Help ! How do I figure this out ?

[klesser]

o.k. I have the book Pregnancy, children & the vegan diet.
I know how much of each of everything I need for a healthy vegan pregnancy.

However besides the Calories, fat and protein the GRAMS for everything else
listed on the packages vitamin A,D,B etc... calcium, folate etc... they only list percentages. Also what about veggies - is there a book that I can get that tells me what is in each veggie ( average)

so how do I figure out how much I have gotten if I don't have real numbers to add up ???

[Erin Pavlina]

The short answer is "you don't."

It's nearly impossible to sit there and plan out a diet that has exactly the number of fat, calories, protein, etc that you need.

what you want to do is eat a whole grain, whole foods diet while you're pregnant. Limit junk food and sugar to an absolute minimum. Eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Be sure you have an adequate source of calcium, B12, iron, zinc, and folic acid.

Get Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina. Good resource!

[sophie]

I agree with Erin- you can drive yourself round the bend trying to add up all those numbers. But I do have a useful book I refer to a lot- it's called " (The New) Why You Don't Need Meat" by Peter cox. At the back are pages and pages of tables with just about any food you could think of listed, with their nutritional breakdown.

[klesser]

Thank you to both of you. I really believe what you say Erin but I just want to get an idea ( I just became vegan recently) for the first week or so of what I'm consuming NOW before I get pregnant so I know what I need to add when I do. I'm just that type of person that has to be sure or THAT will drive me crazy.

I've also been thinking of taking HALF the dose of a veg supplement during my preg just to be safe.

I REALLY appreciate all the replys.

ttfn,
Kimberly

[Erin Pavlina]

actually that's a good idea.

Take a week and write down what you're eating. Then next to each item write down what vitamins and such those foods are high in. Make sure you're not eating empty calories and that you're getting a lot of water rich fruits and veggies, and whole grains.

Periodically throughout your pregnancy, take stock of your food intake and see if you need to make improvements.

[VOW]

Make SURE you are taking a folic acid supplement!

Although there is most likely a sufficient amount of folic acid in a healthy Vegan diet, the developing embryo is extremely vulnerable to a lack of this vitamin. Early in the pregnancy, oftentimes before the woman even KNOWS she is pregnant, the neural tube is developing. A deficiency of folic acid at this time can result in miscarriage or one of the most devastating birth defects of all: spinal bifida.

If you are taking a folic acid supplement while PLANNING a pregnancy, you can be confident of protection for your child from the moment of conception!



~VOW

[frenchie]

Personally, I didn't find it difficult to get enough protien and calories. I did keep track for piece of mind, and accountability. I made sure that I got between 75-100 grams of protien a day, the extra clories came with the grains and high protien foods.