Key points
- You don't need to eat for two: about 200 extra calories a day, and only in the last three months.
- Keep caffeine under 200 mg a day: a cup of tea has about 75 mg, instant coffee about 100 mg.
- Avoid unboiled milk, undercooked meat and eggs, liver, and supplements containing vitamin A.
- The NHS advises 400 micrograms of folic acid a day for the first 12 weeks.
- South Asian women have a higher risk of gestational diabetes, so don't skip your glucose test.
Do you need to eat for two in pregnancy?
No. The NHS says you don't need to eat for two, even if you're expecting twins or triplets. According to Tommy’s, the UK pregnancy charity, most women need no extra calories in the first six months and about 200 extra a day in the last three.
That's smaller than most families expect: roughly one extra roti and a small bowl of plain yoghurt. When ammi offers a second helping of everything, it comes from love, but what your body needs is better food rather than more of it.
How much weight should you gain in pregnancy?
It depends on your weight before pregnancy. These ranges for a single baby come from the US Institute of Medicine and are published by the CDC:
| BMI before pregnancy | Recommended total gain |
|---|---|
| Below 18.5 | 12.5 to 18 kg (28 to 40 lb) |
| 18.5 to 24.9 | 11.5 to 16 kg (25 to 35 lb) |
| 25 to 29.9 | 7 to 11.5 kg (15 to 25 lb) |
| 30 to 39.9 | 5 to 9 kg (11 to 20 lb) |
These use general BMI bands. For South Asian women, health risks start at a lower BMI (our guide to healthy BMI for South Asians explains why), so ask your doctor which range applies to you. Pregnancy isn't the time for a weight loss diet: aim for good food and steady progress.
What should you eat every day when pregnant?
Build each meal the same way: protein, sabzi or fruit, and a sensible portion of roti or rice.
- Protein: daal, chana, lobia, eggs cooked until the yolk is firm, chicken, and fish within the limits below.
- Iron: daal, chana, meat, and dark green sabzi like saag and palak. Your doctor or midwife will tell you if you need an iron supplement as well.
- Calcium: boiled or pasteurised packaged milk, yoghurt, raita and paneer.
- Fibre: chakki atta roti, sabzi, fruit and plenty of water.
If you get hungry between meals, the NHS suggests snacks that aren't high in fat or sugar, such as salad vegetables. In a Pakistani kitchen that might be cucumber and carrot with chaat masala, a guava, roasted chana or a bowl of yoghurt.
Which foods should you avoid in pregnancy?
The NHS list of foods to avoid mostly protects you from infections, and from too much of a few things. Here's what it means in a Pakistani kitchen:
| Food | Why | Instead |
|---|---|---|
| Unboiled milk from the gawala, unpasteurised cheese | Can carry listeria bacteria | Boil loose milk well, or buy pasteurised packaged milk |
| Meat or kebabs still pink inside | Small risk of toxoplasmosis | Cook meat, seekh kebabs and tikka all the way through |
| Runny or half-cooked eggs | Eggs without UK safety marks should not be eaten raw or partly cooked | Cook eggs until the yolk is firm |
| Liver (kaleji), and supplements with vitamin A, including cod liver oil | Too much vitamin A can harm the baby | Other meat, eggs and daal |
| Shark, swordfish and marlin | On the NHS list of fish to avoid | Other fish, within the limits below |
| Tuna and oily fish | Can contain mercury and other pollutants | No more than 4 cans of tuna or 2 tuna steaks a week, and 2 portions of oily fish |
| Alcohol | Can cause long-term harm to the baby | Avoid it completely |
Caffeine has its own limit: no more than 200 mg a day. A cup of tea has about 75 mg and a cup of instant coffee about 100 mg, so two cups of chai a day keeps you under the limit.
Do you need folic acid, vitamin D or iron?
Your doctor or midwife will advise you, but it helps to know what the NHS recommends:
- Folic acid: 400 micrograms a day from when you start trying for a baby until 12 weeks of pregnancy. Some women need a higher dose of 5 mg, which a doctor prescribes.
- Vitamin D: 10 micrograms a day. In the UK this applies from October to March, so ask your doctor what suits where you live.
- Iron: your doctor or midwife will recommend a supplement if you need one. Low iron can make you feel more tired than usual.
- Vitamin A: don't take supplements containing it, including cod liver oil.
What does a pregnancy diet plan look like with Pakistani food?
Here's an example day in the middle months. It shows the pattern rather than exact portions, which depend on you, your stage of pregnancy and anything your doctor is watching.
| Meal | Example |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Omelette with sabzi, yolk cooked firm, one or two rotis and a glass of boiled milk |
| Mid-morning | A guava or an orange, and a few almonds |
| Lunch | Daal or chicken salan, roti or a cup of rice, raita, and cucumber and tomato salad |
| Evening | Chai, and chana chaat with lemon |
| Dinner | Fish or chicken with sabzi, and one or two rotis |
| Before bed | A small bowl of yoghurt or a glass of milk |
In the last three months, the extra 200 calories can be as simple as one more roti and a bowl of yoghurt across the day.
Are South Asian women more at risk of gestational diabetes?
Yes. In the UK, NICE lists a South Asian family background, including Pakistan, as a risk factor for diabetes in pregnancy, and women with risk factors are offered a glucose test. In Pakistan, ask your gynaecologist when you should be tested.
The eating pattern that helps is the one in our diet plan for sugar patients, based on the plate method: half the plate sabzi, a quarter protein, a quarter roti or rice, and sweets kept small and occasional. If you're diagnosed, follow your doctor's plan, and never change insulin or tablets on your own.
What should you eat after delivery and while breastfeeding?
The weeks after birth come with strong food traditions: panjiri, ghee in everything, dry fruit halwa. They're made with love and they're rich, so enjoy them in small portions rather than a big bowl every day, and keep building meals around protein, sabzi, daal and plenty to drink.
If you had a C-section, follow your surgeon's advice on what to eat and when. Ask your doctor whether to continue vitamin D or iron while you're breastfeeding.
NutriZaika builds plans for pregnancy and for the months after birth around your own kitchen, and Nida Tu Sehar, Nutritionist and Dietitian, reviews every plan. If you'd like one, book a consultation or see plans and pricing.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition or take medication, talk to your doctor before you change how you eat.
About this guide
Written by NutriZaika, a virtual health studio that builds personalised 28-day diet plans around Pakistani and South Asian home food, for clients in Pakistan and worldwide.
Last updated 21 October 2026. Every figure links to its source below.
Sources
- NHS: Have a healthy diet in pregnancy
- NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancy
- NHS: Vitamins, supplements and nutrition in pregnancy
- Tommy’s: How much extra should I eat in pregnancy?
- CDC: Weight gain during pregnancy (Institute of Medicine ranges)
- NICE: Diabetes in pregnancy (NG3)
- CDC: Diabetes meal planning (the plate method)