Over the years, visiting LANSERHOF, I learned how important healthy and balanced nutrition is. Not extreme, not complicated, but clean, fresh, simple food that gives the body what it needs. I learned about glucose spikes, hydration, minerals, inflammation, digestion, mental health and balance. And most importantly, I learned how much the body can recover when you finally give it the right conditions.

The Lanserhof philosophy also teaches you that regeneration is not only about food. It is about how you live. How you start your day. How you breathe. How much stress you carry. How much you sleep. How often you move. How much silence you allow. How connected you are to your body.

This time around I visited Lanserhof Lans in Austria (usually I go to Tegernsee or Sylt) for a very different reason: my first pregnancy, which I couldn’t be more excited about. Yet: in the first trimester of my current pregnancy, I suffered from nausea and insomnia (as many women do). So naturally I called the team at Lanserhof, and they created a custom pregnancy well-being program (which they don’t regularly offer). To rebalance my body, help with my nausea, calm my nervous system and just make me feel good again. Something I will never forget and be forever grateful for.

The visit, started – as always – with a consultation by a doctor. My amazing doctor was Dr. Katharina Sandtner, the Medical Director of Lanserhof Lans, who created this special calories and nutrients-rich meal plan and wellness program with me – and for me.

 

6 days of 200% clean nutritious foods, complete relaxation and the right treatments – and my nausea disappeared and never came back. Because I now know what to avoid during this special time, how to eat, how to relax and how to support my pregnancy correctly.

What I learned again this time is that during pregnancy the body needs even more support, but also even more simplicity. Not too much. Not too heavy. Not too late. Not too processed. Just clean food, calm surroundings, enough water (2l per day), enough rest and treatments that support the body instead of stressing it.

A few things that really helped my pregnancy nausea: 

• Supplements recommended for pregnancy and at least 2l filtered or mineral water per day. For optimal hydration. During pregnancy hydration is so important, especially when you feel nauseous, tired or swollen. I also learned to drink more between meals and not too much during meals, so digestion feels lighter
• Small and regular meals. This helped me so much. Not waiting until I was starving, because then the nausea became worse. Keeping blood sugar stable with enough protein, healthy fats and slow carbohydrates made a huge difference.

• Warm, simple and easy-to-digest foods. Soups, cooked vegetables, eggs, avocado, quinoa, rice, sweet potatoes, lentils, nuts, seeds, good quality protein and lots of mineral-rich foods. Nothing too heavy, nothing too complicated.
• Protein with every meal. This was one of the most important things for me. Especially in pregnancy, and especially when you feel tired or nauseous. Eggs, fish that is safe in pregnancy, chicken, lentils, beans, yoghurt if tolerated, nuts and seeds.
• Avoiding glucose spikes. Not eating fruit or sweet things alone, but combining them with protein or fat. For example apple with almond butter, berries with yoghurt, dates with nuts. Small details, but they change how you feel.
• Eating slowly and chewing properly. This sounds so basic, but it really changes digestion. At Lanserhof you learn that digestion starts in the mouth, not in the stomach. When you chew properly, the body works less hard and you feel full in a more natural way.
• Not eating too late. During pregnancy digestion is already slower, so eating too late or too heavy made me feel much worse. Earlier dinners, smaller portions and lighter food helped me sleep better.

 

• Starting the day gently. Not immediately with phone, emails and stress. First water, breathing, a slow breakfast, a little walk or stretch if possible. The nervous system remembers how you start the day.
• Avoiding processed food, refined sugar, too much caffeine, heavy meals, very cold foods when they don’t feel good, and anything that triggers nausea or reflux. During pregnancy the body tells you very clearly what works and what doesn’t.
• Rest before exhaustion. This is something I had to learn. Not waiting until the body crashes. Short breaks, lying down, breathing, closing the eyes, less screen time, less stimulation. Pregnancy is not the time to push through everything.
• Creating a calm evening routine. Light dinner, warm shower, no heavy conversations late at night, less phone, magnesium if recommended, stretching, breathing and sleep as early as possible. Sleep is not a luxury during pregnancy, it is treatment.
• Daily pregnancy massages, lymphatic drainages, face, head and neck massages. Did you know how much tension your jaw actually holds? I felt like so much stress was sitting in my face, neck and shoulders.
• Pregnancy yoga and breathing. Gentle, slow, nothing intense. Just movement that opens the body, supports circulation and calms the mind.
• Salt scrubs and hydrating treatments. The skin changes so much during pregnancy and needs extra care. Hydration from inside and outside.
• Gentle Kneipp foot baths for blood circulation. Very simple, but so effective. Especially when the legs feel heavy or tired.

• Daily swims. Best workout during pregnancy. Gentle on the joints, calming for the nervous system and amazing for circulation. Just make sure the water is warm enough, many poos are too cold for me during pregnancy.
• Walking after meals. Even 10 minutes can make digestion easier, help with blood sugar and clear the mind. One of the simplest habits and one of the most effective.
• Morning light. Getting daylight early in the day helps the body understand its rhythm, especially when sleep is difficult. So simple, but it helped me a lot.
• Less noise. Less unnecessary plans. Less saying yes. During pregnancy, your energy is precious. Protecting it is part of health.

• For the first trimester, what helped me most was rest, rest, rest. Eating what I could tolerate. Not leaving long gaps between meals. Keeping small snacks with me. Warm foods. Less smell, less stress, less pressure. And not feeling guilty for doing less.
• For the second trimester, it was about building strength again, but gently. Walking, swimming, pregnancy yoga, protein-rich meals, fibre, hydration, magnesium-rich foods and really listening to the body. This is also the time when you can create a good rhythm again, if the body allows it.
• For the third trimester, I would focus even more on smaller meals, more breaks, circulation support, stretching, breathing, lymphatic drainage, warm treatments if approved, and preparing the body and mind for birth in the calmest way possible.

My extra advice from this whole experience:

• Don’t wait until you feel completely depleted to change something.Don’t underestimate nausea. Sometimes it is not only hormones, but also blood sugar, stress, digestion, dehydration, lack of sleep or too much stimulation.
• Don’t eat perfectly. Eat intelligently. Especially in pregnancy. Sometimes the best food is simply the food your body accepts that day.
• Don’t compare your pregnancy to anyone else’s. Every body reacts differently.
• Don’t be afraid to slow down. Slowing down is not weakness. It is support.
• And don’t forget that the baby also feels the environment you create inside yourself. Food matters, but calm matters too.

What Lanserhof taught me over the years is that health is not one big thing. It is many small things that you repeat every day.

How you eat.
How you chew.
How you sleep.
How you breathe.
How much water you drink.
How much stress you carry.
How much you move.
How much you listen to your body.
How much you allow yourself to rest.

And pregnancy made me understand this even more.

The body knows so much more than we think. Sometimes we just have to stop, listen and support it properly.

 

Thank you LANSERHOF!