Pregnancy is a difficult time, for some it brings only happiness, other women suffer and suffer. But in any case, this is a test that most beautiful ladies pass. As soon as women find out that they will have a child, they try to rethink their whole lives, some try to get rid of bad habits and normalize their nutrition. These are the right measures that in the future will only positively affect your health.
If you have become pregnant and have been sitting constantly on various diets for weight loss, have been taking dietary supplements and exercising on an ongoing basis, then it is best for you to review your diet and seek help from a certified specialist (nutritionist). He will be able to offer some recommendations for you so that your body can adapt to the loads. First of all, it is necessary to understand the concept of proper nutrition during pregnancy for women, what it should be, what permissible weight gain is possible, and other nuances.
Weight gain
Many expectant mothers, being in such an interesting position, begin to eat more than usual, and these are quite normal things. However, there are ladies who are very afraid to spoil their beautiful figure, and they actually starve themselves, with horror looking at the scales and the growing indicators on them. Why it happens? This is due to the fact that many women do not have the slightest idea about what weight gain is considered normal during pregnancy, because everything is calculated in its own way, usually like this: just three to four kilograms of fetal weight are added to your own body weight and They are guided precisely by this indicator, trying not to deviate from it.
Such calculations are incorrect, because a lot of factors are not taken into account: the growth of the uterus by about one kilogram, the amniotic fluid in the volume of one kilogram, the breast increases by about a kilogram, the placenta by seven hundred grams, the additional circulating blood is about one and a half kilograms necessary for a woman in a fat position reserve up to five 5 kilograms. If everything is calculated, it turns out that the mass gain will not be far-fetched four kilograms, but much more - about 12-14 kilograms. If you recover less than 12-14 kilograms, then there will be a reason to think about whether you eat enough, do not harm yourself and your child with your experiments.
It is worth remembering right away: proper nutrition during pregnancy is not some kind of diet that will allow you to be slim even in position, but a diet recommended by doctors that allows your baby to be born healthy.
You need to make a reservation right away, if your weight gain is more than fifteen kilograms, and you only bear one child, then you should think and realize that the indicators are too large, and the problem must be solved. Pregnancy is not a reason not to monitor nutrition, just the opposite!
We calculate calorie content
Proper nutrition during pregnancy is not to eat "for two", but completely different. You should immediately take into account the fact that your companion is a baby, he does not need thousands of calories in order not to feel hunger. Overeating will be bad for both you and him, but do you really achieve this? Proper nutrition during pregnancy should only be 300 calories higher than your usual rate. If you are a nursing mother, then the indicators increase to 500 calories. We can’t talk about double servings, sizes and so on. Eat 1,500 calories daily? Then during pregnancy, increase the diet to 1800 calories, everything is simple.
Proper nutrition during pregnancy also includes a competent distribution:
- 30% of the daily diet - breakfast;
- 10% - snacks;
- the third part of the menu should fall on the general menu;
- 20% is reserved for dinner.
Diet
Now it’s worth talking about the diet. Proper nutrition during pregnancy should be made in fractions, you need to eat in small portions, but quite often - every 2.5-3 hours until the beginning of the third trimester. When your tummy is already of impressive size, it is better to start eating seven times a day, every couple of hours.
Nutritionists say that proper nutrition during pregnancy has its own characteristics. For example, it is recommended that an ordinary person have breakfast half an hour after rising, but future mothers should immediately eat after awakening. Limitations, however, also exist. For example, you should not eat up at night, and dinner should be a couple of hours before the moment you go to bed. Are you tormented by hunger? Then just drink a glass of kefir, do not torment yourself and the child, and you can safely fall asleep.
Doctors insist that proper nutrition in planning pregnancy be varied, but fish and meat dishes, porridge for women should eat during breakfast and lunch, and leave fruits, salads and dairy products for dinner and afternoon tea.
What foods to include in the diet?
