5 Tips to a Healthy Pregnancy Weight, and Food Cravings

Start thinking about healthy eating and your weight well before you decide to have a baby. A healthy weight and eating well makes it easier for you to conceive and sets you up for good eating habits during your pregnancy.

1 - Know Your BMI: The amount of weight you should gain during your pregnancy depends on your Body Mass Index (BMI) so a good first step is to work out your BMI.

2 - Work out your healthy weight gain based on BMI: Once you know your BMI, check this table from the Alberta Health Services’ Healthy Parents Healthy Children site to learn how much weight you should gain in pregnancy.

3 - Eat well: Eating well is more important than ever when you are providing nourishment for yourself and your baby in pregnancy. Calgary Foothills PCN health professionals — a dietitian, a family doctor and a registered nurse from our maternity clinic — have compiled a number of pregnancy and nutrition videos to help you learn to eat well and stay healthy during pregnancy. See the list below.

4 - Learn to manage food cravings: Food cravings can make all the good intentions in the world hard to follow. So how can you keep food cravings in check?

5 - Stay Active: Remaining physically active during your pregnancy is key to gaining the appropriate amount of weight. We suggest you try activities such as walking for half an hour a day, swimming or prenatal yoga. Or look for an activity you enjoy and check whether it is safe to do during pregnancy.