One of the major concerns of every mom-to-be is weight gain during pregnancy. You need to eat for two during pregnancy is a myth. The fact is you need just 300 extra calories everyday to keep you and your developing baby healthy.

If you’re simply stuffing in food that adds to your pounds, you need to get some smart tips to avoid gaining excess weight during this time.

Smart Tips To Avoid Weight Gain During Pregnancy

1. Never skip meals. It makes you overeat in the next meal. Your energy levels also go down.
2. Plan your meals so that you’re not lured by junk food or eating extra.
3. Follow an exercise regime.
4. Eat a healthy breakfast. Your body needs fueling up after a long night of 6-8 hours without food. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A nutritious breakfast kick starts your morning with energy and keeps you active throughout the day. Your breakfast should consist of healthy food choices such as fruit, carrot sticks, whole grain crackers, milk, and others.
5. Select food items that are high in fiber, but low in sugar and fat. You must know that sugary foods make you hungry after just 20-30 minutes of taking them. This is because sugar hikes insulin production. If you want to eat a high sugar snack, combine it with a healthy option such as a glass of milk. This prevents blood sugar fluctuation, which encourages deposition of fat. Fiber rich food is filling and helps in removing extra fat.
6. It’s best to steam, bake or broil your foods. This not only retains their nutritive value, but are also keeps them devoid of extra calories that add up due to frying.
7. When eating out, check out how your dish is prepared.
8. When shopping for food, go on a full stomach. This way, you won’t be tempted to buy unnecessary eatables.
9. Before attending a party, eat something. This prevents you from binging on the food there.
10. Forget popcorn with butter or coke at the movies. Carry fresh fruit instead.
11. Gulp down 7-8 glasses of water daily. Many times, thirst is mistaken for hunger. If your diet is balanced, yet you feel hungry, it means you’re dehydrated.
12. Don’t eat to please the people around you. It’s a tendency for people to encourage pregnant women to gorge on food, especially that which is high in fat. They think it’d nourish the baby, but the only thing it does is increase your weight gain during pregnancy.

Meditation During Eating!

Do this: Switch off the TV or keep aside your book during mealtime. Take your food in the plate and sit comfortably. Take a bite. Chew it 20 times before swallowing it. Relish the taste of the food. Feel it pass through your food pipe down to your stomach. When you concentrate on the eating process, you begin to feel full from the first bite itself.

Eat slowly and enjoy every bite you take. This is the key to a healthy weight gain during pregnancy.