Why I Don't Tell My Pregnant Clients to Eat Liver: A Personalized Nutrition Coaching Approach
By Nicole Roggow, Certified Pregnancy Nutrition Coach | Published: September 8th, 2025
Introduction
Last week, a new client came to me pretty down on herself. She was 12 weeks pregnant and convinced she was "failing" herself and her baby because she couldn't stomach the very specific (but unappetizing) nutrient dense foods like liver, lentils, and spinach that her previous nutrition coach had prescribed.
"I can barely keep toast down," she told me, "but she keeps sending me these food suggestions with organ meats and kale smoothies and mentioning the reason behind the specific vitamins and nutrients in those foods." These clients often KNOW those things are important and can understand the benefit, but the reality of them being able to eat foods like that in the first trimester very often feels impossible. This can cause an immense amount of guilt and often feeling like “theres no point” in giving attention to nutrition during the first trimester.
This conversation happens more often than you'd think. And it's exactly why I developed my personalized nutrition coaching approach that focuses on realistic pregnancy nutrition instead of textbook recommendations.
The Problem with Generic Pregnancy Nutrition Plans
Most nutrition professionals mean well when they hand out those pristine recommendations featuring liver for iron, leafy greens for folate, and a variety of meat and fish protein sources. The science behind these recommendations is absolutely solid and if you are one of the lucky ones who hold no aversions, no nausea, and can comfortably eat these things through the first trimester - ABSOLUTELY MAKE IT HAPPEN!
But - here's what traditional nutrition coaching services miss: the reality of the first trimester.
The reality is that 70% of pregnant women experience some kind of nausea and food aversions, especially during the first trimester. The reality is that the smell of cooking meat can sometimes be worse than actually eating it. The reality is that surviving on crackers, toast, and buttered pasta for a few days isn't the end of the world and working with someone who can ask the question “what are your safe foods?!” and come up with suggestions that include valuable nutrients, but also feel like its possible to consume is so important.
This is truly where personalized nutrition coaching makes all the difference and can be a game changer for those struggling the aversions and nausea of pregnancy (especially in the first trimester). Instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all approach, or simply throwing around textbook nutrient recommendations and the very unrealistic foods they are found in - we work with your body's current needs and preferences to meet you where you are at..
My Personalized Nutrition Coaching Philosophy
When a client tells me she's been living on bagels and can't look at vegetables without gagging, I don't panic. I don't lecture her about optimal nutrition, avoiding certain foods, or forcing certain foods.
Instead, I ask:
Can we add some yogurt or milk on the side for more protein?
Can we use a different kind of bagel brand for higher fiber?
Can we add almond butter on top of more quality fat?
Have you tried oatmeal for breakfast?"
Have you tried snacking veggies of any kind (like baby carrots!), is there any dip you can handle with them?
This personalized approach has helped hundreds of women navigate pregnancy nutrition successfully, even when textbook recommendations have seemed to fail them. My mindset is always “How can we make your nutrition even just A BIT BETTER than it currently is? Even if we cant get it perfect right now” Because that little bit of improvement is going to make a world of difference in nutrient intake and THAT is what is most important.
My Go-To Personalized First Trimester Recommendations
1. Protein-Enriched Comfort Foods
Can't stomach chicken breast? Try protein mac and cheese with protein pasta. Add shredded cheese for extra protein and calcium, maybe you can even hide a bit of shredded chicken (maybe not yet!). Suddenly, you're getting 25+ grams of protein in a meal that actually sounds appealing.
2. Fortified Familiar Foods
Those bagels you're craving? Choose brands that may carry more fiber or protein (i love Dave’s Killer Bread brand). Add nut butter or cream cheese for protein and fat. Not perfect, but infinitely better than a traditional bagel with just butter.
3. Liquid Nutrition When Solids Fail
Smoothies or acai bowls might work when solid food doesn't. You can hide ALOT in here - think nuts/seeds, greens powder (if the thought of spinach or kale makes you queasy), different kinds of fruit (fresh or frozen). Using milk or yogurt as a high protein base is another way to add more nutrients into it as well.
4. Strategic Supplementation
A good prenatal vitamin and even a daily greens powder can become crucial when food intake and nutrient intake is limited. This isn't giving up on nutrition; it's being smart about meeting your needs when your body is working against you during those early weeks specifically.
Why Personalized Nutrition Coaching Works Better
It Meets You Where You Are
Instead of just telling you what you "should" eat, personalized nutrition coaching starts with what you can eat and then builds from there.
It Adapts to Your Symptoms
First trimester aversions, second trimester heartburn, third trimester appetite changes – personalized nutrition coaching evolves with your pregnancy to continue to allow you to show up and give your best.
It Reduces Guilt and Stress
When you're not constantly failing at an impossible ask, you can focus on nourishing yourself and your baby in realistic ways. Figuring out what success is going to look like for each individual is incredibly important for their motivation throughout any season!
The "Best Effort" Philosophy
Here’s what most nutrition coaching services won’t tell you: best effort is enough.
If you're in your first trimester and the only protein you can keep down is a peanut butter sandwich, that's not failure. That's your body telling you what it needs right now to get through this phase. If we can simply focus on the BEST EFFORT POSSIBLE at each meal opportunity we will be in a better position. Nutrient density of food and nutrient intake throughout the day is important, but there are so many ways to get there and we can almost always find one that 1) feels doable and 2) feels like it was “better” than the alternative.
Most of my clients start feeling better around week 14. That’s when we can gradually reintroduce a wider variety of foods, and those beautiful, balanced, more colorful meals start becoming possible again. We just need an overall BEST EFFORT until that time.
Real Results from Personalized Nutrition Coaching
When I stopped pressuring clients to eat perfectly and started offering personalized nutrition coaching that met them where they were, something interesting happened:
They stopped feeling guilty about their food choices which lowered stress
They actually ate more because the food sounded manageable
They stayed confident and engaged with nutrition coaching instead of giving up
They maintained better overall nutrition throughout pregnancy because they never felt “set back”
The client who came to me so down on herself around the 12-week mark? Three months later, she's eating a varied diet, has gained appropriate weight, her baby is thriving and healthy, and her latest blood work is beautiful. It wasn’t PERFECT nutrition that did it - but instead intentional, realistic and best effort nutrition.
When to Worry (And When Not To)
I’m not at all saying optimal nutrition doesn’t matter during pregnancy. But through my coaching experience, I’ve learned that sustainable nutrition matters more than perfect nutrition.
If you’re even considering the quality of food you are intaking, planning ahead as much as you can, able to keep some kind of protein and nutrient dense food down, staying hydrated, and taking your prenatal vitamins, you’re probably doing better than you think. A woman’s body is remarkably good at taking what it needs from mama’s stores even if it feels like we aren’t doing things perfectly.
So when would I start to worry? If you are unable to keep any kind of food down for days, if you’re losing significant weight, or if you’re having other concerning symptoms I would recommend medical intervention as there may be something else at play that no amount of nutrition coaching can assist with.
A Different Way Forward
Pregnancy nutrition doesn’t have to be about perfect nutrient intake. Through personalized nutrition coaching, it can be about progress, about best effort, about “what is a slightly better option”, about finding what works for your body RIGHT NOW, and about giving yourself permission to simply do your best with where you are that day.
Because at the end of the day, the best nutrition strategy during pregnancy, is the one you can actually follow.
Ready for personalized nutrition coaching that works with your real life instead of against it? Stop forcing yourself to eat foods that make you feel worse.
Get pregnancy nutrition coaching that meets you where you are.
