RECOMMENDATIONS TO KEEP FROM GAINING TOO MUCH WEIGHT DURING PREGNANCY


Try to eat a variety of food. Preferably from the start of your pregnancy, try to include in your diet more vegetables and fruits, low-fat milk products, flour and legumes (beans, lentils, garbanzos, etc.), lean meat, and to reduce the amount of oils and fats.  

Don’t double the quantity – double the quality. The important thing during pregnancy is not to eat for two but to eat enough quality to feed two bodies, regulating the amount of food on the plate.  You can combine different foods for this at each meal.

Increase fiber consumption. Constipation is a common problem during pregnancy; fight it by including more legumes, high-fiber breakfast cereals, fruit with skin and/or fiber (guavas, plums, pears, oranges, and papaya), vegetables (carrots, spinach, broccoli, etc.) and whole grain breads and cookies.

Prepare foods using little oil. Use oil sprays for frying foods (meats, eggs, cheese, etc.) and vegetable oil, preferably olive oil, on your salads and raw or cooked vegetables.

Eliminate chicken skins and trim beef before cooking and limit your consumption of sour cream, ice cream, mayonnaise, cream cheese, whipping cream, cold cuts, butter, fried foods and pastries.

Break up your diet and eat more meals. To keep your metabolism active and prevent gastritis, which tends to crop up with pregnancy, it is essential to eat 5 or 6 meals a day.  This means more frequent but smaller meals, which will also help you keep up your spirits!

Reduce the amount of sugar, honey, syrup, sugar cane drink and pastries. Try to ignore a bit your whims when they are for candy, desserts, chocolates, ice cream and other sweets, since these aren't nutritious but they are fattening.

Emphasize food sources for calcium, iron and folic acid to maintain your health during pregnancy and prevent congenital birth defects in your baby.  Calcium is found in skim milk products, sardines, almonds and green leafy vegetables.  Iron is in red meats, chicken, fish, legumes and green leafy vegetables, and folic acid is mainly found in dark green leafy vegetables and wheat germ, legumes, liver and fortified breakfast cereals.

Drink enough water, since this is essential for our body to function.  It is recommended to drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water per day.

If your doctor allows it, exercise frequently, without overtiring yourself and under supervision.  There are good exercises for pregnancy that also help with relaxation, such as yoga, Pilates and water exercise. Don’t be sedentary, or you’ll easily gain weight.

Try to maintain your weight according to your height, gaining 1 or 2 kilos in the first 3 months, 1 or 2 kilos in the next three months and then 1 or 2 kilos per month in the last 3 months of pregnancy.

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