Health Beauty & FitnessHealth, Beauty, Fitness Tips

All of a sudden, you’re feeling better. Gone are the days of nausea and vomiting. Energy levels are rising and even sexual drive is returning. Emotionally speaking, you feel them normalizing, stabilizing. You feel so much better. Ahoy! Welcome to your second trimester.

Did you know that by the start of second trimester, around week 14, your baby is already learning to to smile and to frown?

Also, by Week 14, you might want to increase your fiber and water intake. The rapid growing of your baby may cause an increased pressure in your abdomen that could lead to constipation. You might also want to move to loose-fitting clothes, as moving might become tricky with your old clothes.

Sailing unto the 15th week, look out for possible signs of carrying multiples. 2% of pregnant women carry twins, triplets or more! See if your belly is larger than it should be, or if you’re putting on weight faster than other expectant mothers. And when you go to your care provider, check if your fundus is already halfway to your belly button.

Most mothers feel baby movements by the 22nd -24th week, but if you’re lucky, you can feel it even at the start of your second trimester. It’d be best to start asking your care provider for tests to determine if your baby has any genetic defects to look out for.

If you’re feeling sore in your belly area or your lower back, this is probably due to all that stretching your ligaments are going through. To ease some of the pain, try rocking your pelvis or stretching your back. And don’t forget your Kegel exercises!

Did you know that when your physician puts you under the Doppler, your baby is undergoing auditory stress akin to a person standing near a helicopter that’s taking off?

This is because by this time, your baby’s hearing is already developed. Also, notice that with your every visit to the doctor, he checks your urine for proteins and sugars? That’s because pregnant women are prone to gestational diabetes. It’s a condition wherein even though the body produces enough insulin, it fails to utilize it due to interferences within the hormone system brought on by the pregnancy.

Gestational diabetes can be the cause why you feel faint when you suddenly stand up. But you need to check on your iron intake too, because anemia can also cause hypotension.

And no, you’re not mistaken. Your feet really are getting bigger. The ligaments all around the body loosen up due to the excess weight and this causes your feet to puff up. I’m sorry ladies, but most of the time, it’s permanent. Also, try not to stand for long stretches of time. It might cause your legs to swell.

Did you know that by the end of the second trimester, your baby can recognize you voice?

It is highly recommended by doctors to talk to your baby. Do it as often as you want, since babies are actually comforted by the sound of your heartbeat and your voice. You could also try exposing the baby to music and find out what genre he/she likes.

Having difficulty in breathing? Don’t fret. This is your enlarged tummy squashing your other organs. Try slow but deep breaths. Don’t let small things bother you, as this will just pile up your anxiety and worries and contribute to your struggle.

Again, try to take up more fiber and water. With this you can avoid dry and itchy skin, dry eyes and hemorrhoids. If you spot swollen ankles, you’re okay. But if you see your face or fingers swelling up, this could be a symptom of preeclampsia. If your swelling doesn’t go away even after rest, see your doctor immediately.

Did you know that the slight increase in your blood pressure gives you that rosy skin and radiant look?

That’s why expectant mothers are said to be getting more beautiful and glowing. All that hydration with water and moisturizers also help in giving you that softer and silkier skin.

Finally, as you approach the end of second trimester, you might want to take note of the signs of premature labor. They are:

* Continuous or sporadic cramps that vaguely resembles that of your menstrual cycles

* Continuous or sporadic dull pain in your lower back

* Discernible uterine contractions

* A decrease in your pelvic pressure.

Always remember to maintain your healthy diet, do some gentle exercises and take care of yourself and your baby.

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Many people consider fasting in order to lose weight. Fasting involves eating no little or no food for an extended period of time, and drinking only water or juice during that time, depending on the specific regimen.

Fasting is popular because it detoxifies the body to some degree. But can it really help you lose weight as well? The answer is yes, to a degree, you will probably lose weight during a fast. However, for several other reasons, fasting is not necessarily the most effective weight loss tool.

First, the weight you lose while fasting tends to come back after the fast. You’re usually hungry after a fast, so what do you do? You eat a lot. I think you know where all those calories are going to go. Second, even though most fasting programs encourage you to drink a lot of water, much of the weight you lose during a fast is still water weight. Remember that you ingest a lot of water as part of the food you eat every day (for instance, apples are around 80% water by volume). If you’re not eating the foods you usually eat, it’s hard to figure out exactly how much water intake you’re missing. Water weight, of course, also returns when your fast ends.

Fasters do have the right idea in that they are aiming to manipulate their metabolism and calorie intake. But a more moderated approach is more effective. A dieting technique called calorie cycling rotates between light eating and heavier eating in order to modify the metabolism more gradually and results in much longer-lasting and more effective weight loss than fasting. Calorie cycling may be employed through the popular diet plan FatLoss4Idiots, which generates custom meal plans based on the foods you like best, and increases your metabolism so that your body burns more fat every day. (It’s a heck of a lot easier to stick with than a fast, too!)

