What if I am underweight and pregnant?
A flip side of the coin, which has its share of problems too. For one, inadequate weight gain while you are already thin gives rise to problems like an undersized baby and giving birth before term i.e. before 37th week of pregnancy. Undersized babies will need medical attention early in life and some even run the risk of having chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes as adults. Of course under-eating can be due to uncontrollable situations such as extreme nausea which is difficult to manage. Also if you have a very rapid metabolism, you need to compensate for the rate at which you burn energy by eating more nutritious foods.
A good way to increase your calories is to increase the number of meals in a day, like from 3 squares to 6 mini meals. Often large meals cause discomfort so try having frequent smaller meals with carbohydrates as the main component - up your carbohydrates. Have more calorie-dense foods from healthy fats such as nuts and dairy foods. Exercise is good too because it will help stimulate appetite.
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