As a Dietitian, I’ve always been passionate about the importance of good nutrition in all walks of life however I do believe that I significantly underestimated the impact that pregnancy would have on my own body. Sometimes knowledge is power but applying the knowledge was more difficult than I thought it was going to be!
Contrary to popular belief (and much to my disappointment) you don’t need to increase your calorie intake while you’re pregnant. In the first 28 weeks, your body doesn’t need any extra fuel. Managing your weight during pregnancy can feel a little bit scary and you’ll probably find that the internet is full of confusing and conflicting information, too. As women, we often compare ourselves to others quite a lot but it’s important to remember that every woman, every pregnancy and every body itself, is completely different and unique.
Here’s a couple of simple rules that I found really helpful:
Having to think about what foods were safe to eat (and alcohol!) was definitely the hardest part of being pregnant. In fact, my family guessed I was pregnant when I stopped eating blue cheese!
Even though I knew the up-to-date advice, much like with the topic of weight gain, there’s a lot of confusing and conflicting advice on what foods are best avoided being shared on Facebook, among other mums-to-be and even from family members. Once I looked into things, I found that the advice is much easier to follow than I had first thought. The most up to date advice is available on NHS Choices and is really useful for clearing up misconceptions.
If, like Ash, you’re expecting a baby or if you’d simply like more information on eating well, weight management and making better food choices, get in touch with the clinic to book an appointment with our dietitian.
Aisling (Ash) Pigott is a HPC registered dietitian with a Bsc (Hons) in Human Nutrition and Dietetics.