7 Healthy Eating Tips: Do's and Don't's While Pregnant

When I was pregnant I did lots of research and asked my doctor about what kinds of foods that I could and couldn't eat. By the end I felt like I couldn't eat anything. All of my regular foods that I ate were not good for my growing baby. I basically had to retrain my way of eating. But don't get discouraged by this list. "It will all be worth it in the end…" as my mother constantly reminded me. It was well worth it. 

Here were the ways that I found I could eat healthy and get everything that I needed:

1. Don't Forget to Eat Breakfast. Eat good fortified cereals in the morning. Examples of these kinds of cereals that have great nutritious value for you and your developing baby are Post Grape Nuts, Kellogg's Special K or General Mills Multi-Grain Cheerios. I grew up on the Grape Nuts and to this day they are still my favorite cereal to eat. They are a great fiber source and helps well with the constipation that pregnancy causes. Eating the Grape Nuts by themselves they can taste a little bland. I dressed them up like this: 

a- 2 cups of grape nuts

b- 1 cup of cut up strawberries ( or whatever fruit that you choose.)

c- 1 tablespoon of sugar

d- Pour your choice of milk over it.

e- Enjoy.

2. Eat Foods with Fiber. Foods that have fiber are green peas, spinach, pears and bananas. but don't eat too much. You'll have an upset stomach and it is not good for your developing baby. My doctor told me to double the normal serving of fruits and vegetables that a non-pregnant woman would need a day. But ask your doctor first. 

3. Drink Lots of Water. But don't exceed the equivalent of ten 8 oz glasses of water. Me personally I hate drinking water so I found a fun and easy way for me to drink my water. I hate regular water bottles and I always have to have a straw in my water so i fought a regular 16 oz cup from Starbucks and carried it with me everywhere. Every day you should have at least 80 oz of water a day. So for me that would mean that I would drink 5 of my Starbucks cups a day. As I went through my work day I kept a corner of my pad of paper dedicated to keeping track of my water. It was helpful to remember how many I had when my pregnancy brain kicked in.

4. Don't Take Your Prenatals on an Empty Stomach. If you are like me and have a very sensitive stomach, take your prenatals 10 minutes before or after you eat. It will digest with the food. when i took my prenatals on an empty stomach it would make my morning sickness worse and I ended up visiting the bathroom more often than I usually did. Make sure your prenatals have iron and folic acid. I told a prenatal that had DHA as well. The iron keeps your blood healthy. The folic acid helps prevent some birth defects and the DHA helps with the brain development of your baby. 

5. Eat 8 to 12 ounces of Seafood a week. Check with your ob/gyn first as some doctors suggest this and some don't. Mine suggested it but told me to be careful of the mercury content  in the fish. She told me to stay away from tuna as it contains the most our of a majority of fish. The mercury is a metal that is very harmful to you and your baby. If you eat a lot of fish with mercury in it in the early stages of pregnancy it can lead to a miscarriage. If you eat a lot in the later stages of pregnancy it can cause some serious developmental issues for your little one. My doctor let me eat my favorite fish, salmon and shrimp. In these two fish the mercury levels are low and you still get your omega 3 and amino acids that  you and and your baby need.

Avoid the following:

a- Tuna

b- Swordfish

c- Tile Fish

d- Shark

e- King Mackerel

6. Don't Eat Soft Cheeses, Lunch and Cured Meats, or Raw Foods. Make sure you stay away from cheeses that have not been pasteurized. The bacteria levels are harmful to your baby and can cause some serious problems. Being a brie lover I had to stay away from it.

Cheeses to Stay Away From:

a- Blue Cheese

b- Brie

c- Feta

d- Roquefort

e- Gorgonzola 

Stay away from eating lunch and cured meats cold and raw foods. They also contain harmful bacteria. If you want to eat any lunch meat make sure you put it in a microwave oven or microwave and cook until it is steaming to kill all the bacteria. Examples of these foods are hot dogs, sausage patties, pepperoni, salami, and ham. Raw foods to say away from are sushi and any meat that is cooked rare to medium rare. If you are a steak eater get it cooked to at least  medium or medium well. A little pink is ok.

7. Limit Caffine and Get Rid of Alcohol and Nicotine. Doctors suggest that you dink decaffeinated coffee and never exceed two 8 oz cups a day. I drank regular coffee maybe 2 times a week. But some great alternatives to those who have a cup of coffee a day there is coffee flavored postum. Get the caffeine free kind and make it just like you regularly would with your coffee. I love it. Herbal tea is a great idea as well, but stay away from peppermint or mint teas. As they can cause contractions and if you drink a lot of it in early stages it can lead to a miscarriage. No alcohol or nicotine. I was a half a pack a day smoker but when I found out I was pregnant I quit cold turkey and haven't picked it back up since I gave birth. Not only do I feel like a brand new person but it is also good for my baby as she won't follow my poor example. 

For more research to do on your own here are a list of some resources that were helpful to me.

1. Parents.com

2. Webmd.com

3. What to Expect When You Are Expecting ( get the most recent edition as it is updated every year)

4. Health-finder.org

5. Med-health.net

6. Pregnancy Companion App. (available in iTunes and Google playstore)

Thank you for visiting my blog today. Please email me with what you have tried and what works for you, suggestions, topic ideas you would like me to write about or just have questions I would love to hear from you. ferguson.sabrina15@gmail.com. Also in two days I am going to be launching a forum and blocking out time in my day 3 times a week to talk to my readers in person. Thanks again for visiting.

Until Tomorrow Then!