If you are expecting, you may need a diet plan for pregnancy that will help keep your weight gain in check while still giving your baby the nutrients she needs to develop properly. You need to eliminate foods from your diet for pregnancy that contain empty calories, sugar, artificial sweeteners, and other substances that can contribute to excessive weight gain, water retention, and a host of health problems during the next nine months. Think you have everything under control? Think again if you suffer from any of the following symptoms:
1. You are experiencing health problems
If you are experiencing many of the common pregnancy complaints, you may need to alter your eating plan during pregnancy. The usual suspects include headaches, body aches, fatigue, water retention, indigestion, and constipation. If you suffer from any of these symptoms, you should alter your diet to include more water, more fiber, and less sodium, preservatives, and fillers. If you are experiencing edema, changing your diet and eliminating wheat and gluten products can bring relief.
2. You are gaining too much weight
The old adage that you should eat for two during pregnancy has been disproved time and again by pregnancy nutritionists and physicians. In fact, you only need to consume 300 more calories when pregnant. But still, many pregnant women go above and beyond the 20-30 pounds that are the recommended gain during pregnancy. If you are packing on the pounds at an alarming rate, you should alter your diet to eliminate all sugar and artificial sweeteners. Instead, rely on all-natural sweeteners like stevia, which contains zero calories, to curb your sweet tooth without any harmful side effects. You should also increase the amount of healthy fats you eat to promote feelings of satiety during meals. Healthy fats include olive oil, organic butter, and coconut oil, which also give your baby the fatty acids she needs for proper brain and neural development.
3. You feel fatigued all the time
Fatigue is a common pregnancy complaint, and changing your diet can profoundly change your energy levels. If you are suffering from excessive tiredness, you should cut back on your consumption of carbs and instead increase your protein levels. In fact, you should be eating a serving of protein with every meal, including snacks. Whole organic eggs, all-natural beef and chicken, raw nuts, nut butters--these healthy forms of protein can help boost your energy levels while giving your baby the essential amino acids she needs for proper development. You should also increase the amount of water you drink, aiming for a minimum of half your body weight in water each day. So if you weigh 140 pounds, you should drink at least 70 ounces of water per day. Drink more than that if you work out or if you are suffering from morning sickness.
4. You are suffering from morning sickness
If you suffer from the most common symptom of pregnancy--morning sickness--then you may be tempted to eat nothing but crackers and drink nothing except ginger ale. But both of those options are bad choices for your health and diet. Instead, make a ginger tea by boiling sliced gingerroot in water and sweeten with stevia. You should also eat some sort of protein--homemade chicken soup is good, as are raw nuts and but butters--to help combat nausea and keep your strength up. You should make sure you are staying adequately hydrated if you are experiencing vomiting--avoid dehydration at all costs. Fortunately, most women only suffer with morning sickness for their first trimester, so if you can keep your diet on track for those first three months, you should be fine by your second trimester.
1. You are experiencing health problems
If you are experiencing many of the common pregnancy complaints, you may need to alter your eating plan during pregnancy. The usual suspects include headaches, body aches, fatigue, water retention, indigestion, and constipation. If you suffer from any of these symptoms, you should alter your diet to include more water, more fiber, and less sodium, preservatives, and fillers. If you are experiencing edema, changing your diet and eliminating wheat and gluten products can bring relief.
2. You are gaining too much weight
The old adage that you should eat for two during pregnancy has been disproved time and again by pregnancy nutritionists and physicians. In fact, you only need to consume 300 more calories when pregnant. But still, many pregnant women go above and beyond the 20-30 pounds that are the recommended gain during pregnancy. If you are packing on the pounds at an alarming rate, you should alter your diet to eliminate all sugar and artificial sweeteners. Instead, rely on all-natural sweeteners like stevia, which contains zero calories, to curb your sweet tooth without any harmful side effects. You should also increase the amount of healthy fats you eat to promote feelings of satiety during meals. Healthy fats include olive oil, organic butter, and coconut oil, which also give your baby the fatty acids she needs for proper brain and neural development.
3. You feel fatigued all the time
Fatigue is a common pregnancy complaint, and changing your diet can profoundly change your energy levels. If you are suffering from excessive tiredness, you should cut back on your consumption of carbs and instead increase your protein levels. In fact, you should be eating a serving of protein with every meal, including snacks. Whole organic eggs, all-natural beef and chicken, raw nuts, nut butters--these healthy forms of protein can help boost your energy levels while giving your baby the essential amino acids she needs for proper development. You should also increase the amount of water you drink, aiming for a minimum of half your body weight in water each day. So if you weigh 140 pounds, you should drink at least 70 ounces of water per day. Drink more than that if you work out or if you are suffering from morning sickness.
4. You are suffering from morning sickness
If you suffer from the most common symptom of pregnancy--morning sickness--then you may be tempted to eat nothing but crackers and drink nothing except ginger ale. But both of those options are bad choices for your health and diet. Instead, make a ginger tea by boiling sliced gingerroot in water and sweeten with stevia. You should also eat some sort of protein--homemade chicken soup is good, as are raw nuts and but butters--to help combat nausea and keep your strength up. You should make sure you are staying adequately hydrated if you are experiencing vomiting--avoid dehydration at all costs. Fortunately, most women only suffer with morning sickness for their first trimester, so if you can keep your diet on track for those first three months, you should be fine by your second trimester.
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