Now that you are pregnant and growing life inside of you (which is totally amazing!) You might be wondering what to eat during pregnancy.
Nausea, cravings, weight gain worries, along with scary warnings about French cheese, wine or seafood… combine to create some anxiety around what to eat during pregnancy. Follow your medical caregiver’s advice on what to avoid, and of course you may have individual allergies, preferences or ways of eating.
But as a general guideline on what to eat during pregnancy:
Your calorie intake needs increase slightly throughout the second and third trimester, and are pretty much unchanged in the first. Given you may be experiencing nausea then, this removes concerns about extra calories in the early weeks.
Regarding your big macronutrients, focus on protein, plentiful good fats and vegetables. You may have your own preferences around carbs, and factors such as a high risk of gestational diabetes may mean you have been advised to reduce carbs. However for a pregnant woman with no contraindications, there is no reason to avoid carbohydrates.
The micronutrients in egg yolks, green leafy vegetables (actually All The Vegetables), nuts, seeds, fish, good animal based protein, avocados, cold pressed olive and other oils, fruit, dried fruit and not forgetting sunlight for your Vitamin D, are all hugely beneficial to you and your baby’s development.
Try ginger for nausea (tea, supplements, fresh) and starchy plain foods like potato rice or bananas may help too.
Above all, eat a balanced, unprocessed and nutrient rich diet to optimize pregnancy health, drink plenty of water and herbal or fruit teas, and if you’re craving pickles, olive or ice cream, go with it!
Want to know more about setting exercise goals during pregnancy? Check that out HERE.
