Gaining weight and pregnancy can be synonymous at times for most pregnant women. While some may see this as something that is ill-advised, the fact remains that there is a right and wrong way to weight gain during pregnancy. You might want to stay within the 25 – 35 lbs region as this is the most healthy weight bracket to maintain. If you do not consciously pay attention to your weight during your first trimester, it can easily get out of hand. Ones that happens, it can spill over into your second and third trimesters. The aim of this article is to show you 5 ways which you can apply to master the art of weight gain during pregnancy.
1. Before you can target a particular weight, you first need to know what the required average weight gain considered as being normal for pregnant women is. A healthy average range is between 25 and 35 pounds for most women based on how much you weighed before you conceived. This weight is contained in places like; your baby’s weight, the uterus, the placenta, the amniotic fluid, your breasts, the extra volume of blood, fat, and tissue fluid. If you consider it carefully, you’d see that this can quickly add up to the required weight. It is recommended that you add about 300 calories daily which is really not much food. You want to be careful about using the excuse that you are now eating for two to ingest whatever meets your fancy. If you do that, you will gain too much weight too quickly.
2. Try to remain active no matter how much it feels like you should just give in and drag yourself around all day. This is not an excuse to go all out and put too much strain on yourself, no; there are a lot of activities that can keep you active while not putting you and your baby at risk. You must know the limits of your body. Talk to your doctor about any increased physical activity you intend to undertake.
3. You can also follow the “healing food pyramid” which was developed by the University of Michigan. The food pyramid guide is basically a series of guidelines that show you how to maintain a healthy pregnancy weight through healthy eating. You should try to adhere to what it recommends as much as possible if you intend to maintain a weight gain that is ideal during your pregnancy.
4. You should realize that gaining weight during pregnancy is supposed to be a steady and gradual process. It does not happen a once or overnight. During your first trimester normal weight gain should be around 4 to 5 pounds. Once you achieve that, it begins to increase gradually. By the time you are within your second and third trimester, which is normally around 20 weeks or thereabouts, you should be gaining about one pounds per week. This weight gain will continue until the end of your pregnancy term; although for some women, it actually continues throughout their pregnancy terms.
5. Ensure that you remain healthy through proper eating and regular exercise. There is no exact number or average weight that you are supposed to gain during pregnancy; this is because of various factors which usually come into play like; the weight of your baby, your weight prior to becoming pregnant, your height, and so on. Just make it a point of duty to eat right and exercise well; eat foods that have high nutritious value – fruits and fibre, nuts and grains, lean meat, milk, egg white and so on. Perform exercise routines that are not stressful to your body including; walking, swimming, yoga etcetera.