But what is it worth to eat, so that the crumbs, and you feel good and at ease? The ideal menu for proper nutrition during pregnancy by week should consist of the following products:
- bread (whole grain);
- low-fat dairy products;
- not raw eggs;
- buckwheat, rice and other cereals;
- cheese;
- soy products;
- vegetables (potatoes are included);
- compotes;
- fruits and berries;
- honey;
- legumes;
- dried fruits;
- vegetable oil;
- nuts
- lean meat, fish, seafood.
What volumes of products should be?
Proper nutrition during pregnancy in the early stages should include products in such volumes (daily):
- Protein food - a pair of servings (a serving the size of a fist).
- Three slices of butter.
- A pair of eggs.
- Product containing Vitamin C.
- A couple of spoons of vegetable oil.
- Four servings or cups of dairy products.
- A few potato tubers (baked is perfect!).
- A portion of salad, vegetables.
If you think that there is proper nutrition during pregnancy, so as not to get better, then this information you will not find. Pregnancy always entails weight gain (whatever one may say). The diet will also need to include (before birth and after) the following:
- heavy drinking (from one and a half liters per day);
- sea fish - a couple of times a week;
- sea salt.
- fruits and nuts.
A little tip: do not abuse carbohydrates, because an excess will only lead to weight gain. Up to half the gestation period, consume four hundred grams of carbohydrates per day, and the rest of the term - three hundred grams.
What do vegetarians do?
Vegetarianism is a common occurrence today. It is believed that plant foods in reasonable quantities can make up for all the products the body needs. However, when it comes to children, the opinions of experts differ. Convinced vegetarians say that their lifestyle does not stop giving birth to healthy children. However, some doctors claim that a child needs an animal protein that contains amino acids, minerals, and, first of all, calcium and iron for full development. A lack of iron leads to anemia, but if you cannot force yourself to eat meat, try to eat fish at least during pregnancy.
Proper nutrition during pregnancy in the early stages is very important, because all mothers want their children to be healthy.
What is the cause of calcium deficiency?
This is not dangerous for a child, because he absorbs vitamins at the expense of his mother’s material, but a lack of calcium in the body will undermine his mother’s health: beauty will fade, bones will become brittle, problems with teeth can begin. Therefore, doctors recommend including dairy products in the composition. Proper nutrition in the third trimester of pregnancy or at any other time should be balanced, complete and consist of different products. As you can see, a balanced diet may not contain meat dishes, but then pay attention to plant foods, fish, tofu, nuts, dairy products. It is also worth including wheat bran, sesame seeds, which are rich in calcium and iron, in the diet.
A small recommendation for vegetarians: doctors advise regularly taking tests to check the levels of trace elements, vitamins in the blood to make sure that the nutrition is complete, balanced and there is enough in the body.
How to eat in the first trimester?
Proper nutrition in the first trimester of pregnancy requires you to exclude from your daily diet:
- instant coffee, alcohol, strong tea;
- fast food, convenience foods, fast food.
Limit yourself on the first terms in the following:
- boiled coffee - a cup with a day;
- sweets - portion for a couple of days;
- pickled, salted vegetables - to minimize, because it overloads the kidneys.
Below is a sample menu for a day during pregnancy in the first trimester:
- Breakfast: a couple of fruits, two toasts with butter, a plate of cereal on the water or with butter.
- Lunch: two hundred grams of cottage cheese or a couple of eggs (you can alternate), fruit or fruit salad.
- Lunch: soup on chicken or vegetable broth, a serving of meat with a side dish, salad.
- Dinner: fish or meat, legumes - two hundred grams, a couple of tablespoons of side dish in the form of porridge or potatoes, fruit.
- Before going to bed, you can drink a glass of kefir, eat unsweetened yogurt or four egg whites.
How to eat in the second trimester?
Exceptions remain the same as in the first trimester. It is better to reduce portions a bit and increase the number of meals in order to avoid heaviness in the stomach.
Menu:
- Breakfast: two hundred grams of cereal with butter, fruit. Allowed to drink fresh fruits, smoothies.
- Second breakfast: one hundred and fifty grams of cottage cheese or one egg, fruit.
- Lunch: a serving of meat or fish, half a serving of soup and also a side dish, a serving of vegetable salad.
