Useful Tips On How To Prevent Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Useful Tips On How To Prevent Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of the most beautiful moments in the life of a mother, and the entire process, a nine months-long one, celebrates new life and a new beginning. Besides this deeper sense of life and happiness it brings with itself, there are some difficulties marking the entire process, and weight gain are definitely one of them. It would be immensely challenging and unhealthy to stick to your original weight during the pregnancy and there will still be a couple of kilograms extra after giving birth which is fine. But, in order to teach you how to gain just a healthy amount of weight, here are some simple tricks on how to prevent a huge weight gain during pregnancy. 

• Start Your Pregnancy With a Healthy Weight 

When most women decide to get pregnant, they overestimate their weight, putting themselves at an even greater chance of becoming overweight after giving birth. There is concerning data that shows that more than half of women are overweight or even obese before they decide to become pregnant. So, when you decide on pregnancy, it is of essential importance ensure you’re at a healthy weight which can make a huge difference once you need to put your body into shape after having your baby too.

• Eat Balanced Food

The point being is that you do not have to be in a caloric surplus immediately after getting pregnant. In the first trimester, you do not need any additional calories while in the second trimester, you will need about 340 extra calories, and 450 extra calories for the third trimester. However, this also depends on your initial weight, if you are underweight or overweight then these numbers can considerably differ based on the weight goal during and after the pregnancy. 

By bearing this in mind, it is high time to stop playing games and start eating well. It is time to start eating whole foods and meals that are rich in essential nutrients such as fibers, proteins, and a small number of carbohydrates that will give you an energy punch, but this certainly does not mean that you should be eating lots of sweets. Even though food cravings in this state are understandable, you should always be careful about your calorie intake. So, this means that you can eat hot dogs while pregnant but only if prepared properly, or better said, thermally well-prepared.

You should focus on eating small and frequent meals and think about how to eat more protein rich meals. Therefore, it is smart to have a pregnancy meal plan. When it comes to snacking, then choose to eat healthy snacks every three hours or so, so that overeating is avoided. 

• Hydration 

One of the key elements in the life of every living human being is definitely hydration, not to mention how important it is during pregnancy. So, if you are on your quest of keeping a healthy weight during pregnancy or regulating your weight, drinking enough water will help you feel good when it comes to meals and snacks. Additionally, if paired with some light physical activity, you can get great results, you will feel lighter, and have more energy. The thing you can do is to track your urine colour, and if you notice that your urine is dark in color, this translates into more fluids to be taken during the day. 

Another benefit of good hydration is the prevention of constipation, and digestive problems are one of the following side effects of a human growing inside your body. Namely, your digestive system slows down and can make you feel heavier. Another thing you can do is to make infused water with a couple of slices of lemon, lime, cucumber, and fresh leaves of mint. 

• Choose Complex Carbs 

Whole foods and complex carbs can be a great friend of yours during pregnancy, especially in those moments when you are fighting morning sickness, nausea, and vertigo. Simple carbs such as bread, white rice, breakfast cereals, pasta, etc. indeed will increase blood sugar levels, but will not provide you with nutrients that are important for your pregnancy to go smoothly.

There is a better alternative to this and it is to choose complex carbohydrates extracted from the whole grains such as beans, soy, fruits and veggies, brown rice, and quinoa. These will not only provide your baby with all the useful nutrients but will make you less likely to give in to unhealthy cravings during the day. 

Gaining weight during pregnancy is unavoidable, especially if you have such a strong need for food that you feel nauseous if you don’t eat. However, there are some things you can do to decrease these cravings, and it is implementing a high-in-protein diet and eating whole grains. 

Author: Allen Brown.