My Journey to the Healthiest me, while Pregnant-Part 2

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Previous to reaching my "breaking point" I had discovered that for MY body, I could not just start exercising or exercising more and expect to lose weight.  I had already tried that when I ran the marathon.  I was exercising a ton, but I changed nothing when it came to my eating habits.  In the end I STILL wasn't where I wanted to be.  So I knew that this time I would have to include both food and fitness in order to get the results that I wanted.

So although I have included both food and fitness in my journey to health I am just going to focus on the fitness aspect of things today. 

Remember how I didn't really exercise when I was pregnant with Adalyn?  Well that was the very first thing that I changed with this pregnancy.  I stepped away from the myth that you shouldn't exercise while you are pregnant and made a goal that I was going to at least do SOMETHING active this whole pregnancy.             

At the beginning of my journey (this past June) all I was doing for exercise was walking/running 1-2 miles about four days a week.  It was summer and Adalyn and I were enjoying the weather.  I kept telling myself that I was going to pick up the pace/ start going farther/ working out more days but it just was not clicking.  Our walks were nice, but definitely not helping me with my "get Healthier goals".  My body needed more I just did not know what "more" was. 

Luckily a week or so later when I was 14 weeks pregnant I had a friend invite me to come to a Zumba class with her.  Oh man!  I loved it!  I know many of you have heard me talk about Zumba before, but it is truly a blessing in my life on so many levels.  1. I used to love to dance and so this type of exercise is actually fun for me.  2. I get out of the house a few times a week and do something for me.  As a mom I really enjoy this "me" time.  3. The Zumba class that I go to is at a school with 50-100 other women from around the community and many from our old ward that we used to go to when we lived in the apartment.  I am enjoying making new friends and keeping contact with old ones.  4. The workout is cardio (which I love).  Not many crunches or push ups are involved (thought you still work your arms and abs) so I am able to do it throughout my entire pregnancy. 

I feel very blessed to have found a workout program that fits me so well and that I enjoy doing it.  The only downside to zumba is that they only teach the class three times a week and I found that it is best if I work out about 6 times a week so I still needed to come up with other things to do.  So on the off zumba days I continued to go to the park and walk or run (I ran my last mile at 17 weeks this pregnancy...my bladder just couldn't handle it after that).  Along with my walks I would come home and do some strength training with weights and a home video.

Then came the cold weather and was stumped at what I was going to do since our walks outside would have to be canceled for a few months.  I had done SO well all summer, but I soon realized that I had NO motivation to workout when I had to stay inside and do a home video all by myself (no fun!).  At first I was tempted to just quit exercising for the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy.  I tried it for about a week, but half way through trying it out my body was dying to be active.  It was so weird and I guess good all at the same time. 

So last weekend I brainstormed a few options that I could do through the winter months such as get a gym membership or just bucking up and just doing the home videos.  After talking my schedule dilemma over with McKay I formed the plan that I am using today.  My hope with this plan is that I can still continue use it after the baby is born too so that I won't have any excuses about not being able to exercise. ;)   

Here is the plan...

Zumba 3 times a week and a workout video 3 times a week.
On the days that I do my workout video I have McKay wake me up before he leaves for work at 5:15 am.  I find that I won't get up on my own BUT some how having someone else do it for me I am able to get up and motivate myself to do it. 

Yes it is super early.  I have found that it is hard to workout when Adalyn is awake so I prefer to do it before she wakes up.  Also I still babysit twice a week and the little man comes at 6:30am so I have to be done before he gets there.  But you better believe that I am napping right along with the little ones in the afternoon. :)

The workout videos at this point are just random ones that I have along with whatever ones I pick up from the library.  I have a few weight sets and exercise equipment, but I am hoping in the future months/years to expand my collection of both videos and equipment.  Any suggestions of what to get?

I decided against the gym membership because I didn't really want to be away from my house that much (I would only have been able to go when McKay is home at nights and on weekends) and the cost of it would have not allowed me to continue doing Zumba (and that would just be sad) :(

My Results

With just doing these mild forms of exercise, but staying consistent (that was the key for me) I have had some nice results this pregnancy.

 

-No swelling.  I swelled SO much with Adalyn and it was very uncomfortable by the end.  But since I have stayed active this pregnancy I have not swelled at all.  My wedding ring fits better today at 33 weeks pregnant than it has in a few YEARS. 

-I have lots more energy.  The second trimester was a dream.  Seriously loved it!  I did not even feel like I was pregnant.  And it has only been in the last week or so that I feel like I have less energy than normal.  This has truly helped a ton while I have been chasing after Adalyn.

-This one is a result that I *hope* to have.  An easier recovery from giving birth.  I have heard and seen that women who were active through their pregnancies bounce back faster... we will see. :)

-Less weight gain.  Without going into too much detail I have had a lot less weight gain with this pregnancy than with my last.  The first time I gained 35 + lbs over all (honestly don't even know the exact number) and this time I will actually leave the hosptial with my new baby, weighing less than I did when I got pregnant.

In conclusion today (sorry about the long post) I am very happy with how things are going.  I am enjoying exercising each day and I feel really good over all. :)  My goals for the future are to increase my endurance level (after pregnancy) and STAY consistent.  

Up next my food health journey which has been just as challenging as I thought it would be, but surprisingly very enjoyable for me. 

Click here to read part 3