Important for Pregnant Mommies

at 9:31 AM

OK, listen up expecting mommies... this post is just for you.  Here are some suggestions and words of experience from my own two pregnancies for those of you who are expecting.  When I was pregnant with my son who is now 10 I had been running before I  got pregnant and so I continued, although with caution, with my running.  The first trimester I pretty much did the same distances I had done pre-pregnancy and then in the second and third trimesters, I decreased my mileage as I got bigger and needed to go to the bathroom every mile or so.  I also didn't lift as heavy as I had been before I got pregnant.  I exercised all they until two days before I gave birth.  I had a C-section and so I really couldn't do much until a few weeks later.  But I vividly remember that I was still on maternity leave when I started back into running.  The exercise and my healthy eating habits also helped me in producing a lot (and I mean a lot) of milk for my baby.  Our freezer was chock full of frozen milk!   During my second pregnancy due to a previous injury I had had unrelated to running, I had taken up the elliptical for cardiovascular exercise.  So I was doing the elliptical trainer 6-7 days a week with some weight lifting.  I was on the elliptical trainer the day before I gave birth to my daughter.   About 4 weeks later, I was back at the gym.  Don't do this...but I also water skied on two skis (no slaloming during pregnancy) when I was 5 months pregnant.

Bottom line: Please check with your doctor first.  But you can continue to, and in fact should, barring any serious medical conditions,  do anything you were doing before pregnancy.  Just listen to your body and make sure two things are in check: 1. You heart rate doesn't go up too much. 2.  You don't get too hot because the developing fetus has no way of cooling itself.

The Second thing I was very aware of during my first and second pregnancy was that it's a myth to be eating for two!!  During the first few weeks, the developing embryo is a bunch of cells.  And how can a bunch of cells require a whole second peanut butter sandwich?  Just be in tune with your body and don't overeat.  All that gained weight is incredibly difficult to take off once the baby is here.  In fact, the heavier you are before pregnancy the less weight you should gain when you get pregnant.

Bottom line: Don't go by the myth, 'you have to eat for two'.  Otherwise you will be setting yourself up for a lot of unnecessary weight gain.

A few years ago, one of the moms I knew at the gym I used to go to, told me that her pregnancy was a great excuse for her to eat whatever she wanted.  She ended up gaining 75 pounds.  She is still heavy, 6 years later.

Medical research suggests that fit moms give birth to healthier babies and those babies grow up to be healthier adults.  So be sensible with what you eat... plenty of veggies and fruit and high quality protein.  And go easy on the junk food.  And be active and stay active.