Should you try to lose weight while pregnant, to keep everything in balance? It’s normal to gain weight while pregnant, as the baby inside the womb starts to gain weight too.
If you are slim and fit before your pregnancy, you can expect to have an increase in weight for up to 35 pounds by the time you reach the third trimester. If you are a bit overweight, gaining 15 to 25 pounds is still considered to be normal and safe.
Whereas if you are obese, it is only recommended that you gain up to 20 pounds during your pregnancy. But what if you look in the mirror and find that you don’t like the extra pounds that you have been putting on? Is it safe to try to lose some weight even if you’re pregnant? Is it safe for you? And is it safe for the baby?
Can I Lose Weight While Pregnant? Answer: No.
Trying to lose weight while pregnant is not only dangerous for the mommy, but for the baby too. At this point, both you and the baby will need all the nutrients that you can get from eating healthy food and snacks. Diets that have been formulated for the sole purpose of losing weight can be very harmful for you and the baby inside your womb.
Keeping in Shape While Pregnant
Keeping in shape and losing weight during pregnancy are completely different from each other. If your goal is simply to stay fit, this will be beneficial for you and the fetus in your womb. Aside from eating nutritious food, exercising is the best way to keep in shape. As you are very sensitive during this stage in your life, you should only adapt simple exercises that are not that strenuous for your body.
Walking, swimming, dancing, and even meditation techniques like yoga are all beneficial forms of exercise for a pregnant woman. These activities will not only ease the aches and pains that go with pregnancy, but they can make you feel a lot better about yourself too.
Proper Eating Habits to Control Weight Gain
If you are really getting conscious about your weight, there are simple techniques that you can do in order to avoid putting on excess pounds. Instead of eating large meals in a given day, you can eat in portions of 5 to 6 small meals. This method can speed up your body’s metabolism in processing the food inside your body, so that all the nutrients will be absorbed efficiently without the effect of gaining weight.
Not While You’re Pregnant
No matter how much you weigh and how much you hate looking at yourself in the mirror, pregnancy is simply not the time to adapt a weight-loss plan. Depriving yourself from eating certain types of food can be very harmful for you and the developing baby in your uterus. While it can be quite normal to lose some pounds during the first trimester when you are going through morning sickness, purposely trying to lose weight during the second and third trimester can prove to be dangerous. You wouldn’t want to deliver a malnourished and underdeveloped baby, would you?
The Right Time to Go on a Diet
You can pursue your goal of shedding some extra pounds after giving birth. But this should be done after your baby is weaned from breastfeeding. Proper nutrition is still needed during breastfeeding, as your child still gets all the essential vitamins and minerals through your milk. And if you are not properly nourished, you will not be providing proper nutrition for your baby. Your body can even breakdown because it can’t handle the demands of producing all the healthy elements needed by you and your nursing child.
Possible Negative Effects of Dieting to a Baby
If a mother is undernourished during pregnancy, the baby inside the womb can become weak and sickly. This can result in early death even while inside the womb or miscarriage due to lack of nutrition. And even if a baby is delivered normally, the immune system may not be very strong to handle the stresses of daily living.
Think About Your Baby
While it is quite understandable to get conscious about the way you look during pregnancy, always put your baby’s health and safety in your priority list first. You can always try to lose weight after giving birth, when the method can be considered safe for you and your child.
