Diet and Pregnant Women - Any Thoughts on Whether They Go Hand-in-Hand?

Most pregnant women feel too large as their baby grows. So it's not uncommon for someone to mention diet, and pregnant women quickly turn to hear what's about to be said. They want to know how they can lose weight. Most don't like the idea of gaining weight. However, most doctors agree that losing weight and being pregnant do not go well together. Health care professionals believe pregnancy is the worst time of all to lose weight. If the baby isn't nourished, it will not grow properly.

The general consensus is that pregnant women need to gain some weight. The amount needed is different depending upon how heavy a woman was before becoming pregnant. Even an obese woman should plan on gaining at least 12 and up to 25 pounds over the course of her pregnancy. An important thing about diet and pregnant women is the number of calories needed. When a woman is pregnant, people often push food at her encouraging her to eat more and more. Well-meaning friends and loved ones say, "You're eating for two now!" That's a dreadful myth. Do NOT eat twice as much!

This thinking couldn't be further from the truth. Actually, a woman only needs an additional 300 calories a day to adequately nourish the baby. At this calorie level, she too can stay healthy.

If you make reasonable adjustments to your diet, you'll be healthy and you won't gain too much weight. If you happen to be obese you'll be used to eating much more than is required by this diet. And pregnant women who are obese may not gain weight. The requirements are simply the building blocks of a healthy diet. Again, consult with your doctor.

Three to five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables should be included in your diet, and pregnant women will enjoy this. One of the vegetables should be a dark orange one and two of them should be dark green and leafy. These foods provide many vitamins and other nutrients needed for your growing baby. Moderate protein is suggested for pregnant women who are obese, or anyone for that matter may be accustomed to eating more. The recommendations for proteins include only 2 servings. These can be extra lean meats, some fish, chicken, or dried peas or beans.

Six servings of grain are suggested and you should consider eating whole grains whenever possible. This may seem like a lot, but the key is eating whole grain and unbleached whole wheat products. Your body "processes" them better and they don't convert to fat like white breads and grains easily do.

Three servings of low fat or nonfat milk or milk products are also helpful for pregnant women and their growing babies. The interesting thing is that milk encourages weight loss in the body as it nourishes it with healthy nutrients. Again, check with your doctor before changing any eating or exercise patterns. But ladies, if you happen to fall into the obese category here's some good news.

Recent studies revealed that babies of obese women who followed this diet - and when the women lost weight because of the healthier - actually fared better. The babies had fewer complications after use of the diet, and pregnant women felt better as well from losing weight. Overall it's a low calorie diet and moderate exercise plan. So, although for most women you shouldn't lose weight when pregnant . . . new studies reveal some exceptions. Researchers evaluated the diet, and pregnant women who were obese did better by losing the weight. The important thing is that their babies did better too.