Pregnancy, Nutrition and Exercise by Gabby
Even though my youngest daughter is a year old now I still get questions about what I ate and how I moved when I was pregnant. It’s all like a warm blur. Just kidding that’s my present day life I’m talking about.
Embrace Pregnancy
First of all when it comes to pregnancy I think the number one thing you must do is to take care of yourself on all levels (physical, mental, and emotional) and embrace the hell out of the fact that you are with child. Yes, it may be uncomfortable at times, and no you’re not fitting into any of your clothes, but it’s just for a moment. If someone makes you angry when you’re knocked up ask yourself “is it really worth it to have all those detrimental hormones pulsing through my body?” Keep exercising, and don’t talk about your pregnancy too much (makes the time go quicker).
Eating for Two?
I love it when women first find out their pregnant and they start “eating for two” meanwhile the baby is just the side of a grape seed. No, no, no! Fight that urge to over eat and to eat whatever you want. Reality is you only need about 30% more calories at the height of your pregnancy to sustain your unborn child, and I don’t think ice cream is pertinent to their brain development.
Improvise
If I didn’t want to eat animal protein or greens because the thought of trying to digest it made me want to go to sleep or gag, I improvised by doing a smoothie in the morning with protein powder and a greens mix to add to the fruity drink. This way I was hitting all of my nutritional marks but not suffering through my meals. Let’s say all I wanted to eat were bagels and butter. Then every other time I had the urge I would have half of one. So it wasn’t about denial, but it also wasn’t about giving in to my every whim and then making them habits. Oh, and by the way habits are hard to break. So when the baby comes you’ll most likely still want to eat the crazy diet you got used to!
Exercise
If you are not puking and the Doc says it’s safe, do yourself a favor and do some kind of exercise for as long as you can. This will help with your recovery once the baby has arrived, and I do believe if you continue to exercise it makes the pregnancy easier. In the end it’s like raising your children, you still have to follow your instinct and do what works for you.
So, figure out the way to keep yourself moving and ways to eat that agree with you and your lifestyle. There is no one right way, but it is proven exercise and eating well will help tremendously on all fronts (surprise surprise).