How Much Weight Should You Gain During Pregnancy

If you're pregnant, you're very likely concerned about the amount of weight you're gaining, the effect it has on your body, even how difficult it will be to take off after your pregnancy. Your OB/GYN or midwife is your best source of advice about healthy weight gain during pregnancy, but there are general guidelines.

Depending on your weight at the start of your pregnancy, your doctor may tell you that a healthy weight gain for you is anywhere between 15 and 40 pounds. If you're underweight to start (a BMI of less than 18.5), 25 to 40 pounds is a reasonable weight gain during pregnancy. If you're overweight, he or she may suggest you stick closer to 15 to 25 pounds. Of that weight, 6 to 8 pounds of it is the baby.

The rest is amniotic fluid, extra tissue and blood to nourish the baby (including the placenta), and the increased size of your breasts and placenta. You'll lose as much as 15 pounds of it WITH the birth (amniotic fluid, placenta and baby).

Any doctor will tell you that pregnancy is NOT the time to go on a diet. Your body AND your baby need the nutrients of an adequate, balanced diet to keep you both healthy. This doesn't mean that you should throw all your restraint to the winds and 'eat for two', though.

Your body needs approximately an extra 300 calories a day to build a healthy baby. Those 300 calories should come from the same healthy variety of foods that your normal diet gives you. (You were eating a healthy, balanced diet, weren't you? If not, pregnancy is a great time to start.)

You can expect to gain weight along a fairly predictable pattern. In the first three months, you'll gain 2-4 pounds altogether. During the second trimester, you can expect to gain between 3-4 pounds a month (about a pound per week). During the last three months, you'll gain an additional 8-10 pounds. Your doctor or midwife will weigh you regularly, and may express concern over a deviation from this pattern. A sudden sharp weight gain, for instance, can indicate pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes.

If your doctor advises you to try to limit your weight gain during your pregnancy, be sure to choose a healthy diet that provides all the necessary daily requirements for vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Remember that a 'diet' during pregnancy isn't meant to help you LOSE weight, but rather to limit the amount of weight gained.

Regular exercise is also good for both you and your baby. You can maintain most of your daily activities, and if regular workouts were a part of your daily routine, then by all means keep them up. You'll feel better, and your body will be less likely to protest the extra weight with aches and pains.

Do keep in mind that exercise during pregnancy shouldn't be overly strenuous, and that you should avoid activities with a risk of falling or injury. Also remember that your center of balance is different - it may feel awkward to do the things you usually do while you're carrying your little bundle of joy.

For specifics with regard to your own situation, speak with your doctor or midwife. If you're concerned about gaining weight, or feel that you're gaining too much, you can ask for a consultation with a nutritionist to help you design a healthy eating plan that will make sure the baby is well-nourished, and your concerns about your weight are met.

Are You Getting All Of The Nutritional Supplements You Need?

Are you certain that your body is getting all the nutrients it needs? while you're dieting? Chances are that if you're following any restrictive diet plan, you may be missing some important vitamins or minerals. Any diet that heavily emphasizes one food group while completely restricting others is, by nature, lacking in some essential nutrients.

Isn't that part of the idea, though? The popular conception of dieting is that when we feed our bodies less calories than it needs, it will begin to take nutrition from the fat that it has stored. While that's true, there's a basic fallacy in thinking that your body can derive all the fuel it needs that way. Part of the problem with that assumption is that there are many nutrients that your body can't store. It simply uses what it needs and excretes the rest. Those nutrients must be consumed daily in one way or another, and if your diet doesn't allow for that, your body will show the effects.

If you're on a diet that severely restricts your intake of any particular food or food group, you may benefit from adding a nutritional supplement to your daily regimen. In fact, many doctors recommend that dieters take, at the very least, a complete, high-quality multivitamin to make up for any deficiencies caused by the restrictions. Other supplementation might be recommended depending on the diet you're following.

Below are some specific suggestions based on particular diets. The suggestions should not be taken as medical advice, nor is there any dosage recommendation. Instead, take it as a suggestion to discuss your diet with a nutritionist or dietician and ask for their advice on appropriateness or dosage.

On ANY Diet:

A full-spectrum multivitamin should be part of your daily routine no matter what you're eating or not eating. It will help even out the ups and downs of your diet, and supply some valuable nutrients that are difficult to get.

Sunshine. It may not come in pill form, but sunshine is one of the more important 'nutritional supplements'. It assists the body in making vitamin D, which is not derived from any food source. While doctors say that as little as 20 minutes of full sun a day can supply your daily requirement of vitamin D, they also caution that it's dependent on climate. If you live north of Philadelphia, you should take a vitamin D supplement to be sure that you get enough.

