Lose Weight While Pregnant - 7 Tips to Healthy Pregnancy Weight Loss

are pregnant it is a huge concern.

The majority of pregnant women can look forward to being back to their normal size within three months of giving birth providing they have maintained a good healthy diet throughout their pregnancy. It is easy to over-eat during your pregnancy resulting in even more weight gain that necessary.

When you are over-weight to start with, how can you safely lose excess weight while pregnant?

By following my 7 healthy weight-loss tips you can drop excess fat and still maintain a healthy weight gain during pregnancy. It is always advised that you consult your medical practitioner before starting any new diet plan.

1. Eat Until Satisfied

Simply eating until satisfied not full or bloated will cut out hundreds of excess calories from your diet. It takes twenty minutes for our brains to register we have eaten enough. So eat slowly and chew every mouthful. Stop eating when you have satisfied your hunger.

2. Eat Several Small Meals a Day and Healthy Snacks

Instead of having three large meals a day opt for three smaller meals with healthy snacks in between. This will help keep your metabolism in peak performance and keep hunger at bay. Use smaller palates for your meals so your mind is tricked into still seeing a full plate. Ensure your snacks are healthy options.

3. Eat Healthy Fats

When we diet it is natural to try to eliminate all fats from our meals; however our body needs fat to burn fat! The type of fat you choose however makes all the difference. Polyunsaturated fats are the good guys; these fats help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. The three good for you fats for cooking are olive oil, coconut oil and real butter. Yes real butter, not the highly processed spreads that abound in the dairy aisle. Foods that contain the good fats are organic eggs, real butter, wild salmon and nuts.

When you incorporate healthy fats into your pregnancy diet plan you will feel full longer and as fat burns fat you will be actively burning excess fat storage.

4. Eat Plenty of Fiber Rich Foods

Fiber is your friend. Fiber rich foods help make you feel full faster and keep you feeling full longer. Fiber is a complex carbohydrate that our bodies cannot digest or absorb. However when you eat lots of fiber rich foods it helps flush fats from our systems and as we all know fiber helps with flushing out the colon and keeping a healthy digestive tract. Fiber is helpful in regulating blood sugar and digestive issues. Fiber rich plant foods include potatoes with skin, broccoli, oats, barely, green beans, cauliflower, carrots, lentils and fruits include bananas, strawberries and oranges. Whilst it is always best to choose fresh foods, dried foods are also a good option for adding fiber to your pregnancy diet. Aim at getting 20 to 25 grams of fiber into your diet daily and remember to drink plenty of water.

5. Eat Lean Protein

Protein plays a vital role in your pregnancy and in the healthy development of your baby. It is during the second and third trimesters that demand for protein increases so be sure to incorporate around 70 grams of lean protein daily. Chicken is a good source of lean protein but you can also get your protein intake from fish, organic eggs, milk, beans, nuts, peanut butter, cottage cheese, yogurt and cheese in moderation.

6. Avoid Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners

Sugar in all its forms needs to be avoided when trying to lose weight. Sugar provides no nutrients for your growing baby, it is simply empty calories that helps pack on the pounds. Most processed foods contain some form of sugar. Artificial sweeteners have been hailed as a healthy replacement for people with a sweet tooth but don't you believe it! They are artificial chemicals that create havoc with your system. Avoid all forms of artificial sweeteners. It is best to have real sugar over artificial any day! Think of your growing baby, do you really want him to be fed on artificial, man-made products?

The healthy option for sweetening your drinks or food is honey. Honey has healthy benefits for both you and baby and it is pure and natural.

7. Keep Hydrated

Our body is made up of mostly water and water is what helps things tick nicely along. When we become dehydrated things start to get out of whack. The initial stages of dehydration can mimic hunger pangs. So you eat, adding extra unnecessary calories when all you truly needed was calorie-free water!

So drink a full glass of water whenever you start to feel hungry. Not only will it keep you well hydrated but it may solve your hunger issue. If you still feel hungry you will eat less as the water has filled the void.

Water also helps flush toxins and fat out of your system. Isabel de los Rios, Nutritionist and Fitness Certificate Expert and author of the book "The Diet Solution Program", states that water is of great benefits to a weight loss plan. As a rule of thumb she recommends that everybody should drink at least 1 liter of water a day for every 65 pounds of weight, plus one extra glass every time you exercise or consume caffeine. She also recommends we drink a full glass of water before each meal.

Isabel de los Rios has created a great program to help you lose weight while pregnant and to keep the weight off after your pregnancy. Her tips on healthy eating for a healthy delivery are second to none. I highly advise you to read my review of her Diet Solution Program Review to help you enjoy a healthy pregnancy diet plan that will be beneficial to you and your unborn baby.

To recap my 7 great diet tips to help you lose weight while pregnant are to eat only until satisfied, eat several smaller meals per day with good healthy snacks in-between, eat plenty of lean protein to help you feel full longer and help baby's growth and development. Eat lots of fiber rich foods, choose healthy fats to eat with every meal, avoid sugars and artificial sweeteners along with processed foods and keep well hydrated.

Simply by following these tips will help you to lose weight naturally while pregnant.

Kat Thomas has been involved in the weight loss industry for many years. She has successfully helped many people lose excess weight and become healthier in the process. Kat specializes in helping people with chronic illnesses to lose weight. She has recently turned her attention to helping women lose unwanted weight while pregnant in a safe and healthy way.

