If you’ve never paid attention to what you eat, then now is the time to get started. Now, more than ever before, it is important to choose your foods wisely and eat and act responsibly. The last thing you’ll want to do is gain 75 pounds because you’re “eating for two” and spend the whole next year chowing down and becoming best friends with your  medical staff, rather than bonding with your baby.

Yes, pregnant women tend to overeat due to the misleading concept of “eating for two”. While technically you are eating for both yourself and your fetus, your growing baby does not need for you to eat more than 300 extra calories a day, which is not as much as you think it is. So instead of sitting down to two steak and potato dinners in one evening, stick with a single dinner and then a light snack of sliced apple, humus, and half of a whole wheat pita. Piling on ice cream, chips, and soda will not only make you gain too much weight during the next nine months, but will likely make you feel sick, especially knowing how common pregnancy heartburn can be.

Also, do you really want your baby’s first foods to be chocolate macadamia nut coconut frosted cake? You won’t exactly be sending your baby the right message about healthy living, will you?

Next: Drinking. According to some doctors, an occasional glass of wine in the second and third trimesters is totally fine. But anything more than that may be harmful to your baby. Look at these nine months as a time to detox from your regular drinking habits. Focus on preparing yourself for a life with baby—will you be drinking excessively once the baby is here? I hope not. Why not start cultivating good habits now.

Instead of alcohol, switch to drinking plain water, and lots of it. Your body needs to stay hydrated—it’s hard work growing a baby!
This article was written by Dr. Karen Benton, an OBGYN and nutritionist who specializes in pregnancy and weight loss.