« May Fruits and Veggies at Their Best | Main | Jessie's Whole-y Guacamole! »

05/25/2009

Break the 'Eating for Two' Rule during Pregnancy

According to a recent study published May 19, 2009, in the online version of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 'eating for two' can have some undesireable outcomes both during and after pregnancy. 

Research shows that  those who consumed extra calories, as well as fried foods and dairy products, were more likely to gain more than is recommended during pregnancy – that’s 35 pounds or more for a woman with a normal body mass index, or BMI. (Calculate your BMI here).

Complications of too much weight gain include: 

  • Pre-eclampsia
  • Unplanned C-section
  • Increased odds of obesity for both mom AND baby

A healthy weight gain is possible, the study finds. Women with vegetarian diets in early pregnancy were half as likely to gain too much weight. Those who exercised vigorously for a half hour a day reduced their risk by 20 percent. Consuming more monounsaturated fat, found in olive oil and nuts, was linked with a lower risk of excessive weight gain. 

The lesson her is that an appropriate weight gain during pregnancy, will likely lead to a healthy weight loss post-pregnancy. And remember this: Although 'eating for two' might be easy, 'losing for two' probably won't be.  

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8351a96ce53ef01156fb00ae9970c

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Break the 'Eating for Two' Rule during Pregnancy:

Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

This is informative. i remember the days when i was pregnant with my first child. my doctor says that, while you are pregnant, you will need additional nutrients to keep you and your baby healthy. However, that does not mean you need to eat twice as much. An increase of only 300 calories per day is recommended.

very nice blog
you have done a great work
thanks

Post a comment.

Comments are moderated, and will not appear on this weblog until the author has approved them.