pregnancy sickness diet plan

i've been meaning to post this for quite awhile now, but just haven't gotten around to writing it all out.  for those of you who have never been pregnant, just remember it because although you may get by with never being sick, there's a good chance you will, and it's miserable.  i have so many pregnant friends right now that i can't really keep count, and i've told many of them i would pass this along.  i've been nowhere nearly as sick this time as with my twin pregnancy, so i don't know if it would do much for you poor souls who throw up multiple times a day, but it may be worth a try.  i lived on french fries and mcdonalds coke when i was pregnant with kennedy and blakely because i couldn't think of eating anything else, so i feel blessed that i've been able to branch out and focus more on nutrition this time.  it's a vital part of pregnancy, and i'm convinced that malnourishment from not being able to keep anything down is part of the reason i developed preeclampsia during my last pregnancy.

the internet is my favorite invention ever because i'm a researcher and am probably on google about 8 times a day to type in random questions: what can i use to clean hardwood floors, what's a good substitute for capers in a recipe, what disease do you have if your neck is stiff?  you name it, i've probably asked google about it, and i love learning new stuff in my quest for information.  anyway, about 2 years ago, i was diagnosed with pre-diabetes and high cholesterol...strange when i'm somewhat of a health freak, but i have a horrible family history.  i think vanity, which originally drove me to eat healthy and begin exercising nearly 10 years ago, ended up saving my health.  i would be way worse off if i hadn't of changed my lifestyle. after my diagnosis, i spent some time researching ways to naturally manage blood sugar issues so i will hopefully never develop diabetes or have to go on medicine.  after becoming pregnant this time, i began to research the causes of nausea in pregnancy, and according to my research, it's a combination of blood sugar swings and hormonal changes.  hormones are obviously inevitable in pregnancy, but my belief was that if i could manage swings in blood sugar, i could manage the nausea, so i combined the two periods of research to come up with a pretty effective plan.  i haven't gotten by with no nausea at all (and it's still here as i mentioned in my last post), but i only threw up on days i got lazy and didn't follow a plan similar to the one outlined below.  the main idea behind it is to eat small high-protein and high-fiber combinations, and to eat atleast every 2 hours.  i know that sounds crazy, and it is SO hard to force food down when you feel like you're about to puke, but i promise if you just push through it and make sure you keep the protein and fiber coming, you will be much better off.  again, for those of you who are keeping nothing down, it may not work.  i don't know if it would have worked for me with a twin pregnancy, but for those of you with nausea and occasional vomiting, it's worth a try.  it's a lot of food and a lot of calories so you're going to gain weight, but that's an important part of pregnancy...not fun but worth protecting a growing fetus.  and the amazing thing is that research has shown that protein is the key factor in preeclampsia prevention, so fighting nausea and toxemia seem to go hand-in-hand.  i'm still dealing with nausea, but i can tell a huge difference in days when my diet is stable and high in protein and fiber.  below is a sample day...it includes plenty of protein, fruits and vegetables (heavier on fruits than veggies because that's so much easier for me to get down), and dairy.  i'm not sure about calories, but in my opinion, as long as you're not getting too many calories from junk while you're pregnant, you need whatever you can get down.  i've worked out pretty hard so far, so i may have needed a little more than normal (not to mention, i think i just require more food than the average girl), and you may need to adjust a little if you're not exercising:

7am: plain greek yogurt mixed with 1 chopped banana and 1/2 cup chopped strawberries

9am: kashi granola bar (i like the crunchy ones), 1 cup chocolate milk (i'm sure regular would be better but it has grossed me out the past 7 months)

11am:  2 hard boiled eggs, 1 kiwi

1pm: salad with 2 cups romaine or spinach, 1/2 cup chickpeas, 1/2 cup corn, 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, 3 ozs. turkey or chicken, whatever dressing you can handle (i think everything tastes weird when i'm pregnant, so i usually have to do some type of simple oil and vinegar)

3pm: handful of almonds, 1/2 mango

5pm: string cheese, apple

7pm: i could give good suggestions...grilled chicken or fish, a baked sweet potato, and steamed vegetables or a salad, but dinner in the beginning was always whatever brett's mom had made us to keep in the freezer or whatever he picked up on his way home from work.  by this time every night i was on the couch.  now it's whatever i cook, which is different every night and usually whatever i know brett likes (and he's a meat and potatoes kind of guy)

9pm: 1 cup chocolate milk, 1/2 cup grapes, 1/2 cup cantaloupe

middle of the night: in the beginning, if i woke up in the middle of the night, i would eat half of a protein bar (i like zone or balance bars because they're free of fake sugars) so i wouldn't wake up as sick.

