Rethinking “Eating for Two”: A Realistic Approach to Pregnancy Nutrition
By Veronica Myers, Bloom Pediatrics Communications and Events Manager
As someone thinking about starting a family soon, there’s a lot to consider. When do I start taking prenatal vitamins? What nutrients actually matter?
Lately, I’ve noticed more and more conversations around preparing the body for pregnancy, through exercise, managing stress, and healthy eating. Maybe it’s just my algorithm, but if you’ve found yourself here, I’m guessing you might be seeing the same things show up in your feed too.
With so much information available, it can be hard to know what’s actually worth paying attention to, and what might just be adding to the noise.
That’s something Alissa Brecht, MS, RDN, CSO, understands well. A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and board-certified specialist in oncology nutrition, she’s also a mom of two with a deep focus on women’s health. Through her work at Everyday Living Nutrition, she supports clients across a wide range of areas, from chronic disease prevention to prenatal and postnatal nutrition, menopause, and building a healthier relationship with food.
“While women’s health has always been an area of interest for me, my first pregnancy really deepened that passion,” Alissa tells me. “I found myself asking some of these same questions and I realized that many women still struggle to find clear, reliable answers. This inspired me to want to help women feel more confident during this important stage of life.”
When it comes to nutrition during pregnancy, one of the biggest shifts she encourages is moving away from the idea of eating for two and instead thinking about it as nourishing for two.
“Instead of focusing on strict numbers or perfect eating, I encourage clients to think about how they can add nourishment to what they’re already eating, such as including a protein source at meals, adding healthy fats, or incorporating more iron- and folate-rich foods,” says Alissa.
She explains that nutrients like protein, iron, and folate play a critical role in supporting your baby’s growth, including brain and bone development, while also supporting your own health throughout pregnancy. While calorie needs do increase, she says it’s less about eating more, and more about making each meal more nutrient-dense.
“This simple shift can make nutrition feel more manageable and meaningful during pregnancy,” she adds.
Alongside a nutrient-rich diet, prenatal vitamins play an important role in helping to fill common nutrient gaps. But as Alissa explains, they’re meant to support a well-balanced diet, not replace it. And not all prenatal vitamins are created equally.
“For example, choline is an essential nutrient that plays a critical role in a baby’s brain and spinal cord development, as well as placenta function. Despite its importance, many prenatal vitamins contain very little choline or none at all. This means pregnant individuals often need to be intentional about getting enough through food sources, like eggs, or consider additional supplementation if needed,” she says.
This can often be surprising to new moms, especially given how often we see prenatal vitamins being marketed as a complete solution.
“This is why I always emphasize that while a prenatal vitamin is a great foundation, overall nutrition during pregnancy still matters just as much,” she says.
Even with that understanding, it’s easy to feel pressure to get everything right. As a working mom herself, Alissa is quick to acknowledge that feeling.
“One concept I often come back to with clients is consistency over perfection,” she says. “The reality is that no one eats perfectly all the time. Even as a dietitian, I certainly don’t, and that’s okay. What matters most is the overall pattern of your habits, not any single meal or day.”
For me, this idea of building small, consistent habits over time makes nutrition feel more realistic and approachable, rather than just one more thing to get right.
In her Nutrition During Pregnancy workshop at Bloom U, Alissa expands on these ideas in a more in-depth and personalized way, covering what nutrients matter most, how to choose the right prenatal supplements, which foods to be mindful of during pregnancy, and how to build simple, balanced meals that support both you and your baby.
The workshop offers a deeper dive into creating a practical, sustainable approach to nutrition during pregnancy, along with the opportunity to ask questions and receive personalized support.
To work with Alissa one-on-one, visit her practice, Everyday Living Nutrition.
Veronica Myers, Communications and Events Manager