- Snack: two hundred grams of cottage cheese, you can add more dried fruit for taste or you can replace all with kefir and fruit, it is also allowed to drink kefir with biscuits or sweets, but not daily, of course.
- Dinner: one hundred fifty-three hundred grams of fish, a couple of tablespoons of side dish, vegetable salad.
- Before going to bed, you can drink kefir, if you want.
How to eat in the third trimester?
Proper nutrition during pregnancy in the 3rd trimester allows six to seven meals a day. You need to eat food every two hours, and especially when you feel heavy. Limit salt; consult a doctor regarding water intake.
Sample menu:
- Breakfast: toast with butter or honey, half fruit or one hundred grams of cereal with half fruit.
- Lunch: one hundred grams of cottage cheese or yogurt, berries and fruits are allowed.
- Lunch: A portion of soup and a slice of bread.
- Second lunch: two hundred and three hundred grams of meat or fish, vegetable salad, dessert, if desired.
- Snack: a serving of nuts, seeds or dried fruits.
- First dinner: fruit or fruit puree, omelette and vegetable salad, any meat dish with vegetables, a slice of bread or a portion of a side dish of carbohydrates.
- Second dinner: half a portion of a protein dish with a salad of vegetables or soup puree with chicken or fish, a smoothie of kefir and fruit is allowed.
- Before going to bed: kefir or egg white.
Yes, you can increase the calorie intake, but you need to do this at the expense of healthy products, and not with the help of confectionery. Many nutritionists recommend preparing different desserts at home, just use brown sugar, wholemeal flour, fruits and cottage cheese. Still especially for pregnant women there are vitamin and mineral complexes. If you wish, you can still read different reviews on proper nutrition during pregnancy.
The most common nutritional errors
Correctness and completeness of nutrition affect not only the health of the mother, but also the fetus. Some women are not even aware that they are making mistakes. What kind? Now we will understand:
- Irregular food intake. It’s not right to eat when you just want it. Lack of a full breakfast or overeating will not bring anything good, but will only lead to digestive disorders.
- Overeating at night. At a later time, all metabolic processes in the body slow down, so food will put an additional burden on the digestive tract. Excess calories will turn into centimeters on the sides, and sleep will be disturbed. Feeling of hunger is simply worth relaxing.
- Suhomyatka. Such food will lead to gastritis or a stomach ulcer. The body of a pregnant woman is very vulnerable, therefore it is extremely important that hot food be in the diet.
- Lack of breakfast. In the morning, digestive juices begin to be actively produced in the body, so you should not skip breakfast to avoid gastritis. Drink a glass of juice, fruit drink or yogurt, and then proceed to a full breakfast.
- Spicy food. Refusing seasonings is not necessary, but it is worth remembering that spicy food is fraught with danger - it prevents blood coagulation. If the doctor diagnosed you with anemia, ulcer, cystitis, then sharp dishes will need to be completely excluded from the diet.
Some helpful suggestions
Proper nutrition is the key to the normal development of the fetus, and you can avoid a lot of problems in the future if you take care of your own health in advance. Consider the following recommendations:
- Eggshell. It is a natural source of calcium. The daily dose is up to two grams. Pre-wash the egg, cook for three minutes in boiling water. Detail the shelled shell in a blender or coffee grinder. Store the mixture in a glass bowl.
- Meat. The product contains a lot of vitamins, is rich in iron, proteins and fats. It is better to eat turkey and duck meat.
- Seafood. They are rich in iodine, zinc, fluoride. Mussels, seaweed, squid and shrimp are especially useful.
- Sweets. Life without sweets is impossible for some, so it’s worth eating healthy sweets or preparing products yourself.
In order not to have a snack on the go and not worry about whether you have enough nutrients today, you should think through the menu in advance. Do not forget that a hearty breakfast is a fundamental component for the healthy development of the fetus. You will have to reconsider your diet and diet, but can you not do this for your own child? At first, the changes will be small, it can be a little difficult and difficult, but as soon as you get used to it, life will seem much easier to you. Eat right, enjoy pregnancy and calm hours, because soon you will have to learn to be a mother, and this is not an easy task.