whey protein in pregnancy

[heidismommy]

I've used the search function here to find out a little about the safety of whey protein use during pregnancy and I've come up with mixed reactions about whether it's okay to take. Because of the mixed reactions, I decided I'd avoid whey just in case. However, I'm at a point that I have major food aversions and I think protein shakes and just drinking milk will be the only way I can get in adequate protein. Meat and fish make me gag, as does Greek yogurt, my former favorite protein-rich food. I get small amounts from cheese and peanut butter, but that is it. So...what do you ladies think? Do you have any good links to studies that conclude that whey is safe. Or just advice? Or first-hand experience? I know there are a lot of women here who are or have been pregnant, did any of you drink whey protein shakes while pregnant? I mean, I know whey is food product because it comes from milk so I can't imagine that it wouldn't be okay. But I just want to be sure.

[sonti]

I can't recall any whey containers that don't say that it should not be used when pregnant.

I have to admit, I did use it a bit myself. I'm not a big whey person so I didn't use it much before anyways. I also ate sushi, blue cheese and drank diet coke, so I'm a bit anti-caution in that way.

I suppose the answer to the question is truly personal :)

[discdoggie]

I've used the search function here to find out a little about the safety of whey protein use during pregnancy and I've come up with mixed reactions about whether it's okay to take. Because of the mixed reactions, I decided I'd avoid whey just in case. However, I'm at a point that I have major food aversions and I think protein shakes and just drinking milk will be the only way I can get in adequate protein. Meat and fish make me gag, as does Greek yogurt, my former favorite protein-rich food. I get small amounts from cheese and peanut butter, but that is it. So...what do you ladies think? Do you have any good links to studies that conclude that whey is safe. Or first-hand experience? I know there are a lot of women here who are or have been pregnant, did any of you drink whey protein shakes while pregnant? I mean, I know whey is food product because it comes from milk so I can't imagine that it wouldn't be okay. But I just want to be sure.



No links, just personal experience. I supplemented with whey throughout my pregnancy. In my oatmeal, after workouts on my strength training days. No problems. But I didn't have any food aversions, either.

Hope your feeling well! I'm envious. I really, really loved being pregnant. :)

[heidismommy]

I can't recall any whey containers that don't say that it should not be used when pregnant.

I have to admit, I did use it a bit myself. I'm not a big whey person so I didn't use it much before anyways. I also ate sushi, blue cheese and drank diet coke, so I'm a bit anti-caution in that way.

I suppose the answer to the question is truly personal :)

That helps, thank you. I think I get paranoid with some of the food restrictions out there---pregnant women can't have soft serve, really? Most of the stuff on the "off limits" food list I'm okay with and don't eat much of anyway, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to stay away from soft serve for nine months :o. I think I read that there was a warning in the book What to Expect When You're Expecting that women shouldn't consume whey in pregnancy, though that book tends to be rather alarmist. I'm not sure, maybe it's because of the artificial sweeteners that some people recommend staying away from it? But I'm actually not super paranoid about artificial sweeteners anyway and plan on consuming them in moderation through the pregnancy (I did with my first as well).

[sonti]

That helps, thank you. I think I get paranoid with some of the food restrictions out there---pregnant women can't have soft serve, really? Most of the stuff on the "off limits" food list I'm okay with and don't eat much of anyway, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to stay away from soft serve for nine months :o. I think I read that there was a warning in the book What to Expect When You're Expecting that women shouldn't consume whey in pregnancy, though that book tends to be rather alarmist. I'm not sure, maybe it's because of the artificial sweeteners that some people recommend staying away from it? But I'm actually not super paranoid about artificial sweeteners anyway and plan on consuming them in moderation through the pregnancy (I did with my first as well).

That book also says to never (big scowl face) lift more than 12lbs for your bicep curls :P

[heidismommy]

No links, just personal experience. I supplemented with whey throughout my pregnancy. In my oatmeal, after workouts on my strength training days. No problems. But I didn't have any food aversions, either.

Hope your feeling well! I'm envious. I really, really loved being pregnant. :)

Personal experience helps even more than links, so thanks! I guess I'll pull out my container of whey again and stop being so paranoid. Anything to help get a little extra protein in.

I'm actually feeling okay. Morning sickness is just now starting to kick in at just over 7 weeks. Up until now it's been just mild queasiness and aversions (and cravings). It's still not as bad as I had with my daughter. But 1st trimester is always the hardest for me, then it's smooth sailing after that. It's so worth it though! Thanks again!


That book also says to never (big scowl face) lift more than 12lbs for your bicep curls :P

Does it really? Wow, I hadn't read that. I'm not reading the book now, but I did read it when I was pregnant with Heidi. I remember the book being really alarmist and extra cautionary. Although I won't be lifting as intensely as I had been, I'm still going to lift fairly heavy once I'm feeling up to it. But definitely more than 12 lbs :P.

[sonti]

Does it really? Wow, I hadn't read that. I'm not reading the book now, but I did read it when I was pregnant with Heidi. I remember the book being really alarmist and extra cautionary. Although I won't be lifting as intensely as I had been, I'm still going to lift fairly heavy once I'm feeling up to it. But definitely more than 12 lbs :P.

