Eating Healthy During Pregnancy

Starting off your with a healthy well balanced diet is the best thing you do for yourself and your baby.  This way, you'll only need to make a few adjustments during your pregnancy.

Your first trimester If you find it tough to maintain a balanced diet during your first trimester, you can rest assured that your not alone.  Due to queasiness, some women will eat all of the time and gain a lot of weight in the process.  Other women have trouble getting food down and subsequently lose weight.

Preventing malnutrition and dehydration are your most important factors during first trimester.

Calories
When you are pregnant, you need to consume around 300 calories more than usual every day.  The best
way to go about doing this is listening to your body when you are hungry.  You should try to eat as many foods as possible from the bottom of the food pyramid.

If you gain weight too slow, try eating small meals and slightly increase the fat in your diet. You should always eat when you are hungry, as you are now eating for 2 instead of one.

Calcium
 By the second trimester, you'll need around 1,500 milligrams of calcium each day for your bones and your baby', which is more than a quart of milk. Calcium is something that's missing from many diets.  Along with milk, other great sources for calcium include dairy products, calcium fortified juices, and even calcium tablets.

Fiber
Fiber can help to prevent constipation, which is a common pregnancy problem.  You can find fiber in whole grains, fruits, and even vegetables.  Fiber supplements such as Metamucil and Citrucel are safe to take during pregnancy.

Protein
Unless you happen to be a strict vegetarian, your protein intake is not normally a problem for women who eat a healthy diet.

Iron
A lot of women will start their pregnancy off with a bit of iron deficiency.  Good sources of iron include dark leafy green vegetables and meats.  Iron supplements should be avoided, as they can cause internal symptoms such as cramping, constipation, or diarrhea.

Vitamins
Seeing as how you get a majority of the vitamins you need in your diet, you may want to discuss prenatal vitamins with your doctor.  Folate is one of the most important, and if you are getting enough of it, you may be able to avoid vitamins all together - just ask your doctor to make sure.

Eating For A Healthy Heart

Bad cholesterol or a bad diet is something we all experience at some point in time.  It's impossible to eat healthy our whole lives, even though we may
try hard to do it.  Eating healthy for your heart is something everyone should try to do, especially when it comes to restoring health and reducing
heart attacks.

Your heart and food
We know these things for sure - a diet high in saturated fats will help raise your cholesterol, which is a risk factor for heart disease.  People
that are obese are more prone to heart disease.  Adiet high in sodium may elevate your blood pressure,
leading to inflammation and even heart disease.
To help prevent heart disease and improve your health, put the tips below to good use.

Eat plenty of fish Herring, sardines, and salmon are all excellent sources of Omega 3 essential fatty acids.  Other fish are great
to, although Omega 3 may help to get your cholesterol down to a healthier level.

Choosing healthy fats and oils Saturated fat will increase the risk of heart disease. It's found in meat, butter, and even coconut oil.  You
should avoid them until your cholesterol levels are down and you are at a healthy weight.  Even those that love red meats can enjoy seafood and nuts for
their main sources of protein.

Monounsaturated fats such as olive oils will help you to protect your heart.  Olive oil is an ideal choice for cooking, dressing, or even as a dipping
sauce.

Plenty of fiber Fiber can help you control your cholesterol. You can find fiber in whole grain products to help
control sugar absorption as well, which will help you keep your digestive system healthy.

Choosing carbohydrates Eating for your heart involves staying away from sugary foods such as candy, cookies, cakes, and
pastries.  Eating a lot of sugar isn't good for your heart disease at all.  Healthy carbohydrates
involve whole grain breads, whole grain pasta, brown rice, and a lot of vegetables.  You should make
fruits and vegetables the main aspect of your diet.

Healthy cooking methods Stir frying and sauteing with olive oil or canola oil are both great methods, as you shouldn't dip
your food in batter and fry it anymore.  If you cook chicken, remove the skin and bake it in the oven in foil.

Instead of frying your fish you should always bake it.  Steaming your vegetables can help maintain the most nutrients.  You should use cream sauces or lots
of butter anymore either.  When you eat vegetables, try squeezing lemon juice on them or using your favorite seasonings.

As you make the proper changes to your diet, keep in mind that it takes time for them to become habits. Eating healthy is always great for your body and your
lifestyle, especially when it comes to your heart and the prevention of heart disease.

Changing How You Eat

As you may know, not fueling up with the right nutrients can affect how well your body performs and your overall fitness benefits.  Even though
healthy eating is important, there are myths that hinder your performance if you listen to them.
Below, you'll find some myth busters on healthy eating.

1.  Working out on an empty stomach. If you hear a rumbling noise in your stomach, the rumbling is trying to tell you something.  Without listening to them, you are forcing your body to
run without any fuel.  Before you exercise or do any physical activity, always eat a light snack such as an apple.

2.  Relying on energy bars and drinks. Although they are fine every once in a while, they don't deliver the antioxidants you need to prevent
cancer.  Fruits and vegetables are your best bets, as they are loaded in vitamins, minerals, fluid, and fiber.

3.  Skipping breakfast.Skipping breakfast is never a good idea, as breakfast starts the day.  Your body needs fuel
as soon as possible, and without it, you'll be hungry throughout the day.

4.  Low carb diets. Your body needs carbohydrates for your muscles and the storing of energy.

5.  Eating what you want. Eating healthy and exercising doesn't give you an all access pass to eat anything you want.  Everyone
needs the same nutrients whether they exercise or not, as well as fruits and vegetables.

6.  Not enough calories Although losing weight involves calories, losing it too quickly is never safe.  What you should do,
is aim for 1 - 2 pounds a week.  Always make sure  that you are getting enough calories to keep your body operating smoothly.  If you start dropping
weight too fast, eat a bit more food.

7.  Skip soda and alcohol. Water, milk, and juice is the best to drink for active people.  You should drink often, and not
require on thirst to be an indicator.  By the time you get thirsty, your body is already running a  bit too low.

Changing how you eat is always a great step  towards healthy eating and it will affect how your body performs. The healthier you eat, you better you'll feel.  No matter how old you may be, healthy
eating is something you should strive for.  Once you give it a chance, you'll see in no time at all just how much it can change your life - for the
better.

Becoming A Healthy Eater

Being a healthy eater requires you to become both educated and smart about what healthy eating actually is.  Being food smart isn't about learning to calculate grams or fat, or is it about studying labels and counting calories.

Healthy eating is all about balanced and moderat eeating, consisting of healthy meals at least three times per day.  Healthy eaters eat many different types of foods, not limiting themselves to one specific food type or food group.

Eating healthy requires quite a bit of leeway.  You might eat too much or not enough, consume foods that are sometimes more or less nutritious. However, you should always fuel your body and your brain regularly with enough food to keep both your mind and body strong and alert.

A healthy eater is a good problem solver.  Healthy eaters have learned to take care of themselves and their eating with sound judgement and making wise decisions.  Healthy eaters are always aware of what they eat, and know the effect that it  will have on their bodies.

When someone is unable to take control of their eating, they are also likely to get out of control with other aspects of life as well.  They could end up spending too much, talking too much, even

going to bed later and later.  

You should always remember that restricting food in any way is always a bad thing.  Healthy eating is a way of life, something that you can do to enhance your body or your lifestyle.  If you've thought about making your life better, healthy eating is just the place to start.  You'll make life easier for yourself, those around you, and  even your family.