Nutrition to avoid if trying to become Pregnant or is pregnant.

[CyborgQueen]

Hello Ladies!

I am wondering what "sports" stuff to completely avoid if you're pregnant. I'm not going to stop cycling because I am pregnant (and no, I'm not, not yet anyways!), and will stop until the baby bump gets too big. I do have a trainer, so if belly gets too big to reach handlebars, I can just sit up and still get a workout in.

I'm just a little concerned about gel packs, HEED, electrolytes, blah blah blah. Even though they all say "natural", but still, I question whether they're safe for the baby. I know to avoid, or have little caffeine as possible. All my gels/HEED doesn't have caffeine anyways.

What about recovery drinks, or muscular stuff (such as NO-Xplode, protein shakes, etc etc.)? Or should I be on the safe side and avoid them all completely. If so, what can I do to help with muscular development, fat burning, electrolytes, etc.

Thanks in advance.

[shootingstar]

I've never been pregnant....and never will. But would try to eat naturally and healthy as possible.
How much cycling would you do in 1 wk. in spring or summer on a normal basis? So with baby that will probably change...

Note: My sister didn't eat any of the above sports food even before pregnancies. She went jogging until she couldn't when baby got too big. She has run half marathon or 2.

She's a doctor and mother of 2 young children. Ages 3 & 6. She really had to watch her diet carefully because she was bordering gestational diabetes. (She managed to beat down diabetes 2 after losing 50 lbs. via diet and jogging regularily, before she became a mother.)

Note: Not all long distance/endurance cyclists even eat sports food. I don't and I've been cycling for the last 22 yrs. I've packed in 4,000- 7, 000 km. annually in some years. I go bike touring with my loaded panniers, etc. Meaning I have done hard taxing rides...and I still eat naturally, drink water, etc. It works for me. And this cycling 100 kms. daily consecutively for some trips.

Did I ever want to buy sports food? It NEVER occurred to me. But every one is different. I'll bet you my sister doesn't eat sports food because she and I grew up in Canada on the same diet...traditional Asian diet for first part of life, most of it not processed foods.

I guess my philosophy is: There's a huge part of world that doesn't know about sports food, but they work physically demanding jobs / undertaking demanding activities and they manage to live on their traditional diets. ('course I'm talking about countries with higher longevity in life...).

[Skippyak]

How much of this stuff do you use? Are you a full time athlete?

[CyborgQueen]

How much of this stuff do you use? Are you a full time athlete?

No, not a full-time athlete. I tend to alternate between gels and real food (PB/J, fruits, etc) for any rides longer than 30 miles. However, HEED (for Electrolytes) is a must on all my rides since I live in Vegas, so it's pretty much a requirement to have to avoid heat stroke/heat exhaustion. Lately, I've been just eating PB/J on whole wheat bread on my breaks, vs gels.

The other stuff is as-needed basis (meaning I use it for pre-workouts or post-recovery), which is like 1-2 times a week, maybe not at all. Depending on the length of my ride. Anything less than 30 miles, I rarely have anything else other than HEED and a small bar (and I ride <30 miles 2-3x a week. >30 1-2x a week).

[lph]

Unless you live on this stuff I wouldn't worry :-) My understanding is that it takes a pretty radical diet to harm a baby, and even then it's more likely that the mother suffers and that the baby is just fine. Alcohol, nicotine, sure, stay away. Caffeine, reduce. My experience was quite simply that I didn't want that much caffeine, so my regular two cups a day suddenly went down to a small half cup once I was pregnant.

Best of luck :-)

[gnat23]

First: don't stress. :)

Advice from my doc: when you're on your period, you get a free zone. Get your wine in, have caffeine, whatever. Scale it back in between.

Once pregnant, don't go scuba diving or go mountain climbing above 14,000 feet, keep the alcohol and coffee to one or fewer per day, and avoid hot tubs. On my own, I have additionally been avoiding artificial sweeteners, and listening to my body about exercise (I can't hit PRs on weightlifting now, and my intervals are much less intense than before). For endurance sports in the heat, electrolytes are good, but sheer hydration is most important.

In general, I personally feel more comfortable with real food than with supplements, especially concerning the fat burners.

And honestly, when it comes to this stuff, half of it is black magic, I'm convinced, and you'll get a million different opinions. After trying for a year, I'm finally convinced that the real magic occurred the day I got my belly button pierced (d'oh)! :)

-- gnat! (It's like acupuncture or something.)

[Irulan]

Hello Ladies!

I am wondering what "sports" stuff to completely avoid if you're pregnant. I'm not going to stop cycling because I am pregnant (and no, I'm not, not yet anyways!), and will stop until the baby bump gets too big. I do have a trainer, so if belly gets too big to reach handlebars, I can just sit up and still get a workout in.