Must be the updated version! I bought mine in mid-2009. Yeah, in the exercise section, it recommends bicep curls and never lift more than 12lbs. Hope Heidi and everyone else's other kids weigh less than 12lbs! Mine is over 12lbs and he's not even 6 weeks yet (must be the GOMAD)

[Thuirwyne]

Remember, whey protein is a by-product of milk. I never heard of their being an issue with drinking milk when pregnant.

The only thing you may have to watch out for are added ingredients.

[heidismommy]

Must be the updated version! I bought mine in mid-2009. Yeah, in the exercise section, it recommends bicep curls and never lift more than 12lbs. Hope Heidi and everyone else's other kids weigh less than 12lbs! Mine is over 12lbs and he's not even 6 weeks yet (must be the GOMAD)

LOL, so true! Heidi weighed 9.5 lbs at birth so by 6 weeks she was rather large too. That recommendation is crazy.


Remember, whey protein is a by-product of milk. I never heard of their being an issue with drinking milk when pregnant.

The only thing you may have to watch out for are added ingredients.

Yes, I knew that which is what I said in my initial post that I couldn't see why it wouldn't be okay. Not sure why some recommend not consuming it unless, as said above, maybe it's because of the artificial sweeteners (which I'm okay with consuming during pregnancy in moderation as I did with my first pregnancy). Thank you!

[cgonzalez577]

I think the containers say to avoid it to cover their @ss. Everyone is always trying to sue everybody else so they have to put blanket statements on stuff....like coffee is hot, not intended to diagnose or treat illness, don't use while pregnant etc. I haven't been pregnant but I fully intend to keep whey in my diet when it happens! Good luck!

[heidismommy]

I think the containers say to avoid it to cover their @ss. Everyone is always trying to sue everybody else so they have to put blanket statements on stuff....like coffee is hot, not intended to diagnose or treat illness, don't use while pregnant etc. I haven't been pregnant but I fully intend to keep whey in my diet when it happens! Good luck!

Good point! Thank you.

[Rowyn]

There isn't any warning against eating hot dogs on the label, and the "bad" ones are full of crap you would never want to eat, preg or not, lol. Known carcinogens are allowed in our foods after all, in "regulated" amounts (as if they know how much of the product you ingest in other foods and such). Personally, IMO, 9 months is really a very little bit of time to watch what you eat and ingest as healthfully as possible. I was not overly crazy about it, but I surely avoided as much processed crap as possible.

I wouldn't drink the protein powders myself. You don't even know where they are made (ie CHINA), where the additives come from, that sort of stuff. They are considered a supplement, not a food, so less restrictions. They can get all the components from overseas, package here, and call it US made.

You can get straight up plain whey protein (Bob Mill's makes one that is good), minimal processing.

[heidismommy]

There isn't any warning against eating hot dogs on the label, and the "bad" ones are full of crap you would never want to eat, preg or not, lol. Known carcinogens are allowed in our foods after all, in "regulated" amounts (as if they know how much of the product you ingest in other foods and such). Personally, IMO, 9 months is really a very little bit of time to watch what you eat and ingest as healthfully as possible. I was not overly crazy about it, but I surely avoided as much processed crap as possible.

I wouldn't drink the protein powders myself. You don't even know where they are made (ie CHINA), where the additives come from, that sort of stuff. They are considered a supplement, not a food, so less restrictions. They can get all the components from overseas, package here, and call it US made.

You can get straight up plain whey protein (Bob Mill's makes one that is good), minimal processing.

Did you have major food aversions and morning sickness? Just asking because some people don't. I'm having a hard time getting much of anything right now and if I'm super picky about what I can consume I'm left with very little as a result. I cannot eat certain things right now or I'll hurl. It's mainly salty carbs that my stomach can handle (pretzels, crackers, potatoes, grilled cheese sandwiches, and soups primarily, but also watery fruits like watermelon), though I can manage small amounts of protein from cheese, milk, and small amounts of peanut butter. Maybe I shouldn't be concerned much about protein right now and I should just get in what I can, I don't know. Things will get better in the second trimester and then I can be more choosy in eating more healthfully, but to be honest processed stuff doesn't scare me---like most other pregnant women, I'll eat my pickles and ice cream (and other heavily craved foods)...I'll just try to stay away from soft serve :P (potential for listeriosis from unclean machines). I ate it [processed stuff] when I was pregnant with Heidi and she's 100% super healthy. Most pregnant women I know do as well. Pregnancy is not a time I'm going to get anal about nutrition, especially since I have a long history of anorexia. I'll consume as healthfully as possible as soon as I can, but I'll leave room for plenty of treats. I'm human ;). I'm just going to stay away from some of the foods that potentially contain listeria because listeriosis can be dangerous to a developing embryo/fetus.

I've tried one of the minimally processed powders and blech! My stomach cannot handle it even when not pregnant. But my ON 100% whey I think I could handle. Thanks though.

