Your body is growing, your belly is expanding, and you are feeling as huge as a house. These are the trials and tribulations of pregnancy, and during pregnancy, your body requires a larger amount of calories, vitamins, and nutrients to keep the baby's development on track. Pregnancy is not the time to be worried about fitting into that size 2.

Healthy Pregnancy Diet

A healthy pregnancy diet is one that is safe both during pregnancy and beyond. The diet should consist of a healthy amount of calories, an increase in vitamins and nutrients (both from natural sources and daily prenatal vitamin supplementation), and at least 64 ounces of water every day. Ideally, a prenatal vitamin can be started before the baby is conceived in order to build up the natural stores of necessary vitamins and nutrients in the body.

Dieting during pregnancy will not only affect the health of the pregnant woman but the health of the fetus. Without the proper amount of calories, the fetus can suffer from underdevelopment, delays in brain development, and possible health concerns after birth.

Dieting during pregnancy will not only affect the health of the pregnant woman but the health of the fetus.

A pregnant mom can also be negatively affected by too little calories. The body needs calories, or energy, to grow baby and to keep mom moving on a daily basis. With too little calories, the body will focus all of the available energy on baby, leaving mom feeling overly fatigued and susceptible to illness. 

Overweight Before Pregnancy

When a woman becomes pregnant while overweight, weight loss may occur during the pregnancy, and the mother and baby may maintain excellent health. It is estimated that the pregnant body needs an additional 300 calories but if mom was overeating before the pregnancy and decides to adopt a healthier food lifestyle after becoming pregnant, she may naturally lose weight. This weight loss will in no way harm the baby, and may even make the growth and birth process easier for both baby and mom.

Preparing for Pregnancy

It is not uncommon for women who want to begin a family to optimize their health before they become pregnant. In addition to adding a prenatal vitamin, some mothers choose to adopt healthy eating plans and lose a few extra pounds before conceiving. Any extra pre-pregnancy weight will increase the added strain on the body during pregnancy. 

For women who are worried about starting an exercise plan and healthy diet before conception, and then having to stop it when becoming pregnant, rest assured that these same eating and workout plans can be followed throughout the 40 weeks of pregnancy. Many women safely do yoga, light aerobics, swim and maintain healthy routines up until they give birth.