Nutrition and the Best Foods to Eat During Pregnancy

The ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, once said, “Let food be

thy medicine and let medicine be thy food.”

This definitely holds true when you’re pregnant. A clean, healthy

and wholesome diet will work wonders for you and your baby.

We live in a society that is smothered with a plethora of food

choices. The hard truth is that the majority of these foods are

detrimental to our bodies in the long run.

Additives, preservatives, chemicals, processed foods, junk foods,

genetically modified foods, etc. are all part of our diet these days

and are wreaking havoc on our health.

Obesity has become an epidemic. The numbers of people

suffering from diabetes, high cholesterol, digestive issues, etc.

have skyrocketed. The main culprit – our diet.

Changing one’s diet and eating clean is a Herculean task. You

absolutely can’t do it overnight and don’t even think that willpower will work.

You will need to make small changes to your diet gradually till

you form the habits of eating right. That is why, it is imperative

that you start making these changes 3 months before getting

pregnant.

You’ll then be able to ease into a healthy diet relatively smoothly

and easily.

How many calories should I consume?

Many women wonder about this. They do not want to consume

too many calories for fear of putting on weight... but then they have all these sudden food cravings that seemed to pop out of

nowhere.

The first thing you should note – Do NOT obsess over your

calories when you’re pregnant. Now is really not the time to be

analyzing and counting your calories.

Pregnancy gives you the permission to take 9 months off from

the calorie counting and agonizing over the numbers. That being

said, it’s also not a free pass to gorge yourself on whatever food

comes your way.

Eat sufficient food but eat the proper food. Restricting your

calories could potentially harm your baby.

Low birth weight, poor fetal development, weakness in the

mother, etc. are all often related to not consuming enough food.

A warning though – If you consume too many calories there

are problems too. You will gain too much weight which will put

you at risk for diabetes, heart problems, early labor, preeclamsia, etc.

It’s all about balance. Eat enough for both you and your baby. Eat

healthy and eat in moderation.

Before going any further, you will need to calculate your prepregnancy Recommended Daily Caloric Intake. This is actually Foods You Must Eat

In the fitness industry, there is a saying, “Calories are not created

equal.”

That means, you could eat 300 calories from different foods and

have a world of different results. For example, if you ate 2

bananas and 2 apples a day, which would roughly be 300

calories. What if you got all 300 calories from 2 scoops of

chocolate ice cream?

just your normal caloric requirement if you were not pregnant.

1.Eat whole foods

Whole foods could also be called single

ingredient foods. For example, a

broccoli is a single ingredient food.

You pick it up... you know what it is...

and you know it grew from the ground.

Now let’s look at white bread?

Most people have no idea how it was

made, what ingredients were used...

and how in the world did they get the

bread so white, anyway?

The moment you have no idea what goes into the food, it’s best

you avoid it. White bread uses refined flour that is bleached white

and all kinds of artificial ingredients go into making a loaf.

2.Eat fruits and veggies

This is common sense. We all

know that fruits and vegetables

contain a ton of vitamins and

minerals that do us good. Be

consistent with your diet. You

must eat these daily.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

You can’t eat 7 apples on Saturday and expect to get the job

done. It doesn’t work that way. Consistency is key.

3.Make sure you’re only eating good carbs

Carbs have received a bad reputation over the years. The truth is

that carbs are essential for us. This is especially so when you’re

pregnant. Carbs give you energy and make up a sizeable chunk

of your required calories.

What matters is that you consume carbs from healthy sources.

Fruits vegetables, whole grain breads, potatoes, oats, quinoa,

brown rice, etc. are all excellent carb sources.

Pizzas, white bread, white flour products, etc. are bad carbs that

should be avoided.

4.Eat enough protein

These are essential too. Get your proteins from lean meats, eggs,

beef and beans. Once again, focus on the “single ingredient”

requirement. A few cuts of lean chicken breast are good. A

chicken nugget is NOT good. A slab of steak is good. A few

sausages are NOT good.

5.Try and keep it organic if possible.

While this can be a little costly, it is highly beneficial. If you can

afford to eat organic for the 9 months that you’re pregnant, go

for it.

Organic foods are free of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.

In the event that your budget does not allow you to go

completely organic, then make sure some of the foods that you

consume are organic.

Foods such as apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, grapes,

nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, raspberries, spinach and

strawberries have been found to contain high levels of pesticides.

So, try and keep these organic, if you can.

6.Eat the right kind of fat

Extra virgin olive oil and virgin coconut oil are two of the best

types of fat you can consume. In fact, of the two, the coconut oil

is better.

Saturated fats are found in meat and animal products such as

butter. These are best eaten in moderation.

If you forget everything mentioned earlier in this chapter and just

print out and follow the food list below, you will do just fine.