Pregnant and Paralyzed: Eating for Two

Let’s start by addressing my newest peeve: when people tell me, “you’re eating for two!” to help justify a dessert, an extra helping, or my eating something unhealthy. Without any research or second-guessing, I see how that makes sense. There is, technically, a second human inside me. But it’s just not true. In fact, “eating for two” while I’m pregnant is a stiff gamble for both my baby and me.

Sure, there are days when I feel so hungry that I can eat everything in sight, but the idea that I can or should double my consumption is consequentially false.

It’s no myth that pregnant women should be increasing their caloric intake during pregnancy, but that’s only by about 300 extra calories a day at its peak. Three hundred calories can look like: one cup of oatmeal; one banana with 2 tbsp peanut butter, or avocado on whole grain toast. Since the baby’s immunity and microbiome are developed in utero and are heavily dependent on the maternal diet, those extra calories should be spent on nutrient-dense foods, instead of empty ones. Turns out, every nutritional experience that a baby has in the womb will influence its growth, development, and even preferences when it makes its debut.

That said, please believe I’m not a superhuman, and I’m not the one preaching this from a podium. Until the day I actually got pregnant and did more research on this, I was under the impression that pregnancy would be a 9-month-long grace period where I can eat whatever I want and all fatty-consequence would disappear when I deliver the baby. It’s true that little dude is helping me gobble up some of the food I ingest, not in the “it doesn’t matter what you eat, as long as you’re enjoying it” the way I counted on. Or, if I did go in that direction, there’s a great risk. Most annoyingly, “too good to be true” is usually the case.

The risk of a “reckless” pregnancy diet is my developing gestational diabetes that may take longer to go away, backaches, high blood pressure, and/or causing my baby to over-grow and complicate birth. It also leaves me with more excess weight to deal with after birth – when I have the least amount of time to deal with it.

So, what should you eat? This part of the pregnancy equation takes the most effort and lots of mindfulness but, we can all agree after seeing the above consequences, it is most worth it. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables with every meal is my universal advice whether you’re pregnant or not, but some special guests are folic acid (eggs, beans, broccoli, etc.); calcium (yogurt, edamame, spinach, etc.); vitamin D (salmon, low-sugar orange juice, tuna, etc.); protein (cottage cheese, peanut butter, poultry, etc.); and iron (beans, dried fruit, seafood, etc.). See what I mean by being intentional? Eating the right stuff is the biggest time-taker, but it packs the biggest reward.