Fertility Nutrition: The Whole Picture
Fertility Nutrition: The Whole Picture
Fertility Nutrition: The Whole Picture
Proper fertility nutrition shouldn't just be about what you eat and drink. Instead, step back and take a look at your whole lifestyle, and figure out what bad habits you should eliminate and which good habits you should implement throughout your pregnancy. In fact, look beyond the next nine months and try to see these changes as part of a fundamental shift to a healthy eating program.
So let's examine the four components of a healthy lifestyle: your eating plan, what you drink, your exercise regimen, and how you cope with stress, to see how you can improve your wellbeingnot just for pregnancy and nutrition, but for the rest of your days!
Changing Your Eating Plan
Your eating plan should focus on eliminating foods that could pose a potential risk to the baby. This includes the obvious suspects like alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco.
It also includes more insidious substances like soy, sugar, and artificial sweeteners. You should also try to make the change from eating a diet high in processed foods to one that is rich in whole and unprocessed foods.
Try to get your daily fiber quota not from a supplement, but from eating foods that are naturally rich in fiber. You should also consider making the shift from non-organic foods to organic ones as your budget will allow. Try not to accomplish all of this at once; instead, opt for baby steps and ease into your new eating plan until it feels comfortable for you.
Changing Your Drinks
Ideally, the only beverage you should drink during pregnancy is water. Water will help you feel fuller for longer, which can help you combat excessive pregnancy weight gain.
It will also help you flush toxins from your body, keeping you from retaining too much water or becoming constipated.
In addition, water is known as "nature's aspirin" because it can help ease the common aches and pains you may feel once you become pregnant. You should drink at least half your body weight in water every day. Drink more than that if you are nauseated and vomiting, or if you work out on a regular basis.
Changing Your Exercise Routine
If you don't exercise, you should give it a try now. In fact, exercise is wonderful for helping you stay in shape and fit for the rigors of labor.
Most women opt for a workout that is less strenuous and hard on the joints. It's also wise to avoid any activity that could leave you vulnerable to falls, such as horseback riding or playing tennis.
Instead, you might give more gentle forms of exercise a try, such as jogging on an elliptical, swimming, or water aerobics. Walking is a perennial favorite, especially if you walk with a good friend.
Swimming is great because it makes you feel weightlessa real benefit during your third trimester, when you may feel too heavy to exercise.
Changing Your Stress Reduction Techniques
Look at how you deal with stress now. Do you have a tendency to overeat? Or do you like to have a drink to deal with any problems in your life?
These avenues for stress reduction will be closed to you once you become pregnant, so now's the best time to begin investigating other, healthier ways for coping with stress.
If you are of a literary frame of mind, you might consider journaling your emotions. If you are seeking spiritual development, prayer or meditation might be helpful.
Many women find that girls' night out, or just having lunch with friends helps them stay connected and feeling stress free. Find the method that works for you and stick with it regularly for the best results.
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