Whether you need to gain weight or lose it, these 5 tips will help you create a balanced lifestyle to increase your health and wellness for a happy and healthy pregnancy!
1. Hydration!
Making sure you are properly hydrated is KEY anytime you are looking to begin a balanced lifestyle. Keeping hydrated will help with organ function, keep your body energized, and will overall keep you in tip-top shape!
2. Creating balanced plates.
If you are looking to have a balanced lifestyle, you should definitely start with your plate!
Pulling from the 5 food groups is key to make sure that you are getting all the macronutrients that you need (carbs, protein, and fat)! These food groups are protein, fruits, veggies, grains, and dairy or calcium foods. You should not be cutting out food groups in the name of health! This will cause restriction and is not what your body needs while trying to conceive.
Your body thrives in a 'fed' environment, and making sure your body is nourished will all of the food groups will help to support that environment. Whereas, in a 'fasting' state or a state of restriction, your body feels that restriction and does what it can to survive. What that means is that a body will feel safe and comfortable to become pregnant in a 'fed' state but not so in a 'fasted' state-----you pickin' up what we're putting down?
3. Variety of colors.
Going off of the balanced plate idea, we also want to consume a variety of colors on our plates! Try for at least 3 at each meal! This is because foods with different colors have different nutrients. For example, your red veggies vs your green veggies vs white veggies! Yes, that's right, all colored veggies have their own specific nutrients that are beneficial for your health.
We need all of these micronutrients for our bodies to function! Nutrients are not just for an 'extra boost of health' they are NECESSARY for our bodies so that each organ and function can do its job at max capacity.
Plus eating a variety of fruits, veggies, and yes, even grains can increase your fiber intake and will in turn help you feel fuller longer. When you fill half of your plate with fruits and veggies and add in whole grains, your calories will decrease and nutrients increase. This is what we like to call a 'nutrient-dense' meal that promotes health all around!
4. Increase protein and healthy fats for satiety.
If we don't include protein and healthy fats in our diets, we may feel full after our veggies but we will most likely be hungry in an hour or so--- and that's not quite long enough right?
Protein and healthy fats are ESSENTIAL for body function. Protein is super important especially when you are trying to build a strong body. Fats are also important for your reproductive organs to properly function and make sure that your eggs are maturing correctly.
5. Movement/exercise that feel good!
We also want to emphasize participating in movement and exercise that feels good to you and your body. Don't participate in exercises that cause you to feel like you never want to put your workout shoes on ever again!
Staying active is vital for health-- so find something that you enjoy, whether its weight lifting, yoga, walking/running, tennis, swimming, Zumba, pilates, you name it! If you are participating in exercises that you enjoy doing, you will be more likely to do it again and that's the most important aspect of being physically active-- the consistency!
We want to emphasize that no fad diet or quick weight loss trick will work long term and in fact, may cause you to gain more weight back once completed. Being consistent and creating habits that last will be the best way to either lose weight or overall increase your health!
Did you learn something from this post? If yes, what?
Are you currently searching for accountability to create these lifestyle changes?
Send your answers to mamasmaternalhealth@gmail.com!
Thanks for reading and as always...
Your health today is a LIFETIME of health for you AND your baby.
Until next time!
Coaches Cassie and Mikayla
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