[birdiefu]

Whey itself shouldn't be a problem, but like Rowyn said, it's all the additives that can be a problem. Like heavy metals, yum. I would be very picky about the brand and where they source their ingredients from. I personally like Harmonized Protein, with whey from hormone-free New Zealand cows and no GMO ingredients. Super tasty too, though a bit pricey. However, I think it has some herbal supps in there that have not been researched in pregnant women and therefore may be iffy - it's Downey Birch (Betula pubescens). I would probably go with the least processed (Bob's Red Mill stuff should be great) and add whatever flavorings and additives you want.

ETA: I feel your pain. With my son I could eat a whole cow. With my daughter it was the complete opposite. The only thing I could manage was one dry fruit loop at a time (healthy, no?) and sometimes a corner of a piece of bread. Oh, and once in a while a gingersnap, I think I was severely lacking protein for a few weeks. It was bad. Have you tried the unisom and B vit combo for sickness? It was a lifesaver for me and I could finally not feel like crap all the time and eat a little more.

[heidismommy]

Okay guys, I'm still on the fence, leaning towards "just eat what I can and skip the protein powder". I'm all ears though and listening to all the feedback. If more people say they've consumed protein powder through pregnancy then that may sway me in the other direction.


Whey itself shouldn't be a problem, but like Rowyn said, it's all the additives that can be a problem. Like heavy metals, yum. I would be very picky about the brand and where they source their ingredients from. I personally like Harmonized Protein, with whey from GMO-free New Zealand cows. Super tasty too, though a bit pricey. However, I think it has some herbal supps in there that have not been researched in pregnant women and therefore may be iffy - it's Downey Birch (Betula pubescens). I would probably go with the least processed (Bob's Red Mill stuff should be great) and add whatever flavorings and additives you want.



The consumer reports article about the heavy metals stuff is one of the things that had me hesitant about consuming whey protein in pregnancy, though the amounts in ON were very low (and the study done was on 3 servings of each protein, not one). Unfortunately I'm not up to trying any new proteins. I already have plenty invested in the many tubs I have and I don't want to spend money on something I don't even know if I'd be able to consume due to aversions. The tubs I have at least I know I like and could handle, but I don't want to risk anything of course.



ETA: I feel your pain. With my son I could eat a whole cow. With my daughter it was the complete opposite. The only thing I could manage was one dry fruit loop at a time (healthy, no?) and sometimes a corner of a piece of bread. Oh, and once in a while a gingersnap, I think I was severely lacking protein for a few weeks. It was bad. Have you tried the unisom and B vit combo for sickness? It was a lifesaver for me and I could finally not feel like crap all the time and eat a little more.

So far I'm lucky in that I haven't been as sick as when I was pregnant with my daughter. When I was pregnant with her, I could consume nothing but cheetos and spicy hot V-8 and sometimes milkshakes. Those were the only things I could get down and I'd still vomit multiple times per day from weeks 5-14. If not for being able to eat the things mentioned above, I would have lost a lot more than the 2 lbs that I did in the first trimester (and I didn't have 2 lbs to lose). This pregnancy at least I can eat a wider variety of things and as long as I stay away from my aversions I won't vomit. I haven't tried unison and vitamin B combo, but I've heard others say that it helped them. I may have to check into it. Thank you!

[KaraPhoto]

You don't even know where they are made (ie CHINA), where the additives come from, that sort of stuff. They are considered a supplement, not a food, so less restrictions. .
Well if you do your research and purchase carefully you CAN know where they're made. I order all my protein from True Protein and what I get is pure, 100% cold filtered whey protein - made in the USA.

It just takes being smart about what you buy. (Which granted, most people aren't - but I would suspect those who post here are a little more savvy about that kind of thing.)

[heidismommy]

Well if you do your research and purchase carefully you CAN know where they're made. I order all my protein from True Protein and what I get is pure, 100% cold filtered whey protein - made in the USA.

It just takes being smart about what you buy. (Which granted, most people aren't - but I would suspect those who post here are a little more savvy about that kind of thing.)

I've heard good things about True Protein, but unfortunately I'm not going to shell out any more money for supplements because I'm already pretty stocked full of them as it is. A lot of people here use ON, it's the top rated (in terms of quantities sold) supplement on this site. It's what I've been using and I have a nearly-full jug of the chocolate mint flavor (5 lbs). So if I'm going to consume protein powder at all, it would have to be what I already have.

[KaraPhoto]

I've heard good things about True Protein, but unfortunately I'm not going to shell out any more money for supplements because I'm already pretty stocked full of them as it is. A lot of people here use ON, it's the top rated (in terms of quantities sold) supplement on this site. It's what I've been using and I have a nearly-full jug of the chocolate mint flavor (5 lbs). So if I'm going to consume protein powder at all, it would have to be what I already have.Well .. this is just my thinking. :) If you are really concerned about getting pure whey protein during your pregnancy, why not order just a small amount from some place like True Protein to consume while pregnant. It's not like the other stuff is going to expire or go bad in the next few months, right? So it's not like you're going to have to throw it away and never use it again. Just set it aside until you're no longer pregnant (or no longer nursing, as the case may be).

