Excess weight during pregnancy: how not to gain, norms, lists of useful and harmful products

Only 20% of women return to their former shape within the first three months after the birth of a child. The vast majority of newly-made mothers are forced to update their wardrobe, taking into account new sizes, which is fraught not only with additional financial costs, but also with new grief and depression. All of this can be avoided by monitoring pregnancy weight gain.

What does the increase consist of:

amniotic fluid (0.5-0.6 kg);
uterus (1 kg);
fetus (2.5-4 kg);
breast enlargement (0.5 kg);
increase in circulating blood (up to 1.5 kg);
placenta (0.4-0.6 kg).

Approximate weight is given in parentheses. In addition, a woman gains 3-4 kg of fat, which serves as an energy depot after the birth of a child. If the increase is more than 15 kg, then the doctors begin to sound the alarm. Up to 20 weeks of pregnancy, weight gain should not be more than 40%, the remaining 60% fall in the second half of the term.

Diet: fractional, slow, reasonable

The optimal number of meals for a pregnant woman is 5 to 7 times a day, including snacks. You can eat in the evening, but no later than 2 hours before going to bed. In the first trimester, small portions, frequent, moderate eating will help reduce the unpleasant manifestations of toxicosis, reduce the likelihood of a strong feeling of hunger, and hence the possibility of overeating.

Small servings prevent spikes in blood glucose levels. To be satiated in small portions and facilitate the work of the digestive system, food should be consumed slowly, pieces should be chewed thoroughly, and meals should be taken in a calm atmosphere.

General tips on how not to gain weight:

Mandatory breakfast. It will prevent the appearance of a strong feeling of hunger during the day. With toxicosis, it is recommended to eat a cracker or a biscuit cookie while lying in bed. After a while, you can go to a full breakfast.
Food at home. Trips to cafes, restaurants, canteens often end with overeating, eating high-calorie, unhealthy foods that will increase weight during pregnancy.
Light dinner. It is not necessary to load the digestive system with heavy dishes at night, it is better to give preference to dairy products, cereals. It will also help keep you from gaining weight.

Advice! It is advisable to drink a glass of clean water 20 minutes before meals. In winter it can be warm. The liquid will start the digestive system, fill the stomach, and prevent you from eating too much.

Dangerous and harmful products from which excess weight appears

Proper nutrition is the best system for maintaining a normal weight during pregnancy. When eating healthy food, you do not need to count calories or reduce portion sizes. In order for everything to be really simple, and the system to work, you need to exclude a number of products from the diet. Food that is impossible for pregnant women, leading to weight gain, differs little from what is undesirable for any person to eat:

chips, crackers;
smoked, salty foods;
sausages;
carbonated drinks;
canned food;
fast food, fast food.

In addition, there are products that are especially dangerous during pregnancy. They can cause serious complications, poisoning, diarrhea, and helminth infection if consumed raw. These products include eggs, fish, including sushi, meat, poultry.

Before using any product of industrial production, you need to pay attention to the expiration date. Confectionery with creams, fish preserves, yoghurts, cottage cheese are especially dangerous. Disturbances in the digestive tract, diarrhea and bloating dramatically increase the tone of the uterus, which leads to miscarriage.

Attention! Cabbage, radish, radish can also increase gas formation. They need to be consumed in limited quantities. White cabbage can be cooked or replaced with cauliflower.

Video: Products that threaten pregnancy

The right foods: down with excess weight

The basis of the diet of a pregnant woman should be only wholesome food. When choosing, the composition is carefully studied, it is better to purchase raw products for self-cooking. The basis of the diet during pregnancy is:

complex carbohydrates: cereals, grain bread, vegetables and fruits;
sea and river fish (before cooking, you need to freeze well);
thermally processed meat, preferably red;
bird;
nuts, seeds;
dairy products of medium fat content.

It is allowed to use butter up to 10 g per day. When choosing meat and fish, it is advisable to give preference to low-fat varieties or cut off pieces of fat. It is advisable to remove the skin from chicken and turkey.

On a note: Lamb without fat is the ideal meat for a pregnant woman. With regular use, it will maintain the amount of hemoglobin in the blood at the right level.

Features of heat treatment

Frying in oil is the most unhealthy way of cooking and can more than double the calorie content. When using such dishes, a large weight gain cannot be avoided, therefore they are contraindicated during pregnancy.

Which heat treatment methods to choose:

Cooking (in water or steam).
Extinguishing. It is carried out with the addition of water, sauces, broths, a small amount of oil.
Baking. Usually done in an oven. Do not use fatty sauces to refine the taste. Hard cheese significantly increases the calorie content of the dish.

Spicy spices are contraindicated during pregnancy, besides, they increase appetite. To improve the taste during heat treatment, you can add paprika, cinnamon, laurel to dishes, sesame seeds and fresh herbs are useful. Salt is limited to 5 g per day.

Constipation is another reason for being overweight.

Disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract, in particular constipation, also lead to weight gain. Stagnation is very harmful for a pregnant woman, increases the tone of the uterus, can cause a threat of miscarriage or premature birth. The bowel must be emptied regularly. With constipation during pregnancy, fiber-rich foods, prunes, preparations with lactulose will help to cope.

With prolonged constipation for more than three days, glycerin suppositories can be used to empty the intestines. But this is not a solution to the problem. It is necessary to normalize nutrition, exclude flour products, with which it is difficult not to gain excess weight.

Video: Super food for pregnant women

Unloading days for pregnant women

If weight gain is ahead of schedule, pregnant women need to arrange fasting days, they are also indicated for edema, constipation, preeclampsia. During the day, one or more types of a healthy product with a low calorie content are consumed. Salt and sugar are excluded. In one day, you can lose up to 2 kg of weight.

Types of unloading days:

kefir (1.5 l);
apple (up to 1.5 kg);
buckwheat (250 g of dry cereals);
vegetable (up to 1.5 kg).

In parentheses is the daily amount of the product. It is divided into 5-6 equal portions, consumed every 1.5-2 hours, preventing the appearance of a strong feeling of hunger. Be sure to drink clean water at least 1.5 liters per day.

Sports and pregnancy: how not to gain weight

Increasingly, you can meet pregnant women doing gymnastics, yoga, Pilates, exercising on a fitball, visiting the pool. Physical activity is the best prevention of excess weight, including during pregnancy. With the right approach and the right technique for performing classes, they will only benefit.

In addition to excess weight, other problems will also go away: morning sickness, constipation, leg cramps, back pain. During classes, blood circulation improves, mental stress decreases, and overall well-being improves. Group classes contribute to the emergence of new acquaintances, brighten up the leisure of a pregnant woman.

Contraindications to increased activity:

bleeding;
hypertension;
oligohydramnios;
multiple pregnancy.

Any physical activity is indicated only during a normal pregnancy and only after consulting a doctor. If you have health problems, you should limit yourself to walking in the fresh air. Riding, rowing, jumping, cycling and other traumatic sports are prohibited.

Proper and healthy nutrition will help not to gain excess weight, it is easy to return a slim figure after pregnancy. The exclusion of sweets, confectionery, chocolate, fast food will have a positive effect not only on the figure of a young mother, but also on the health of the baby.