Posted on November 19, 2016 by Kate Halsall
https://pixabay.com/en/pregnant-mother-body-pregnant-woman-1245703/
So here’s my caveat before I begin. We’re not doctors here at motive8. But we can give advice and recommendations based on our training and experiences. As most of us are pre and post natal qualified, we have trained and helped people from the start of their pregnancy, throughout the trimesters and after birth. It’s common for our clients to ask us a lot of questions about pregnancy and health when they are expecting their first child; so if you’re having a “now what” moment, some of these answers may help.
How Much Weight Will I Gain?
There’s no way to avoid it…you are going to gain weight. How much you gain though is partially down to you. From past experience, the average lady puts on approximately 1lb a week during their pregnancy – so around 2stone in total. But if you start eating for two straight away or start treating yourself because “you need more calories” and stop exercising, you WILL put on more! I should add here, that your body NEEDS to put on weight – here’s a great website which explains where that weight goes.
What Should I Eat?
…..Food?!?! You need to eat as healthily as possible. There’s obviously foods that you should avoid, click here to find out what they are.
You don’t actually need MORE food until the last trimester – and then it’s only an additional 200 calories a day.
Can I Exercise?
Your priority during pregnancy is to be as healthy as possible to help your baby be as healthy as possible. Exercise is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle. It’s good to continue exercising if you’ve already been doing so, and it’s equally ok to start exercising if you’ve never had complications with pregnancy. The exercise that you do will need to be adapted during the different trimesters, but that’s something qualified fitness professionals can help with!
For more guidelines: http://www.acog.org/Resources-And-Publications/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Obstetric-Practice/Physical-Activity-and-Exercise-During-Pregnancy-and-the-Postpartum-Period
If you are pregnant and have lots of questions about pregnancy and health, diet and exercise, and these haven’t helped, please do get in touch!