i know this sounds like a lot of work, but i just try and take one day every week to chop up all of my fruits and vegetables and boil a bunch of eggs.  this makes grabbing food quick and easy, and i'm much more likely to make healthy choices when it's right in front of me and ready.  plus, i've always got healthy stuff ready for kennedy and blakely's breakfast, lunch, or snacks (and i know i'm lucky that they'll eat whatever i do, but most kids will atleast eat fruit).  i had a lot of damage to un-do in them after those first few weeks of pregnancy when they lived on processed food and taco bell.  and obviously, this diet is me being an idealist, but i most definitely haven't followed it perfectly every day....it's just a place to start if you know nothing about nutrition or haven't entertained the idea of trying to manage nausea with diet.  if you don't like any of the foods i wrote out, choose your own; just try and get in atleast 9 fruit and vegetable servings, 2 eggs, 3 servings of dairy, and 100 grams of total protein (all recommendations of the brewer diet for preeclampsia prevention).  also, as long as you're nourishing well, i'm of the school of thought that anything else is game.  i had an aversion to sweets in the beginning, but now a day doesn't go by where i don't eat cheesecake or ice cream or something because that's just part of the fun of pregnancy (i just try to manage portions because knowing you've got to lose the weight doesn't make it as fun to gain).

hope this helps!

pregnancy nutrition

i put together this meal plan for my friend, teri, who is pregnant, and thought i would share it in case any of my readers are pregnant as well. actually, it's a good way to eat anytime, but especially important for nourishing a growing fetus. i adapted it from the brewer diet for pregnancy, which was created by dr. tom brewer. dr. brewer has spent his career studying the effects of nutrition on pregnancy, and his recommendations are the result of 5 decades of studies. when the diet is followed correctly, it is supposed to have an almost 100% success rate against preventing preeclampsia. ironic i would give advice on the diet when preeclampsia almost killed me and resulted in an emergency c-section and blood pressure of 267/120...ha! i didn't say i followed the diet...just that it's a good idea. i was sick until the day i delivered k and b, so the only thing i could choke down most days was french fries and mcdonalds coke (anyone think it tastes different than other coke? i always have), but if you're lucky enough to not be sick and have a hearty appetite, this will give you and your baby what you need for a healthy pregnancy. the meals i've come up with should get you to about 100 grams of protein, which is dr. brewer's suggestion, but if you are pregnant with twins you'll need more like 150. yes, it's brutal to try and stuff 2 babies plus 150 grams of protein in your belly, but it's worth the effort so you don't have my same issue. remember, i'm not a nutritionist; just love it and have studied it a whole bunch...

each day, you'll need to eat the following; these are the minimums, but you can eat whatever else you want to too (but once you eat all of this food, you probably won't be able to hold a whole lot more :)). break all of it up by eating often to keep a steady supply of nutrition going to your baby:

4 servings of milk products
2 eggs
6-8 oz protein
2 servings green vegetables (a serving being about a cup)
5 servings whole grains
2 servings fruits or vegetables high in vitamin c (orange, grapefruit, strawberries, tomato, cantaloupe, green pepper, potato)
1 serving fruit or vegetable high in vitamin a (apricots, sweet potato, carrots, winter squash)
3 servings fat (each serving being 1 T oil, butter, peanut butter, or mayo or 1/4 avocado)

in my opinion, the best way to make sure you're getting all of the produce you need is by having a big salad for lunch every day. i still eat 9 servings of fruits and veggies a day, and i always get it by eating a salad. it may get boring, but it gives you so much energy, and you can do a lot to make it fun. also, i did (and still do) avoid artificial sweeteners. here are some examples. choose one food from each line. let me know if it's confusing:

breakfast:
-2 pieces whole wheat toast with 1 T peanut butter or 2 waffles with 1 T butter or peanut butter or 1 cup whole grain cereal with 2 T ground flaxseeds added
-2 eggs (if it's a pain to have to cook them in the mornings, boil a bunch every week and keep them in the fridge. that's what i do and they're not as good, but much easier)
-1 cup milk

mid-morning snack:
-1 orange or 1/2 cup strawberries or 1/2 grapefruit or 1/2 cantaloupe
-1 cup yogurt (if you eat yogurt, make sure it's not light. low fat or fat free is fine, but not the kind with fake sweeteners. if you want less sugar, buy plain and sweeten it yourself with honey or agave nectar)

lunch:
-salad with 2 cups romaine or other type of dark lettuce (spring mix, etc), 1/2 cup beans, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 2 T oil based salad dressing (preferably full fat) or oil and vinegar (and anything else you want to add to it for fun...those are just the minimums; i like craisins, feta cheese, etc)
-whole wheat muffin (find a good recipe and freeze a bunch :))

mid-afternoon snack:
-orange or 1/2 cup strawberries or 1/2 grapefruit or 1/2 cantaloupe
-1 string cheese

dinner:
-4 oz steak, chicken, turkey, etc
-sweet potato with 1 T butter, sprinkled with cinnamon or 1 cup carrots steamed with 1 T butter
-whatever vegetable you want
-whole wheat roll or piece of bread

bedtime snack:
-1 cup whole grain cereal or 1/2 cup granola or whole grain granola bar
-1 cup milk