Staying active - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[andaluza]

I ended up deciding to use the Strong Yoga 4 Pregnancy because the seller said that it was the only edition. I liked it. What I really liked about the fertility one was that it was outside and you could hear the birds chirping, but this one is inside. There are 3 different levels simultaneously and I was comfortable with all the poses. The video is actually pretty long, so it allows you to skip sections and still do a variety of yoga. 

I've enjoyed Shiva Rea's videos in the past and noticed that she has a prenatal yoga video, too which I may check out. Anyone familiar with it? Let me know how you like the gaiam video, IntuitiveJamie.

[IntuitiveJamie]

I loved it with both my other pregnancies. It also has the three trimester modified positions. I was comfortable with the poses each trimester and had a greater sense of overall well being after doing the video. I definitely yoga (especially hip openers) help with birth. I'm big, big believer in it actually.

[sallyrae17]

I have the Shiva Rea video and it's not bad. I mean, I prefer going to a yoga class, but it's pretty good for a video. It has modified poses for the 2nd and 3rd trimester, which is good. 

[LilyTiger]

Hello everyone!  I just found this forum.  I'm so excited.  This is my first pregnancy, and I must admit the fatigue hit me like a bus.  I'm trying to stay active since I put on weight really easily and it does not come off easily.  I'm already a little overweight, but muscular and in pretty decent shape.  I've been doing kettlebell workouts and some spinning, but I find it really hard to balance working out and eating during pregnancy.  If I don't eat for too long, I start to feel disgusting and tired and weird-taste-in-mouth-y.  But if I work out too soon after eating, I get side-cramps and I can't work out as hard.  So, I've been trying to squeeze them in whenever I can.

For those of you who are struggling with fitting in workouts, there are a lot of great websites with body weight workouts, and studies have shown that breaking up workouts into 5 or 10 minute pieces is pretty much as effective as longer workouts.  I've found that even a quick 5 minute workout makes me feel better and takes away a little of the gross feeling.  Any other tips from women who have done this before? 

[Lizbiz]

ainh and Intuitive Jamie,  I do the same thing in my first trimester - eat too much at each sitting because I'm sick and feel like I *have* to eat that much NOW or I will DIE! :)

It has caused me to gain more weight than is probably necessary in the first trimester with both of my pregnancies... I'm going to try to keep that in check this time around. :)

[IntuitiveJamie]

Movement actually seems to make me feel better. Twice now, when I wasn't feeling great; a bit queasy and very unmotivated, I pushed myself to go outside in the cool weather and do some hooping. Both times I felt immensely better. Queasiness went away and I ended up with more energy.  I'm going to keep that in mind for sure!

[Ninetales]

I may bust out one of my prenatal dvds tomorrow.  I have a couple but it was hard to find something I liked.

[Geigerin]

Hi! I'd like to join this group. :) I'm a low-impact, long duration person. I walk, hike, or swim very slowly for about an hour 5 days a week, so I think it'll be manageable. And my toddler lives for our walks, so she'll keep me motivated. I gained 60 lbs in my last pregnancy and am still 10 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight with her (I'm overweight). 

Im a VBAC (homebirth transfer) mom anyway, so it's very important to me to minimize any other risk factors. Also, no TV, so I'll try the Hulu work outs on my iPhone. Great suggestion!

[LilyTiger]

I managed a 30 minute spinning workout and 20 minutes of weights today, which is like a Christmas miracle.  I had to change my workout routine around quite a bit, since I usually workout on an empty stomach and/or at random times of the day.  That is certainly not happening, so I have cereal as soon as I get up and then it's a race to get changed and onto the bike before the horrible empty pit feeling starts up. 

I feel so much better when I workout, but my morning sickness is definitely in force this week, so it's a bit of a struggle.  What are other strategies you preggos have found?

[BaileyB]

Thanks for starting this. I was just about to start an exercise thread. I have gained 5 lbs (of probably pure egg mcmuffins) already and I am only at 4.5 weeks. This pregnancy is already reminding me of my first pregnancy with the early hunger, and low early belly. I was too sick with #1 and ate like crap and did absolutely 0 moving. I think it def. contributed to my bad out come of that birth and did mind mental state no good AT ALL! I felt better with #2 but was pregnant most of winter and since we live in rural MN I did not exercise much. I did exercise a good amount after DD was born since we had a jogging stroller and I felt fluffy after 2 back to back pregnancies but haven't done much lately. Anyway, I joined a water aerobics class today that starts Jan 2. I am super excited! I have rheumatoid arthritis in my knees and they get really full of fluid and have to be drained and get cortisone shots and I am sure pregnancy weight does nothing to help them. Also, since I am UPing I have been taking my own BP and pulse at home. My RESTING pulse is around 100....that is really high for me! My FIL resting heart rate is like 40-50, and he is 51!! That's when I knew it was time to do something. I am 25 but I def. don't feel like a spring chicken anymore. I would love to do some sort of yoga but we have limited indoor space at home so I don't think it would be the best choice for me. I have a kettle bell video I did postpartum but with bad knees there are very few moves I can actually do. I have been loosely following the blood type diet which, for me, means more grains, more small meals, less protein, and I think high quality, longer, less quantity workouts. This works well for me except that DD and DH eat the opposite and are very active all day so it is sometimes hard to balance meal time, especially supper. Supper is usually when I get my protein in and then I snack on more grains and carb and vegetarian style meals during the day. I have def. been craving more red meat lately, though. Poultry, and eggs - when I have to cook them, gross me out. Something about the seeing the runny egg whites. Bleh! Just thinking about it makes me gag. Lastnite, on the way to get pizza () I got an eggnog taste in my mouth and the thought of drinking eggnog was making me gag, too.

