Journal de Shannon_21, 02 déc. 08

Last night I had a discussion about low-carbing while you are pregnant with one of my best friends. She did it when she was pregnant with her last child (who is now 6). She said she didn't want to gain 60-70 lbs like she did with her first two kids (!!!) and she had been doing low-carb when she found out she was pregnant, so she decided to continue. She talked to her doctor about it (I hope you have, too!!) and he told her that it would be a perfectly healthy way to eat, but he told her that she should try to work some whole grains into her diet. So she stayed at about 30-60 carbs a day throughout her whole pregnancy. She included brown rice, whole wheat or spinach pasta, and some fruit a few times a week. She gained 26lbs during her pregnancy and her doctor was happy with that. When she came home from the hospital she only had 12 lbs to lose to get back to her normal weight. She thought it was really successful - and so did her doctor. Oh, and she did a pregnancy exercise class at her local Y up until her third trimester. She swore by the whole wheat pasta when her stomach was upset - so that might be something to think about. I thought I'd share that experience with you - I thought it was pretty interesting.  

It is perfectly healthy to eat low carb during pregnancy, just try to stay out of ketosis. They haven't been able to test it because of risk to the fetus, but the running theory is that it is bad for the baby. (I don't fully agree based on some other evidence, but I wouldn't risk it on my own child) The recommendation I read was a minimum of 60g nc/day to stay out of ketosis, but you should definitely talk to your doctor and figure out what is right for you. The other thing is that if you are in ketosis and since they test ketones at every appointment for kidney function (ketoacidosis) when you are pregnant, they might misdiagnose you or not catch possible kidney problems. Definitely talk to your doctor about your diet. 

I put up a pic of my 11 week belly. I have to wear my sweats now :( Thanks Paige and Sara for your ideas. Ill eat the whole grain pasta in a pinch. I got through lunch...some turkey, a few cheese cubes, and a coffee (yes a coffee! with whipped cream :)) I didnt want any veges. I plan on eating a huge tuna salad before going off to work tonight. Ill pack nuts for snack tonight. I wonder if ketosis is terribly bad? I mean, there are girls that lose 10 pounds during first trimester b/c they are sick and dont eat. Ill bet they are in ketosis a lot of the time. But regardless, I will carb up before my appt's so Ill NOT be in ketosis. Last thing I need is a lecture. I have to WORK with the my OB from time to time, so I dont want any flack when I see her (esp if she is carb-friendly.) Im going to try to keep my carbs at around 50...on the good days :) 

Yea, the girls that are sick all the time and can barely keep anything down aren't in ketosis, but are spilling ketones. That means they are very sick. I think it is a matter of confusting the symptoms with the illness. IMO, women who lived in places where they only ate meat or fish (northern Americas for instance) had perfectly healthy children and they had to be in ketosis if all they ate was dried salmon and seal fat. Eskimo women didn't get obese until they started trading for white flour and sugar. Anyway, that is my schpeal. Like I said, I wouldn't risk it with my own baby, so just staying on the lower end of carb intake without going into ketosis is probably the best we have right now.