Good Health before Pregnancy

Regular physical activity before pregnancy helps one to reach a fitness level that will support health, maintain a healthy weight and help to provide a sense of well being. By establishing this before pregnancy, it will be more natural for a woman to continue fitness and health during pregnancy. Fitness during pregnancy will help moms to gain weight appropriately. Appropriate weight gain supports the overall health of the mom and the baby and will help mom to lose the weight from pregnancy more easily. If a mom is underweight, regular physical activity can help to increase a healthy appetite. It is also important during leisure time to reduce sedentary activities, such as TV viewing and video games.

Another reason to be in good health before pregnancy? A baby's organs begin to form in the first four weeks of pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant!

So, what can women do to reach a healthy weight?

1. Regular physical activity and physical fitness make important contributions to one's health, sense of well being, and maintenance of a healthy body weight. Maintenance of good physical fitness enables one to meet the physical demands of work and leisure comfortably. People with high physical fitness are at lower risk of developing chronic disease.
2. Engage in regular physical activity and reduce sedentary activities to promote health, psychological well being, and a healthy body weight.

A healthy diet goes hand in hand with an active lifestyle. An easy way to reduce calorie intake is to reduce the intake of added sugars, fats, and alcohol, which all provide calories but few or no essential nutrients. Another way to eat more healthfully is to increase fruits and vegetables. The 2005 dietary guidelines encourage 2 cups of fruits and 2 ½ cups of vegetables each day with higher or lower amounts depending on the calorie level. (4 ½ cups is for a 2000-calorie diet).

For more information visit www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines or www.mypyramid.gov