It is commonly understood that being underweight could cause you to have troubles becoming pregnant. The main reason being women who are underweight may not ovulate, have a menstrual cycle, or enough fat for proper hormonal balance. For some people who are underweight, it can seem difficult to put on weight and keep it on. Here are some tips to help you to gain weight the healthy and fertile way.
How to find out if you are underweight:
An easy way to find out if you are underweight is to find out your Body Mass Index using a BMI calculator. If you are in the range of 19 – 24, your weight is considered healthy. Having a BMI less than 19 is a signal that you are underweight. There is only one thing you can do to increase your BMI: eat more food. By focusing on eating a fertility diet that is geared for healthy weight gain, you will be well on your way.
5 steps to becoming your healthy weight
1. Keep a food diary – Keeping a food diary is a necessity for gaining weight and keeping your body at a healthy weight. A food diary allows you to record your daily intake of foods so you know the reality of your eating habits and nutrient intake. Write down your meals in detail every day. Set aside time to do this after each meal. You can use a small notebook or create one with this food diary form.
Track your diet for three days before you start your program; this is how you will find out what your current calorie consumption is. Record the number of calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fats for your foods recorded in your food diary. My favorite tool for finding out the details of each food is the USDA Nutrient Data Base. You can search online or download the USDA SR18 nutrient-finding program in to your computer or PDA.
You may be surprised to find out that you are not eating as much food as you had previously thought. To find out how many calories you need to eat in order to gain weight, use a handy body calculator. It will outline how many calories, carbs, fats, and proteins you need to eat a day. Your initial goal is to gain 1 – 2 lbs. a week.
2. Plan out your meals for the week. Similar to a body builder, it would be helpful if you keep track of what you eat, and how many carbs, proteins, fats, and calories were in your meal. To stay on track, plan your meals and snacks so you don’t skip a meal. If a week seems like too much, start with planning the day. Take the total number of calories you need to eat and divide it throughout the day.
For example here is a 2,200-calorie day:
Breakfast:
2 eggs
2 slices Ezekiel Toast
w/1t. butter
Oatmeal 1/2c
1/4c whole organic milk
Snack:
Fertility Smoothie
1c blueberries
1 scoop FertiliWhey protein powder
1/2c whole milk
1/4 c yogurt
1T maca
1 scoop ice cream
Lunch:
Turkey sandwich
Brie
Vegenaise
Mustard
Ezekiel bread
Salad w/goddess dressing
Snack:
1c. yogurt
1/2c. Berries
Dinner:
Chicken breast
broccoli
sweet potato
w/butter
Snack:
Protein shake
1c. milk
3. Eat whole fat dairy, butter, and yogurt. Eating these foods will help you with your caloric intake. Make sure they are organic so you are not adding excess hormones to your body. If you have endometriosis or PCOS, it would be better to avoid dairy and yogurt and focus on using almond or coconut milk to replace your dairy.
4. Eat 5 meals a day. Make sure your day consists of 3 meals and 2-3 snacks a day or 5 smaller meals. This is for several reasons. The first is so you make sure you are getting enough calories a day. The second is to help keep your blood sugar balance level, which is essential for healthy fertility and hormonal balance.
5. Eat nutrient dense foods. While ice cream is back on the menu, don’t fill up on empty foods just to get calories. Make sure you are eating foods that are dense in nutrients.
