Pregnancy is a time of change. It’s also when you must be especially careful about what you eat, drink, and do to take care of your baby. Being healthy and fit during pregnancy can help prepare your body for labor and delivery and ease the discomforts of pregnancy. You also protect against complications in pregnancy and help you bounce back after birth. The keys to maximizing these benefits are regular exercise, good nutrition, and avoiding harmful substances. It includes knowing how much weight to gain and avoiding the biggest pregnancy exercise mistake.
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Who is Colleen Riddle?
Colleen Riddle is an exercise specialist who specializes in pre and postnatal fitness. She is also a personal trainer, ACE-certified, with years of experience helping people get fit. Colleen enjoys training clients before pregnancy for success during their pregnancies and beyond, giving them the tools to keep up that momentum long after they’ve given birth!
The Biggest Pregnancy Exercise Mistake
The biggest exercise mistake of pregnant women is that they are not exercising. They often don’t know what exercises to do, whether it’s suitable for them or not. This can cause many health problems for the mom and baby later on. The first error is that they don’t know which exercise to choose!
Regular exercise during pregnancy can improve your posture and decrease common discomforts such as backaches and fatigue. Evidence shows that physical activity may prevent gestational diabetes (diabetes that develops during pregnancy). It also relieves stress and builds more stamina needed for labor and delivery.
Some women find it difficult to maintain a regular exercise routine throughout their pregnancies due to health complications. Several are because they need additional support from family members.
If you are one of these women who struggles with maintaining an exercise regimen while pregnant, please don’t give up! Stop making the biggest pregnancy exercise mistake.
Maintaining a healthy diet will also help keep the baby’s weight gain at bay, reducing risks associated with pre-eclampsia, premature birth, low birth weight babies, etc. Therefore, make sure you’re eating well too!
The Best Kind of Workout to Do When You’re Pregnant
Being pregnant and having a regular exercise routine helps prevent gestational diabetes (diabetes that develops during pregnancy), building more stamina you need for labor. The best kind of workout for pregnant women to not commit the biggest pregnancy exercise mistake are the following:
- Strength Training. Strengthening your body during pregnancy is essential, especially if you plan to continue working out post-delivery. There are many ways of doing this, including using weights and other strength exercises. Doing so will help avoid the aches and pains that come with the growth of your bump. It will also prepare for all the lifting, carrying, and pram-pushing you’ll do after delivery.
- Cardio Training. Cardiovascular exercise is any physical activity that uses large muscle groups over a prolonged time. It increases the body’s need for oxygen. It can help you maintain weight, reduce blood pressure, control cholesterol levels in the bloodstream, improve insulin sensitivity to regulate sugar metabolism, and manage other conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. Cardio training also helps pregnant women because it strengthens their heart muscles and improves lung capacity, making them more prepared when they enter labor. Performing cardio training is avoiding the biggest pregnancy exercise mistake.
How Many Calories Per Day Should a Pregnant Woman Consume?
Pregnant women should eat an additional 300-350 calories a day. The recommended caloric intake for pregnant women is higher than that of non-pregnant adults because of the fetus’s growth and development needs and increased maternal metabolism due to pregnancy hormones.
Pregnancy also requires more nutrients, such as iron, calcium, and folic acid, which are necessary for fetal brain development in the early stages of pregnancy. In addition, pregnant women must maintain healthy weight gain during their pregnancies so they don’t have overweight or obese postpartum, which can lead to various health problems, including diabetes mellitus type 2, among other conditions related to being obese or having excess body fat.
When you’re pregnant, it’s not true that you need to eat twice as much food.
Phase of Pregnancy
- First trimester (first 12 weeks) – Most women don’t need extra calories.
- Second trimester (13 to 26 weeks) – Most women only need about 300-350 extra calories a day.
- Last trimester (after 26 weeks) – Some people may require more than 450 additional calories during their last 2 months of pregnancy.
Ask Your Doctor for Calorie Intake to Avoid Pregnancy Exercise Mistakes
You should ask your doctor or dietician how many calories you will be eating each day and adjust according to the doctor’s recommendations for weight gain and nutrient intake appropriate for each stage of pregnancy.
Eating well during pregnancy is important for the health of both mother and baby. Eating healthy foods can help you have a healthier pregnancy, prepare your body to breastfeed after birth, and lower risks of complications like gestational diabetes or high blood pressure. Healthy eating also helps ensure that your child will be born at an appropriate weight with all their organs.
Important Type of Food to Eat to Avoid
A balanced diet is best for everyone, but during pregnancy, it’s important to make dietary adjustments based on your needs. Knowing what foods are good to eat during pregnancy will help address your symptoms (nausea, vomiting, edema, heartburn, etc.) and nourish the baby well.
Nutrient-dense food is the whole food, meaning it has all the necessary nutrients and vitamins for your body to function properly. Avoid processed foods high in calories but low in nutritional value, such as those hundred-calorie packs. Instead, go for vegetables like broccoli that provide good nutrition without too many calories. It’s also important to read labels when shopping to know exactly what you’re putting into your body.
Important Type of Food to Avoid Pregnancy Exercise Mistake
Genetically modified foods are not recommended for pregnant women as there are chemicals that may affect your health and the baby’s health.
Maintaining a healthy diet for you and your unborn child is important while avoiding consuming harmful ingredients like those mentioned above. These chemicals include pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, or hormones genetically engineered food products. These substances could harm the developing fetus during pregnancy by causing congenital disabilities, developmental problems, or even cancer later in life.
6 Nutritious Snack Ideas for Pregnant Women
When you are pregnant, it is important to eat a variety of nutritious foods. Eating healthy snacks during pregnancy can help your baby grow and develop and avoid pregnancy mistakes. Here are the nutritious snacks that are good for you:
1. Protein-rich foods For Pregnant Women
Proteins will effectively support your baby’s growth and give you the energy you need. It will promote healthy brain and heart development for your baby as well! Make sure your plate is filled with proteins from healthy foods.
2. Greek Yogurt is Good for Pregnant Women
Make sure to choose plain yogurt as this is low in sugar content. Dairy products are high in protein and calcium, both of which help with your baby’s bone development. If you take them in moderation, weight gain won’t be an issue; however, this is not your major concern.
3. Fruits
Fruits are an essential part of a healthy diet for everyone, but pregnant women must eat them. They have many vitamins and minerals that are good for the mother and child. They also have fiber, which aids digestion since constipation is common during pregnancy.
4. Vegetables are Good for Pregnant Women
Getting enough vegetables in our diets is beneficial to the body. Some of these benefits include: they’re low in fat, calories, and cholesterol; they contain fiber for combating constipation; and many vitamins and minerals, including folate, which helps reduce the risk of neural tube defects or spina bifida during fetal development.
5. Organic Peanut Butter
Organic peanut butter is a delicious and healthy alternative to traditional peanut butter, which can contain some unwanted additives. They are grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, so they’re better for you too! They make an excellent snack while pregnant because they satisfy your sweet tooth while being healthy for you and your baby.
6. Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate has an antioxidant called epicatechin that is good for the mother and her baby. The antioxidants found in dark chocolate can help reduce stress, improve moods, and even ease pain during childbirth.
When pregnant, your food may affect your child’s growth and development, and health. So, make sure to choose food for pregnant women that is nutritious enough to nourish both of you! Yes, proper nutrition during pregnancy is key to a healthy pregnancy, which starts today!
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