Books on how to handle pregnancy are aplenty, but when a bureaucrat comes out with one, it arouses more interest and curiosity. In her debut book, Grow Your Baby Not Your Weight, 2010-batch IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal provides important tips on how it’s possible to be pregnant with minimal weight gain while maximizing the nutrition.
A mother of two herself, she makes use of her own experiences of handling pregnancy and motherhood to provide valuable advises on how to remain fit during this period. And she does it in her inimitable style, tackling the different phases of pregnancy and the problems that crop up with it. She also advises on how not to let motherhood affect ones’ career.
In conversation with Indian Masterminds, she shares her book-writing journey and reveals how she strikes a balance between career and motherhood.
GROW YOUR BABY, NOT YOUR WEIGHT
Ms. Nagpal is inspiring both mothers and aspiring mothers with her outlook towards life and health. She has proved that it is possible to be fit and focused on work after having children. In her debut book, Grow Your Baby Not Your Weight, she explains how it is possible to control your weight during pregnancy by being mindful towards the changes in the body, by sharing her own journey of motherhood. The book is already out on Amazon and getting rave reviews from eminent personalities. It has received shout-outs from celebrities like Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty and Hema Malini.
PREGNANCY ISN’T THE END BUT THE BEGINNING OF FITNESS
The mother of two proves that it is possible to be pregnant with minimal weight gain while maximizing the nutrition. The process has been well explained in her book. Talking about it, she said, “People believe that pregnancy comes with lot of weight gain which is impossible to shed even after delivering a child. One is told to eat double and, hence, face the consequences. However, in my experience, you need to give proper nutrition to the child, and that doesn’t mean to eat extra but to eat well.”
She further says that during the pregnancy period the mother no doubt has a lot of cravings and to control them, what one can do is just replace those food items with healthy ones. He also stresses on the importance of keeping the body moving by doing some sort of activities during the pregnancy period. Being active and fit will also help in having a normal delivery.
MAINTAINING NORMALCY
Ms. Nagpal also says that in rural and remote areas most women have normal delivery in comparison to cities and towns because of eating fresh and healthy food and being active till delivery day. Except for any medical condition, she doesn’t see any reason why a woman cannot have a perfect pregnancy and a normal delivery.
In the book, she explains what she ate, what kind of exercises she did, and how she controlled her fatigue and nausea and kept away the stretch marks. She gives special thanks to her mother who was an important part of this whole journey, giving valuable advises on a healthy diet and other activities to enjoy the pregnancy period. Durga Shakti not only talks about making your body stronger but also making it emotionally stronger and heightening your mental energy levels.
Ms. Nagpal emphasises that the women’s body is perfectly designed to bear a child and bring them into this world. So, the pregnancy can also be perfect without any post-delivery complications.
TAKING TIME OUT FOR FITNESS
Ms. Nagpal’s youngest child is just three months old, yet she has already joined her work. It was during her second pregnancy that she started writing her book, while managing work and taking care of the elder child at the same time. Now, also, she manages to take time out for health and fitness while giving equal attention to career and the well-being of her children.
When asked how she manages to do it and what is the secret behind it, she smiled and replied, “Each and every thing is important in life. So, one should take out time for it. We just need to manage our time. There are days that bring frustration, but that isn’t an excuse to skip one thing or the other. I take out time for my fitness daily. On some days, I have to negotiate with myself for little or more time, but I do it somehow. It is easy to give rest to the body, but it is difficult to keep it active. It demands extra effort but why not ke bajaye : She says it demands extra effort but is million times worth it!”
