QuestionHi! I just found out I'm pregnant - about 6-7 weeks along, and before I heard the news I went tanning at a tanning bed a few times around weeks 3-5. I also took up a new very vigorous fitness routine and a low calorie diet. Will the tanning effect my baby? Will the low calorie diet and new fitness regime before I found it effect my baby too?
AnswerUsing a tanning bed a few times should not have a negative effect on your pregnancy.
Rigorous exercise should be OK as long as you do not go to the point of breathlessness.
But a low calorie diet is not healthy during pregnancy. Neither is a high calorie diet. You want to eat the highest quality diet, in the right amount, every day during pregnancy. Generally, during the first trimester, women should not go below 1,600 calories, and then not go below 1,800 calories in the second and third trimesters.
On days that you workout, you need to eat more.
The numbers above are base-line. Petite women need less calories than average sized women, and tall women need more than average sized. Consult a registered nutritionist to get advice on what the ideal amount of calories for your body and this pregnancy.
