How did I stay fit during pregnancy?
Before having a child, my biggest fear related to pregnancy was around gaining a lot of weight and not being able to lose it after. When I did get pregnant with our daughter 3 years ago, though, I realized that there were much bigger things to worry about, such as having healthy pregnancy and delivering a healthy child. But still, I could never let go of those weight related fears while pregnant. I used to step on a scale every single morning and was thrilled if a saw the same number as the day before. I know it might sound very selfish, but I am sure I was not the only one feeling that way.
Throughout the pregnancy I gained 16 pounds and lost all of it within 7 days after delivering our daughter. How did I do that? I don't know how much of that I can attribute to genetics. But I am positive that all those years of exercising prior to pregnancy made my body stronger and more capable of bouncing back quickly. And of course it was important that I continued eating healthy and exercising regularly for all 9 months during the pregnancy.
Maintaining my regular routine at first
My eating habits didn't change much during pregnancy. I didn't have any unhealthy cravings and continued eating healthy whole foods and nutritious meals. I also can't complaint about the fact that in the first and early second trimester I could not stand anything sweet, which made it easy to stay away from sugar and desserts. To fight my sudden hunger spikes, which are pretty common during pregnancy, I made sure to always have some healthy snacks in my purse or in the office, such as green apples, almonds or cheese sticks (I was still eating dairy then.)
My exercising routine, however, had to evolve quite significantly over those 9 months to adjust for a growing belly and some pregnancy side effects. But nevertheless, I continued exercising up until the very last week of my pregnancy. In the first 4 month I was able to maintain my regular workout routine, which consisted of a mix of cardio, sculpting, yoga or Pilates, 4-5 times a week. Then, as my bump started showing up, I, of course, had to modify exercises requiring lying down on my stomach, but also lying flat on the back, which is not recommended during pregnancy. If you are not exercising with an instructor who can recommend the right modifications for you, there are plenty of YouTube videos that provide a plethora of alternatives. A lot of women are concerned with doing abs exercises, such as crunches, while pregnant. There are plenty of exercise videos online targeting core and abs area for pregnant women. However, if you are not sure or comfortable, it is always the best to consult with your doctor first. My doctor said to me that since I was very active and exercised regularly before, I can and should continue my regular routine as long as it feels comfortable and doesn't cause any pain. And that's what I did.
Listening to my body and learning modifications
It was around 5 months into my pregnancy when I started having issues with the piriformis muscle. It is the muscle located in the buttock area which spasms and causes severe pain. While it bothered me only occasionally when walking, it was quite unbearable when doing cardio exercises on the feet, such as running or jumping, or anything requiring lying flat on the floor. And that's when I started experimenting. I started taking more sculpting and barre classes. As I did not want to give up cardio completely, I tried a few other things and I found out that spinning didn't cause any pain at all. So I added a weekly spinning class to my routine.
Then one day my friend suggested trying swimming as it was supposedly very good for spine, a great cardio workout and had less pressure on the lower body from the body weight, which is especially helpful during pregnancy. I never liked swimming in the pool as I was a terrible swimmer and was out of breath in 2 minutes. But since my gym had a pool and my friend offered to be my pool buddy, I agreed. So we started swimming in the pool every Saturday morning for an hour. Sometimes we did it on our own and sometimes we joined an aqua bootcamp class offered by the gym. And slowly but surely I got hooked.
As my belly grew bigger, I started swimming even more. In the last two months of my pregnancy my weekly exercising routine consisted of two pool sessions (aqua bootcamp on Wednesdays and 1 hour of laps on my own on the weekend), one spin class and one barre class. If I had very limited time in the gym, I at least did a few rounds of exercises with weights or on the machines. From all body parts I was mainly concerned with how my stomach was going to look like after pregnancy. So I tried to do any possible abs, core and oblique exercises that felt safe for me. My favorites at that time included planks and side planks, side bends with dumbbells and side crunches on the machine.
As staying fit was very important to me, I remained active, ate healthy and exercised regularly until the last days of my pregnancy. I remember my swimming instructor joking that I might come home with a baby after that aqua bootcamp class I took just a few days before delivery. But it is important that every woman listens to her body, especially during pregnancy, and only does what feels right to her. While it is good to push yourself to your limits or beyond, your and your child's safety should always be your priority.
Summing it all up
If you have always been active before, pregnancy by itself doesn't mean that you should stop being active or doing physical activities that you really enjoy or that make you feel good. However, your exercise routine during pregnancy should be developed with extra care, modified as needed according to your health conditions, and consulted with your doctor. Unless you have some severe medical conditions preventing you from any physical activity, you'll be able to find your ways to stay active, even if it's leisurely walks in the park instead of a run or an exhausting fitness class. Listen to your body and fully enjoy that precious time of your life.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions expressed in this post are solely based on my own experiences and health conditions. All the materials here are provided for informational purposes only and may not apply to the reader; they are not intended and should not be interpreted as medical advice. If the reader or any other person has a medical concern, they should consult with an appropriate physician or a health care provider.
While I encourage interesting discussions and comments for this post, I will not provide any medical advice in response to comments or emails.