Healthy eating for the extremely active!

Khaleesi07

Hi everyone!

I'm 5 months pregnant, and currently staying pretty active. I've been following my midwife's advice for nutrition, but I know that pregnant women have different eating needs.

 Once the baby comes, and I'm fully recovered, I plan on going back to my active lifestyle of yoga, weights, cardio, and dance on a regular basis. I tried paelo pre-pregnancy, but I felt like I wasn't getting "enough" from the low carb type of lifestyle, that just isn't for me since I'm very active.

Just wondering if there is anyone else on here that is very active and has found a healthy eating regimne that works for them...Thanks! 

abbyful

Many very active people follow paleo/primal, including Olympians and professional athletes.

Just one example: https://robbwolf.com/2011/09/08/paleo-athletes-uncovered-olympic-hopeful-ursula-grobler/ 

Have you tried paleo in the non low-carb form? Paleo doesn't have to be low-carb. Try eating more sweet potatoes, potatoes, fruit. And maybe adding in some "safe cheats" like rice and quinoa.

boogerbearoriginal

IMO one of the problems is many people try paleo to lose weight, and therefore do the "low-carb" thing. Paleo doesn't have to mean low-carb.

I am not interested in weight loss, although admittedly not super active, but I eat white potatoes, rice, fruit, etc. Along with nuts, seeds, meats, and veggies. I also consume some dairy - cheese/yogurt/butter mostly. The only thing I really avoid is cereal grains, so wheat, barley, etc.  I suppose it's not technically paleo, more primal if you need a label, but really I don't get hung up on labels or what other people tell me is ok to eat. If you're super active, and especially if you BF, you'll need carbs for fuel.

Anyway, I think if you eat when hungry and consume as many real, unprocessed foods and limit/exclude "junk" you'll be fine.  So no donuts/pizza, but enjoy potatoes, kwim?  HTH!

Steph91011

I have been active most of my pregnancy and if I skip a day or 2 I notice that I'm extremely tired.  lol The exercise definitely helps me with my energy levels. I was very fit before I got pregnant. I completed Insanity with Shakeology and lost all the weight I wanted before I got pregnant. Now I'm doing Turbo Jam and yoga at home and drink Shakeology a few times a month to give me and baby all the nutrients we need and it gives me energy. I have been able to stay fit throughout and have gained the right amount of weight. You have to find what works for you and stick to it!

Khaleesi07

Thanks for the advice everyone! For now I'm just going to work on introducing more veggies, lean meats, and natural foods, with less packaged processed foods. I know my boyfriend would probably never be on board with a true paleo/primal lifestyle, and I'm ok with that. But I definitely like implementing the basics into our diet.