On a Low-Carb/High Protein Diet:

Antioxidant vitamins that are found in vegetables are a must. Scientists are learning more and more how important it is that our diets contain a full spectrum of vitamins, proteins, minerals and acids. If your diet cuts out most grains and vegetables, you should be replacing the nutrients you miss out on with supplementary vitamin A, C, B (all the B's), E and K. You should also supplement your intake of folic acid, and if you're not getting a significant amount of your protein from fish products, you'll need omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil, shellfish and flaxseed oil.

Keep in mind that the best diet is one that gives you a balance of nutrients, and that supplements should be exactly that - a supplement to your daily intake of nutrition.

No Excuses Exercises

It's old news that exercising is the single best way to spark up your weight loss efforts. The activity perks up your metabolism, and eats up more calories. In addition, the more you exercise, the better the effect. Exercising builds muscle mass, which is denser and more compact than fat. That means your body has to expend more effort to pump blood

through it, and it requires more nutrients to keep it healthy. The end result? Even at rest, your body naturally burns more calories.

Unfortunately, the prospect of exercising tends to elicit groans from most people. There's all the logistics to work out - the time,equipment, expense and the sheer, utter boringness of it all. Negative thinking about exercise can sabotage all your good intentions. Here's a list of answers for some of the most commonly used excuses not to exercise.

I don't have time to exercise!

Exercise could be one of the most important things you'll do for your health today. MAKE time to exercise. If you're doing traditional workouts - move those weights and mats right out into the family room and make use of your television time. Instead of flopping down in a chair while you watch the news or your favorite show, be active. Run in place, do leg lifts or heft weights. Use time in your car to tighten and tone muscles with isometric tummy tighteners. Walk up the stairs instead of using the elevator. Exercise doesn't have to be a solid hour at the gym. Anything that revs up your motors is great for your body.

I don't have the right equipment at home.

You don't need equipment to exercise. A brisk walk around the block is good for you - and burns over 200 calories. Vacuuming your carpets can burn nearly as much. Flip on your radio or pop in your favorite high-energy CD and dance. Don't fool yourself into thinking that your 'exercise' has to be a carefully planned workout to work all the right muscles in the right order with the right tension. Exercise means being active. Just do it.

I can't afford a membership to the gym.

If you'd rather exercise at the gym (and have access to their fitness machines, whirlpools, swimming pool and trainers), there are a lot of ways to make it more affordable. Check with your health insurance company to see if they offer incentives. Most of the major health insurance companies, including Blue Cross, cover part or all of fitness club memberships as part of your benefits. If yours doesn't, or if you don't have health insurance, call your local YMCA or YWCA. Most offer 'scholarships' or sliding fee scales for memberships to their facilities.

But exercise is such a chore!

Says who? Make getting your daily exercise fun. Play a game. Go dancing. Grab a few friends for a weekend hike in the state park. Exercise doesn't have to be routine. Stop thinking of it as a chore and start thinking of it as recreation. You'll be amazed what a difference it makes.

Don't Obsess About Food

Don't Obsess About Food

One of the dangers of dieting is the 'diet mentality'. The constant need to weigh, measure, count and account for food that most dieters feel can become an obsession with food that comes close to that experienced by someone with an eating disorder. Is it possible to lose weight without becoming obsessed with food?

Dr. David Katz, author of "The Way to Eat", suggests a better way. While it's important to balance the calories you eat with the calories you burn, he says, it's not necessary to obsess about food by counting every calorie. Instead, he suggests, focus on eating well for your health and permanent weight loss will follow.

Dr. Katz's suggestions include replacing highly processed foods which contain added sugar, fat, starch and salt with more wholesome foods with short ingredient lists. Avoid foods with added 'flavor enhancers' like monosodium glutamate and high fructose corn syrup which tend to stimulate the appetite and make you want to eat even more.

Instead, focus on healthier alternatives within food groups. That's far easier to do than you'd think. A simple change in your diet like replacing the light cream in your coffee with low-fat milk can save you 50 calories per cup. If you drink a lot of coffee, that could add up to a substantial lowering in your overall daily calorie intake - with the added bonus of giving you all the calcium and vitamin D you usually get with less than half the fat.

But, you say, you just can't drink your coffee with skim milk? That's fine, too. We all have little luxuries that we think we can't live without. Take a few minutes to analyze your diet and figure out which things you just can't give up - then make adjustments in other areas to account for them. Can't live without cream in your coffee? Skip the muffin you usually have with it, or replace the butter you use on it with a low-fat margarine substitute. Eating healthy is about choices - not obsession.

Here are some other suggestions to help you stop obsessing about calories and start eating healthier:

1. Toss out sugared breakfast cereals in favor of a whole-grain cereal that has little or no added sugar and drop a few berries into your bowl instead.

2. Switch to an all natural, no additive peanut butter instead of a highly processed one that contains added sugar and oils for stabilization.

3. Keep a baggie of dried fruit in your desk drawer for a high-potassium pick-me-up at mid-morning. You'll be far less inclined to overeat at lunch - and you won't find yourself yawning at 11 A.M.