Want to hear some excellent news about how to create the perfect diet during pregnancy? Rule number one: toss the diet books! Whether you have struggled with your weight, or have always been conscientious of your body and it's health, pregnancy is the time to eat, not diet.
However, the term diet has been skewed in our culture to mean the absence of something.
But when you are expecting a new bundle of joy, your "diet" during pregnancy should be an inclusiveapproach.
The only thing that should be missing from your daily calorie intake is unnecessary fat, sugar, and processed junk.
The Core of Your Diet During Pregnancy Your pregnancy diet plan should be built around complex carbohydrates like sprouted wheat or rice bread which are fiber-rich, organic lean meats, calcium-rich foods, and as many fruits and leafy veggies that you can handle.
Perhaps one of the most important things to get in the habit of doing is reading the nutrition labels and ingredients on foods you purchase.
Be aware that foods are not packaged these days to be upfront with their ingredients.
One rule of thumb is that the lesser number of ingredients the better, unless of course those ingredients are sugar and cream.
Sugar is the number one secret ingredient that can wreck havoc on your growing waistline as well as affect your growing infant.
How Sugar Can Wreck Your Diet During Pregnancy When eating during pregnancy, sugar is more rapidly absorbed into your body.
If you are taking in more sugar than you should be, your pancreas is going to be unduly taxed during the process of regulation.
This puts excessive strain on your body's ability to regulate blood sugar levels.
Left unchecked, eating too much sugar can develop into gestational diabetes.
Additionally, too much sugar may translate into unhealthy weight gain.
Sugar is high in empty calories, and your baby needs the type of nutrients that will do the heavy lifting and help him develop a strong and healthy body.
Another Reason Sugar is a Pregnancy Diet No-No Another downside? If your diet during pregnancy is heavy on sugar your baby may grow to be too large.
Large babies are not only harder to deliver for mommy, but if your maternal blood sugar is too high Macrosomia can occur, which increases the need for a C-section.
Ingesting too much sugar also can raise your child's chances of suffering from childhood obesity.
If you must sweeten your food during pregnancy, I suggest using the following alternatives: Stevia, xylitol, agave syrup, and raw honey.
Learning to eat healthy and creating a healthy pregnancy diet is easy when your shown how.