The week of July 20 is Healthy Pregnancy Week at DietsInReview.com.
You know Jillian Michaels best as the no-nonsense trainer from NBC’s Biggest Loser. She’s also grown a fitness empire of her own and through that has been able to help men and women alike transform their bodies and regain the healthy lives they deserve to live. Jillian also joins our healthy pregnancy week to share tips for how moms-to-be can stay healthy.
Here are Jillian’s tips for eating a healthy diet while pregnant:
1. Do NOT eat for two!!! You won’t need to lose baby weight if you don’t gain it. It takes about 55,000 calories to make a baby. This breaks down to about 200-300 extra calories a day. So make sure to eat the equivalent of your Active Metabolic Rate (you can figure this out with an AMR calculator on Google) and the add 200 or so extra calories on top of it.
2. Stay hydrated. This will help with constipation problems that can occur, and since blood volume increases during pregnancy by rougly 4% you must make efforts to drink your water.
3. Make sure you get equal portions of protein, fat and carbs. Your body needs all three macro-nutrients to keep you and your baby healthy. Fat in particular is very important for your baby’s eye development and brain growth.
4. Avoid alcohol and caffeine. These foods are linked to birth defects and miscarriage. There is no pre-determined safe amount. It’s best to avoid entirely.
5. Take a pre-natal vitamin. This is not meant to replace a healthy well balanced diet, but rather offer a safety net to make sure you are getting all the essential vitamins and minerals for you and your baby’s health. It’s imperative that pregnant women get an adequate amount of calcium, iron, and folic acid in particular. Not all pre-natals are the same. Look for one that has:
- 4,000 and 5,000 IU (international units) of vitamin A
- 800 and 1,000 mcg (1 mg) of folic acid
- 400 IU of vitamin D
- 200 to 300 mg of calcium
- 70 mg of vitamin C
- 1.5 mg of thiamine
- 1.6 mg of riboflavin
- 2.6 mg of pyridoxine
- 17 mg of niacinamide
- 2.2 mcg of vitamin B12
- 10 mg of vitamin E
- 15 mg of zinc
- 30 mg of iron
Learn more about the Jillian Michaels diet and fitness plan online or in her new book Master Your Metabolism.