E - Eat for two? Thats blasphemy!

Yes, I pricked your dream bubble, but you heard me right.

During pregnancy, we are often told that we have to eat for two. Which is grossly mis-interpreted. What has been advised since generations is that pregnant women need to eat more to provide nutrition to the growing baby, but that doesnt mean you have to eat twice as much!

What it means is, you need more calories. Typically around 300-500 calories more for a 2000-calorie diet. That means a bowl of oatmeal or 2 glasses of milk or 200 gms of chicken breast in a day. No, you are not required to wolf down buckets of Ice creams, or have 6 meals in day.

First trimester - Most women suffer from nausea during this stage and it becomes hard for them to even eat their regular meals. No additional calories are needed in this stage.

Second trimester - Women need an additional of 300-350 calories per day. It means an additional snack and that too a healthy one, although you can cheat sometimes.

Third trimester - An additional of 500 calories per day is advised.

One way of knowing if you are getting the right amount of calories is tracking your weight gain.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I got carried away with the idea that I will anyway be bloated soon, that I can anyway not stay in shape. I let my guard down and began binge eating. I lost control and gorged on lots of yummy food.

Before I knew it, I was gaining weight at a rapid pace. I was way past the 'expected' weight. I started slowly developing pelvic pain, and my weight only made it worse. I learnt my lesson the hard way, and the rest of my months, I was on strict diet and active exercise, which I will talk about more in next posts.

Information is available at the click of a button, there are hordes of websites and apps that guide you through your pregnancy. I used BabyCenter to the T. All you need to do is be informed, and make wise choices.