The Bradley Diet: How to Eat During Pregnancy

Maintaining a healthy diet is difficult for everyone, but this challenge is even more compounded during pregnancy. Usually, during the first part of pregnancy a woman's body is gripped with frequent hunger. However, the times of hunger often alternate with periods of nausea when nothing sounds good. I, like many other women I've talked to, found that when I was able to eat something, I would eat anything that sounded good to me at the time. Chocolate, bagels, candy, pizza, nothing was off-limits when I was in the brief moments of feeling well. I found that this type of eating got me through the moment, but did nothing to contribute to the nutritional and energy needs of my body. Even worse, this type of eating inevitable led to guilt. Wasn't I supposed to be eating an optimal diet: One that would give my baby every possible advantage during development?

Though my diet steadily improved as my nausea and cravings subsided, I never found a diet plan that was rich, healthy, or satisfying enough to keep me feeling good about myself during pregnancy. Now that I am in my third pregnancy, however, and pursuing a natural home birth, I have been introduced to the Bradley Diet Plan and I love it. Here's how it works:

The emphasis of the Bradley diet is the consumption of good, healthy protein, while also including liberal amounts of vegetables and other nutrient-dense foods. While many pregnancy diet guidelines suggest a woman should consume around 65 grams of protein a day, the Bradley Diet Plan urges 100 grams of protein per day. Protein is essential to the development of the baby and also has numerous benefits for the mother. For example, since foods such as milk, cheese, and meat are loaded with protein, they also take longer to digest. Therefore, you are able to go longer in between snacks without feeling hunger or nausea returning.

A typical Bradley Diet Plan day would look something like this:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, bacon, toast with peanut butter, milk

Snack: Orange or other citrus fruit

Lunch: Romaine lettuce salad with plenty of veggies, grilled chicken breast, baked potato, milk

Snack: Toast or bagel with cottage cheese and an apple

Dinner: Pasta/meat meal such as spaghetti and milk

My favorite aspect of this diet plan is obvious: it allows me a substantial amount of food. I never feel hungry and I get to eat my favorite foods, cheese and peanut butter, regularly. Following a rich diet plan also carries the added benefit of reducing cravings for sweet, "filler" foods such as candy and empty starches.

You may ask, "Don't you gain too much weight on this 'diet'?" It's true that you will gain weight following the Bradley Diet Plan. However, weight gain is not your enemy during pregnancy. Gaining weight via healthy fats and rich, nutritious foods is the way pregnancy weight gain should be accomplished. Unhealthy weight gain is that which is caused by consuming fast foods and soft drinks.

If you are interested in downloading a copy of the Bradley Diet Plan, follow this link.