How much should I eat during pregnancy to avoid excessive weight gain?

Probably the best way to approach diet during pregnancy is to recognize that you should have a balanced diet and to eat healthy and avoid cravings that you know are unhealthy on a regular basis. If you understand that you only need an extra 100 to 300 calories a day, then that can help you gauge how much extra you eat each day. The other way to avoid excessive calories is to recognize that in general, simple carbohydrates in the form of sugars in sweets or excessive pastas and those kinds of things are going to result in a lot more calorie intake and weight gain.