Protein Intake

[jims4570]

What have your medical professionals / registered dieticians suggested?

I am surprised that my RD has suggested what feels like a pretty low amount of protein. She said during pregnancy, I want to be doing “maintenance” for my existing muscle mass which is like 0.8g-1g protein / kg body weight (she did say maybe 1.2g/kg max).

Pre-pregnancy I was shooting for 2g/kg, so this feels like a huge drop.

Context: I’m still lifting weights as normal and in week 11.

 

[grandpa4]

@jims4570 Lily Nichols has some great info on protein requirements in pregnancy. I ate higher than the recommendations she talks about as someone who was very active in pregnancy.

Anecdotal, but I’m six weeks postpartum from my second pregnancy abs thrilled with how much muscle/strength I retained this time around and credit a lot of that with following a high protein diet to support my strength routine.

https://lilynicholsrdn.com/protein-requirements-pregnancy/

 

[jims4570]

@grandpa4 Thank you for this!!

 

[mmdave3]

@grandpa4 This is a great link, thanks!

 

[jims4570]

@grandpa4 I’m reading her book, Real Food for Pregnancy, now. Makes so much more sense than normal pregnancy guidelines. Thank you so much!!

 

[brendanmg]

@jims4570 Medical professionals usually recommend the very low end. If you talk to anyone in the fitness space- bodybuilding coaches, macro coaches, etc they will tell you 1g per pound of body weight pre pregnancy. Honestly a lot of medical professionals really don’t have solid knowledge on nutrition. Even some RDs are outdated on protein info. I’d keep up your same amount of protein as pre preg. For reference, I was 115-118 pre pregnancy and was/still am eating 130 ish grams of protein and feel great. If you’re having digestion issues that’s a different story. Regardless id just keep with your same protein intake as pre preg.

 

[mommytobof3]

@jims4570 RD here - 1.0 g/kg is generally a "fine" amount for a non-pregnant person who is not doing physical activity including lifting weights....and it sounds like neither of those apply to your situation! Agree with previous poster - keep doing what you were doing pre-pregnancy. 2 g/kg is not unreasonable! I would absolutely not aim to decrease your protein intake.

 

[jims4570]

@mommytobof3 Thank you!