What To Eat?

[Donna F]

Like my diet wasn't restricted enough already on the gluten-free diet, now I'm losing my taste for meat and fish . Not surprising actually, I've always experienced that with pregnancy, but fortunately, I didn't have to restrict my diet, as I was not Celiac at the time.

What do y'all do to keep from 'wasting away' while being pregnant and losing tastes in certain foods? What is left to eat? Should I look at a vegetarian-type diet? Is that even safe during pregnancy? Especially if Celiac?!

-donna

[lovegrov]

Eggs, cheese and nuts all have protein. When my wife was pregnant she couldn't stand the smell of certain meats, although she still liked some. I'm sure you can do vegetarian and be pregnant, but I think you would need an experienced person guiding you.

richard

[KayJay]

I would say that you have to force yourself to eat protein. Try cooking it different ways or getting your dh to cook for you that is what helps me. I never want to eat anything but I know that I have to and it is so frusterating to be restricted even more now than before I know how you feel on that. Good luck to you of course it is all worth it at the end.

[Guest Viola]

Don't forget good old peanut butter That's always good protein. Calcium, Protien and Iron are so important when you're pregnant

[Donna F]

Ah, yes. Eggs and cheese - I've been eating plenty of lately . I have some nuts, but I never think of eating them - it doesn't seem very satisfying b/c you can only eat so many.

I know what you mean about forcing yourself to eat meat/fish. I remembered that with last one I doctored everything up so I couldn't taste it. We've always eaten such bland foods, especially since going gluten-free, so, spicing things up will be a change. Looks like I'll be doing a lot more cooking!

I forgot about peanut butter. I'm not a big fan of it now that I can't have it on wonder bread, but I do like it on celery which is a nice snack. I did recently read though, that woman shouldn't eat peanuts/peanutbutter often while preg. b/c they believe it may increase the chances of peanut allergy in the child. Don't know if there is any proof of that, but I won't make it a daily habit just in case.

I'm sure I'm getting plenty of calium between the yogurt and cheese I consume everyday and my supplementation. Iron? So, far I'm not anemic, but I usually do end up taking a supplement later in pregnancy. I guess I just don't get enough of it in my diet for the baby.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions! And yes, it is VERY worth it!!

-d

[lbsteenwyk]

Donna:

I wouldn't stress too much over the protein issue. You can get adequate protein during pregnancy, even if you are eating a vegetarian diet. Especially if you are still eating dairy and eggs. As long as you are getting adequate calories and take your prenatal vitamin, you should be fine on the protein front. Your doctor will let you know if you need more iron. Since you are not getting the benefit of iron fortified breads/cereals, you may need a supplement. Most people get far more protein than they need, so even though there is a slightly increased need for protein during pregnancy you probably will still be exceeding your protein requirement.

[Merika]

well, hopefully you are feeling better by now It is entirely possible to be vegetarian and pregnant. I was And don't worry about the protein for now. Follow your gut (haha) - I really mean it! Just listen to your body and it will tell you what you need to eat.

If I recall correctly, the first trimester I ate mostly fruit (luckily it was summer), and very little else. Weird, but that's what I wanted. I also couldn't eat the same ingredients in dinner two nights in a row - I wanted something we had never eaten before - every single night, lol, poor dh was at a loss trying to figure out what to cook.

Then, I started eating like I normally do for most of the rest of the pregnancy. At the end of the third trimester, I had massive cravings for huge amounts of chocolate cake. And ate it, lots of it (not a gluten-free issue-just a chocolate issue).

Merika

[Donna F]

Merika