Dieting During Pregnancy
Although I dont advocate dieting during pregnancy, there are times when it may be required for both the mothers and the babies health.
Having had several bad pregnancies with the last ones being very complicated i only wish I had lost weight before it got so bad. Being overweight during pregnancy can be the difference between having to be induced early for toxemia and a normal happy pregnancy and birth.
The body’s priority is to supply the fetus with nutrition. This means that you can lose weight with the foetus getting all the nutrition it needs on condition that you have a balanced diet. However, if you slim there might be an increased risk that your weight loss diet isn’t balanced.
The grim famine in Holland during the last six months of the Second World War (caused by a German import prohibition) produced interesting results concerning pregnancy’s effect on the newborn’s weight. Those born to mothers who ate less than 600 calories a day during the first 6 months of their pregnancy were often overweight. However, if the mother ate less than 600 calories a day during the last 3 months the risk of overweight was less.
The experts believe that the reason for this is that the hypothalamus, the organ which controls appetite, develops during the first six months of the pregnancy. If the mother eats too little at this time, the hypothalamus gets excessive compensation for hunger which leads to overweight. Note that these results are based on investigations of women who ate less than 600 calories per day. It is not certain that these results apply to those women who slim more moderately.
Some women today become overweight during pregnancy because they neglect the normal surveillance of their eating and have difficulty in deciding whether they go up because of fatness or the growth of the foetus. It is therefore important to be extra careful with your diet in every possible way. At the beginning of the pregnancy calorie requirement isn’t more than normal, and at the end it is a few hundred calories higher. During breastfeeding you need about a thousand calories more a day than normal.
Tags: breastfeeding, diet, pregnancy
February 20th, 2013 at 9:24 pm
Hi there, I just gave birth 6 months ago and I am looking for ways to control my eating habit. It has changed permanently as if I am still eating for 2 people. I haven’t asked my doctor on what diet pill could help as an aid to suppress the hunger pangs I get mostly at daytime. I would love to do some exercise and diet modification but I couldn’t find enough energy left to go to the gym and prepare healthy food. I would appreciate any help you guys can give. Thanks.
February 20th, 2013 at 9:31 pm
Heya. First of all, you never had to eat for two, even when pregnant. What you did buy doing so, was stretch your stomach. Best thing for it is to start eating lots of smaller meals, bear through the pain for a couple days until it shrinks more, or fill up on more vegetables (which have lower calories).
If you can breastfeed that is a bonus, tons of calories go out that way, if not then try getting some exercise that raises your heart rate, even if its 10 min sprint 3 times a day!
February 25th, 2013 at 2:25 am
Hi! Thanks for the tips. By the way, I am no longer breastfeeding as I travel a lot for work. Life’s been getting harder these days so I have to do something to keep both ends meet. I don’t normally find enough time to go to the gym as I would be dead-tired after a days work. I am actually an emotional eater and a boredom eater as well, sadly, I am.lol. I’m finding ways to change for good. I’ve spoken to a doctor and I was offered a diet pill called Liproxenol. As much as possible, I want to lose weight in a more natural way but if all else fail, I guess I have to give it a try. My friend uses it too and she’s getting some good results but I am not sure if it will work on me. Thanks for your tips. I really appreciate help. =)