That's just my take on it, as I said. :) It's probably what I'd do if I were in your position.

[heidismommy]

Well .. this is just my thinking. :) If you are really concerned about getting pure whey protein during your pregnancy, why not order just a small amount from some place like True Protein to consume while pregnant. It's not like the other stuff is going to expire or go bad in the next few months, right? So it's not like you're going to have to throw it away and never use it again. Just set it aside until you're no longer pregnant (or no longer nursing, as the case may be).

That's just my take on it, as I said. :) It's probably what I'd do if I were in your position.

Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it! However, if the protein I have isn't okay during pregnancy (it's fine during breastfeeding from what I've heard) then I'll just stick to what I'm doing now with regards to diet. My protein is lacking, but I know I'll be able to eat a wider variety of foods once I get past the first trimester. I need to save my money for baby stuff and more whey is just frivolous at this point.

[birdiefu]

Just set it aside until you're no longer pregnant (or no longer nursing, as the case may be).

I had to LOL at this, come August I will have been nursing for 6 years straight (more than one kid, though, I nursed through pregnancy). I think my supps might have expired by now. Not that I'm even close to the norm, but just saying. :)

[heidismommy]

I had to LOL at this, come August I will have been nursing for 6 years straight (more than one kid, though, I nursed through pregnancy). I think my supps might have expired by now. Not that I'm even close to the norm, but just saying. :)

That's awesome, good for you! This is only my second pregnancy, but with Heidi I breastfed for a little over a year. My plan had been to do child-led weaning, but I ended up getting food poisoning and had to go on an antibiotic that was contra-indicated for breastfeeding women (I had been really sick for a while). I pumped and dumped for 7 days and then tried to nurse again, but Heidi was no longer interested. Anyway, this time around, assuming nothing unforeseen happens, I plan to do extended, child-led weaning. This will probably be my last pregnancy though.

[Rowyn]

Did you have major food aversions and morning sickness? Just asking because some people don't. I'm having a hard time getting much of anything right now and if I'm super picky about what I can consume I'm left with very little as a result. I cannot eat certain things right now or I'll hurl. It's mainly salty carbs that my stomach can handle (pretzels, crackers, potatoes, grilled cheese sandwiches, and soups primarily, but also watery fruits like watermelon), though I can manage small amounts of protein from cheese, milk, and small amounts of peanut butter. Maybe I shouldn't be concerned much about protein right now and I should just get in what I can, I don't know. Things will get better in the second trimester and then I can be more choosy in eating more healthfully, but to be honest processed stuff doesn't scare me---like most other pregnant women, I'll eat my pickles and ice cream (and other heavily craved foods)...I'll just try to stay away from soft serve :P (potential for listeriosis from unclean machines). I ate it [processed stuff] when I was pregnant with Heidi and she's 100% super healthy. I've tried one of the minimally processed powders and blech! My stomach cannot handle it even when not pregnant. But my ON 100% whey I think I could handle. Thanks though.

I did with my second child, I wanted to eat only "white" foods. Read starchy carbs, lol. I wonder if you really need to eat so much protein while preg anyway, it would be an interesting google search. I am sure there are discussions out there somewhere about it amongst bodybuilders. Even if you are lifting regularly, you aren't going to be doing your regular routine (with squats and deadlifts) at significant weights into the third trimester. That would be just hell on the ole pelvic floor and possibly dangerous.

Here's where I am coming from. One of my children was diagnosed with a high risk cancer at 23 months old. I am not totally nuts about food, but I do want to know exactly what is in it so that I can make the decision to ingest it or not. I would love for a Happy Meal to just have the fat/cals/salt to deal with, but the fact that the meat sources are sketchy at best and the other crap(fillers) allowed don't give me the opportunity to make an informed choice. People often say "well, it hasn't happened to me and I eat it all the time" and such. But when you have an event strike close to home, even if you don't know exactly WHY it happened to you, you realize that it can and does happen.

For what it is worth, I have always been a food activist (even pre-cancer), I breastfed my kids and made their babyfood (easy, actually). So the ironic thing is that my family was already more "healthful" than most before the diagnosis. Which does make me angry sometimes, that others can smoke and do drugs while preg and here my baby got cancer. We will never know what caused her cancer, but it takes three mutations to produce it. She was probably exposed to at least one while I was preg. I operate under the assumption that whatever she was exposed to has also been experienced by the rest of the family. I try to minimize carcinogenic exposure and support the body's natural defenses against cancers for all of us.

If I don't know what is in my food, I can't make choices. Protein powders are supplements. Heavy metals, btw, are not regulated in supplements. Neither are insecticides and pollutants. In fact, heavy metals are not regulated in our BEEF, its crazy. The Consumer Reports found lots of crap in the protein powders, but all of them are allowed. Its up to us consumers to buy or not and to put pressure on the supp industry.

Made in the USA can still be affixed to products that are assembled in the US even if the components come from various other places when it comes to supplements. Some protein powders are sold as food versus supplements, so different regs.

