Legumes:
1/3 cup hummus
1/2 cup legumes
1/2 cup lentils
1/2 cup soybeans/tofu etc

high impact:
lima
black-eyed peas
navy
pinto


higher carb nuts:
cashews
roasted soybeans
peanuts

high impact;
chestnuts

grains:
all servings 1/2 cup cooked:
low impact:
barley
otameal
oatbran
wheatbran
wheatgerm
low carb flours
coconut flour
nut flours
flaxmeal
soyflour

moderate:
brown rice
wild rice
amaranth/bulgur/couscous
buckwheat
100% whole wheat no sugar added breads,wraps,etc
100% multigrain/whole grain
popcorn

higher impact;
dark rye
pumpernickel
corn
cream of wheat
grits
millet
pasta/pizza


If using the grain products,choose the low impact ones with less than 15 net carbs.

If you can make low carb varieties of your fav foods or find them,use that.Some people can add grains without much problem,others find it hard.they will have to stick with low carb varieties possibly organic and no artificial ingredients as possible(Ok almost impossible)
I find that I can low carb 80% of time,but sometimes I need a pick me up favorite carb.If I have that in a low carb version,the damage is minimum.
For example,i don't really care about donuts,lattes,candies,choclate or icecream I can live without them,but my weakness is cakes!
To get around that I make low carb versions to indulge once in a while,otherwise I keep eating everything in the house until my cravings are gone.
I also don't care about the other high impact foods but I like mangoes.i love them.So I plan my slurge.eat only 1/2 cup earlier in the day.eat some protein with it.

oops i almost forgot the diary-we need lots of calcium:
some veggies like bok choy and broccoli
salmon
hard cheeses
ricotta
cottage cheese
yougurt
1 cup greek yogurt(higher protein)
1 cup buttermilk

moderate impact:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar free icecream

Eat every 2-3 hours small portions of carbs spread throughout the day.have some protein and fat with it.
Drink plenty of water.
have a journal that helps to identify if gaining too much.

Hope this helps!

Not sure if I posted this earlier,I found out that most of those who successfully low carbed during pregnancy had around 65-75 net carbs a day.Some were able to go a little higher as much as 120g
It also depends on whether you want to lose/maintain/gain weight. If you maintain you will come out about 20-30 pounds lighter I guess.

One thing I would be concerened about are soy and flax. both contain a form of estrogen. In fact just a quarter cup of flax makes me have breakthrough bleeding. I don't think I'd eat it once I'm pregnant.

i'm doing some research of my own and though i''d paste links and blurbs on this thread. I started my pregnancy in ketosis and feel amazingly good. I'm not particularly buying mainstream convention that ketosis is bad during pregnancy esp since it prevents so many complications. Im supposed to be lowcarb for health reasons in the first place (pcos) so it's counterintuitive to me to ditch lc when i have need of being the healthiest i can be...

I don't normally consume flax anyway, but I am avoiding soy while pregnant (was starting to even before pregnancy). I was never big into things like meat substitutes or tofu, so that's not a problem, but trying to find products made with oils other than soybean oil is more of a challenge. And finding products without soy lecithin in them (for some reason, lots of whey protein powders seem to contain soy lecithin - if I wanted soy, I would use SOY protein, dammit!). I don't obsess over it, but I avoid soy completely when I can. I know that ingredients in sauces, dressings, etc., at restaurants are likely less ideal, so I know if I'm eating out, all bets are off :P

soy lecithin is an emulsifier. My son who cant tolerate soy proteins is okay with soy lecithin. We dont worry about it.

I looked it up once and found both - people who had a soy allergy sometimes were and sometimes weren't affected by soy lecithin. Just puts me back in the "why risk it" camp :P

This was me. I was LCing when I got pregnant, but didn't realize I was pregnant until almost 2 months in. I was battling major fatigue and cravings and couldn't figure out what was going on ... assumed it was something age-related since I'm 46.

Anyway, when I finally figured out I was pregnant in February, I read up as much as possible on LCing during pregnancy and decided I'd stick with it. I tried, but failed. The cravings just kept getting the best of me... some of it was physical but I'm sure some of it was emotional. I was really freaked out majorly about being pregnant again at my age and I'm an emotional eater.

When I got pregnant, I was in the low 180s. Then, in that first couple of months, because of the nausea, I lost about 10 pounds. But then I started bingeing more and more on high carb foods (mostly sugary things, rather than breads) and gained 20 or so pounds (back up into the mid 190s). I've only gone back whole-heartedly to LCing in the past 3 weeks and am down about 6 of those 20.

I could kick myself for being off plan so long. But, I have to just go forward from here. I have been eating a fair amount of low/moderate fruits, as well as veggies, but I'm avoiding grains.

