Ever since Thomas and I decided to get married, we have been discussing starting a family. We have decided that the best time for us to begin our family would be a few months following our wedding. Thomas will be graduating college just before our wedding and I will graduate shortly after our wedding. Both of us have fairly decent jobs at this point so even if we are not able to start our careers right after college, we should be alright financially when it comes to bringing our first child into the world. For now, we are saving what we can in preparation of starting our family.
Now that we have our money situation figured out, it is time to get my body prepared for conceiving within the next year or two. I do not feel as though I am alone when it comes to worrying about whether or not my body is healthy enough to carry and deliver a healthy, happy baby. Many women share this fret, I am sure. So I began doing some research on how to prepare my body for pregnancy. Here is some of the information I discovered:
1. The number one way to increase your chances of conceiving is to drop excess weight and/or body fat. When you are overweight, your body produces excess hormones. This can throw off ovulation and make it more difficult to become pregnant.
2. Stay away from cigarette smoke- smoking or being around people who smoke excessively can damage a woman's eggs, making it more difficult to conceive.
3. Limit alcohol consumption- alcohol can alter your estrogen levels, which may interfere with egg plantation.
4. Use oral contraceptives until you're ready- taking a daily oral contraceptive until you are ready to conceive has been shown to protect a woman's ovaries from aging.
5. Eliminate Stress- I know this is easier said than done, but stress can throw off your hormone production, slow ovulation, and make it more difficult to conceive.
6. Have sex often- Research suggests that women who have sex at least once each week have more predictable menstrual cycles and normal ovulation.
7. Stay Nourished- The most common deficiencies in both mother and baby tend to be in iron, protein, vitamin C, and zinc. See a list of options for each nutrient blow.
8. Keep in mind that the same goes for males. In order to be successful in conceiving, the male should also stay away from cigarette smoke, limit alcohol consumption, eliminate stress, and stay nourished.
Good Sources of Protein: 10%-35% of your daily calorie intake should be protein.
* White-Meat Poultry: choosing white meat when it comes to turkey and chicken means you are consuming leaner protein. Dark meat tends to be more fatty. The skin also contains a large dose of saturated fat, so you may also want to consider cutting off the skin.
* Seafood: fish is a great form of protein. Even fish like salmon, which is a little higher in fat, is an excellent choice because it is healthy omega-3! We tend to eat a lot of salmon and fish at my house so there are quite a few recipe ideas on my blog.
* Low-fat or Fat-Free Dairy Products: This includes milk, cheese, and yogurt. For an extra boost of protein, try adding Greek yogurt to your diet. Check out the rest of my blog for different ideas on how to incorporate Greek yogurt into your cooking.
* Eggs: This is one of the least expensive sources of protein.
* Beans: Half a cup of beans contains as much protein as one ounce of steak! Incorporating beans into your diet could be as simple as adding black or pinto beans to your Mexican dishes, kidney beans to your chili, garbanzo beans to a salad, or replacing cream in creamy based soups with white beans.
* Pork Tenderloin: Packed with protein and super lean. I love pork tenderloin because you can toss it into a timed crock pot with some onions, carrots, and potatoes, and your dinner is ready to serve when you get home with work or school.
* Lean Beef: This contains only one more gram of saturated fat than skinless white-meat chicken.
* Protein on the Go: Cereal bars and energy bars are a great way to add protein into your diet. Just be sure that which ever bar you are choosing contains at least 6 grams of protein and is low in sugar and fat.
Good Sources of Iron: Women age 19+: 18mg daily, Men age 19+: 8mg daily.
* Clams: Three ounces contains 23.8mg of iron! They are tasty in soups and pasta and rice dishes.
* Cereal: Obviously we are talking about healthy cereals filled with whole grains, oats, nuts, etc. and not the sugary varieties we enjoyed as kids. Most cold cereals are fortified with anywhere from 1.8 to 21.1mg of iron per serving.
* Oysters: Three ounces of wild oysters contains 10.2mg of iron.
* Soybeans: Half a cup of cooked soybeans is an easy way to get 4.4mg of iron!
* Pumpkin Seeds: 4.2mg per ounce. These make a great snack this time of year! When you're carving your pumpkin for Halloween, save the seeds. After rinsing and drying the seeds, spread them on a baking sheet, drizzle them with a little oil, and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Then roast them in the oven until they are golden brown.
* White Beans: 3.9mg per 1/2 cup.
* Spinach: This is another one of my go to ingredients. I put it on pizza, toss it in salads, and add it to soups and pastas.
* Lean Turkey and Chicken: 2.1mg per 3 ounce serving.
* Salmon, Tuna, Halibut: 0.7mg per 3 ounce serving.
Good Sources of Vitamin C: Women age 19+: 120mg daily, Males age 19+: 90mg daily.
* Papaya
* Bell Peppers: I love adding bell peppers to salads, omelets, pizza, soups, or even snacking on strips of raw bell pepper with hummus!
* Strawberries
* Broccoli
* Kiwi
* Citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, tangerines, clementines, etc)
* Pineapple
* Brussels Sprouts
* Canteloupe
* Kale
* Guava
* Parsley
* Mustard Greens
* Cauliflower
Good Sources of Zinc: Women over 19: 8mg daily, Men over 14: 11mg daily.
* Grass fed beef
* Lamb
* Scallops
* Sesame seeds
* Pumpkin seeds
* Oats
* Yogurt
* Turkey
* Green peas
* Shrimp
* Toasted wheat germ
* Spinach
* Cashews
* Cocoa powder
* Pork
* Chicken
* Mushrooms
* Beans
As you can see, many of these food sources overlap, so getting your daily recommended amount of them should be simple!
No comments:
Post a Comment