Diet For Pregnant Women
Expectant mothers can do themselves a huge favor by making the choice to eat healthily during the course of their pregnancy. This involves the food choices she makes, not merely limiting or cutting back on her current diet – far from it!
Adopting healthy eating habits is beyond good common sense – it can enhance and prolong your life. Still and all, no one can make anyone else eat something they’d rather not. A pregnant woman may feel it’s mandatory for her to change one or two things about her eating habits while she’s expecting, such as increasing her consumption of vegetables and fiber, but if she’s not motivated to do it for the rest of her life, she won’t. In order for you to stick with a healthy diet during and after pregnancy, it’s important to remember that you and your baby are worth whatever additional time, cooking, or selective shopping it takes to improve the quality of your life and health.
The good news is that it’s actually not all that difficult, and certainly not “rocket science” – simply set your goal, educate yourself about nutrition, and stick with it. The perks of creating healthy eating habits far outweigh the fleeting “pleasure” or convenience fatty, high sodium fast food might afford. Why not choose to allow your pregnancy eating habits and nutrition education to carry over into your life “ever after”? You’ll not only be doing yourself a huge favor, but all helping your family learn and adopt good eating and good health for the rest of their lives, too. Hippocrates used to say, “Let food be your medicine, and medicine your food.” This is still sound advice, though he came up with it back somewhere between 460 to 370 B.C.- he was one smart Greek doctor, wouldn’t you say?
Become a smart grocery shopper
Do you just hate counting calories and weighing your food? Well, guess what? If you’re eating the right healthy foods, you don’t have to do any of that. Wanna know how come? Well, in a nutshell (certain nuts are really good for you, by the way – research them and find out for yourself!) – anyway, when you’re eating healthily, your body’s natural tendency is to respond positively to the live enzymes and better quality of the healthy food you’re buying, cooking and eating. So prepare to be pleasantly surprised by your body’s return to its natural state of balance and health.
Another very interesting side effect of purchasing and eating healthy foods is that you’ll naturally start to feel satisfied, or full, more readily by eating less, so the odds of you being a chronic overeater are pretty much null and void. This positive, pleasant shift will be noticed most prominently by folks who’ve been life-long sugar and salt addicts.
High levels of sugar create a quick fix/sugar rush that’s actually your blood sugar skyrocketing momentarily; this is inevitably followed by a sudden crash, or bottoming out feeling, which is a sudden drop in your blood sugar level. And that’s how the vicious cycle of overeating & overindulging in sweets becomes a self-replicating, destructive habit.
When you are consuming foods that have too much sodium, this can drive your blood pressure up and lead to imbalances such as hypertension, or kidney or heart disease. Not worth the temporary high or craving satisfaction, are they? Neither too much sugar nor too much sodium is, ever has been, or ever will be your friend. They can be your worst enemies, but have courage and be strong - you can overcome them! Once you break those toxic eating pattern once and for all, the body starts releasing the habitual cravings because it’s receiving proper nutrients in the correct amounts. Many health conditions can be completely healed or certainly improved by the relatively simple act of improving your eating habits – and this is never more true than when you’re pregnant!
So, if you’re feeling inspired to make those kinds of changes starting now and enjoying a healthier, longer life – here are a few food choices that can assist you in that goal:
Adopting healthy eating habits is beyond good common sense – it can enhance and prolong your life. Still and all, no one can make anyone else eat something they’d rather not. A pregnant woman may feel it’s mandatory for her to change one or two things about her eating habits while she’s expecting, such as increasing her consumption of vegetables and fiber, but if she’s not motivated to do it for the rest of her life, she won’t. In order for you to stick with a healthy diet during and after pregnancy, it’s important to remember that you and your baby are worth whatever additional time, cooking, or selective shopping it takes to improve the quality of your life and health.
The good news is that it’s actually not all that difficult, and certainly not “rocket science” – simply set your goal, educate yourself about nutrition, and stick with it. The perks of creating healthy eating habits far outweigh the fleeting “pleasure” or convenience fatty, high sodium fast food might afford. Why not choose to allow your pregnancy eating habits and nutrition education to carry over into your life “ever after”? You’ll not only be doing yourself a huge favor, but all helping your family learn and adopt good eating and good health for the rest of their lives, too. Hippocrates used to say, “Let food be your medicine, and medicine your food.” This is still sound advice, though he came up with it back somewhere between 460 to 370 B.C.- he was one smart Greek doctor, wouldn’t you say?
Become a smart grocery shopper
Do you just hate counting calories and weighing your food? Well, guess what? If you’re eating the right healthy foods, you don’t have to do any of that. Wanna know how come? Well, in a nutshell (certain nuts are really good for you, by the way – research them and find out for yourself!) – anyway, when you’re eating healthily, your body’s natural tendency is to respond positively to the live enzymes and better quality of the healthy food you’re buying, cooking and eating. So prepare to be pleasantly surprised by your body’s return to its natural state of balance and health.
Another very interesting side effect of purchasing and eating healthy foods is that you’ll naturally start to feel satisfied, or full, more readily by eating less, so the odds of you being a chronic overeater are pretty much null and void. This positive, pleasant shift will be noticed most prominently by folks who’ve been life-long sugar and salt addicts.
High levels of sugar create a quick fix/sugar rush that’s actually your blood sugar skyrocketing momentarily; this is inevitably followed by a sudden crash, or bottoming out feeling, which is a sudden drop in your blood sugar level. And that’s how the vicious cycle of overeating & overindulging in sweets becomes a self-replicating, destructive habit.
When you are consuming foods that have too much sodium, this can drive your blood pressure up and lead to imbalances such as hypertension, or kidney or heart disease. Not worth the temporary high or craving satisfaction, are they? Neither too much sugar nor too much sodium is, ever has been, or ever will be your friend. They can be your worst enemies, but have courage and be strong - you can overcome them! Once you break those toxic eating pattern once and for all, the body starts releasing the habitual cravings because it’s receiving proper nutrients in the correct amounts. Many health conditions can be completely healed or certainly improved by the relatively simple act of improving your eating habits – and this is never more true than when you’re pregnant!
So, if you’re feeling inspired to make those kinds of changes starting now and enjoying a healthier, longer life – here are a few food choices that can assist you in that goal:
- Turkey bacon (an excellent low-fat, low calorie substitute for regular bacon)
- Bran & high fiber cereals. These are quite versatile – in addition to eating a bowlful for breakfast, you can also use them instead of regular breadcrumbs, or as a coating for fried chicken.
- Cooking spray (for coating pans, baking sheets, etc.) Way fewer calories than butter. Just be a diligent label reader and make sure you’re using a spray that is natural, and not filled with lots of chemicals, preservatives, etc. Olive oil is another good substitute to incorporate into your healthy eating.
- Evaporated milk (generally healthier than regular cream milk)
- Lean ground meats (it’s advisable to select leaner cuts of meat in any form)
- Vinegars (there are tons of flavor varieties on today’s market place – great for salads, meats, veggies; also a healthy substitute to use with fish, instead of high calorie tartar sauce)
- Herbs and spices (recommended as a salt substitute)
- Whole-grain products (these have a higher concentration of fiber and nutrients)
- Organic vegetables (do your best to purchase organic-certified products; yes, they’re a bit more expensive, but are an excellent investment in your health, as they have a higher concentration of essential nutrients)
- Fruits - an excellent natural choice to satisfy sugar cravings, and a great way to get your necessary fiber, too.
Good luck & best wishes on creating a healthier lifestyle for yourself, and a great healthy start in life for your baby! Click here to visit the website.
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