Diet During Pregnancy
Well now, you've just found out you are pregnant and you are probably meandering along, a few feet off the ground; thinking about how terrific it will be to have another life included in yours and how exciting. The frequent bouts of nausea are with you now every day as a reminder of what is happening to your body and also of the fact that now that there is a little someone inside you that needs to be nurtured, so you'd better get serious about your eating and living habits.
By that I mean, saying goodbye to the greasy burgers and fries for lunch every day, or the cheesecake and ice cream binges when those crushing depression times hit; or all those wild parties where you were the one drinking your friends under the table and proud of it. No more, sweetie, times have changed and it's high time you take a good look at your diet during pregnancy. The big R word, responsibility, has entered your existence.
Let's take a cold hard look at exactly what that means. Your diet now needs to be a healthy one...well balanced and one that will be beneficial to both you and your baby. That means no smoking and definitely no drinking......and......you might want to take a closer look at how much coffee or caffeine-laden soft drinks you are consuming on a daily basis. Cut down on the caffeine. It does neither you or the baby any good at this stage in the game, and you want to provide as much good input in your diet as possible.
If you feel your whole psyche beginning to fill with dread at the mere thought of all this all at once, get over it. There are plenty of alternatives to a coffee-caffeine-sugar-grease-carb. laden life and if you plan it right, you will hardly miss them and be the better for it. One of the substitutions you might look at is herbal teas that are approved for use by pregnant women. Or check out lower calorie foods that are sweetened with a sugar substitute that leaves no aftertaste and you cannot tell the difference when you are eating it or drinking it, that it is not sugar. How painless is that!
Just keep your mind focused on the fact that you are slowly creating another human being, and that little person's health and wellbeing right now, depends on what you put in your mouth. Stay in close touch with your doctor, and if you have not been on a healthy eating plan up to this point; work with him/her to formulate one that you can live with and stick to. Your diet during pregnancy is very important, probably the most important facet of the whole picture; and you should be very aware of everything that you are eating and doing as to how it will affect the health of the baby.
If you have been on a good, healthy diet up to now; then by all means continue it, and again, check with your doctor to make sure it covers all the nutritional bases, and that there is nothing that needs to be added or deleted.
Another pitfall to avoid is allowing yourself any indulgence because "now we are eating for two". Get that thought out of your head right off the top, because your "eating for two" can get totally out of hand in a heartbeat, and soon you will see extra pounds beginning to creep onto your already expanding-with-pregnancy frame, and extra pounds you do not need. Your doctor can help you with this by telling you what the recommended weight gain should be during a normal pregnancy, and you can do your part by making sure that you adjust your diet during pregnancy so that you gain weight in a sensible manner.
Even though there are ways to lose weight after the baby comes, just keep in mind that sometimes those pounds that go on so easily when you are pregnant and craving comfort from food, will be the nemesis that will drive you to distraction when you have to start losing all that extra weight after the delivery. Do yourself a favor and don't put those pounds on in the first place.....monitor your eating and above all, be responsible.
This should be the time you treasure most, when you are newly pregnant and planning your life with a new little one included in it. Make sure that you use this time wisely and live wisely, so you don't regret the dietary mistakes you may make now that will certainly affect the time after the baby comes and you have to lose all that weight you so gleefully put on. This is a time of joy and your diet during pregnancy can be the key to keeping it that way. Follow a good plan now, and you will be able to save your strength for after the baby comes, when all the hard work kicks in. By that I mean, the sleepless nights, walking the floors over and over with a screaming baby and everything else included with a new baby. That's when the really hard work starts, no doubt about it.