What you eat and how you exercise can make or break your plans to grow a healthy baby.
It may be hard to believe, but your diet and weight can affect your ability to fall pregnant. According to a study entitled The Fertility Diet, the true fertility foods are not champagne and oysters, but rather whole grains, healthy fats and protein.
When trying for a baby it is important to keep stress levels to a minimum and your weight in the healthy range, as being overweight or underweight can affect your fertility. Your BMI (weight divided by height squared) should ideally be between 18.5 and 24.9, so control your portion sizes.
And remember, fertility issues are not limited to women. In order for men to produce healthy sperm, they need to manage their stress and watch their waistlines too.
Take care of your F.A.R.E (Food, Air, Rest, Emotions) – get more sleep, learn to breathe correctly, evaluate your emotions and don’t worry too much about the rest of the world’s opinions. Look for alternatives to wheat and flour, such as maize, oats, rye, rice and potatoes, and for healthy alternatives to sugar, such as xylitol or stevia. Avoid any stimulants such as coffee, fizzy drinks and drugs that could give you a fake energy burst.
Dietician Lila Bruk shares her top five tips to amp up your fertility
1. Reduce your glycaemic load
It is important to balance blood sugar levels, which in turn helps to balance insulin levels and potentially ovulation. As a result, it is best to stick to low-GI (slow-release) carbs, such as seed bread, brown rice and sweet potato.
2. Turn away from trans fats
Research suggests that trans fats, found in commercial biscuits, snack foods and hard margarine, can have a detrimental effect on insulin levels.
3. Stick to good fat
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats found in nuts and avocado help decrease inflammation, which has been found to negatively affect fertility. There is also some research that full-fat dairy is more beneficial for fertility than low-fat or fat-free dairy.
4. Take a folic acid supplement
This vitamin not only helps with preventing birth defects such as spina bifida, but has also been found to improve fertility.
5. Go for green
Greens are usually high in folic acid, which is important for conception and the first trimester of pregnancy. They’re also packed with fibre, antioxidants and vitamins.
Manage your maladies
Feeling too sick to work out? These tricks can help you control some of those nasty symptoms.
Eat up
Eating small meals often will help balance your blood sugar, which in turn will help curb the nausea.
Crush the cravings
Try not to give in to cravings for processed and unhealthy foods. If you’re after carbs, go for healthier options such as potato, fruit or whole grains.
Get juicy
Making your own juices or smoothies can be a yummy way of including necessary nutrients when you don’t feel like eating. Try adding ginger as it’s been shown to ease nausea and sickness.
What not to do?
- Sit-ups and crunches are generally fine in the first trimester, but it’s best to avoid them afterwards (you could cause diastasis recti – a gap in between your right and left abdominal wall muscles that can result in a rounded, protruding belly).
- Don’t overexert or push yourself too much; consider your energy limits.
- Do not labour your breathing. You should work at a pace where you can still carry a normal conversation.
- In group classes, don’t fall prey to a competitive atmosphere. Go at a pace that feels right for you.
- Don’t dehydrate. Always carry a water bottle.
- Don’t skip your warm-up and cool-down/stretches.
- Avoid moves in which you may fall (such as box jumps).
- Don’t exercise in high heat or humidity.
- Lying flat on your back past the first trimester tends to lower blood pressure and may cause you to feel dizzy.
Be fit with your bump – and beyond
Incorporating a fun, sensible exercise plan into your pregnancy will help your body cope with the demands of growing and carrying a baby, and the muscle strength will help you cope with the strain of daily life. Once your doctor has given you the go-ahead, try these go-to exercise from Marelize Esterhuizen, personal trainer and GNC ambassador.
1. Walking
Walking makes for great pregnancy exercise. An easy stroll gets you moving and you build upper body strength by swinging your arms. Get your heart pumping by picking up the pace. Avoid a possible fall by staying away from rocky pathways or uneven pavements.
Other options: Swimming; riding stationary bike.
Frequency: Three to five times per week, and work up to 30 minutes a day.
2. Resistance exercise
This will help build strength throughout your body to prepare you for carrying more weight and to help you deliver. You can lift free weights or work out on weight machines.
Try these at home:
Sumo squats: Stand with your feet hip-distance apart, with toes and knees turned out at 45 degrees. Pull your belly button up and in. Bend your knees, lowering your torso as low as possible while keeping your back straight. Straighten your legs to return to the starting position.
Strengthens: Quads, hamstrings and butt. Improves balance.
Plank: Get down on your hands and knees, wrists directly under your shoulders. Lift your knees and straighten your legs behind you until your body forms a straight line. Don’t arch your back or let your belly sag. Hold for two breaths, working up to five.
Strengthens: Core, arms and back. Keeping your abs strong will help prevent pregnancy-induced back pain.
Other options: Free-weight exercises for biceps and triceps, seated cable row, lat pull-down, seated chest-press, dead lifts.
Frequency: Low to moderate intensity, twice a week.
Get checked
Clicks Clinics offer a range of primary healthcare services. Visit Clicks online for a full list of services or to make an appointment.
IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images