I'm just a little concerned about gel packs, HEED, electrolytes, blah blah blah. Even though they all say "natural", but still, I question whether they're safe for the baby. I know to avoid, or have little caffeine as possible. All my gels/HEED doesn't have caffeine anyways.

What about recovery drinks, or muscular stuff (such as NO-Xplode, protein shakes, etc etc.)? Or should I be on the safe side and avoid them all completely. If so, what can I do to help with muscular development, fat burning, electrolytes, etc.

Thanks in advance.

First, what does your doc say?
Second, I've found the folks at Hammer to be very helpful and they have a toll free number. Training nutrition products run the gamut from total crap to stuff that's really good for you, and their stuff is pretty high quality.

Third

If so, what can I do to help with muscular development, fat burning, electrolytes, etc. ??!!!

You will pregnant. Other than the electrolyte bit, put the fat burning and muscle growth aside. Job #1 is to grow a healthy baby and that does mean some weight gain. Pregnancy is not the time to have a hard core training regime for most people.You can get back into tip top shape after the baby is born.

The piece you are missing is that when you actually ARE pregnant, what you think you are going to do when pregnant, that you planned out before hand, may totally go out the window. Some things just don't taste right any more; some activities just don't feel good. Your body will really tell you what it needs or doesn't need. You may be throwing up every day for three months. You may want a milk shake every day. You may not WANT to ride a bike but swimming will be heavenly. My joints became inflamed and as much as I wanted to walk for fitness, I just couldn't. :( So plan all you want but expect to throw most of it out the window.

IIRC (it's been a while, my kids are very grown) there a quite a few endurance training/babymama sites where the uber fit marathoner and endurance athletes congregate. If that's your goal, maybe explore the information up those channels.


found these in one second
http://www.livestrong.com/article/553021-pregnancy-endurance-athletes
http://www.endurancecorner.com/fit_pregnancy_and_childbirth

Keep in mind that the info you get from the medical professionals will totally depend on their background and training, and experience with active healthy women. So you'll want to shop for someone that supports active lifestyles.

[colby]

In the first 8-12 weeks of your pregnancy you will find it hard to maintain your workout routine for other reasons than the size of your belly - you will probably feel tired and uncomfortable, your back may hurt, anything too high intensity for too long will send you dizzy, you may be randomly nauseous, you may feel/be super warm. You will also have cravings/aversions to foods which might dictate what you can eat more than anything. After that, your body will change, balance will change, but it might be easier to stay in your exercise routine (and some of those discomforts may go away, like the nausea).

I have been through only the first trimester of pregnancy (unfortunately, not farther) and what I ate when I worked out was definitely more dictated by what did/didn't make me gag or what I craved. I did move even more toward whole foods (which I generally do anyway) and away from any pre-packaged foods. From the conversations I have had, there is no inherent harm in gels and the like if you need to use them, BUT your intensity may be lower enough that you can tolerate real food better anyway (mine was). Also, when I started taking prenatal vitamins, some of my cravings subsided/changed, so if you are trying to get pregnant actively I would start on a prenatal now.

For recovery, I'd have yogurt and fruit instead of a protein shake, or even chocolate milk. There was just something about the pre-packaged stuff that my body was not interested in, even when I'd had it before. If you are sweating more (higher body temperature, etc) you probably should keep an eye on electrolytes, not just while you're working out but afterward. Chances are your workouts will be shorter, though, so it may turn out to be less of an issue, something you can mitigate through real food pre and post-workout and (healthy) snacking.

Regarding weight loss/muscles, during that first 8-12 weeks I spent time on core strengthening to support my changing body and balance, yoga to ease my discomfort (just note that twisting = bad), and maintaining my weight/gaining appropriately through daily exercise. If you are overweight you will probably gain less of the weight on the range of "acceptable pregnant lady weight gain", but if you are not, you may gain more. I bike to work almost every day, there were some days when going up a single short hill reduced me to a puddle of sweat and tears, there were others that felt just fine. I could NOT do many high intensity intervals at all, which felt very strange after 6 years of Ironmans. (After I became un-pregnant, even if not by choice, the high intensity intervals and ease of riding is so nice. Enjoy it while it lasts!!)

Your best bet is to do your safe weight loss and muscle gain now, before you are pregnant. It is easier to stay healthy than it is to become healthy; and you can't expect to lose weight while growing a little person or you will just make more tears for yourself. ;) And be prepared for anything you plan to change entirely - it will be frustrating (when you are hormonal everything is frustrating), and we will be here to talk you off the ledge, along with your doctor!

Good luck!