Just got my bloodwork done to check for gestational diabetes and waiting for the results ... sure hope my months off track haven't screwed that up.

it's partly knowing that i'l have huge carb cravings (and go out of control) if i jack up my carbs that's keeping me eating in ketosis right now. Not to mention that this morning i had more veggies than usual and a tomato and now i feel pukey. Greeeeeeat. I'm planning to stay in ketosis for at least the first half of my pregnancy then maybe add fruits during the second half. I will definitely reevaluate that plan if it doesnt feel right at the time.

I have read that it is fine for pregnant women to take chromium~it helps with cravings and also helps level off gestational diabetes. Just something to keep in mind.

Mims~i think a lot of women wait to have kids now. I'm almost 40 but i'm healthier and feel better now than i did a decade ago. There are definitely benefits to having a baby in your 40's! Also it's never too late to improve your diet. Your baby will benefit from less sugar, more veggies

Walnut, sorry to hear you weren't feeling well yesterday. Hopefully today is better.

I wish I'd known about the chromium earlier in my pregancy. Sounds like that would've really been helpful.

I realize more and more women are having babies at a later age. But I had my last one at 41, and I was already feeling the difference then ... my body just didn't labor as well as earlier pregnancies and I'm a bit freaked out about what impact being another 5 years older will have.

i've been scouring the net trying to find some actual evidence that ketones are harmful to the baby and i cant find anything hard.

One person quoted a medical text that supposedly said that ketones cause brain damage. And that same quote is repeated all over the place but there is no reference to how that conclusion was reached. I think that someone is confusing things. I think that they must be referring to what happens in uncontrolled diabetes and ketoacidosis which is very very different than what happens with ketosis on a lowcarb diet.

Honestly if ketones caused brain damage then there would be a helluva lot of brain damaged kids out there. Any pregnant woman goes into ketosis just while they're sleeping. Women with hyperemesis are in ketosis all the time etc and then theyre told to eat carbs which probably just makes things worse.

Mims~i'm sure you'll do great.

Ditto when I was searching as well. I think ketones in the presence of other medical issues (such as uncontrolled diabetes) have become demonized, just like fat has been demonized in diets for so long even though fat is just dandy WITHOUT carbs.

I have been told by multiple people to increase my carbs, but I refuse. I see no reason to do so, especially since I personally have a history of type 2 diabetes (not to mention starchy carbs make me gassy). My office mate today was trying to tempt me with ideas for lunch such as pizza and mashed potatoes...no deal. I ended up with chili, which does have some carbs, but I topped it with cheese and sour cream. I'm honestly eating so little right now that even if I ate nothing but mashed potatoes, I could probably still be in ketosis just because of the meager volume I'm consuming (unintentionally, of course - not trying to starve myself!).

I fell into the first category-those who fell off the wagon-like a self-fulfilling prophecy LOL.
I started out with best intentions,but around 6 weeks my hormones took over and I started hating all lc foods.It was the smell-everything had a smell.and carbs or no carbs I barfed day in and day out.everyone I knew told me this will end at 13 weeks or so,but I still have it ,not so bad as before though.
recently I found i had these sores in my mouth and other symptoms which I think shows that i have vitamin deficiency.I am taking prenatals,and I am eating pretty ok now-not really low carb,but a more rounded diet bcoz of nausea and so far I am maintaining after an initial gain of 9 pounds.
I cannot understand how soemone can be in ketosis and fulfill their vitamin needs.I am taking extra calcium,vitamin c etc but still can't keep up with the requirements.I know bcoz some days this extreme fatigu settles in I can't do anything at all,and then I drink one or two vitamin shakes and I feel so much better! i really don't think ketosis is harmful but what about the all vitamin and mineral requirements? Sure you can eat lots of veggies to get that,but lets be honest,most pregnant women can't stomach much veggies anyway.

I think it partly depends on how your vitamin/mineral levels were before you got pregnant. Having had weight loss surgery, mine were pretty closely monitored, and I always kept everything on the HIGH end of the normal range.

I guess I'm also confused as to why you think you can't be in ketosis and get enough micronutrients. What is it you think you need to be eating? I can tell you it's NOT grains (breads, rice, pastas, etc.), potatoes, corn, etc. I eat a variety of meats and cheeses, full-fat plain Greek yogurt, natural peanut butter, avocado, occasional green veggies (I like green beans, baby brussles sprouts, broccoli, and some salad greens), organic whole milk (about 1 cup per day, split up - I drink it when I take my supplements)...I don't take prenatals, but I do take multivitamins, calcium citrate, iron, vit D, and a probiotic. Oh, and now some DHA supplements as well (that's al I've added since I found out I was pregnant). I have been eating some fruit as well, but not a ton, and I try to stick to berries. Sounds overall pretty healthy to me.