It is difficult for a pregnant woman to maintain her regular weight during pregnancy. In fact, weight gain is inevitable at this stage as it indicates that baby is growing normally. However, the inability to gain weight during pregnancy may result in a low birth weight of the baby.
It is normal to gain around 20-30 pounds or 10-15 kgs of weight until delivery. Also, the maximum weight gain happens during the last two trimesters. But, is it possible to maintain a Healthy weight gain during pregnancy? Well, your weight gain depends on your diet. Therefore, you must eat a balanced diet having essential nutrients. Moreover, it is also important to eat healthy foods and stay away from junk food. We all know that junk food is loaded with empty calories with harmful effects. But, if you feel a strong urge to have a burger, go for a veggie burger and try eating a bowl full of salad with it to get extra nutrients. In short, you need to make healthy choices to stay healthy.
Try to avoid caffeine and alcohol during pregnancy as they prevent absorption of folic acid and iron, and extract calcium from your bones. All of these nutrients are important for the normal development of the fetus. Also, avoid eating uncooked and raw eggs as they may contain harmful bacteria, which can affect the growth of your child. You require including only 5 percent of fat in your daily diet in order to stay healthy. Do you know almost all foods that we eat have some amount of fat in them? Some fruits provide you with 5-15 percent of fat, whereas grains offer you around 3 to 10 percent fat. Even fresh leafy vegetables may also provide you around 1 -10 percent fat.
You should avoid the intake of certain additives in your food to avoid developing complications during pregnancy. For example, you must avoid using Monosodium glutamate- a flavor enhancer that can cause headaches and stomach upset among pregnant women. Various colorings used in processed foods can also be harmful at this stage while many others are completely safe. Avoid using green, red , and yellow colorings.