weightloss wednesday: what to do when you're pregnant

this is a toss up between a weightloss wednesday and a reader's request- someone [who is on my favorites on my phone] i love is pregnant and requested some ideas for exercising during pregnancy.

i do not endorse break dancing
while pregnant

funny story: after college i interviewed almost everywhere including a in-house fitness center inside a large corporation. one of the questions asked during my interview was how to adapt certain exercises for pregnant ladies. i drew a complete blank! we briefly went over it in my undergrad and i just could not think of a single thing. needless to say, i did not get that job. school is for fools, people.

now a quick disclaimer, i'm no personal trainer but here are some things i know from my schooling & personal experience. now the time to lose weight is not when you're pregnant. granted, i've heard of someone actually losing weight during pregnancy but that's because they were obese before. even in a best case circumstances for the obese, you should gain at MINIMUM 10-15lbs. granted, i gained like 35. my midwife would always tell me when i would obsess over it, "your body is going to gain whatever it wants to. just accept it". the best advice for pregnant and non-pregnant people is be in shape before you conceive. because you shouldn't hard core stuff when you get knocked up. that being said, if you were active before, you can keep everything almost the same.

when you're pregnant, you need to do more lower impact activities and not push yourself too far. think swimming, the gazelle, walking, cycling, etc. stay away from things that could harm the belly [no rock climbing or dodgeball] and jogging is okay sometimes as long as you are comfortable. be sure to keep balanced, breathe, and hydrate! and also be sure not to lay flat on your back for prolonged periods of time. usually i'd place a pillow or two under my back for mat work.

during your first trimester you are so sick, some of the best ways to exercise i found was to go on long walks or pop in a dvd for 20 minutes [i talked about my favorite pregnancy dvds here]. honestly, when it comes to exercising the first trimester, if you do anything  i think you're good. i suggest you chug TONS of water, all day, and eat a banana and some saltines before you get up out of bed. now it may sound counterintuitive, but exercising will give you more energy. i promise! try doing something you love so it's not a chore. like zumba, who doesn't love zumba? or sit on a bike and read. doing anything will make you feel better. trust me. and if you lay around all day eating saltines and sipping sprint? oh well.

sexyyyy
need to remember this for next time

second trimester is where it's at- those nice sex dreams, the energy to have said-sex and the weight gain that makes sex oh so hot. really, this is where it's at people. and this is when you need to keep it in gear. the rule of thumb is to exercise what you did before. so run if you feel like it- and take a break when you think you're done. the problem i find here is that your mettle has gone to the pits [that's a post for another day- mettle]. i found myself not being as mentally tough as i was before i was pregnant, so i would do less because i thought i couldn't handle it. do NOT give into this! you can do it! just make sure you take your time to warm up, go slowly and then do a proper cool down. it's important never to push yourself too hard because it could deprive the baby of oxygen. if you want some specific moves, check out this link.

your last trimester you see the light and want to waddle towards it head first. at this point you want to keep the baby healthy and help induce labor. so walk. walk walk walk. then go walk some more and hope that gets your bits to open. you're going to gain the most weight here which is disappointing but it doesn't have to be a lot. at this point you prob can't run anymore so focus on keeping your muscles strong [think low weight, high reps] and eat small, frequent meals. try some yoga to stretch out your body [but remember, you're a lot more bobcat pretzely now so go slow and not too far]. go jump in the pool and do some water aerobics- it'll make you feel wonderful to be weightless.


*and as always, make sure you do your kegals to keep your lady bits nice and tight*