Help! I can't be bothered to exercise but I'm fat and pregnant

[ovumahead]

Please bully me. Be nasty. I'm 20 weeks pregnant, overweight (bmi of 34.5 at start of pregnancy, God know what it is now), I work full time in a stressful job and experience daily intense headaches. I sleep badly most nights. I need to exercise to prepare for labour, to help me sleep, to stop me from becoming more overweight, and for my general health. But I don't. I talk myself out of it every day! How can I do this?

I think you need to make a timetable and have a proper look at your day and see where you have extra time. Swimming or one of the Davina antenatal videos might be good for you.

Also look at planning healthy meals and batch cook and freeze dinners and prepare lunches the night before. Don't diet just eat healthy, a great habit to get into for once baby arrives and you'll lose weight at the same time. Ask your GP to refer you to a nutritionist to find out you Recommended Daily Intake. Have porridge for breakfast with berries etc to fill you up till lunch. if you don't have time to exercise you should at least have time to meal plan.

How about fitting it into your day? I walked 3 miles a day and that was just to get from a to b.
Also I agree diet is probably more crucial

Just walking will help OP, it doesnt have to be overly strenuous
Can you summarize the internal conversation that you have when you talk yourself out of exercising?
Maybe that could be worked on so that you talk yourself back into it??

One thing which I do when making lifestyle changes (im not pregnant so it isnt specific to just that) was to make a list of things which I felt I need to change, Order them from hardest to change to easiest to change. (be gentle with yourself and set realistic goals) so for example writing loose 5 stone in a week wont be helpful to you at all. Set mini goals.

Pick three things from the easiest to change list and action those for a week. They can be small or large but do them for a week continuously. The following week pick another three and action those alongside the ones you've already started.
By breaking things down you can take smaller steps toward your goal and enforce some healthy habits by building them into your routine as needed.

Could the headaches and sleep be due to dehydration ? Are you getting enough water ? A nice easy change to make is to carry a water bottle with you at all times and just sip through out the day. That was one of the first changes I made and found that my general well being was massively increased by just getting enough water.

Essentially if you made a list of 15 things to change by the time your DC is born you could be fully committed to the new life style. At 20 weeks its not really the time to be taking up a new vigorous exercise programme with out the assistance of a specialist so daily activites are better for you here walking extra distance using the stairs at work, Using a printer on a different floor etc.

Sorry for the long post, I wish you well,

Not a time to take up anything new - another vote for walking. Good for stress as well as exercise. You could sign up for an ante natal-yoga class too, or (and?) swimming?

Hello! Thank you all for your thoughtful and supportive replies. Not a bully in sight! I have just found a good antenatal yoga class after a dodgy first one, and swim about once a week which I always love once I'm in there. Walking more would be ideal.. Need to figure out how and when to do that and get on with it!

suzanne my internal excuse system sounds like this:

I've had a busy day, I'm knackered, I'll do it tomorrow...

I need to sleep

I can't be bothered

It's cold outside

Etc... Really lame reasons!

forty thankyou for your message! I will try your technique... Later. Tomorrow.... No, NOW!

Ovu That's the spirit Keep the goals small and realistic x

Please try not to beat yourself up. I hate exercise with a passion but for me I exercise in the house by cleaning! Check out the calories you burn doing things like moping and hoovering. After a bit you kind of get into it plus you get a super clean house which always makes me feel better. Cleaning windows etc all burn calories at quite a high rate. For me this is better than going to the gym and it's quite positive. X

'I've had a busy day, I'm knackered, I'll do it tomorrow...

I need to sleep

I can't be bothered

It's cold outside'

ok, quite understandable that you dont feel up to much, but you could make the next sentence

'so I'll put on some warm clothes and just go for a 30 minute walk, then I can sleep, rest etc'

Yes. You're right. I remember using that strategy before... Or similar. "I'll just put my trainers on" without thinking about the next step. Or "I'll just put my swimming costume on" kind of like tricking myself into doing it... Ah how I just wish I loved exercise!