Gaining The Recommended Weight During Pregnancy

A healthy and well-balanced diet is the key to gaining the ideal weight during pregnancy, which is important to ensure your baby's healthy development. While it is true that your body needs more of the calories from foods rich in nutrients to nourish your baby well, you do not have to literally eat for two or eat twice as much as you normally do at all times. In general, pregnant women only need an extra 300 calories to meet the requirements of their growing babies.

Talk to your doctor about your target weight during pregnancy and how much you need to gain. On average, pregnant women should gain 25 up to 35 pounds during pregnancy. However, if you are underweight when you got pregnant then you should add on 24 up to 40 pounds to your weight during pregnancy. On the other hand, if you are overweight you only need to put on 15 to 25 pounds to your weight during pregnancy. Your doctor will recommended the ideal weight gain for you.

Generally speaking, pregnant women should gain two to four pounds during the first trimester and then a pound each week for the rest of the pregnancy period. Mothers-to-be who are expecting twins should also expect to gain 35 up to 45 pounds during their pregnancy.

Consider the following suggestions to gain doctor-recommended weight during pregnancy:

* Eat small meals frequently - about six times a day.
* Flavor your meals with condiments like gravy, cheeses, butter, and margarine. You may also want to use non-fat powdered milk in breakfast cereals, scrambled eggs or mashed potatoes.
* For a quick snack, have handy foods with you such as crackers, dried fruits, raisins, nuts, and cheese.
* Don't scrimp on the peanut butter. A tablespoon of this creamy filling provides a hundred calories. Spread it on toasted bread, dry crackers and fruits like bananas and apples.

If you are concerned about your figure and are considering losing weight during pregnancy, stop and think about your baby. Trying to lose weight while you are pregnant is not safe and may cause your baby to lose essential nutrients. Your worries about gaining too much weight during pregnancy is understandable. It is true that getting back to the shape you were before you had a baby is a challenge but your focus right now should be what is best for your baby and that is gaining the appropriate weight during pregnancy.