Caffeine and Pregnancy: How much is too much

One of the first things most of us women prepare to say goodbye to once we see those two pink lines on our pregnancy tests is caffeine. Many women will stop their caffeine habit cold turkey out of the sheer fear of doing some sort of damage to the new life growing inside of them. These women will swear off anything that has caffeine in it from coffee, and soda to even chocolate. Then there are some of us who will still drink caffeine but cut back. Instead of drinking five cups of coffee a day, we might cut back to at least one cup of coffee to get us through the day.

Our mothers and grandmothers will probably tell us that they drank the same amount of caffeine pregnant as they did when they were not pregnant and their children turned out fine. However a lot more research has been done since their time and studies are showing that too much caffeine can cause some complications such as preterm labor and/or low birth weight.

So how much caffeine is too much caffeine? Doctors are telling their patients that a moderate amount of caffeine will not harm their babies. Even though caffeine does cross the placenta, anything less than 300 milligrams a day (an 8 ounce cup of strong coffee) will not do any harm. Anything over 300 milligrams puts your baby at risk and studies have also shown that women who drink more than 300 milligrams of caffeine a day during their first trimester have a slightly higher risk of a miscarriage.

Studies have also shown that women who had over 500 milligrams of caffeine a day had babies who had faster heart rates and faster breathing rates. These babies also spent more time awake in their first few days of life rather than peacefully sleeping after their long journey.

There are a number of other reasons why we women might want to cut back on the amount of caffeine we drink during pregnancy. For starters, it has no nutritional value. If there is ever a time for us to be aware of our nutritional needs it is when we are pregnant. Second, caffeine is a stimulant which will increase your heart rate and can cause insomnia and headaches which can put some stress on your growing little one. Third, caffeine can cause heartburn. If you have been pregnant before you know that heartburn can be a burden to begin with, and caffeine just makes it worse. Lastly it is a diuretic which means it can cause you to lose fluids which can put you at a risk of becoming dehydrated.

While it is not necessary for you to give up all caffeine through out the duration of your pregnancy, you should learn how to drink it in moderation or don’t drink it at all. If you can not handle having only one cup of coffee a day, then you might be better off drinking no coffee at all. Stick with caffeine free sodas and even decaf coffee. Remember though that decaf coffee still contains small traces of caffeine so make sure you take that into consideration.

Nutrition Diets and Bodybuilding Can Help You Gain Weight

Most people go to the gym to lose weight. But did you know that you can do the exact opposite? Yes you can with a little help of a nutrition-based diet and some body building.

A nutrition-based diet is not composed of junk or greasy food. What you have to do is play it smart by eating products which contain healthy fats like omega 3 fatty acids which are commonly found in flax, tuna, salmon and walnuts.

You will also need to increase your protein intake from things like lean meat, nuts, poultry products, legumes and seeds. To top it off, you will also need carbohydrates that can be found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Another thing you will have to do is eat five to six meals per day instead of the eating three large ones.

Aside from food, there are protein foods and supplements drinks available which you can add during any time of the day. Since they come in different flavors, you can choose your favorite one from the store, add some water and then serve.

Some people even add a small amount of flax seed oil and psyllium powder so they also get some omega 3 fatty acids into their system.

Now that you have worked the eating part, now it is time to work on body building. Resistance training forces the muscles in your body to work harder and as a result increases your muscle size. Some examples are aerobics, cycling, running and weight lifting which can be done of course if you have the equipment at home or if you are a member of a gym.

Exercising is ideally done for 20 minutes but those who want to sweat it out and gain weight should try to work out between 1 to 2 hours every other day.

Since it takes some time for your muscles to recover after a workout, you should make sure to give it time to rest. It may take some time to gain the ideal weight you want if you are underweight so just be patient because the right nutrition diet and body building program will soon make you reach the goal weight.

Once you do reach the ideal weight, the challenge now is maintaining it. This is done by monitoring your calorie intake. There are books about this as well as information online which you can download to help you calculate how much of a certain food you can eat per day.

The mistake some people make that gets them off track is adding some unhealthy foods the diet such as chicken nuggets, French fries and fish sticks. You should eat smart and go for baked chicken, potatoes or fish. If you want, make the portion a little bit bigger.

Each meal should consist of protein and 2 to three servings of vegetables preferably the green kind that has a lot of vitamins and phytonutrients.

As for refreshments, don?t forget to drink lots of water to replenish what you lost during a workout. Milk and fruit juices are also good. You must avoid sodas since it only adds calories and has no nutritional value.

For the weight program, work with a trainer first who can help you achieve your objective by making the program and then all you have to do is follow it. You can probably add more weight later on in the barbells or dumbbells when you don?t find it that challenging as before.