Hi friends! Jessi here:)
So before the whole bedrest shenanigans started, my friend Lauren and I started collaborated on a series called "fit pregnancy". I was going to write some biographical stuff about my unhealthy pregnancies of the past & what I was doing to make this one a little different and she as a registered dietician, was going to fill in all the wise-nutritional advice.
Welp. Now I've got nothing to say:) I won't be running the 10k I'd planned to run in October and I'm just hoping to get cleared for making dinner for my family or an occasional walk around the block with my kiddos! But also, as of right now, my nutrition is super, super important. Eating the right things is one of the best ways I can grow this babe as healthy as possible and so I'm super thankful for Lauren's willingness to still do her side of the post!
So this is for all mamas - pregnant or not. Lauren is giving us lots of advice on getting what we need nutrition wise and I am super grateful!
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I'm so so happy and honored to be here today to talk about
nutrition and lifestyle choices during pregnancy. I am a Registered Dietitian who learned first
hand 2 years ago that eating healthy during pregnancy isn't nearly as easy as I
told soon-to-be mamas it was.
I lived off of grilled cheese, french fries, slurpees, and
milkshakes during the bulk of my pregnancy.
Oh it was bad, and I definitely took a lot of heat about it at the lunch
table from my dietitian co-workers. They
were appalled at my diet and understandably so.
But here's the thing – it was hard to eat well while pregnant, at least
to me, plus I had a hard time tolerating the healthy food. Mostly I struggled with getting my act
together to eat better. I knew it was
bad, and I wanted to do better for my child. But I was stuck. I want to share with you some things I've
learned both as a nutrition professional and a mama.
After I met my little man and realized the amazing gift of
life that he is, I vowed I wouldn't treat my body like that again, especially
with baby inside. Lord-willing we will
have more babies, and I will eat better.
Not perfect - I never do - but better.
So please hear me, when I say I understand how hard it is.
*The most important
things for moms to know about their own nutrition in the midst of caring for
others
As moms we tend to take care of everyone else before
ourselves, but when it comes to nutrition during pregnancy, it's important to
take the time to take care of our own bodies, too. We need to be well-fueled to care for those
in our lives that we love, both inside and outside of our bellies! I have found the best way to do this is to
make a plan ahead of time. That may mean
planning out meals, packing or preparing lunches the night before, or buying
food at the grocery store that helps you to easily get good nutrition in.
Nutrition is not an all or nothing kind of thing. We tend to think that just because we don't
get all of our fruits and veggies in every day or don't have 6 small meals a
day [seriously, how many moms get meals to themselves anyway, let alone six??]
we're not on track nutritionally. Do
things that work with your lifestyle - for me, that means limiting my afternoon
Diet Coke pick-me ups and trying to replace it with more water. A big help for
pregnant mamas is to keep a healthy snack in your purse, so you have something
healthy on hand when hunger hits. This
helps eliminate those fast food drive-thru runs when you're out and about.
*The biggest things
we should be avoiding
Watch out for false claims and fad diets, especially during
pregnancy. If it sounds too good to be
true, it usually is. Packaged foods that
claim to be the next best thing usually don't have the beneficial nutrients
that you'd get from snacking on fruits or vegetables.
Fad diets give big promises but they aren't healthy and
cannot be sustained. Stay away from
these diets and instead focus on making healthy decisions that work with your
life.
*Nutrition-related
things that we should NOT be worrying about
Quantity over quality.
So many women worry about that calorie number - 2200, 2000, 1800 [or
whatever their number is] calories in a day.
Many women count everything they eat but don't focus on what they're
eating. As part of a well-balanced and
healthy diet, what we're eating matters, too - not just the number of
calories. It's not doing our bodies as
much good to stick to 2000 calories a day from snack foods as it would to focus
on eating whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy, and
lean protein every day.
I think when it comes
to nutrition most of us want to do it all.
We want to make a big, radical change that happens fast but sticks with
us and our families forever. That's not
realistic. I'm a huge fan of small
changes. For example, try serving fruit
for dessert with a meal for a healthy change.
Or if you're one to usually skip breakfast, try starting your day off
with a healthy breakfast of low-fat yogurt and blueberries. And don't worry if you have an unhealthy meal
on occasion. My family? We love pizza and wings, so we don't stress
about it when we occasionally splurge on those things [especially with pregnant
cravings]. We try to eat a generally
healthy diet, which allows room for some splurge food and desserts.
Give yourself some grace during this time. We all know it's so important for our babies
to eat well during pregnancy, so celebrate the healthy choices you make but
allow yourself to indulge in those cravings sometimes.
*Setting an example
The best thing about taking care of ourselves is that it
sets a great example for our kids, too.
When they see us eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, it paves the way
for them to do it, too. They see that
it's important to take care of ourselves and make nutrition a priority.
*Resources
This can be a tough path to walk down at times, so it's nice
to have some resources at our hands. The
United States Department of Agriculture has a great site with lots of
science-based, reliable nutrition information.
It can be found at choosemyplate.gov.
There you can even track your intake - if you want.
You can also find nutrition information at these sites:
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website at eatright.org.
CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/index.html
http://www.nutrition.gov/
I blog at adventuresofjackandme.wordpress.com where I try to
share about nutrition and healthy eating in the midst of everyday life. I try to post easy recipes that add
nutritional value without a lot of work or time.
A word of warning - be cautious as you seek nutritional
advice online- make sure it is coming from someone who is trained and
knowledgeable in the field.
Jessi, thank you so much for having me here today, and thank
you all for reading along!
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