The answer may surprise you.

Most people who are trying to lose weight are restricting their calories WAY too MUCH.

They are often surprised to learn they need more calories, even though they are trying to lose weight.

Due to age, current weight, certain conditions,  and varying activity levels, caloric needs vary widely from one person to another, and even from one day to another.

 

For instance, on a day when you are inactive, working a desk job, and/or not exercising, your caloric need will be much less than on a day when you worked all day as a nurse, hairdresser, or waitress.

Furthermore, 1200 calories per day is not enough calories to provide adequate nutrition for a 350 pound woman who is trying to lose weight, and I'm amazed - and horrified,  when I hear of cases where morbidly obese persons are given such rediculously extreme and inadequate dietary instructions.

I once knew a woman who weighed over 500 pounds. She told me she was on an 800 calorie per day diet. When I asked her who put her on that diet, she said her doctor told her to restrict her caloric intake to 800 calories per day. I have a hard time believing that any responsible, licensed physician would tell a 500 pound woman to limit her caloric intake to 800 calories per day because a person weighing 500 pounds needs ALOT more calories than that in order to maintain good nutrition, even when trying to lose weight!!! The long term consequences to her health? Let's just say it's not a pretty sight. Oh, and those 300 some odd pounds she lost? It's all BACK....and it brought "company." So much for rapid weight loss.

During times of pregnancy or healing after surgery or illness, you may require more calories than normal, but pregnant women do not need to stop counting calories, start "pigging out," or "eating for two." According to information I found in "Personal Nutrition" by Marie Boyle and Sara Long, pregnant women usually only need to increase calories about 17% higher than  "maintenance" calories. In other words, if your maintenance calories are 2000, then during the 2nd trimester, you would increase to 2340 calories per day [ not per meal], and during the 3rd trimester, you would increase to 2440 calories per day. It's important to stay within your caloric limits during pregnancy and eat a well balanced diet in order for the baby to grow properly and to preserve your own health.         

In conclusion, moms- to- be should discuss thier caloric needs with thier doctors in order to  get a grip on thier caloric limits.

Sometimes doctors send pregnant women to dietitians, especially if there's a medical problem present like gestational diabetes.

[source for some of this info was found in "Personal Nutrition" by Marie Boyle and Sara Long - recommended reading]

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