A healthy diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle but it is especially vital while pregnant. The nutrients, vitamins and minerals, are all used up by the body, from building cell structures of skin, muscles, bones, the brain, to supporting the important systems that make your body function, such as the immune system. That is why proper nutrition during pregnancy is very important. For pregnancy awareness week En Bonne Santé Dieticians covers tips on eating well during your pregnancy.
Eating for two: fact or fiction?
When you become pregnant friends and family will constantly tell you, “you should have more, you’re eating for two now”. This is a common myth. Intuitive eating will help you recognise how much you should be eating. Although pregnancy increases the body’s need for calories and nutrition, the amount of calories or specific nutrients you need does not double.
Intuitive eating doesn’t involve counting calories or grams of fat, or measuring portion sizes. It’s about listening to what your body is telling you.
Tips on eating healthy during your pregnancy
When it comes to eating well, try to focus on keeping it simple. Use these guidelines as a way to intake healthy, well-balanced meals. Opt for foods such as:
- fruit and vegetables
- nuts and seeds
- meat, fish, and eggs
- milk, cheese, and yoghurt
- potato, rice, and pasta.
Intuitive eating during pregnancy
Intuitive eating is a philosophy that makes you the expert on your body and what it needs when you’re hungry. The opposite of a traditional diet, it promotes a healthy attitude toward food and body image.
Ways to do this include, nourishing your body when it’s hungry and honouring your cravings. Respond to hunger by feeding your body, when you feel hungry. If you let yourself get too hungry, then you are likely to overeat. Get rid of ideas about what you should or shouldn’t eat. Recognise your fullness the same way your body tells you when you’re hungry. Respect your body for how it looks, and recognise it as capable and beautiful just as it is.
You are built from what you eat, so is your baby. Mindful and intuitive eating, and improving one’s relationship with food works for pregnant and lactating women as well. It can be hard to think about eating well if you are feeling sick or tired and do not feel like spending time cooking. Book a consultation with us today, we provide guided grocery shopping and menu adaptations. We can help you and your baby on this beautiful journey.