“Nick, you’re going to be an uncle! What can we do during pregnancy to give our baby a strong start to life?” I sat back and pondered🤔… ultimately there’s three things that affect an unborn baby’s development that you can influence: your nutrition, your activity levels and your state of mind.
Nutrition What you eat is how you nourish your baby. With regards to cravings it’s long been speculated that what you crave during pregnancy 🤰🏾 is the baby signaling a deficiency. Craving oranges 🍊 or particular fruits? That’s likely because your baby needs more vitamin C and other micronutrients so indulge your cravings. I can’t speak on women that crave inexplicable things such as mud🤷🏾♂️😅 but maybe there’s something useful in the soil. Anyway, much of what you eat will probably be determined by what you crave so follow through on that and keep everything else simple. Make fruits and vegetables staples at every meal and avoid processed foods, sugar in excess (juice, biscuits, candy etc). Eat your regular protein such as fish, chicken, beef, nuts, milk, beans and note that fish is thought to aid brain development in babies so you might want to consider having more of that for protein and vary your sources for a comprehensive range of benefits, it can’t just be bream and kapenta daily. You should surprise your taste buds and indeed your baby with some salmon or mackerel every now and then. Ngati ufuna mwana wa nzelu ukazi kudya nsomba (if you want a smart kid eat more fish). Note that habits such as alcohol 🍷 and smoking 🚬 lend a heavy hand to birth defects your child might have so please don’t just reduce intake but cease intake completely. Remember to take the prenatal vitamins prescribed by your doctor to support your overall nutrition. 🗣 Other advice: husbands😐, wake up and source the things your pregnant wives crave and provide them as and when they desire to consume them. Ngati ni 22 hrs ni ku nyamuka chabe. Wives give your babies what they want when they want it. Activity level Pregnancy is not a disability so strive to stay active. Refrain from sleeping all day and only exercising when you’re walking to the bathroom. An inactive mother may produce a lazy child. Stay busy and you might harvest the next Kalusha Bwalya ⚽️. When it comes to exercise anything goes really, just don’t be overzealous and overdo it. 🗣 Advice: wives commit to gentle 30 minute walks daily as a bare minimum. You can additionally look to incorporate other low intensity exercise such as yoga or swimming 🏊♀️. All Lusaka based women should strongly consider signing up to Evolve Gym for all your exercise needs in a safe and comfortable women’s only gym environment. Husbands😐, massage your women’s swollen feet daily to provide some relief, mwana ni wo lema (a child is heavy). State of mind For your health and that of your baby, take care of yourself as much as you can. Protect your peace at all costs and avoid people and situations that place you in a dark space. A mother in a dark place risks adversely influencing her child’s mental health. You’re depressed? Your child might end up in the same boat. Always keep that in mind. 🗣 Advice: pray 🙏🏾 , meditate 🧘🏾♀️ and journal 📔 ✍🏾 as often as you can to manage stress. Talk to someone and get help when you need it if you’re overwhelmed with life (stress, anxiety, depression etc). Evolve Gym Contact: 👩🏾💻 📸 : https://instagram.com/evolvezm 📧 : [email protected] 📞 : 0211252061 *****Supplementary reading
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Many of us have successfully applied for and been given the position of a grave digger with our choices of foods. Every time you shovel certain foods into your mouth you're digging yourself a grave. I’m hoping to help you process your resignation so let’s talk about a few areas of interest.
Processed foods Does it come in a package📦 with a nutrition label? It’s processed 😐. Eat foods with ingredients you can pronounce. Popular culprits are canned beans, canned protein, and canned fruit. The real problem with processed food is the high sugar content to make it palatable and high sodium to preserve it. Additionally, be wary of excessively consuming baked goods..cakes and doughnuts on birthdays can set you up for problems over time and it won’t be long before you become a human doughnut yourself or shaped like a wedding cake. Fix: Your mbuya (grandmother) didn’t eat from plastics and cans. She went in the backyard, slaughtered her chicken and plucked her vegetables. You’d be wise to do the same. Cakes and other things were for special occasions, not a regular fixture on the menu. Adapt yourself. Sugar The road to diabetes (and other things) is paved with sugar. Change direction before you arrive at an unintended destination. Sugar is commonly found and often hidden in soda, biscuits, breakfast cereal, ketchup/sauce & other condiments, and ‘fruit juice’. If you love any of the items listed here you should know that they don’t love you, your teeth, your hips or your belly back. Note that fruit juice is the least healthy way to consume fruit. Fix: Tame your sweet tooth by incorporating real fruit when you feel the urge, shooting for sugar free or low sugar drink options and avoiding entering shops mungulu mungulu to avoid all the traps they set in there. Right at the counter is where you find all that sweet poison. Don’t try to fight temptation; avoid it entirely. Excessive consumption of food in general Eating more than you need is problematic for a whole host of reasons, chief among them is obesity. Portion control is of paramount importance so don’t eat until you’re full, eat to minimum satisfaction and stop🛑 ✋🏾.Despite what you might want to think about your big belly or behind 🍑 the truth is that it is not a sign of wealth and enhanced appeal. It indicates poor nutrition & impending health problems if you can't meet these health standards. Fix: Implement portion at all your meals by using your hand as a guide.
Pork life & Ms. Piggy🐖 🐷 🐽 All that bacon🥓 and polony can be detrimental to your health if you push your luck. Itchy butt? That’s likely worms inviting you to scratch. Gents, are you experiencing half-mast? Might be all that fat clogging your arteries and interfering with circulation. Fix: Refrain from consuming pork and if that’s not possible then moderate your intake of pork and ensure that you frequently deworm yourself. I personally do this monthly because I’m currently in a complicated relationship with Ms. Piggy. If you’re in the same entanglement then consider doing the same. Additional suggestions for retired grave diggers Fiber Fiber helps ensure that what goes in your mouth finds its way out the other end. Helps your body with waste management. Fix: Commit to consuming an apple (preferably green) a day and where possible munch down on kawawasha (tamarind) every chance you get. Both basic options will help move things along when paired with proper hydration outlined below. Hardcore poop chasers should additionally look into weetabix, muesli, various fruit and vegetables, mabisi (fermented milk) and psyllium husk options to help establish number 2 as your favorite number. Pooping at the same frequency as a baby should be your goal. Hydration Many of us don’t drink enough water to support optimal functionality. If you’re thirsty then you’re already dehydrated. The goal should be to consume fluids before you feel compelled to. A good target is 30-40mls per kilogram of body weight per day. Fix: Improve your water intake by tracking it. Download a water tracking app that reminds you to drink water and allows you to track your overall water intake. At the end of each day check if you’re within the general target range. Too much work? Then you can alternatively assess your urine color every time you head to the bathroom. The target is light yellow. Clear color = excessive hydration. Dark yellow color = insufficient hydration. Light-moderate yellow color = 👍🏾. Closing argument Eat food that rots. Keep these things outlined above out of your kitchen and out of your mouth. If for some reason you can’t resist the urge then eat in moderation. Find a balance in your nutrition, so have ice cream, chocolate, cake and all that other stuff but don’t let them be staples in your diet. ***Supplementary reading Sugar bombs 💣 Food labels 🏷 Men’s health 🦁 Health & Fitness Standards to Care About 🆗 Ma bubbles mu mala ♨️ Alcohol & fitness 🍻 |
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