The source of some very tragic eye-liner choices for me recently
While I'm not going to be adding courgette to muffins any time soon (seriously), I appreciate the message of the show: Fad diets don't work, easy and healthy eating habits do. It's great to see a show that offers an education on food rather than swapping diets with the morbidly obese/anorexic or crapping into tupperware. That and I have a new obsession with the host. Look at her... just look at her!
That's enough of that, I can Google her home address on my own time
Anyway, back to food education. It amazes me how little some people seem to know about their grub. For the record I'm not a health fanatic or a foodie but even I know the odd piece of raw fruit or veg = good, a family size bar of chocolate for breakfast = bad.
When it comes to nutritional confusion and without deliberately trying to play into national stereotypes, the worst offenders I've seen from personal experience are the Americans where their tv advertisements (which are a force all of their own) seem to be 90% equal parts diet programmes and fast food. I was kind of shocked to watch a Jenny Craig ad consisting of a woman's statement that she didn't understand where she was going wrong with her diet was followed directly by a Pizza Hut commercial offering to deliver 2lbs of carbonara right to your door. Who needs 2lbs of carbonara?! However, that's my point in the extreme.
One of the most widely accepted misconceptions about food and diet is the myth of 'eating for two'. With women vulnerable to such complications as gestational diabetes during pregnancy and already obese pregnant women susceptible to a host of problems, including miscarriage and premature birth, 'eating for two' isn't just a myth but one that puts mother and baby at risk. Not to mention the added stress it puts on women who suffer badly with morning sickness.
I had morning sickness throughout most of my pregnancy. It really only let up for the last two months. I would still randomly have days of nausea but it wasn't as frequent. Being pregnant for the first time and unable to keep any food down was nerve-wracking, no matter how many books or websites told me not to worry and insisting that the baby was still getting nutrients. Eating during pregnancy became a bit of an obsession for me and in the early days of a first-time pregnancy everyone's testimony was gospel. Don't worry, you learn pretty quickly to ignore all of that 'helpful' advice (everyone came from a uterus thus they're all experts, y'see).
The one thing I kept getting time and time again was the notion of drastically increasing my calorie intake. For someone who physically can't maintain they're regular eating habits, this was beyond distressing. Frankly, I was naive for listening to anyone other than my GP who informed me that the calorie intake recommended for the first trimester is no more than two more bananas or one more slice of bread per day. That's all.
Mmm... delicious
This was fantastic news for someone plagued with nausea and vomiting for most of the day. I don't envy someone without morning sickness to regulate any new cravings or increased appetite.
That's just for the first trimester, as each trimester progresses you will need to increase your calorie intake slightly. By your second trimester you should add an extra 300 calories to your daily intake, which looks like this. By your third trimester increase it to 450 calories which consists of these meal ideas (adapt to make suitable for pregnancy where needed). At these stages you really just need to listen to your body over counting calories. By the end of my pregnancy if it couldn't run faster than me, I was eatin' it.
When doing your own research on eating during pregnancy cut-out hearsay, read up on it, check reliable websites and consult your GP. Not taking the piss with your pregnancy diet not only lowers the chances of health risks but also means you'll have an easier time getting back into shape post-pregnancy. Wins all round!
Reliable websites for healthily eating for two:
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