Well, I'm hungry again. Time for breakfast #2/early lunch#1... haha...left over pizza!

[lakeruby]

I am in the same boat as Thebyr-- I was great about exercising (walking, pilates, a cardio DVD) before our Oct 2011 wedding, but then after...not so much.  And then my husband opened the doors on his cafe in mid-November and I have gotten exactly ZERO exercise since then, which, now that I think about it, is over a month ago!  Ack!!  I really need to get back on it. My biggest obstacle right now is time, and exhaustion. Not just pregnancy tiredness, which I definitely have, but also tiredness from working my 8-5 job and then going to the cafe to help out DH in the kitchen. I used to go to bed at 10 every night, but since this cafe came into our lives it's more like 12...so that doesn't allow me to get up at 6 to exercise before work.  Something's gotta give, because even though this is #1 for me, I have heard lots of stats about how important movement is in pregnancy. Also, i really don't want to get huuuuge :)

[sallyrae17]

LilyTiger- I have to eat a big meal before exercising now. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I will be starving during a class (I do pilates and yoga) and will feel super lightheaded and dizzy. I make sure that I have a lot of protein in that meal as well. A bowl of cereal would make me feel worse, honestly. I don't know how you feel about eggs right now, but they're an easy and fast way to get protein. Boiled, scrambled, fried or even egg salad. I just ate a big bowl of that myself and feel much better. 

In any event, with morning sickness, I try to exercise at night or when I'm not feeling ill and I definitely eat beforehand. Hope that helps! Also, remember that a lot of nausea is hunger!

[LilyTiger]

Sallyrae, eggs aren't really an option for me in the morning because I can't choke down anything other than cereal.  This morning I managed a small cup of rice krispies to take the edge off and then a larger bowl of Kashi Go Lean.  It has ten grams of protein, fiber, and other good stuff.  Not as good as an egg, I'll acknowledge, but it stays down.  The milk too had protein and fat.  Today was the first day in a few where I could eat high quality protein at all (tuna), and I attribute that mostly to the workout.  I was still a little nauseated, but I could eat.  Yesterday, when I didn't work out, was one of the worst m/s days so far.  I need to keep reminding myself how much better I feel when I workout.  Hopefully this thread will help!

[sallyrae17]

I couldn't eat any eggs when I was pregnant with my son, either. I've been okay with them so far, but it's still early (6 weeks, 2 days). At least you're getting something in your stomach! I also feel much better when I exercise...it's just so hard to get myself to do it sometimes. I need outside motivation most of the time. 

One more thing: have you tried smoothies? You can either do fruit and yogurt or even peanut butter ones with honey and banana. I find that they really help. If your morning sickness is really bad, have food by the bed and eat before you even get out of the bed. Movement increases nausea for me, so having a snack close by is good (like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or granola bar).

Edited by sallyrae17 - 12/20/11 at 11:22am

[RedTree]

Hi Everyone!

I'd like to join this thread and keep as active as I can this pregnancy.  It's even more important to me then last time since I am now working a desk job and sitting for 12 hours a day (8 at work, 3 in the car).  I've been trying to get up and walk around every hour and going to an hour long Pilates, Yoga, or a Total Body Blast class at least 3 times a week during lunch.  Once the holidays are over I hope to push it to four/five times a week.

I was very active during my last pregnancy up until two days before labor and it was sooooo worth it.  I don't think I could have made it through my labor or have recovered as quickly as I did if I had let myself quit the exercise.

~RedTree

[pennywhistle]

I'm a long-distance runner, and had planned to start training for my first marathon in the new year.  Then the test popped up positive, and now I may have to shelve that idea!  I currently work out every day - running 4-5 times a week, and weight lifting at the gym the other 2-3 days.  I need to keep up the same amount of exercise, as it does SO much for my mental health, but I don't want to risk the pregnancy.  I'm a member of our local Y, so I'm going to start switching out running and weight lifting with swimming and yoga classes a few times a week.  And I'll probably replace my weekend long run (usually 5-7 miles) with a hike or otherwise vigorous walk, so that I can keep my heart rate up but not put too much stress on my joints.

This is my first pregnancy, so...all the above may be scrapped completely depending on how things go!

[andaluza]

Dh and I went for a long walk in the park yesterday and it was so nice! It is even nicer out today, so if I get my work done early I may take another. 

Pennywhisttle, if you've been running right up to your bfp, I'm sure you're good to keep going as long as it feels comfortable for you. I had been taking it easy before my bfp and hadn't run for about 2 weeks, so I don't feel comfortable with it. But you are much more active than I had been in our months ttc, and they say you can work out if you've done the same sort of activity right before.

[LilyTiger]

Pennywhistle, don't give up on the weights!  Check out Sistasofstrength.com for an awesome blog by a trainer who did weights and kettlebell training throughout her entire pregnancy.  She has great posts on weight lifting in the different trimesters and some amazing youtube videos of her workouts.  She had a pretty easy labor and a beautiful baby boy, so unless there's a medical reason to ditch the weights, go for it!

As for me, I did a 2 mile run (wish it were longer, but asthma was terrible this morning) and then a quick pushup/squat circuit.  I'm still recovering from a slipped disc, so no deadlifting or anything else for a few more weeks.  Really, I'm just waiting for this wretched first trimester to be over.  I feel completely terrible.  And now for my first nap of the day....  Good luck to all you active ladies!

[pennywhistle]

Oh good - I love running so much; I'd be sad to have to stop!  I'm not one of those athletes who like pushing themselves past the pain zone, so I think I'll be able to do a good job of monitoring how I feel and keeping things comfortable.

By the way, what's BFP?  Is there a place where I can learn all the new acronyms?!

[Knitting Mama]

BFP= Big Fat Positive. I think there is a list of the most common acronyms here.