Common food-related questions from clients in their first trimester

                The most common questions from a client who has just found out that they are pregnant (or are otherwise in the first trimester of pregnancy):

                I’ve heard from my doctor that ‘eating for two’ is a myth; How much weight am I supposed to gain?

In designing a first trimester food plan with the goal of slow and optimal weight gain (or maintenance if you are starting your pregnancy over your ideal weight), remember: Step 1: no guilt. Your ‘square one’ (your starting point including pre-pregnancy weight and fitness levels) is simply that; where you are starting from. No matter how you feel about your current weight, you aren’t doing anything wrong by feeling hungry and needing food. Your body is now working in hyper-drive and it needs the energy (calories) to step up and perform. So, as I said before, although the old adage of ‘eating for two’ is not accurate, now is not the time for dieting (yay!). So let’s talk about balance.

                First, I’d like to break down the body changes that you can expect. For most women, the ideal weight gain over the entire pregnancy is between 15 and 35 pounds. If you start overweight pre-pregnancy, you’d be on the lower end of that scale. Even if you gain the ideal amount of weight during pregnancy, you can expect loose skin, loose muscles and some shape changes. I’m not scaring you, I’m preparing you J ! A safe expectation for feeling “normal” in your body again is 9-10 months following birth (it takes as much time to take it off as it does to put it on).

                Okay, so we aren’t dieting, so time to hit up Golden Corral buffet? No, not exactly J There are 3 goals to your eating plan; 1) feeling satisfied (full mommy = happy mommy) 2) getting the nutrition that you need for baby making 3) minimizing extra weight gain. So that means eating when you are hungry (not bored) and eating smart.

                I’m only in my first trimester and I’ve already gained /x/ amount of weight! How can I slow down?

                The absolute best way to prevent super sneaky fast weight gain is to eat at home (or packed meals from home). Restaurant food is tasty but tricky and it is loaded with stuff that is going to make your weight gain get out of control really fast. It’s a very hard habit to break when you lead a busy lifestyle, but with good grocery shopping planning it doesn’t have to be inconvenient to eat at home or boring either! When I worked as a full-time nurse, the crock pot was my at-home chef making my dinner hot and ready for me when I walked through the door!

                Another important point to avoiding too much weight gain is pacing your meals. By eating according to the many-small-meals-per day idea (start by splitting your 3 full meals in half, making 6 small meals), you can prevent the blood sugar highs and lows which give you that panicky feeling hunger which tends to lead to a cycle of over-eating. You will probably have to adjust the times of your meals to what works for you during your day; some women just cannot fathom the idea of eating in the morning at this point in their pregnancy while other women would be sick all day if they didn’t eat first thing in the morning!

It is also good to know that for your metabolism during your pregnancy, your own body is actually using fat as your primary energy source (yay! That means it’s going to take some of it out of storage) and the baby is using glucose (sugar from carbohydrates) as his or her primary energy source. That does not mean over eat on any of these categories; it means that skipping these categories can seriously affect your health and your baby’s health. Again, deprivation diets (which are never really a good idea) are now a super bad idea during your pregnancy.

I eat out all of the time because when I look at my cabinet, nothing ever looks good; what kind of snacks would you recommend?

Following is a list of ideas, and you can pick and choose based on taste or follow their lead to your own ideas… just don’t try to be slick and say a carrot basically looks like a corndog J!!!! So get creative, AND, the easiest first step for bringing home food to work is to purchase portion-friendly Tupperware and start packing ahead so that you can grab your snack supplies on the way out of the door…

Ideas:

-          8 ounces of yogurt or frozen yogurt

-          Apple (apple with skin is one of those ‘feel full’ foods)

-          2 slices of bread (bonus points for wheat or calcium fortified bread) with 2 tablespoons peanut butter

-          Skim milk with ovaltine

-          ½ of a whole grain bagel topped with : cottage cheese & tomato (my favorite) OR 1 tablespoon peanut butter with raisons or sliced banana

-          Homemade grilled cheese sandwich

-          Any healthy choice soups (they have great variety and the clear broth soups can sooth bellies)

-          Protein: Meat (duh, but do go for low-fat choices), nuts, legumes, dairy, eggs, grains.

