Pregnancy is a divine experience for any woman. Whatever you always heard about pregnancy is may be right but actually experiencing that is a totally different feeling. Nothing or no one from this world can justify that experience in words. That’s being said I am going to write about some parts of my nutrition experience which I think are not known to women like they should be. Here I will talk about what science says and what are the common myths of pregnancy.
First of all the most important and the most ignored fact is that every single woman’s pregnancy is unique and different (science says). You simply can’t apply what happened with you or what you did to your daughters, sisters, daughters in-law, friends, cousins etc (myth says). Even a single woman’s two pregnancies are not the same.
When a woman gets pregnant she is told or emphasized to eat more than she eats regularly cause she is eating for two (myth says). Which is not the case (science says) the quality of what you are eating is more important than the quantity of it. As for how much you should eat depends on how much you are hungry and how much you can. So here I am going to outline how to keep a balanced diet according to the three trimesters.
Ok so the first trimester is usually of nausea and morning sickness, the intensity of which again varies from woman to woman and it may not be in the morning only. Don’t eat a complete meal at a time, go for small portion of food at a time. You can go for as small as one or two bites or sips at a time depending on the intensity of your nausea/sickness. Eating while you are performing the daily chores at your home or working at your office will help avoiding nausea/sickness. In the first trimester keep things light; eat light food, for example; milk, fruits, yogurt, vegetables, chicken etc. You can have snacks to chase away the bad taste and nausea feeling.
Second trimester gets easier with no nausea/sickness and you can eat a full meal at a time and your appetite increases. Now is that time when you crave all the non healthy food you ever tasted in your life which is not good. Stay focused and eat healthy balanced diet cause remember your little one will only gets what’s good all the rest (junk food) will become fat pockets on your own body and it is not going anywhere even after your little one is born. So, eat which you can burn easily. Have milk, fruits, vegetables, egg, meat, almonds, dates, etc. Yes you can have dates, almonds, eggs, all kind of fruits etc. Nothing is harmful for a pregnant woman telling from my personal experience. But remember small portions of everything. For e.g: My diet plan was like dates not more than 2 a day, almonds start from 2 and gradually increase it to 4 daily. 3 ounce of meat a day, one egg alternately. Overeating of anything can be harmful cause your body needs all kinds of nutrition which you will get by eating everything. And yes, if you are allergic to any food then you should be careful and eat accordingly. Junk foods can also get a chance once a week to satisfy those nasty carvings.
Third trimester is all about getting bigger and out of your dress size, shoe size, even ring size. Again, don’t forget to eat healthy diet. I gradually increased the amount of almonds to 7 in this trimester. Drink a glass of milk, eat apples, almonds, vegetables, meat, legumes, dates(v.imp for maintaining iron level), fresh fruits of the season etc. In this trimester too you have to keep a check on your junk food in take.
During pregnancy a woman’s immune system is naturally not working it’s 100%, that is so it can not harm the development of the fetus. When you eat too much junk or non healthy food during pregnancy the immune system is not strong enough to fight it off, resulting in different health issues which are very commonly faced by women during pregnancy these days. So a balanced diet is very important to stay healthy and happy. Moreover keeping your little one healthy.
P.S all the diet plans or food intake mentioned above are from my personal experience. Consult your doctor or mid wife before following any diet plan.
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