First trimester woes like nausea, morning sickness, food aversions and exhaustion can leave you wondering, “am I getting enough nutrients during pregnancy?”
This is a totally valid concern and something many mamas have asked me about. Let’s chat about your mama mindset, what’s “normal” at this stage in pregnancy, and how you can make the most of the meals you do eat.
First off, this concern is totally normal to wonder about, and good for you for being conscious of your diet! Eating healthy foods is extremely important during pregnancy. At the same time, nobody is perfect and stressing out about your diet isn’t going to help a damn thing. So let’s get informed and find a happy medium.
Am I getting enough?
Let’s have some straight talk— it’s common for mamas to have a subpar diet during the first trimester. This is mainly due to those pregnancy symptoms mentioned above (I mean, who can get excited about a salmon salad when you’re feeling ready to puke!?). Many mamas report having an increased carb consumption during the first trimester and this is “normal” too. For many of us, it’s kinda all that sounds appealing at this time. If you’re in the throws of morning sickness, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! Don’t beat yourself up if your diet has been more carb heavy lately.
The main point here is making sure that your diet doesn’t stay subpar throughout the total remainder of your pregnancy (or go downhill from where ever you’re at!).
What can I do about it?
It’s imperative that we generally get in adequate protein and fat. These are the macronutrients that really build a healthy baby. Make an effort to include protein (especially) with every meal. This can actually help with morning sickness (horrah!) and amino acids are literally the building blocks needed for creating a new human. Obviously including meat abundantly in your diet will get you ample protein, and if meat is not sounding appetizing (oh, those food aversions), try including more eggs and dairy.
If you feel like you need to play a little catch up on nutrient density, try including liver, bone broth, dark leafy greens, and seafood in your diet regularly. These food gems are extremely healthy and deliver a big punch of nourishment with every serving. Try including each of these foods once a week and work your way up from there (with the exception of liver, which you can continue to consume about once a week throughout your pregnancy. The only reason I wouldn’t way overdo it on liver is because it is such a great source of vitamin A and while we definitely want to consume vitamin A, we don’t want to overdo this nutrient during pregnancy. Also remember to choose low toxin fish— this means fish that are low on the food chain!).
Another way to help cover some bases is by taking a high quality prenatal vitamin every day. Remember, this cannot and should not take the place of a healthy diet! But it’s a wonderful “supplement.” I also recommend taking a high quality fish oil supplement and a probiotic. For more tips on this (and tricks for remembering to actually take your prenatal!) check out my post here.
Mindset
I think its also important to keep a positive mindset surrounding food. No, not toxic fake positivity, but a genuine enthusiasm for our personal food journeys and the willingness to be flexible and take action here when needed.
Key point number one for mindset is not to stress. If you’ve been feeling kinda crappy during trimester one and not eating so well, don’t worry. Stress and guilt are not good for our gut health, energy levels, or emotional health, and I believe these negative emotions generally don’t tend to produce a healthier diet. What does produce a healthier diet is an attitude of gratitude and curiosity. Try adding an element of playfulness to your food journey in place of stress.
For example, instead of stressing about how your work lunches have been crappy take-out lately and feeling all guilty about this, flip this to curiosity by having an honest personal food pow wow. Ask yourself, how can I find time/create space to pack a healthy lunch? What would make this actually happen? What are the healthiest options at my favorite take out spots? Can I find some middle ground and get pre-made food at health food stores for the next week or two until I create a food prep system that works for me right now? One of my favorite ways to do this is to tag team it with my husband at night— while one person cooks dinner, the other makes grab and go lunches for the next day!
Another thing we can do here is practice mindful eating. This means really listening to our bodily wisdom and what our bodies desire in order to thrive. Try asking yourself:
What type of nourishment does my body want today?
How do I feel when I eat this type of food?
What food would fill my body with true joy?
What food does my baby want me to eat for us?
It can take some practice to ask yourself and get clear, honest answers, but this is definitely a skill worth practicing!
You got this, mama!
To recap what we’ve covered… it’s normal to be wondering about if your diet is “good enough.” It’s also common to have a subpar diet during the first trimester. The main point here is to maintain or cultivate a positive relationship with food. Get curious and playful. Practice mindful eating! And if you want a place to start, make an effort to include protein and veggies with each meal (it’s hard to go wrong there!). Get down on those powerhouses of liver, bone broth, dark leafy greens and seafood. You can also get more specific help by utilizing your pregnancy resources like talking with your midwife, doula, or working with a health coach like me! And above all else, listen to your body mama! I have complete faith in you.
Want some help with staying on top of your self-care game? Download my free printable Daily Checklists for a Healthy Pregnancy!