The Pregnancy Diet
Guidelines for eating healthily for two.
BACKGROUND
Congratulations! You’re pregnant. But if you’re like most women, you have two pertinent concerns running through your mind right now: How can I eat healthy for both my baby and myself? And, how can I gain the right amount of weight so that it does not take me until my child is in preschool to fit back into my jeans again?
Eileen Behan, a registered dietician and mother of two, wrote just with you in mind, The Pregnancy Diet. This book is about the dos and don’ts of eating while you’re pregnant. This is not a diet book, but rather a guide on eating soundly for those important nine months so that you’re staying on track with your weight.
In addition to the known “stay away from sushi” and “bone up on folic acid” tips, her book also includes weekly weight goals for single and twin births, recipes, on-the-go snack ideas, exercise programs and nutritional guidelines for special cases like gestational diabetes, bed rest and others.
The Pregnancy Diet is intended to keep you on track with your weight gain and not go overboard, and it serves to alleviate many of the fears women have around gaining weight during pregnancy by explaining how the body needs to prepare for this momentous event. But Behan strongly encourages women to not gain any more weight than what is recommended. Studies have shown that women who “eat for two” have a much harder time losing those extra pregnant pounds once their little bambino is born than those who adhere to the recommended guidelines.
PRO
- The Pregnancy Diet provides information that is medically and clinically supported
- Information is easy to follow and easy to understand
- Offers recipes and snack ideas
- Less diet, more guidelines
CON
- Recipes are not very accurate
- Very little new information is presented in The Pregnancy Diet that can’t be found in other pregnancy books
FOOD and RECIPE
The Pregnancy Diet focuses on eating proportioned and nutritionally-sound meals and snacks throughout the entire three trimesters of pregnancy. It is not a diet, but rather a guide on which foods to avoid and which foods to eat more during pregnancy. Since this is pregnancy after all, and it is a woman’s one time chance to indulge a bit without the accompanying guilt, The Pregnancy Diet addresses this reality and tries to do what it can to allow for indulgences while maintaining proper nutrition. The book includes a Body Mass Index calculator, as well as a breakdown of nutrients and which foods to find them in as a way for the woman to keep checks and balances on her nutrition.
EXERCISE
Just as eating well is a staple of healthy pregnancy, so is maintaining a regular exercise routine. The Pregnancy Diet also provides plenty of information on which exercises are safe to do during pregnancy and how much of it you should aim to get.
EXPENSE
The Pregnancy Diet book costs $13.95.
CONCLUSION
The Pregnancy Diet is similar to other pregnancy books in that much of the information included in it can be found in other books. But this book uses studies to support the importance of gaining the appropriate amount of weight and stresses the importance of keeping those Twinkie cravings in check. The recipe section though could use a makeover for taste and accuracy.
COMMON MISSPELLINGS
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