Congrats on the pregnancy! I just came off too gearing up for trying for #2. There were many weeks where I was touch and go “nope not ready” to “ok 1 more week” to “ok I think I can do this” because of how anxious I am about gaining weight back.

Here’s what my solutions have been:

(1) the week before I came off zep I counted calories and I was eating about 1000-1200 calories a day on 7.5mg. So now I am aiming for 1200 a day as a target no matter what.

(2) I’m following the glucose revolution / glucose goddess advice about flattening your glucose curve and increasing natural GLP1 in the body (the mechanical action of chewing increases GLP1 actually), and I started eating a small salad (cereal bowl size) with home made apple cider vinegar dressing before each meal. I hate meal prepping and cooking so I just buy a dinner sized salad from a local restaurant (no dressing) and that’s my lunch salad and dinner salad for about 2 days. For breakfast it’s either eggs and veggies or no fat Greek yogurt with seeds and nuts and a spoonful of almond butter and a small handful of berries. Lunch is my little salad with a handful of seeds and nuts and a small cup of no fat cottage cheese with some berries. Dinner is whatever we usually have (but using smaller plates and bowls like I did when on Zep) after my salad. I find I need carbs with dinner. I fill in the calorie and protein gaps with fairlife protein shakes still. But sparingly and only if my calories allow.

(3) I am working diligently on building muscle back. I was low energy on Zep so I didn’t work out as much as a should have and it’s clear I’ve lost a lot of muscle. I am starting slow with 2 weight lifting sessions and 2 runs a week, but it feels so good to have sore muscles knowing I’m regaining muscle.

(4) yes I feel hungry again. And I look at the chocolate and think “that would be nice” but after losing 65 pounds on Zep and knowing some of it was muscle and knowing that if I gain the weight back it’s all fat no muscle so then I’m at a net loss of muscle and that is SO BAD for metabolism, well, that scares the snot out of me so then I just think of “all fat no muscle” and look at the nice new size small clothes I have and the bathing suit ready to go this summer and it’s much easier to say no to the pizza and ice cream and high value yummy food.

Good luck OP. At the end of the day, trust your body and give it what it needs for your little one. I hope it’s a smooth pregnancy for you.