Anyway, while we mostly eat "whole", we still have crackers and cereals and ice cream too, so some processed foods as well. Yep, they have had fast food and I don't swoon about it, lol. But we eat organically (preferably certified only in the US and not overseas) and I want to know what the heck is in the stuff. That's just me.

I hear you on the unprocessed whey protein, it is diff than protein powders in that it mixes differently and such. We get so used to these perfectly formulated powders with additives to make them mix and so on that our palates don't like much else. I put it in smoothies and don't notice it as I add Greek yogurt or milk or something to it anyway with fruits. I also put it in oatmeal and homemade protein bars. Otherwise, I don't really eat it at all.

[heidismommy]

I did with my second child, I wanted to eat only "white" foods. Read starchy carbs, lol. I wonder if you really need to eat so much protein while preg anyway, it would be an interesting google search. I am sure there are discussions out there somewhere about it amongst bodybuilders. Even if you are lifting regularly, you aren't going to be doing your regular routine (with squats and deadlifts) at significant weights into the third trimester. That would be just hell on the ole pelvic floor and possibly dangerous.

Here's where I am coming from. One of my children was diagnosed with a high risk cancer at 23 months old. I am not totally nuts about food, but I do want to know exactly what is in it so that I can make the decision to ingest it or not. I would love for a Happy Meal to just have the fat/cals/salt to deal with, but the fact that the meat sources are sketchy at best and the other crap(fillers) allowed don't give me the opportunity to make an informed choice. People often say "well, it hasn't happened to me and I eat it all the time" and such. But when you have an event strike close to home, even if you don't know exactly WHY it happened to you, you realize that it can and does happen.

For what it is worth, I have always been a food activist (even pre-cancer), I breastfed my kids and made their babyfood (easy, actually). So the ironic thing is that my family was already more "healthful" than most before the diagnosis. Which does make me angry sometimes, that others can smoke and do drugs while preg and here my baby got cancer. We will never know what caused her cancer, but it takes three mutations to produce it. She was probably exposed to at least one while I was preg. I operate under the assumption that whatever she was exposed to has also been experienced by the rest of the family. I try to minimize carcinogenic exposure and support the body's natural defenses against cancers for all of us.

If I don't know what is in my food, I can't make choices. Protein powders are supplements. Heavy metals, btw, are not regulated in supplements. Neither are insecticides and pollutants. In fact, heavy metals are not regulated in our BEEF, its crazy. The Consumer Reports found lots of crap in the protein powders, but all of them are allowed. Its up to us consumers to buy or not and to put pressure on the supp industry.

Made in the USA can still be affixed to products that are assembled in the US even if the components come from various other places when it comes to supplements. Some protein powders are sold as food versus supplements, so different regs.

Anyway, while we mostly eat "whole", we still have crackers and cereals and ice cream too, so some processed foods as well. Yep, they have had fast food and I don't swoon about it, lol. But we eat organically (preferably certified only in the US and not overseas) and I want to know what the heck is in the stuff. That's just me.

I hear you on the unprocessed whey protein, it is diff than protein powders in that it mixes differently and such. We get so used to these perfectly formulated powders with additives to make them mix and so on that our palates don't like much else. I put it in smoothies and don't notice it as I add Greek yogurt or milk or something to it anyway with fruits. I also put it in oatmeal and homemade protein bars. Otherwise, I don't really eat it at all.

Thank you for the explanation! I agree with you on the protein thing, I'm sure I won't need as much as I had been consuming. Right now I can't workout at all due to how I'm feeling, but even when I'm able to pick it up again I won't be lifting with the same weight-load or intensity.

I can understand your position, especially considering that one of your children was diagnosed with high-risk cancer at 23 months. I'm sure that changes the way you view a lot of things, esp. considering you were already healthy eaters before the diagnoses. However, if I avoided every food that gets scapegoated as being "bad", then I won't be able to consume much of anything at all. And I'm already going into the pregnancy bordering on underweight, I'm going to have to be able to eat enough to gain adequate weight. In other words while I understand where you're coming from, I don't necessarily agree with it. So while my goal is to eat as healthily as I can once I'm able to (once I get past these major aversions), I'm not going to go out of my way to avoid processed foods. But that is just me. This thread is about protein powder, not to criticize the other food choices I make---not saying that is what you're doing btw. As a recovering anorexic, I know that I cannot get anal about my making sure everything is "clean" and unprocessed. As soon as I'm able to I plan on making the bulk of my diet fruits, veggies, complex carbs, lean protein sources, and healthy fats, as much from whole foods as possible. But at the same time, I am human and I crave pizza and ice cream and cake (etc) so I'm not going to avoid those things. I eat fast food, but not on a regular basis (most Amercians consume a lot more fast food than our family does).

But I do get what you're saying about the protein powder and heavy metals contaminants. I understand that it's considered a supplement and not really a food and therefore isn't regulated. And that is what I worry about. So I will most likely stick to what I've been doing with food and stay away from the protein powder.