Nutrition program can be defined as a process of taking in or consuming healthy and growth supporting food. With the changing lifestyle in urban areas every other person is surrounded with junk food or fast food temptation, but none of those unfit food stuff works the way a balanced diet does.

A good or balanced nutrition for healthy living is a benefit for every age type, especially for those spending hours in gym or other physical activities. It is a well known fact that nutritional diet intake is full of benefits for every category of people and supports growth in teenagers and kids, while helping in maintaining healthy and fit body in adults.

Before going to nutrition filled food and the important things in a nutrition program, you need to understand that nutrition does not only mean having lots of protein through the day or throwing calories away from your life or to skip a meal or to eat less. Nutrition or nutrition program is a process where a complete combination of all the nutrients should be present in day to day diet i.e. you can not just skip carbohydrates or fat from your food intake.

Mostly people involved in workouts tend to suffer from weakness and late post-workout recovery due to incomplete nutrition intake. You may be having protein supplements, but your body will still be lacking in nutrition for the absence of other vital ingredients of a perfect nutrition program. A human body needs a well balanced combination of the three main ingredients of a nutrition program .i.e. protein, carbohydrate and fat. Along with these three main components, a nutrition program also consists of vitamins, minerals and adequate amount of water intake.

A good nutrition program consist of vital steps or things to be taken care of, as it helps to ensure that the body is getting complete nutrition and does not lacks in any of the key ingredient. But, there are also things not to be done to balance and succeed in your nutritional intake. These ‘not to do’ things say – do not begin a nutrition program without a physical activity like exercising or cycling or brisk walking, do not skip your meals (breakfast or lunch or dinner), do not depend only on supplements and substitutes for losing weight or gaining muscle strength and do not skip or minus any of the three main ingredients mentioned.

Another big mistake people tend to make in the name of nutrition intake or nutritious diet is by eating less or staying on fast through the day (with nothing but fruits intake). Often, eating less or nothing works towards slowing down or destroying the metabolism of a body.

Some of the most important things in a complete nutrition program are small but 5-6 meals per day, little bit of everything, management of calories to a level or intake of good fat, lost of water intake through a day, addition of fiber rich food and inclusion of vegetables and fruits in daily intake.

Experts believe that for a good healthy and nutritional intake one need to eat more than 3 meals per day. These meals should be 5 to 6 in number and less in quantity; also these small meals should consist of a balanced ratio of all the vital ingredients. This step of a nutrition programs helps to put an end to extra hunger or need for food and puts an end to starvation, also this helps to boost up the body metabolism and supports digestion system too. Next step comes as a balanced ratio of all the ingredients or little bit of everything i.e. to manage your 5-6 meals with lots of protein, required amount of carbohydrates, 20 to 25 % of fat per day and desired amount of vitamins and minerals.

People in general are always afraid of fat intake and tend to shift towards fat free or low fat food products, but truth is that fat has its own vital role in a nutrition diet. Fat is required for providing energy, stamina and oil to the bones, muscles, tissues and cells in the body. Fat intake to a desired level (specially the essential fat or the good fat) is compulsory for not just those indulged in muscle building, but is also equally important for rowing children and ageing adults for lubrication of joints. There are three types of fats present in food, such as saturate fat, polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. Out of these three types, monounsaturated fats are the essential and good fats required by a body for growth, strong joints and bones, building of stamina and for maintaining a decent level of cholesterol in the body. It also is said to have good ‘antioxidant’ characteristics. Olive oil, canola oil and fish oil are some of the sources of monounsaturated fats; also this type of fat is present in both kinds of products (plant and animal).

Objective of a nutritious diet is not just to provide health and growth to a body, but to maintain its vital function like metabolism and digestion. Adequate intake of water in a day works towards helping the body in performing these functions successfully. Water does not just prevent a body from dehydrating, but also act as a cleanser for body toxins. Water is needed in a body to support the breakdown of valuable ingredients within the body.

Lastly, a balanced or perfect nutrition program can never exit without the intake of right amount of valuable fiber rich products like fruits and vegetables. To maintain a fiber level within a body is important enough to not to be ignored. You can always eat lots of salad or fruits between your main meals to fill your body with vital fibers required for performing digestive functions and to maintain the nutrition level of the body. Some of the source for fiber rich fruits and vegetables are: apples, pears, oranges, grapefruits, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, carrots, mushrooms and green beans.

Thus, a good nutritional diet program is essential to make your body perform its vital functions with an ease.

Copyright (c) 2008 Jason Szova