Did you know that the whole “you’re eating for two and therefore you can eat twice as much” while you’re pregnant philosophy is a complete myth? Well it is. While it is true that you are technically providing sustenance for 2 people, yourself and your baby, it is not true that that means you can or should eat twice as much. In fact during pregnancy you only need 300 extra calories a day (that’s like an apple and a yogurt cup). So when people try to add food to your plate or tell you to eat more because you’re “eating for two”, just smile polity and go about your business OR you can give them a lesson on caloric intake during pregnancy, however I have found that this isn’t always received very warmly. I generally recommend that pregnant women eat when they’re truly hungry. I say ‘truly’ hungry because I find that a lot of women give themselves a free-pass to eat as much and as often as they want during pregnancy and that doesn’t always translate into eating because they’re hungry. It could mean eating because they feel like indulging, or are bored and they justify it by telling themselves that they are eating for two. Also what you eat matters, but I’ll be doing a separate post about nutrition in pregnancy so check back for that.
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