I was pregnant with my second child (a little girl) when I became dedicated to not gaining as much weight as I did the first time with my son. During that first pregnancy I felt horrible, and I honestly looked horrible too. At times I could not recognize myself in the mirror, because I was so swollen from internal inflammation, water weight and excessive weight gain overall.
So, I did the research before I became pregnant with my daughter. I also thought realistically about the things that truly affected my body in a negative way during my first pregnancy. I was able to make a plan of “do’s and don’ts” to apply to my eating habits during my pregnancy. These strategies led to a pregnancy weight gain of roughly 20 LBS, which was less than half the weight I gained during my first pregnancy that was over 50 LBS. In this video (and post) I am sharing all of those details.
Let’s start with what I learned to eat in abundance. It’s always easier to digest the positive things (no pun intended).
Healthy Foods to Eat During Pregnancy:
- Green Leafy Vegetables
Leafy greens are vegetables that are full of vitamins and minerals known to be healthy for you overall, and especially while you are growing a baby. Try to remember to incorporate them into your daily diet. I have a post about my green smoothie, which taste amazing and is super simple. Check out that article by clicking here if you are looking for a recipe.
2. Eat Eggs
I’ll be the first to admit that eggs aren’t my favorite food in the world. I consider them a breakfast food and I’m not really a fan of breakfast foods. I know this is odd. In fact, when IHOP first opened up in my area I was shocked that people actually wanted to eat pancakes, bacon and eggs all day. However, when it comes to my pregnancies I try to eat them more often. The reason is due the high amount of choline found in eggs. This is an important nutrient in the development of the fetus. Eggs also do not raise my blood sugar levels, which was an issue for me in my previous pregnancy.
It’s much easier for me to have a healthy pregnancy if I think about the long term and short term health goals for my unborn children. They motivate me more than anything else.
3. Drink 1 Gallon of Water a Day
We have heard the advice to drink more water far too often. Yet, some of us still fall short when it comes to staying hydrated all day. To defeat this bad habit I made it a priority to drink more water while pregnant by making it a challenge. I challenged myself to drink 1 gallon of water per day. Even though I fell short at times, it was still a significant amount of water consumed on a daily.
The act of drinking more water actually helped me to better determine when I was thirsty or dehydrated rather than hungry. This decreased overeating, which can easily happen during pregnancy. To track my water intake I used this water bottle (click link), which made everything a lot easier. I also used an app called Water Log, but there are plenty of water logging apps to use. Pick whatever works for you and stick with it.
4. Eat raw probiotics
A healthy gut is important to our immune systems and our mood. I personally take a probiotic daily called Solluna Feel Good SBO Probiotics by the celebrity nutritionist Kimberly Snyder (I’m a fan). In her book The Beauty Detox Solution she suggested that we also look for food sources of probiotics for a healthy gut. The gut is major in a healthy pregnancy. I ate sauerkraut, and miso soups to help increase the amount of healthy gut bacteria in my body.
5. Pack Snacks
“If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.” We know this! So, why do we do this? Well, in my case I learned to listen to sound advice and planned out snacks to have with me in case I was out of the house hungry, and being tempted by a Snicker’s candy bar (a weakness). I packed almonds, seaweed packets, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and other easy to grab and go foods. This helped me to stay focused on my healthy pregnancy rather than give into my sugar weakness, which is hard to overcome without a full tummy.
What to Avoid While Pregnant:
- Refined Sugar
We know better; and therefore, we should do better! At least that is what the late great Maya Angelou once said. She was a wise woman. When it comes to refined sugar we know that it doesn’t have a positive place in our lives. Sure, we have positive memories from childhood where we indulged in candy and cake during the holidays, but our bodies did not benefit from this at all. Our babies in our bellies do not get anything wonderful from refined sugar.
Not only is it lacking in nutritional value, but it is one of the causes of weight gain. In pregnancy, there are possible complications associated with gaining too much weight or even starting the pregnancy overweight. We need to stay away from sugar. This one is hard for me, because I have a sweet tooth. It’s a sweet tooth I never had until I was pregnant with my first son. It was the major thing that I tried to avoid during pregnancy after that.
2. Don’t Go Cold Turkey
I think we all can agree that pregnancy can have its obstacles. Some women have it really tough, while others just glow, but we all change during this time in our lives. Therefore, I think it is important to be gentle with yourself in transitioning out of bad habits at this time. If you can go cold turkey without feeling stressed then great! However, if you need an adjustment period there is nothing wrong with that either. Stress during pregnancy is just as bad.
The purpose of making the list of things to do significantly longer than the list of things to avoid was to be supportive and uplifting to the realities of pregnancy. It is already draining at times, so having a shorter list of things to tell yourself “no” about leads to greater success overall.
If you have been pregnant before or are planning a pregnancy, let us know what food plans you have for your pregnancy. We love a community that shares. Comment below and share this post with your mom friends.