[Echo814]

Hey just a thought that came across my mind :). I'm taking a nutrition course this term (it's an actual science based class taught by a Phd in nutrition) and she brought up a great alternative to protein powder; powdered milk. You can buy this organic, or minimally processed and you can add it to a lot of things. I hope as time goes by you can stomach more food, good luck!

[heidismommy]

Hey just a thought that came across my mind :). I'm taking a nutrition course this term (it's an actual science based class taught by a Phd in nutrition) and she brought up a great alternative to protein powder; powdered milk. You can buy this organic, or minimally processed and you can add it to a lot of things. I hope as time goes by you can stomach more food, good luck!

That's a good idea, thank you! Right now I can drink regular milk so I'm trying to get more of that in (and chocolate milk too). I'll add regular milk to soups and stuff just to get a little extra.

[Echo814]

That's a good idea, thank you! Right now I can drink regular milk so I'm trying to get more of that in (and chocolate milk too). I'll add regular milk to soups and stuff just to get a little extra.

I have heard of people adding it into milk, oatmeal and loads of other stuff. Also helps with the calorie needs to. At least you know whats exactly in it and its cheap, if I ever can't afford my protein powder I'm switching to this lol.

[heidismommy]

I have heard of people adding it into milk, oatmeal and loads of other stuff. Also helps with the calorie needs to. At least you know whats exactly in it and its cheap, if I ever can't afford my protein powder I'm switching to this lol.

Thank you, I'll definitely look into in next time I'm at the grocery :).

[discdoggie]

Did you have major food aversions and morning sickness? Just asking because some people don't.



I didn't; not to "real" food. But the weidest thing, though, during both of mine, I developed aversions to swallowing semen, when it was never a problem before or after.

[heidismommy]

I didn't; not to "real" food. But the weidest thing, though, during both of mine, I developed aversions to swallowing semen, when it was never a problem before or after.

Pregnancy causes some big changes, some of them quite strange for sure. I miss Greek yogurt, but I can't eat it at this point. I can't stand the smell of semen (or even the sight of it) and normally it doesn't bother me. I have like zero sex drive though so I don't have to worry about that much right now.

[Rowyn]

I didn't; not to "real" food. But the weidest thing, though, during both of mine, I developed aversions to swallowing semen, when it was never a problem before or after.

HA! How did I miss this post, lol? Too funny. I thought these sorts of aversions occurred after the "I do's...." JOKE of course!!

OP, you are totally in the right that you need to eat what you can eat at the moment, didn't want to make you feel otherwise. Obviously, people all look at food from different life perspectives, and with different goals in mind. I am not a nutball about "processed" or "clean" food (in quotes since the terms are difficult to even define), I just want to know what I am eating and make an informed choice. So we DO eat breads and cakes and cereals...flour and sugar and butter are evil you know, lol. I just want bread that has no hydrogenated this and that and the butter to be organic and such. If we eat salami, I choose one with no nitrates. I know I am eating fat and salt, lol. Its the stuff I DON'T know about that I do not want in my food. And that all goes back to my life experiences.
Plus, I am a bit of a social activist with my food choices, as well, a whole different thread, haha.

For someone with an ED, it may be more harmful than not to categorize food, since there is so much emotionality wrapped up in it all. Clearly the life experience here is different and I respect that.

That Horizon organic chocolate milk is the bomb, we drink it too. I use it for shakes for the kids as well, you can disguise all sorts of things in there:) Though I guess as the mom you aren't foolin' yourself one minute, lol. Kefir is a really yummy higher protein yogurt drink, too, in lots of flavors as well. However, it tastes like Greek yogurt with that little bit of tanginess so if that is an aversion its not a good idea for you.

[RebeccaG]

I've made microwave protein brownies throughout my pregnancy. Honestly, I didn't even consider that it would be bad during pregnancy. :o Then again, like Sonti, I've eaten many things off the 'do not' list while pregnant - this pregnancy and my last.

I've eaten considerably healthier this time around and I am ok with what I've eaten. I think it's a personal choice - like so many pregnancy/baby/child-related things.


II wonder if you really need to eat so much protein while preg anyway, it would be an interesting google search.

I read about a study shortly after I had my first child (total baby brain so I cannot remember where, but it wasn't broscience.com ;)) that followed two groups of women and their children. One group of Moms ate a high protein diet during pregnancy and the other group didn't. They found that the children whose mothers ate high protein during pregnancy developed faster and ahead of the norm than those whose mothers didn't.

This may be complete coincidence since I do not have any science to back it up, but I ate a TON of protein during my first pregnancy - I craved seafood (low/no mercury, of course) like you would not believe. I lived off lobster, crab, shrimp and fish.

My son crawled by 4 months, walked at 9 months and was running around at his first birthday. At 3 years he is the size of a 4 or 5 year old and can keep up with kids that age for the most part. I'm not saying he's a prodigy or a child genius, he is 3 years old in many ways, but he is also miles ahead of kids his age in many ways and I have often wondered if it had anything to do with my high protein diet during pregnancy. Or maybe it's just him. I can only speculate.

