. I expect to gain less overall weight (around 30 pounds instead of around 50!) and feel better along the way. I had pretty bad morning sickness for a while and ate a lot of oatmeal and whole grain English muffins. But now that I'm feeling better I am back to starches and veggies! I am not worried about meeting nutrient needs--rather, I trust that healthy babies have been grown on this woe. Best of luck to all pregnant mamas!
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby topview. » Tue Jan 06, 2015 1:25 pm

It sounds like you are off to a great start!
Melanie
Meeting the needs of 6 small people - 5 boys & a little princess
The latest boy was born at home on Sept 17, 2013
Eating right to give them the best start
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby WholeFoodVegan.com » Thu Jan 08, 2015 1:11 pm

Hello I'm 11 weeks pregnant and am being advised to take a vitamin D2 supplement as my result from a blood test came back 16.3 (units?). Below 20 they advise to treat in this practice. I have read all the McDougall info on vitamin D. I'd like to try a tanning bed but I'm not sure how much exposure at what strength is needed to boost my D level. For instance they have 4 different strength beds at the local salon. The shortest time on the menu is 8 minutes of tanning. If I do 8 minutes once a week on the lowest power bed will that be enough? And is it safe to tan while pregnant? I have no idea how to best use tanning as therapy for vitamin D.
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby sjbell » Fri Feb 27, 2015 4:08 am

Hi I am 10weeks pregnant. I've been pretty miserable with nausea all day so far- hopefully this bit will end soon. I've been living off bread , crackers and porridge. I can't face anything green- no normal salads etc until the nausea passes. I've had the odd bit of chocolate when I've been particularly struggling but need to stop this as I don't want to get in the habit or to Rely on junk food. I ate mcdougall my last pregnancy and had a healthy baby and very little weight to lose post birth so I'm hoping for the same again!
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby zilly84 » Fri Feb 12, 2016 12:47 pm

Hi! No one has written in here for a year but I hope others will. I'm almost 6 months pregnant with my fourth child. I've been eating whole food plant based for about a year and a half, but with a lot of mess ups. This pregnancy has thrown me through the loop and I'm just now getting back on track with my diet. I've adopted Esselstyn's heart disease prevention diet which is on the same lines of McDougall. I've mostly taken out nuts and am not eating avocado either. And of course no oil. But my only concern is that sometimes my fat intake for the day is 5%. Is that okay in pregnancy? I have chia seeds and I think I'll add those in smoothies. I do eat a lot if fruit too so I'm not totally following the plan. Have others taken out all overt fats in pregnancy? Is that okay to do?
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby WholeFoodVegan.com » Fri Jul 28, 2017 6:43 pm

Hello! I'm 32 years old and I'm 8 weeks pregnant with our third child. We went wfpb after our first was born, so it's been 5 years all McDougall all the time! I'm excited to have another clean eating pregnancy.
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby Willijan » Sat Jul 29, 2017 2:12 pm

WholeFoodVegan.com wrote:Hello! I'm 32 years old and I'm 8 weeks pregnant with our third child. We went wfpb after our first was born, so it's been 5 years all McDougall all the time! I'm excited to have another clean eating pregnancy.


I just discovered this thread today because of your post, WholeFoodVegan. I am 68, no kids, but this thread is very interesting because it's another way to learn about the diet. I sure hope you will keep telling us about your experiences as your pregnancy advances, and after the birth. Ha, ha, I know you probably won't have time for that!

Good luck, and I'll be reading!
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby Lyndzie » Sat Aug 12, 2017 5:25 am

Hi WholeFoodVegan. Good luck with your third pregnancy! How did the last one go? I'm hoping to have a third, but we haven't started trying yet. Did you have trouble staying on plan? Do you choose to supplement? And, congratulations!
Lindsey
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My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
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