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You are now pregnant, with a round belly and generous breasts! What if we took the opportunity to find good food reflexes, or even knock off a few pounds? ” A woman overweight or obese can completely lose weight while pregnant, without endangering the development of the baby. Some of my patients have lost more than 10 kg »Explains Jean-Philippe Carrasco, dietitian. But beware ! Only women with a body mass index greater than 25 (BMI = weight / height²) are concerned by a possible diet during pregnancy. For others, the weight gain (between 9 and 15 kg depending on your build) is anyway inevitable. We can, however, control the needle of our scale by adopting good food hygiene …
Eat well when you are pregnant: quality before quantity
No more ” eat for two, my daughter! “,” treat yourself, you are pregnant »… The fact of expecting a baby does not allow us to give in to all temptations, nor to multiply the quantities. You shouldn’t eat twice as much, but twice as much.
The secret ? Prepare balanced dishes, without putting aside starchy foods, bread, butter… everything that, in our opinion, “ make you fat “. But above all, we must think about our baby: he needs all the nutritional contributions, especially good fats and sugar (but not just any!). Be careful not to be deficient. We eat everything, in sufficient quantity to avoid cravings and favoring foods rich in iron and protein, because we need them.
Losing weight while pregnant: are “helping hands” allowed?
0% yogurt, high protein chocolate bar … products low in sugar or fat will taunt you. It would be too easy to consume them, but are they really effective and safe for the baby?
- The light ones.
During pregnancy, they are rather not recommended. “ Allowing yourself a real yogurt a day, even whole milk, is much more beneficial than two low-fat and processed yogurts which will hold less well on the body. », Explains Christine Coquart, nutritionist. By consuming light, the expectant mother sends false nutritional messages to the fetus. In short: if you drink one, or even two “light” sodas during the day, your body sends a “sweet message” to your baby each time. Suddenly, we get used to it, without realizing it and even before it is born, to the taste of sugar!
- About the consumption of sweeteners during pregnancy, we avoid!
These products, anything but natural, certainly provide a sweet taste without being caloric, but can be dangerous for the fetus. Those to absolutely avoid are sweeteners that contain aspartame, because of the presence of phenylalanine. This amino acid is toxic to babies with phenylketonuria. So, while waiting for the birth to screen for this hereditary disease which affects one in 17 children, it is better to abstain!
- High protein.
Don’t think about it! The growing baby demands a lot of energy from you. “ Bars and other high-protein cans, consumed as a replacement for a meal, provide only 600 calories per day, while your body requires between 1 and 000 minimum », Explains Jean-Philippe Carrasco. Sure, you will shed a few pounds, but you will lose just as much muscle. Results ? Fatigue, irritability… you don’t really need that right now!