Is It Safe to Manage Your Weight During Pregnancy?

Irrespective of a woman’s BMI, every woman who is pregnant has to gain weight during their pregnancy. This is normal and expected, and it means that your pregnancy is healthy. Losing weight during pregnancy is not a healthy goal. Instead, you should be aiming to manage your weight and avoid excess weight gain.

Safe Ways to Manage Your Weight During Pregnancy

Being overweight does increase the risk of miscarriage according to health institutions, as well as increased risk of high blood pressure, postpartum hemorrhage, and gestational diabetes, among other concerns. However, pregnant women should not make efforts to lose weight during pregnancy, even if they are obese. The best method to manage weight during pregnancy is to ensure that you have control over your weight gain and do not exceed the threshold recommendation of your doctor.

Know Your Needs

You cannot control your weight gain if you have no idea what healthy weight gain in your case should look like. Do not rely on the figures or facts given by those around you like your healthy weight gain is unique to you, according to your health and your body and pregnancy needs. You will need your pre-pregnancy BMI to work out an approximate figure for your healthy weight gain. You should consult with your doctor when establishing your healthy weight gain over your pregnancy.

Calorie Requirements

Since not all women need to gain the same amount of weight, you must determine your unique calorie requirements. Calorie requirements increase during the second and the third trimester, so take this into account while you’re dieting. During pregnancy, it is typical for average caloric intake to increase by about 300kcal per day. This figure does vary with BMI and other factors, though. Do not follow weight loss regimes like intermittent fasting or low-calorie diets while pregnant.

Frequent But Small Meals

It can be beneficial for weight management if you eat small meals regularly over the day. This is also easier on your digestive system, which tends to suffer in pregnancy. Also, be sure to have small meals that are highly nutritious to deliver plenty of vitamins and nutrients to your body.

It will help you with the vital task of making a little human being within you! Having three medium-sized meals and two smaller meals over the day is better. You do not need to eat for two!

Exercise

Your fitness routine doesn’t need to come to a halt because you’re pregnant! It is actually of great importance to continue exercising if you need to change your weight through your pregnancy and to prepare your body for the delivery of the baby. It is crucial to speak to your doctor or to an expert who specializes in exercise for pregnant women to develop a good program for you to follow. Safe exercises to engage in are typically yoga, swimming, cycling, dancing, and walking.

Avoid taxing exercises. If you experience bleeding, amniotic fluid leaking, muscle weakness, chest pain, dizziness, or headache, stop the exercise you are performing and seek medical attention. Avoiding hefty weights during strength training is also very important. This is especially if you have an issue with dizziness, which can set you up for disaster.

Embrace the Changes

Although you are making efforts to manage your weight during pregnancy, make sure that you embrace the changes in your body. You need to respect and nurture your body for these changes. Your body is doing something beautiful, and it is a normal part of life for these changes to occur. Never resort to crash diets or dangerous exercises or any extreme methods of transforming your appearance while pregnant. You have to take extra careful care of yourself, and simply enjoy being pregnant, for it will be over in nine months!

Don’t let internet promises misguide you, or maybe even the hearsay talk sway you. Speak to your doctor about any adjustments you want to make to your diet, exercise, or your lifestyle to manage your weight. Your doctor knows best whether you need to engage in extra measures to control your weight.