With pregnancy comes many choices regarding your lifestyle and health. (These, of course, are between you and your doctor—and as long as your health care practitioner thinks you and the baby are healthy, that’s all that matters.) But a big part of this is diet: As there are many challenges with conducting studies on pregnant women, the research regarding what diet is best limited. However, the scientific consensus is that if you are otherwise healthy, sticking to a nutritious vegan diet is fine1. Eating a plant-based diet helped me manage my health issues and led me to discover what a “high-energy” life is really all about. With this beautiful level of vibrancy available to me, I got into fitness, and I started running. Eventually, I even signed up for endurance races, completed a full marathon (that’s someone who couldn’t even get out of bed a few years back due to severe chronic fatigue). I was the fittest and healthiest I had ever been in my life and my body radiated well-being. And then I was lucky enough to conceive naturally. Here’s how my vegan pregnancy progressed trimester by trimester. The thing was I couldn’t understand why I was experiencing such weird changes to my appetite all of a sudden. My favorite green banana smoothies that I enjoyed for my lunches for so long didn’t attract me anymore. I had a hard time eating any greens, and salads lost their appeal. As a certified holistic nutritionist myself, I know and I teach my clients about the importance of eating sufficient amounts of greens, yet I couldn’t eat them! On some days all I felt like eating were cherries and oranges, and I just couldn’t get anything else into me. But then again, I’m an athlete…how could I get enough calories from such low-calorie fruit? I started having cravings for steamed veggies, like cauliflower and sweet potatoes. Again, that was strange to me because I had loved eating mostly raw fruits and veggies for years without cravings. I also started desiring and eating some nuts and seeds, which I never did well on before getting pregnant. Apart from the need for afternoon naps, feeling more tired, and the sudden appetite changes, I had no morning sickness at all, which is incredible considering how many women suffer with it when pregnant. And luckily, my appetite returned, and I started eating lots of healthy food! I enjoyed greens once again, and I was plenty of greens, salads, and healthy fats. I added some lightly cooked veggies a couple of times per week and when I craved it a lot, some rice noodles. I also started to crave avocados—eating them daily made me feel really strong in my body. Actually, my appetite was so incredible that my husband would frequently find me in the kitchen at midnight eating tomatoes, avocados, or other fruits. The kitchen was my favorite place in the house. Although my physical exercise wasn’t as intense as it had been before I got pregnant, my body had gotten used to moving for many hours every day, so I continued with running, cycling, weights, swimming, and walking. I was gaining a healthy amount of weight, but not too much. My diet remained the same as it was during my second trimester—fruits, greens, big salads, healthy fats, and steamed veggies. My favorite salad was chopped lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and lots of steamed kale with tahini-chia-celery-sun-dried-tomato dressing. I went into labor at around 41 weeks of pregnancy and gave birth naturally to our healthy 7½-pound baby daughter. She was born with her eyes wide open, looked a healthy pink, and was very active from the get-go. I couldn’t have been happier. She travels the world sharing the message of long-term, sustainable health. You can connect with her through the videos, articles and coaching programs she makes available to those who want to be in their best shape ever. Get started on your path to rawsome health with Yulia’s FREE 5-Day Raw Food Reset Menu Plan.
