Ask anyone I know and they’ll tell you that I’ve ALWAYS been on some kind of diet. But, all that changed when I learned that I was pregnant. Having struggled with my weight for most of my adolescent and adult life, I decided that it was time for a change. According to my BMI, I was in the obese category with a family history of diabetes. The place I worked at then also played a major role in changing my lifestyle. It was a research center focusing on diabetes, maternal nutrition & its influence on fetal growth. So, with the support of my colleagues & a lot of will power I started my journey towards a healthier future not only for me but for my unborn child.
In India, when you are pregnant and later breastfeeding, there are a lot of old wives tales around food that are “allowed” or you have to “overeat”, and mostly they focus on eating carb-rich meals. With the help of proper guidance, I broke the norm (at least for my family!) and changed the way they looked at certain foods. It was just a matter of cutting out/lowering the carb and sugar content of those dishes & making it nutritious, the way it is supposed to be.
I was able to maintain a healthy weight throughout my pregnancy, come back to less than my prepregnancy weight and also give birth to a healthy baby girl (with a birth weight within the normal range). But my journey had only just begun. A year and a half after my daughter was born, I decided to go back to work. I worked from home initially which allowed me the flexibility to develop a cooking strategy that was efficient and simple: You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces, just good food using fresh ingredients. Now, I preplan all our meals. Most of my meals are well-balanced; I try to maintain a low carb intake throughout the day and try to consume more protein and fiber. I have many “off” days, but I try my best to stay on track.
Daily, I work hard to maintain a good and healthy relationship with food for both, me and my daughter. I don’t know what the future holds but for now, we share our sprouts, she loves her veggies, and most of the time she finishes my salads when I cannot!
–Fatema Rajgara