exercise

[izzzie]

hello
i'm new. i'm 11 weeks and feeling FAT. For the last six weeks I have totally had to eat all the time or i'd get sick or a really bad headache. I got the worst hunger pangs every couple of hours, but that seems to have eased off now. I don't know if i'm feeling fat because of all the food, or because of the baby. tbh given the baby is only the size of a jelly baby i expect it's the cake and chocolate!
What sort of exercise are other people doing?
I used to be really fit but I haven't done anything (except walking) for about four months.
I hate swimming, unfortunately, cos I know that's supposed to be safe and good for you.
I don't want to turn into a huge fat unfit blob! But I care about the baby more than my figure!

Hi Izzzie and welcome. I just carried on with the exercise that I did before but speak to your mw for advise. I felt too tired in the first three months to do much but am quite lively again (now 30 weeks). I had a low BMI to start with so put on a lot of weight in the first trimester but once I was over the nausea my weight gain slowed down. It depends on how you were before you were pg - if very slim you should pout on a bit more, if you were a little plump you are encouraged to put on less. Try rice cakes - but without any toppings. They are full of fibre and fill you up but you don't get the sugar rush.

Exercisewise I still do body pump (with a few modifications) twice a week, swim once a week and play badminton once a week although badm will have to stop soon as I can't sprint any longer. I also walk every day as we have a dog. It may look like a lot of exercise but have been doing all of the above for years, so my body is used to it. Would not recommend to start that type of exercise in pregnancy. What do you normally do?

the broad guideline is to maintain the level of exercise you were doing before

with some caveats - prob not a good idea if you have bleeding/pain. also prev losses. and avoid anything too strenuous - e.g. fast running/weights

walking/swimming both great as won't put you or the baby at risk

Bienchen,

Don't want to crash someone's thread, but could you please tell what modification did you make to body pump. I love body pump (not pregnant at the mo but would love to be) and would love to keep it on if got bfp. Do you just use light weights and not do any abs?

Hiya Izzie,

I didn't do much during the first 12 weeks as I was feeling so sick and tired, still played a bit of cricket but that was it. Once I'd got past 12 weeks though I pretty much got back to normal, with a few modifications, circuit training, spinning classes, swimming and dog walking. I carried on playing cricket up to 18 weeks and circuit training/spinning up to 35 weeks, the past couple of weeks I've slowed down (mainly through being too busy doing other things) and am "just" walking the dogs for around 2 hours each day! People always seem so shocked by the stuff I've carried on doing but I'm used to doing so much and they don't seem to believe that I really have slowed down, no jumping up and down on the step, just plodding along and enjoying it really!

The most important thing is to listen to your body and always tell your instructor that you are pregnant!

Westerngirl, I was lucky really to have a female instructor who has had four kids. She was instructing up until six weeks before the birth. Mods as follows - easy on the abs this means, from when your bump begins to develop, no more lying on your back. They provided me with a special bench from the gym where you can adjust the back. I do all exercises that I would normally do lying on my back (chest press, triceps exercises, abs) on this bench with the back set to a roughly 45 degree angle. V comfortable and no strain on back whatsoever. The other thing to look out for obviously is to gradually reduce the weights, especially the one (back exercise) where you lift the weight from low down to over your head. The only exercises to go altogether were some of the stretches and funnily the relaxation at the end as done lying on back. I always make sure I never get hot, drink plenty of water and never let my heart rate go too fast. And my instructor watches my posture like a hawk. I think if you have done Bodypump for a while before you fall pg, check with your mw/instructor and are not pushing yourself too much you'll be fine. Paul Radcliffe ran 10km at five months pg but then her body is used to running - I'd get to the nearest corner and feel knackered..... I have a significant bump (this being baby number 2) but no backache or other aches and pains.