Eating for Two

So, you’ve just announced you’re pregnant and everything is about to change! When I was pregnant with my little one, I was shocked at the nonsense some women tell each other as soon as you’re pregnant. Left, right and centre I felt bombarded with miss-information! You’re eating for two now, have another! Why do you care what you’re eating, you’re pregnant! You’re going to get big anyway, you have the perfect excuse! You shouldn’t be exercising in your condition! All of which made me laugh at the time but when I think about it now, I realise just how damaging this can be!!

So, we get pregnant, we eat for two and then the baby arrives, and we’re left feeling awful. Is this really what we wanted? Now granted, pregnancy is a law of its own and do not attempt to tell a pregnant woman eating her ice cream with raspberry sauce and chocolate flake to put that scrumptious delight down!! NO NO NO! Well try it and you can let me know how you fair!

Pregnancy is tough and we side swerve from the perfect nutrition and activity levels at times. Though it is helpful to know the facts. So, should we be eating for two? Certainly not. In fact, in 2017 The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists released a paper with the headline: ‘Eating for two’ pregnancy myth still risks harming mothers and their babies despite best intentions. They also explained 63% of pregnant women feel under pressure from others to eat larger meals than normal.

Nutrition and activity levels are always important, and this does not change in pregnancy. Remember we want that little baby to be healthy too! Statistically RCOG state women who are overweight in pregnancy are at an increased risk of several health conditions;

• Miscarriage
• Gestational diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Pre-eclampsia
• Premature birth
• Haemorrhage post birth
• Blood clots

So, what should I be eating? L-fit Glasgow personal training follow the official NICE guidance for pregnant women to eat your typical recommended calorie allowance for the first 6 months then for the last 3 months you will require 200 additional calories per day. An example of 200 calories would be 2 slices of lightly buttered toast.

So, what about exercise? I know this is something I was concerned about as a first-time mum. I particularly enjoy plyometric exercises (essentially the jumpy ones!!) but I didn’t want to give my baby concussion! Was that even possible!? Let’s have a look at the official guidance from the NHS for exercise in pregnancy:

• If you are fit in pregnancy this will help you during labour and post birth
• Keep YOUR NORMAL daily physical activity for as long as you feel comfortable
• Exercise is NOT dangerous for your baby
• Do not exhaust yourself

So, we can exercise and we don’t need to consume every calorie under the sun! It is important to remember that if you are exercising when pregnant you should be able to hold a conversation throughout. If this is not the case, just slow down a little. Most importantly this is NOT a time for personal bests! Continue with the exercise you were previously participating in and go with how you feel. It’s ok to exercise and it’s ok to rest.

At L-fit personal training we recommend:

• Always warm up and a little extra when pregnant is beneficial
• Exercise when you feel like you have good energy levels
• Take the rest days when you need them, your body knows best
• Remain hydrated

One side note before we finish. There are exercises that come with additional risk: horse riding, gymnastics, cycling etc. These exercises with high risk of falls/injury are not recommended. Though I don’t think this would be a surprise to any of us.

So, hurray!! We can exercise and continue to participate in those fun activities. We can do this knowing a healthy mum makes a healthy baby! And yes, we can also eat all of those delicious treats! But we absolutely do not need to eat for two!

If you would like some coaching to help get you started, get in touch with L-Fit Glasgow Southside Personal Training.