-          Fat: I know, we’re supposed to avoid it, right? Hold on, GOOD fat should be 20-30 % of your daily intake (remember, that’s your energy source). Good fat (monounsaturated or poly unsaturated) can be found in: canola oil or olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, corn, soybean & fish. Bad fat (saturated fat) and VERY bad fat (trans fats/ or hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats) are not your friends and can be cut out completely if possible. These are in almost everything you would eat out at a restaurant L & read food labels to see what kind of fat is in the stuff at the grocery store.

-          Homemade mashed potatoes made with chicken broth

-          Angel food cake (read the serving size)

-          Homemade hot chocolate

-          Apple slices with cinnamon and 2 tsp butter, zap in microwave for 60 seconds

-          Strawberries dipped in chocolate pudding

-          Cottage cheese mixed with fruit (they have these prepackaged now! Check out the yogurt section)

-          Small pizzas (cookie cutter some pizza dough, pile with sauce and cheese and veggies)

-          Cinnamon and sugar toast with milk

-          Tortilla roll ups (bonus points for wheat tortilla): layer some cheese and goodies, roll it up and cut into pieces… if you’re bringing it in a lunch box, you might want to stick it with some toothpicks

-          Vanilla pudding cup with crumbled up animal crackers

-          Zucchini bites (slice a zucchini into rounds, top with pizza sauce and cheese and bake)

-          Fruit smoothies (these come frozen, easier than acting like an infomercial with  your blender and a garden and all that mess when you don’t have time!)

I don’t have time to eat healthy; are quick foods really that bad?

Everyone has time to eat healthy! What we don’t have time for are all of the health ailments associated with eating poorly! J

Frozen foods can be good and bad. I love morning star brand (it’s vegetarian with great nutrition, but watch your sodium) and there are lots of ‘healthy ’ options that you can have as snacks too! They will never beat fresh options for nutrition/taste, but they would be the lesser of evils if you really need a practical time saver.

Unfortunately, the reality is that when you work full time and balance that with your family life and other time demands, you’re probably going to eat out sometimes. I won’t condone it but I will say, even then you can make ‘better’ choices… we don’t drop our cell phone on the ground and then say ‘oh well, it’s already on the ground, I guess I’ll smash it to pieces’ and our food goals should follow the same idea J I am not saying you should eat out, but here are my recommendations when you have to eat out (because eating out is better than not eating, don’t go hungry!). Taco bell (order fresco and limit to two tacos or one burrito), pizza hut/other pizza options (two slices and thin and crispy, plus go nuts at the salad bar), wendy’s (junior hamburger, kids fries, chicken grill sandwhich, side salad, or a large chili with one packet of crackers), macdonalds (small shake alone, or 6 pc chicken nuggets, kid portion fries), jack in the box (chicken fajita pita with whole-grain, two egg rolls and a fruit cup, or small curly fries and small hamburger), panera (plain bagel with reduced fat cream cheese, pumpkin muffin, any soup!, half chicken ceaser on focaccia, half chicken salad on whole grain), Subway (any 6 inch!), Chinese (avoid any msg, and stick to veggie and meat choices for the main portion).

I am so nauseas; is there anything I can change about my eating habits to help?

                I mentioned before when we were talking about nausea that calcium can (for some people) help with that. Calcium is also very important during pregnancy; most of us know that milk, yogurt, cheese and ice cream can give us calcium, but these foods also tend to be higher calories. Other good ways to get satisfying calcium in your diet include seeking out those calcium-fortified choices (cereals, oatmeal, bread, boost, etc) and foods like Tofu, green leafy vegetables, beans, almonds, bok choy and sesame seeds.