[heidismommy]

HA! How did I miss this post, lol? Too funny. I thought these sorts of aversions occurred after the "I do's...." JOKE of course!!

OP, you are totally in the right that you need to eat what you can eat at the moment, didn't want to make you feel otherwise. Obviously, people all look at food from different life perspectives, and with different goals in mind. I am not a nutball about "processed" or "clean" food (in quotes since the terms are difficult to even define), I just want to know what I am eating and make an informed choice. So we DO eat breads and cakes and cereals...flour and sugar and butter are evil you know, lol. I just want bread that has no hydrogenated this and that and the butter to be organic and such. If we eat salami, I choose one with no nitrates. I know I am eating fat and salt, lol. Its the stuff I DON'T know about that I do not want in my food. And that all goes back to my life experiences.
Plus, I am a bit of a social activist with my food choices, as well, a whole different thread, haha.

For someone with an ED, it may be more harmful than not to categorize food, since there is so much emotionality wrapped up in it all. Clearly the life experience here is different and I respect that.

That Horizon organic chocolate milk is the bomb, we drink it too. I use it for shakes for the kids as well, you can disguise all sorts of things in there:) Though I guess as the mom you aren't foolin' yourself one minute, lol. Kefir is a really yummy higher protein yogurt drink, too, in lots of flavors as well. However, it tastes like Greek yogurt with that little bit of tanginess so if that is an aversion its not a good idea for you.

I appreciate the response, thank you! I definitely want to eat healthy for the baby once I get past this phase I'm in now, but at the same time because of my life experiences with food, I don't want eating healthy to become an obsession. There are certain things I'm certainly going to stay away from due to risk of listeria---soft cheeses, hot dogs and cold cuts (even though they're fine if heated to steaming), etc. There are many pregnant women that eat the above, but I'm not okay with it. Though I may eat soft serve on occasion, it depends on where I am (soft serve is actually fine, it's the machines, when not cleaned properly, that can become contaminated).

Anyway, thanks for responding. Yes, I love the Horizon Chocolate milk, it's so good. Heidi likes it as well. I would try kefir, but right now I don't think I could stomach it since I can't eat Greek yogurt right now (and Greek yogurt is my favorite protein source). It's the sourness, I think, that I can't handle.


I've made microwave protein brownies throughout my pregnancy. Honestly, I didn't even consider that it would be bad during pregnancy. :o Then again, like Sonti, I've eaten many things off the 'do not' list while pregnant - this pregnancy and my last.

I've eaten considerably healthier this time around and I am ok with what I've eaten. I think it's a personal choice - like so many pregnancy/baby/child-related things.


What brand of protein powder do you normally use if you don't mind my asking? I'm sure I'll end up eating much healthier this pregnancy than I did my last (once I get past this morning sickness and aversions), but at the same time I'm still going to leave plenty of room for treats and indulgences, just as I normally do. Basically, once I'm able to, I'm going to eat very similarly to how I did before I got pregnant. Healthy, but not at all rigid. I can't be rigid due to my eating disordered background. It isn't healthy for me to label foods as good and bad. When I was pregnant with Heidi I only gained 19 lbs and that was with completely unrestrained eating. If I'm not careful and get too rigid and can see myself not gaining enough weight and that would not be good. I'm actually hoping to gain a little more this pregnancy now that I know how my body responds to breastfeeding. I lose a lot of weight really fast and actually lost too much weight the first time around---weight was down in the upper 80's by the time Heidi was 6 weeks old without restricting food at all.



I read about a study shortly after I had my first child (total baby brain so I cannot remember where, but it wasn't broscience.com ;)) that followed two groups of women and their children. One group of Moms ate a high protein diet during pregnancy and the other group didn't. They found that the children whose mothers ate high protein during pregnancy developed faster and ahead of the norm than those whose mothers didn't.

This may be complete coincidence since I do not have any science to back it up, but I ate a TON of protein during my first pregnancy - I craved seafood (low/no mercury, of course) like you would not believe. I lived off lobster, crab, shrimp and fish.

My son crawled by 4 months, walked at 9 months and was running around at his first birthday. At 3 years he is the size of a 4 or 5 year old and can keep up with kids that age for the most part. I'm not saying he's a prodigy or a child genius, he is 3 years old in many ways, but he is also miles ahead of kids his age in many ways and I have often wondered if it had anything to do with my high protein diet during pregnancy. Or maybe it's just him. I can only speculate.

That's very interesting and your son does seem very bright! Though I'm going to brag about my daughter for a moment and say that although my protein intake was very low that pregnancy (way before my "bodybuilding" days), she is one of the brightest students in her class. Of course I'm her mother and mothers are biased, but her teacher has commented about how advanced she is and how she's in the "top group". Her level of reading is much higher than her peers (she's getting ready to enter 1st grade next month and is reading chapter books with ease) and her dibold scores were through the roof (for example she needed a 21 to be at grade level in nonsense word recognition and she scored a 92!). She's advanced in math, has been able to do addition and subtraction throughout kindergarten. Her vocabulary is incredible, she uses words that one would not expect to come from a 6-year-old. She's always been ahead---she could identify colors at 18 months, numbers and letters (uppercase) at 2, and knew the sounds of her letters at 2.5 (and lowercase letters). She could draw a person at 2.5 and is still super artistic. While she is not a genius by any stretch, she is frequently described by others as "sharp" and "very bright".

