[fireballgirl]

I followed a low-carb WOE about 10 years ago, lost about 90 pounds, kept it off for 3 years, and then gained a bunch back.

After being inspired by Good Calories, Bad Calories, I was about to begin LCing again when I became pregnant. I have about 6 weeks to go, and have been trying to get my eating under control for the last 8 months! (Controlling my eating during pregnancy is hard because I don't gain anything. After 8 months of basically eating as much junk and sugar as I can, I've gained a grand total of 12 pounds. Breastfeeding is a different story--while breastfeeding my last one, I gained 25 pounds in 9 months.) I've decided that based on lack of evidence, I don't want to do induction or OWL because of the ketones, so I'm trying to come up with a plan for the rest of the pregnancy and breastfeeding period that would be safe and doable.

I thought I could try Maintenance until delivery/first month, and then Pre-maintenance while breastfeeding. (Maybe dip into OWL after 6 months/solids.)

My questions are:
1. Has anyone done anything like this? How did it work?
2. How can I control sugar cravings without going into ketosis?
3. How do I figure out my ACE? or where do I start?

Thanks!

[sarahinparis]

Hi, I think Kim mentioned to somebody else recently that maintenance is what Atkins recommended for pregnancy so that would probably be ok (you probably should check the book to make sure).

Congrats on the baby!

[kaplods]

My husband was advised by a couple doctors to do Atkins backwards, because he is diabetic. Only one gave an actual carb-count to start with (I think it was 250 g of carbs, and the same doctor suggested that I start at 150 to 200).

I think within the framework of doing Atkins backwards, you'd start by trying to count your normal. This is hard, because just the act of writing everything down, tends to reduce the amount a person eats. So what "feels" like what you normally eat, is much less - but that's why you pay attention to the scale. You find the carb-count that allows you to maintain your weight.

Because grains often contain important vitamins though, one in particular that is very important during pregnancy is folic acid (which is added to bread flour). There are other ways to get folic acid, but talk to your doctor or dietitian about your plans, and ask about a prenatal vitamin.

[fatmad]

so glad for you, hope the delivery goes well for you.
As a midwife I find that low fat doesn't do well for breastfeeding, but low(er) carb seems fine and doesn't affect milk supply. It (the breastfeeding) should help the weight loss if you can stick to plan.
You probably already know how thirsty you can get during a feed and to keep to drinking water and not juice while you are feeding.
Best wishes