                Otherwise, many women experience food aversions during this part (and sometimes throughout) of their pregnancy. Food aversions means that something that you may have even really liked eating before just absolutely turns your stomach now. Sometimes just the smell or thought of that food can make you toss cookies! During one of my pregnancies, I had an aversion to leafy greens. Anyone who knows me would probably think that is pretty funny, and it did not help with my own weight control!! Food aversions are unpredictable and they might come and go. For the sake of your stomach, it is better not to fight them. There are always alternatives for meeting your nutrition and you will find at this time in your life, your body is really calling the shots!

                If your nausea is severe enough that you worry you are not meeting your nutritional needs or if you are unable to drink fluids adequately, this is something you need to see your doctor about. Although it is really common for women to be nauseas during this time, you do need to make sure you’re getting the nutrition and fluids that you need!

What foods should I avoid during pregnancy?

                A lot of people hear contradicting information about what they can and shouldn’t eat during pregnancy. Ultimately listen to your doctor, but some things that are universally unacceptable to eat during pregnancy are raw or undercooked meat (eggs over easy counts in that), processed meats like hot dogs and lunch meat (some doctors say it’s okay if it is micro-waved- however, no risk is better than low risk in my opinion), swordfish, soft cheeses not made with pasteurized milk, shark, king mackerel, tilefish, herbal tea (still being researched), caffeine, drugs/alcohol/smoking.

Should I eat before or after I exercise?

                As far as food and exercise goes, make sure you are having a protein & carb snack about an hour before you exercise and 8 ounces of water for every 15 min of exercise. I can’t stress enough how important exercise is during pregnancy. When you’re starting from not having a fitness regime, it is important that your doctor gives you the go ahead. You should set aside 20 minutes 3 times a week, and try to make sure that on your ‘off’ days, you are being moderately active like walking, housework, gardening, etc.

Getting the most out of your Post-Partum Core workouts!

                After you have accomplished giving birth, whether it is to your first or fifth child, you might be reasonable in believing that there is nothing in the world that you cannot do. You are a woman warrior, a symbol of strength and power; so why is it that so many women perceive reclaiming their midline after childbirth as ‘impossible’?

                So many women throw up their hands and in the towel when it comes to their goals regarding what they can expect for their tummy area to look like after childbirth. They have become accustomed to an idea that childbirth ‘just changes’ us and that we are better off accepting an altered boxy shape or the sagging midline. No more two piece bathing suits, jeans never fit right again; the list goes on. Maybe they are discouraged from hearing other’s excuses or maybe they are discouraged from the lack of results from their own efforts. Either way, moms do not have time to waste. If they are not getting the results they are looking for from a workout, then they are likely to move on to their ever-expanding list of other responsibilities that take precedence over what seems like a losing battle. Don’t lose the battle; arm yourself so that you know what you are working with and so you don’t waste that time that you don’t have!

                If you have had a baby, then I have no doubt that you have heard of the pelvic floor. Most people know of the pelvic floor as something we need to do Kegels to tone so that we don’t piddle when we sneeze. That is true, but the pelvic floor is also the foundation of your core. Training it along with the Transverse Abdominis (the TA) are the two most important elements to getting the flat stomach that you had before pregnancy or that you have never had but have always wanted.

                There are many very effective core workout routines offered in many different programs. I won’t delve into the eternal debate about what workout is best; among fitness experts, the core is such an important part of the fitness goal that it will probably be an ever-evolving strategy. What I do want to address is that, in any and all of these programs, there are two key pieces of information that you absolutely need to know in order to get the most out of whatever workout it is that you choose. First, you have to know what you are working on. Second, you have to uncover what you are working on.

                The TA is the deep abdominal muscle that runs under your six-pack. Yes, you have a six-pack, even when you can’t see it- it is just spread out or hidden under fat tissue. The Pelvic Floor (PF) and the TA are what hold your insides in and flatten your tummy. The stronger they are, the flatter your tummy will be.

To find your TA, stand up straight with your shoulders relaxed and place one flat hand across your abdomen below your belly button. You’re going to engage the TA and pelvic floor group without cheating. I will explain more about cheating in just a moment. Now keep your hand where it is but tighten your abdominal muscles to pull them away from your hand so that you can see light between your hand and your tummy. You should picture a string from behind your belly button that pulls directly through your middle to draw your stomach evenly towards your spine.

