When you’re pregnant, your goal should be staying healthy and not counting calories or following extreme diets unless specified and prescribed by your physician. But while it’s true that gaining weight during pregnancy is part of the deal, it’d be good to note that you have control over the amount of weight that you might gain.
Practical ideas like being mindful of what you eat or drink, including doing exercises daily, and drinking enough water are some of the most common suggestions for managing your weight. You could also visit obgynofhampton.com or other similar websites to gain more insights and information on the matter.
To help you start, here are some tips on how you can manage weight gain during your pregnancy.
1. Choose Healthy Food Options
Opting for healthy food and drink options could be very beneficial, not just in terms of managing your weight gain, but also for your growing baby. When shopping for food, consider getting fresh, nutritious, and organic products. Fruits, vegetables, and high-quality proteins should be on your grocery list too. Additionally, you can add also add flax seeds, lentils, organic or free-range meat and eggs, and whole grains into your diet.
2. Don’t Over Indulge
The old saying of ‘eating for two’ couldn’t be further from the truth! Although you would need to add more vitamins and minerals to your daily intake, you don’t have to eat excessive amounts of food to do that. Instead, choose foods with a rich vitamin and mineral content to supplement your normal diet.
For instance, vitamin B12 and vitamin D can help contribute to the nervous system development as well as the growth of the skeleton of your baby. Make sure that you eat foods with enough iron as well, as this can help prevent anemia for both you and the baby. Additionally, this can also ensure that the baby is not below normal weight when born.
3. Do Some Light Exercises
If you don’t have a regular exercise routine, you may want to start with some casual walking, like taking a stroll through the park every day.The fresh air in combination with the light cardio exercise could boost the oxygen content in your body too. Being active also helps to prepare the body for the strain of carrying and giving birth to a baby.
However, before starting any exercise routine, it is important that you check in with your doctor first and seek assistance and guidance from a professional trainer. This way, you can ensure your safety and your baby’s as well.
4. Shake Off The Extra Weight
Being overweight might pose significant health risks to either you or your baby. Some of the risks related to obesity include heart problems, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, and sleep apnea. In extreme cases, it may also cause miscarriage and stillbirth.
While it’d be good to note that during pregnancy, it is not advisable to engage in intense workout routines to shed off some weight, there are other simpler ways to lose weight safely.
5. Cut Out The Junk
Eating a lot of processed foods and ‘junk food’ is the worst option for your weight management during pregnancy. These food items are usually over-processed and lack the necessary vitamins and minerals your body needs. These snacks could also contain high concentrations of sugar or unnecessary fats that you need to avoid.Have an apple or other fruits that are lower in sugar, instead of reaching for a candy bar.
That said, consider cooking at home or preparing a healthy meal instead of doing it the easy way and munching on unhealthy snacks.
6. Drink Up More Water
Water offers a lot of benefits, especially when taken enough daily. Assisting with appetite control and metabolism regulation are just some of its advantages. Water also does not add to your calorie intake for the day, which makes it a smarter choice than consuming sugary beverages.
7. Smaller But More Frequent Meals
Instead of sitting down for the usual breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you may want to consider having smaller meals instead. Having smaller, but more frequent meals during the course of the day can help curb your cravings and may also assist with nausea, which is very common during the first trimester.Additionally, smaller and more frequent meals are easier to control in terms of quantity.
Weighing It All Up
Considering that there are various ways to help you manage your pregnancy weight, it’s always best to educate yourself first, and more importantly, seek your doctor’s advice before engaging in any practice or activity.
Remember that your decisions and actions do not only affect you but can also affect your baby’s health too.