She's tall and thin, in the 72 percentile for height which is surprising since I'm only 5'1" and my husband is 5'7". Don't know where she gets it, somewhere along the genetic line, lol. She was never ahead in terms of gross motor skills though. She rolled over and crawled a little late and then started walking just before her 1st birthday. But she weighed 9.5 lbs at birth and stayed in the upper percentages for weight until she was almost 1 (and she had a huge head!) so that interfered somewhat with her motor skills.

In other words, my lower protein diet certainly didn't hurt :P. I think your son's advanced skills are just the luck-of-the draw, probably genetic as well, but I don't think it's due to your protein intake. I don't know though, there is no way of knowing of course.

[RebeccaG]

What brand of protein powder do you normally use if you don't mind my asking? I'm sure I'll end up eating much healthier this pregnancy than I did my last (once I get past this morning sickness and aversions), but at the same time I'm still going to leave plenty of room for treats and indulgences, just as I normally do. Basically, once I'm able to, I'm going to eat very similarly to how I did before I got pregnant. Healthy, but not at all rigid. I can't be rigid due to my eating disordered background. It isn't healthy for me to label foods as good and bad. When I was pregnant with Heidi I only gained 19 lbs and that was with completely unrestrained eating. If I'm not careful and get too rigid and can see myself not gaining enough weight and that would not be good. I'm actually hoping to gain a little more this pregnancy now that I know how my body responds to breastfeeding. I lose a lot of weight really fast and actually lost too much weight the first time around---weight was down in the upper 80's by the time Heidi was 6 weeks old without restricting food at all.



That's very interesting and your son does seem very bright! Though I'm going to brag about my daughter for a moment and say that although my protein intake was very low that pregnancy (way before my "bodybuilding" days), she is one of the brightest students in her class. Of course I'm her mother and mothers are biased, but her teacher has commented about how advanced she is and how she's in the "top group". Her level of reading is much higher than her peers (she's getting ready to enter 1st grade next month and is reading chapter books with ease) and her dibold scores were through the roof (for example she needed a 21 to be at grade level in nonsense word recognition and she scored a 92!). She's advanced in math, has been able to do addition and subtraction throughout kindergarten. Her vocabulary is incredible, she uses words that one would not expect to come from a 6-year-old. She's always been ahead---she could identify colors at 18 months, numbers and letters (uppercase) at 2, and knew the sounds of her letters at 2.5 (and lowercase letters). She could draw a person at 2.5 and is still super artistic. While she is not a genius by any stretch, she is frequently described by others as "sharp" and "very bright".

She's tall and thin, in the 72 percentile for height which is surprising since I'm only 5'1" and my husband is 5'7". Don't know where she gets it, somewhere along the genetic line, lol. She was never ahead in terms of gross motor skills though. She rolled over and crawled a little late and then started walking just before her 1st birthday. But she weighed 9.5 lbs at birth and stayed in the upper percentages for weight until she was almost 1 (and she had a huge head!) so that interfered somewhat with her motor skills.

In other words, my lower protein diet certainly didn't hurt :P. I think your son's advanced skills are just the luck-of-the draw, probably genetic as well, but I don't think it's due to your protein intake. I don't know though, there is no way of knowing of course.

I use ON whey.

The study didn't say anything about lower protein diets being detrimental in any way and I doubt a high protein diet during pregnancy offers any guarantees whatsoever. All the study said was that they found babies whose mothers had a higher protein diet during pregnancy tended to develop ahead of their peers who mothers didn't have high protein diet. But those babies still developed just fine.

A friend of mine's daughter is considerably bright - was writing her name (upper and lowercase) by the time she was three, knew her phone number and address, etc, etc, etc, and, although I haven't asked her, I do not think she went overboard on protein during pregnancy.

I'm sure there are several factors. High protein diets could just be one of them. But that's not to say anyone's baby is going to be behind or anything without protein.

[heidismommy]

I use ON whey.

The study didn't say anything about lower protein diets being detrimental in any way and I doubt a high protein diet during pregnancy offers any guarantees whatsoever. All the study said was that they found babies whose mothers had a higher protein diet during pregnancy tended to develop ahead of their peers who mothers didn't have high protein diet. But those babies still developed just fine.

A friend of mine's daughter is considerably bright - was writing her name (upper and lowercase) by the time she was three, knew her phone number and address, etc, etc, etc, and, although I haven't asked her, I do not think she went overboard on protein during pregnancy.

I'm sure there are several factors. High protein diets could just be one of them. But that's not to say anyone's baby is going to be behind or anything without protein.

Okay, ON whey is the brand I have as well.

That's true, there are a lot of variables. All I know is that Heidi has always been significantly ahead of her peers even though my protein intake was low, though maybe breastfeeding her for as long as I did more than made up my lower protein intake.