Make sure that you are not cheating! Cheating is just sucking in your stomach, which doesn’t do anything effective for you besides the thirty seconds you can hold your breath and check it out in the mirror. The way that you know that you’re sucking it in versus really engaging your stomach is to ask yourself if you can breathe normally. When the muscles are engaged properly, you will not hold your breath and your breathing will feel natural. Feeling the difference between sucking it in and really engaging that core takes practice; mastering this difference is what makes the difference in getting the optimal results out of whatever core workout you choose.

Your actual core workout time is not the only time to practice this. You can, and should, practice engaging your core during all of your activities during the day. Start with times when you have a second to think, maybe when you are nursing or make the association to remember to re-engage your core every time you stand. Do what works for you and increase your attention to this little by little. At first you may in your new self awareness that you spend a lot of time with your core disengaged. This is at least helpful in understanding why that core workout wasn’t helping much! Do not be discouraged; use it as a launching point for what you are accomplishing starting now. Just like any habit out there, remembering to engage your core during daily activity will take about thirty days of practice before being really entrenched in your natural actions.

The second thing that you have to understand about core workouts is that you have to uncover what you are working on. That means even if you do every core workout available out there and you have stellar rock hard abs, you will never see them if you do not work off the fat that covers them. With this, you need to understand that there is no such thing as tummy fat. There are a lot of products or programs out there that make the claim that they target tummy fat. This is impossible. There is no way to burn off fat in one area more than another. Fat is distributed and it is stored throughout your body and it is burned throughout your body. This is the same concept as blood in a way. You would never say that you had leg blood or head blood. Your blood is all over your body. Fat is depleted systematically from all over your body; so whether you’re running or doing fifteen hundred crunches a day, you will never be able to fool your body into pulling fat from a specific place. The only way to uncover your abs is through a healthy balanced exercise program that trains your whole body and decreases your overall body fat percentage, revealing those awesome abs that you’ve been working so hard for!

                Are you reading this before giving birth? Consider this. Many women do not know that you have a layer of Fascia which covers your abdominal muscles behind your skin. This is an extra layer of connective tissue to help hold together the muscle and keep everything where it should be along your waist area. The Fascia cannot be strengthened or tightened without surgery; there is literally no exercise that will affect this. Therefore, the less damage we can do to the Fascia during pregnancy, the faster it will bounce back and return to normal. The way to do this is by gaining the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy over the recommended amount of time. By gaining the weight slowly, you are able to avoid damage to the Fascia by stretching it too quickly!  

                Finally, I did want to note for any woman who is pregnant or in a post partum period that she should be aware of a condition called Diastasis recti. This actually quite commonly occurs during pregnancy and results in a significant separation of the rectus abdominis. This happens gradually as the result of the baby expanding your belly and usually is not serious or painful. In fact, most times it will heal on its own after pregnancy. Despite this, it is not a condition to ignore and if it is detected during the middle to later part of your pregnancy, you should not be doing core exercises which can worsen the condition and slow down recovery. If you have this condition after pregnancy, you should speak to your doctor before doing traditional core workouts. There are exercises specific to aiding in the healing of this condition that you should go through before joining a traditional core workout which can pull the muscles apart and slow down healing. You should always follow your doctor’s advice about what is safe for you specifically on the subjects of exercising during and after pregnancy.

I will not say that reclaiming your core after pregnancy is the easiest thing you will ever do; but I sincerely hope that you are encouraged by knowing that it is possible. It is not only possible for famous movie stars or people who have the money for plastic surgery; it is possible for anyone who is willing to practice the self awareness that I have described and commit to consistency. You deserve more than an excuse to half make you feel better about the changes that your body has undergone. As mothers, we spend every waking minute multi-tasking. This information is not meant to increase the time you spend on this issue, but to avoid wasting the time that you already spend on it. Even if you have doubts, and despite wherever they have come from, give this basic information an honest try and let your own progress keep you going!