Are you thinking about trying to get pregnant soon? If so you need to read on. Many women don't start thinking about taking extra special care of their bodies until they're already pregnant, but unfortunately by that time it may be too late. If you are thinking of getting pregnant NOW is the time to start getting your body ready. Here are a few things you can start doing today to make sure your body is in the best shape and ready for pregnancy.
1. Get Your Weight In Check
If you are overweight or obese now is the time to get those extra pounds off before you get pregnant. Studies have shown that women who are overweight or obese are at a higher risk for complications such as miscarriage, high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. Start by replacing processed foods with whole, natural foods, cut back on portions and ditch any sweetened drinks like soda, juice, and yes, even your favorite latte (sorry!!). Also look at increasing your physical activity to burn off extra calories. If this sounds like something you've tried...maybe dozens of times without success... don't be afraid to ask for help!! You may need to work with someone who can take a careful look at what will work for you and build a plan that's designed for success.
2. Detox
We encounter toxins every single day from the food we eat, air we breathe, household cleaning products, cosmetics, and more. If you are thinking about getting pregnant you want to detox your body now to remove some of these toxins. Detoxing during pregnancy is not recommended, so now is the time to do it. Stay tuned to future blog posts for more information on detoxing, or contact me for a personal assessment.
3. Reduce Stress
Being over stressed is dangerous to you now, and it will continue to be dangerous to you and baby during pregnancy. If you are stressed you want to take a careful look at what is causing stress in your life. If stress comes and goes, try incorporating stress management techniques into your everyday routine such as exercise, breathing exercises or a calming bubble bath. But if stress is more of your everyday norm, you need to seriously consider making big changes to get rid of stress. This may be something drastic like changing jobs, looking for a new place to live or removing toxic people from your life, but it's something you need to do before you get pregnant to ensure you and baby aren't chronically stressed during pregnancy.
4. Increase Physical Activity
It's no news that regular physical activity is good for your overall health and well-being, and doctors recommend light physical activity during pregnancy. Exercise during pregnancy has benefits such as helping with mood, increasing energy, relieving stress and managing an appropriate weight gain. However, if you were not previously exercising before pregnancy your doctor may not recommend starting an exercise routine during pregnancy. That's why it's really important to start a routine now so you can continue a modified version of exercise during pregnancy and reap all the benefit it has to offer to you and baby!
5. Clean Up Your Diet
Eating well before pregnancy is important to build up your stores of vital vitamins and nutrients. You also want to get into the routine of eating well now so you can continue with good habits once you're pregnant. Start by getting rid of processed junk food and replace it with whole natural foods. Load up on (organic) fruits and vegetables to get lots of good vitamins and minerals. Increase your intake of Omega 3s found in foods such as salmon, pumpkin seeds and walnuts. Make sure you're eating foods high in Folic Acid. This is a nutrient that's super important to get enough of BEFORE pregnancy because it's vital to the proper development of the fetus. Folic acid is found in many fruits and vegetables, particularly dark leafy greens and citrus fruit. It's also fortified in many foods like cereals and grains. I also recommend taking a high quality multi-vitamin before your get pregnant. You can even start taking a pre-natal vitamin before you get pregnant because it will have higher amounts of nutrients that are important to have during pregnancy.
6. Manage Medical Conditions and Assess Medications
If you are currently being treated for any medical conditions or if you take medications, you want to work with your doctors before pregnancy to get your conditions under control and possibly stop medications or switch to ones that are safer during pregnancy. This is particularly important for anyone with diabetes. You definitely want to get your blood sugars at your target before getting pregnancy because going into pregnancy with elevated sugar levels is very dangerous to the fetus. Many medical conditions can be helped naturally by making diet and lifestyle adjustments. I recommend working with a dietitian who can look at your medical conditions and medications and make recommendations specific for your needs. It's important to only work with someone who is willing to communicate with your doctors since many conditions need to be treated very carefully.
If you are planning on getting pregnant and would like to set up a consultation to determine what you should do to improve your health before getting pregnant, please contact me.
Colleen Mangnani RDN, CDE
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