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How To Lose Weight While Pregnant - Weight Loss Made Easy

look and feel good.

So what should I eat?

First you need to ask yourself, which foods make you weak at the knees or which foods you sometimes crave for and you just can't help yourself. Once you make a list of these foods, see if you could change them for a healthier alternative, almost every kind of food out their has a healthier alternative Let's say you have a sweet tooth and sometimes crave chocolate, instead of eating normal chocolate try dark chocolate. Studies have proven that dark chocolate is healthy for pregnant women.

Some women sometimes crave ice-cream, now most ice-creams should be off limits if you are trying to lose weight, but there are definitely healthier alternatives. Just go to any store and ask if they have low fat or fat free ice-cream, any good grocery shop should have them.

The best thing to do for women who have cravings would be to set goals for yourself, lets say if you don't eat chocolate for 6 days you could reward yourself on the 7thday with some chocolate.

Other basic rules to adhere to would be to try and make sure that most 80% of each plate of food consists of vegetables. Junk food and alcohol should be cut out completely.

Is it safe to exercise?

Exercising during pregnancy is perfectly normal but obviously you won't be doing the same exercise routines that you do when you are not pregnant. Your safety and the safety of your unborn child should be your first priority. Exercise is not only good for losing weight but it can really be good just to boost your morale. The best exercise to do when you are pregnant is walking. There is nothing better than a nice walk early in the morning to revitalize your mind and spirit.

You could also try swimming or even some aerobic exercises that are not to strenuous on your body.

Exercise is good during pregnancy because it will keep your body supple and prepare your body lose weight after pregnancy. Try staying away from weight training and don't take any sort of supplement because they could have negative effects on your baby.

I would suggest not stressing too much about how much weight you are gaining during your pregnancy because most women lose most of the weight after giving birth.

lose weight while pregnant

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How To Lose Weight While Pregnant - 3 Tips To Help You Lose Weight While Pregnant

while pregnant is, as we all know, part and parcel of the whole process. And it has it's plus points too - those bigger boobs make your hubby feel like a kid at Christmas! :)

But what is a normal and appropriate amount of weight to gain while pregnant? Are there any ways that we can safely lose weight while pregnant? What can you do now that will make your labour easier and help you get back to your pre-pregnant weight super fast when your little bundle of joy finally arrives?

Are you really overweight?

These days it's easy to get sucked into the media's image of what a mum-to-be should look like, what with all these celebrity toothpicks, as I like to call them, having no more than a small bump, whilst being on some faddy diet. I must stress that pregnancy is definitely not the time to be going on a strict weight loss diet. What you need is to ascertain what a suitable pregnancy weight is for you, and then take steps to try to maintain it and increase your health and the health of your baby.

Everybody is different, and every woman's body will react differently while pregnant. An average weight gain for a full term pregnancy is anywhere between 25-45 pounds, which includes the increase in the mother's blood volume, the size of the uterus, the placenta, various fluids and the baby. This is an average figure so there will be much variation either side. Check with your doctor for more advice on your optimum weight.

How to lose weight while pregnant Tip no.1 - Control Your Cravings

Cravings are one of the hardest things to deal with during pregnancy, and annoyingly, one of the biggest contributors to excessive weight gain. Waking up in the middle of the night yearning for chocolate, or ice cream with gherkins, is a well-known part of pregnancy. However, these cravings, while healthy and perfectly normal, can be controlled and there are even certain foods that can reduce your cravings. Eating foods with a low Glycemic Index (GI) can help balance your blood sugar levels and reduce the highs and lows that many women suffer throughout the day, due to their slow release of energy. This can help you in reducing the onset of any excess pounds and begin to help you lose weight while pregnant.

By craving foods with high sugar and glucose levels a vicious circle can be created because they will often make the cravings worse, affect your mood and contribute to excess weight gain.

How to lose weight while pregnant Tip no.2 - Eat More Often

"Hang on, didn't you just tell me to control my cravings Now you're telling me that eating more often will help me lose weight while pregnant? Are you out of your mind?"

This kind of sounds counter-intuitive doesn't it? The idea though is that you'll be eating smaller portions more regularly instead of 2-3 large meals a day. By doing this you're not consuming any extra unnecessary calories, but are feeding your body and the baby more regularly. This will help keep your metabolism and blood sugar at consistent levels and keep you energised throughout the day.

And yes, I am out of my mind but not because of this! ;)

How to lose weight while pregnant Tip no.3 - Exercise

Exercising regularly during pregnancy was once frowned upon, but now has seen to be a great way to stay in shape and lose weight while pregnant, avoid the aches and pains common with weight gain, and can increase energy, flexibility and make your labour significantly easier (thank goodness!).

Walking and swimming are excellent low-impact ways to keep you fit and healthy and maintaining a balanced weight while pregnant. The buoyancy you'll find in the pool will often come as a relief and an aid to your daily routine and let's you get some fantastic exercise without putting stress on your body or the baby's.

Stationary cycling is also a great way to get some low-impact exercise and build stamina.

Yoga and Pilates can be beneficial and effective ways to lose weight while pregnant but make sure you find a suitably experienced instructor who has specialised in dealing with pregnant women.

Again it's always best to check with your doctor on the intensity of your workouts, for instance, if you exercised regularly before you were pregnant then your workouts will be notably different to someone who didn't.

lose weight while pregnant

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