Pregnancy nutrition resources
Christopher Shannon
So here I am a couple weeks pregnant after a few months of trying and I'm
realizing that I don't know nearly as much as I thought I did about
nutrition during pregnancy. I mean, I think I've got a good general sense
of what I should eat (whole grains, fruits and veggies, protein) and what I
should limit or avoid (alcohol, sugar, refined grains). However, now that I
have to do it, I feel kind of lost on the specifics... how much and how
often of what. Here are my questions:
1 -- What books/articles are out there? If you could only buy/read one (or
two or twenty. Who am I kidding? I'm obsessed.), which one would it be?
2 -- Where can I find some good resources online? I don't mind wading
through the pages suggested by a search engine, but I'd rather save the time
if someone's done it already.
Thanks so much!
Grace
Michelle or Jason
>
> 1 -- What books/articles are out there? If you could only buy/read one (or
> two or twenty. Who am I kidding? I'm obsessed.), which one would it be?
Books by Dr. William Sears are good. He's got both pregnancy books and books on
how to take care of your baby, so he covers all the bases for anyone new to this
pregnancy/mother thing.
Michelle
edd 10/1 w/#1
Ericka E. Kammerer
Christopher Shannon wrote:
>
> Hi all!
>
> So here I am a couple weeks pregnant after a few months of trying and I'm
> realizing that I don't know nearly as much as I thought I did about
> nutrition during pregnancy. I mean, I think I've got a good general sense
> of what I should eat (whole grains, fruits and veggies, protein) and what I
> should limit or avoid (alcohol, sugar, refined grains). However, now that I
> have to do it, I feel kind of lost on the specifics... how much and how
> often of what. Here are my questions:
>
> 1 -- What books/articles are out there? If you could only buy/read one (or
> two or twenty. Who am I kidding? I'm obsessed.), which one would it be?
Personally, I like _Eating Expectantly_, by Bridget Swinney (I think).
It's got a lot of information, plenty of cites (so you can check things on
your own if you're so inclined), and it's *reasonable*. It even has
sections on how to eat responsibly at fast food restaurants and with
prepared meals. (She doesn't necessarily say these are the best foods
to live on, but she understands that most people are going to take
advantage of these conveniences on occasion). Some of the recipes aren't
bad either.
On the other hand, I strongly recommend *against* _What to Eat
When You're Expecting_. It's incredibly overbearing and unrealistic,
and in some instances it's just plain wrong. And really, how many of
us are going to abstain from white bread completely because EVERY BITE
YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH MUST BE THE BEST IT CAN BE FOR BABY! Sheesh.
It's not like we have anything else to worry about while pregnant.
Hope this helps,
Ericka Kammerer
Shh_its_ a_ secret
After looking through a couple resources, I put together my own checklist
of what my daily goals are... I made it realistic for me, my lifestyle, my
eating habits, and my likes/dislikes. It's really been helpful, as I find
that I generally do OK in some areas (breads/grains and high vit C foods)
but have to focus on others (high calcium foods & the dark green
leafy/yellow veggies and fruits).
I also found that by tracking my intake over 3 days, my new focus on
"healthy" foods (and generally all day nausea!) had cut my caloric intake
by about 300 calories, which was not good! I started out with about 10
extra pounds, so it's OK, but something I can watch later on.
I don't have a checklist with me, but the categories I included are below.
I then tried to list foods that I would likely eat under each, and every
couple of days keep a food diary to see how I'm doing. Some stuff,
like cottage cheese, counts in two places (Protein & Calcium) so on day
when I don't feel too hot, I try to focus on those foods. For someone
with two degrees in nutrition, I sure was shocked after my first 3 day
food diary! That's why I broke down the veg/fruits into more specific
categories... otherwise an apple, banana, and orange would be my three
fruits just about everyday, when a papaya or mango would add a lot more!
Protein Servings (3/day)
Calcium Servings (2-3/day + my suppplement, lactose interolance!)
Vitamin C Servings (2/day)
Green Leafy & Yellow Veg/Fruit (2/day)
Other Veg/Fruit (2/day)
Grains/Breads (6-11 small/day)
Miscellaneous (like my avocado cravings!)
Anyway, that's my approach. Hopefully as time goes on I'll get really
good at this and not feel the need to check myself every few days!
tristo
The "What to eat when you're expecting" book is awful! They are against all
forms of sugar and have the attitude that if you eat sugar, you might as
well just resign yourself to a lifetime of obesity. I believe that is also
the book where they said that if you put on too much weight during the first
trimester, you must be extra-vigilant to make sure everything you eat from
then on is nothing but wholesome. I think they try and guilt-trip you into
doing it their way.
I got the standard nutrition chart from my doc and just put it on the
fridge. Until it became a habit, I would keep a tally each day of how many
servings I got from each group. You know, 5 breads, 3 veggies, 2 fruits,
etc... I am normally on the small side, and I never once managed to eat
everything I was supposed to in a day. I went for proportion rather than
quantity. If I was short one of each group, that was better than getting
all my breads without a single fruit. In short, if you eat healthy you will
probably be giving your baby all he or she needs without having to obsess
about baking all your breads with applesauce and fruit juice!
--
Kim M.
due 4/27/00 with #3
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