Pregnancy & Fitness

Wow, I really need to update! A lot has happened in the two months since I last updated on this site. First of all, I have managed to maintain my current weight after (drum roll please!) almost 8 weeks of pregnancy. Yeah! I'm very happy about that.

Yet with the news of being pregnant, my fitness and nutritional goals have changed. Thankfully, I have a wonderful new OB who is very happy to help me get fit while carrying our treasured Baby #2. One of the first big things is my eating. With the guidance of my doctor, I am on a diabetic diet for the remainder of my pregnancy and postpartum days. It's based on calorie intake, but I don't have to do any counting. Praise the Lord! I hate counting - after 4 or 5 days of counting, I usually get tired of it and quit. So for my first trimester, I am eating 1,800 calories a day, and for my 2nd & 3rd trimester, I'll go up to 2,000 - 2,500. So I get three meals, a snack, and as many low glycemic veggies a day as I want. Oh, and lots of water. At least 64 ounces a day - 80 is preferred.

Instead of actually counting calories, I get "exchanges". For example, for breakfast, I get 1 fruit, 2 proteins, 2 breads, 1 milk, and then 1 cup of coffee. My biggest thing is just making sure I stay with in limits of serving sizes. It actually ends up to be quite a bit of food by the end of the day. Truth be told, I've actually had to make myself eat the past few days, but most of that is 1st trimester morning sickness.

As for exercise, I am working up to two 30 minute walks a day. The morning walk is the hardest for me; that is when the morning sickness is the worst and more than once, I've ended up throwing up on the side of the walking path. The evening walk I plan to start adding soon; I'm thinking the time right after Emily goes to bed is the best, when she doesn't want to come with me! Don't get me wrong, I love walking with her, but we end up stopping every step to pick up leaves and rocks and flowers. It's not very beneficial physically for me!

I'd also like start adding a bit of yoga in every week, too. I just pulled out my prenatal yoga DVD and need to start doing it, too. The only thing about doing so much walking is that I get stiff pretty quick, and I loved doing yoga when I was pregnant with Emily. So relaxing and such a stress reliever! But that is just getting the time during the day to do it... maybe during Emily's nap time after lunch? But it's hard in our living situation right now; we have people coming in and out for a week all the time (another reason I need massive stress relief), and I don't like doing yoga in front of others.

Well anywhoo, I think that is enough for one post! I'll try to post more on a weekly basis again. Adios and goodnight!