(Disclaimer: if you start eating this way, you may find yourself feeling more energetic, happy, healthy, and content with your life! These guidelines are not just for pregnant women!)
Carbohydrates are your body's go-to energy source! Everything we do requires energy - from walking through the mall, to cooking dinner, doing household chores, or simply breathing, our heart beating, and our body digesting our food.
Your resting metabolic rate is the bare minimum number of calories your body needs in a day simply to survive. Add your daily activities and the fact that your body is now building a baby and those calories need to increase some. To find out how many calories you need in a day, check this out: https://www.freedieting.com/pregnancy-calorie-calculator
(just be sure to check with your provider before making any major dietary changes).
When your body burns food for energy, the first thing it will burn is carbohydrates. They are the simplest form of energy and the easiest to break down.
Of course, without adequate carbs, your body can still function, It just has to work harder to do so by breaking down nutrients stored in your liver, in your muscles, and finally in your fat cells.
Carbs have gotten a bad rap over the past several years with significant attribution to obesity. What's with all of this carbohydrate confusion? One of the major issues has been the confusion that carbs=grains (exclusively).
The old food pyramid contributed to this! It was said that we needed 8-11 servings of grains (carbs) per day - but what they failed to explain was that our fruits and vegetables are included in the carbohydrate category! Since this time, the ADA has revamped their dietary recommendations to include produce in the carbohydrate category. Their new recommendations: https://www.myplate.gov/
The new recommendations is that half our plate at each meal be fruits and veggies! And only 1/4 of our meal be comprised of grains!
Over the next few weeks we will discuss the importance of produce and what kinds of grains are the best kinds of grains to consume!
In the meantime, I encourage you to try it today: make half of each of your meals fruits or veggies! Are you up for the challenge?