Honestly - has anyone toned up/ got fit/ slimmed (not dieted) whilst pregnant?

[twelveyeargap]

DD2 is 8 months. I'm 3 months pregnant and carrying two stone of extra weight.

Tell me your success stories about healthy eating/ exercise whilst pregnant.

I don't think I can hack being 14 stone after this baby, but I'm still finding it hard not to bake/ eat cake/ buy sweets. I'm a sucker for it.

I need some inspiration.

Pregnanvy yoga made me feel really well and was great preparation for a birth

How about nice milkshakes instead of sweets? They can be very sweet too and healthy at the same time. I make one with organic semi-skimmed milk, bannanas, brazilian nuts and molasa. Tates very chocolaty and is ver healthy as well.

you can still work out, as long as it isn't intensive - i think you should keep your heartrate below 130 or something?

I did yoga, swimming and went to the gym while pregnant (when I wasnt being sick or feeling knackered!). I think it helped in my recovery from my c-section as my body was quite toned (alarmingly, I think my body was more toned as a new mum than now, with a 1yr old!!)

Ah, this is the sort of thing I want to hear. There's a fab gym up the road (5 mins away) with a lovely pool. I was wondering if it was bonkers to join.

I think I have a pregnancy pilates DVD somewhere which never made it out of the packet last pregnancy. I was working really long hours. This time round, I'm still on maternity leave and prob not going back to work, so I've no excuse really.

I'm in some maternity clothes and the "bump" is about 75% cake to be perfectly honest.

do they do personal trainers? they might be able to help you to work out, but keep within limits. I did it so I never got out of breath - didn;t feel like a work out, but just doing some exercise is better than none (she says, constantly sitting on her computer and not having been down the gym for a year!!).

apparently you shouldnt up the intensity from your pre-preg work outs, so if you havent done anything for a while I would still join up but concentrate on swimming and gentle work outs. like I said, anything is better than nothing.

Excellent. Have just discovered another gym up the road with a pool and a creche. Better get off my lardy bum and go and see them.

I'm 32 weeks pregnant now and still exercising - cycle in and out of work every day (about 40 mins), swim a bit, see a woman at the gym with whom I do weights (to keep arms, legs and back in reasonable shape). My idea was a) not to gain too much weight and b) to be fit(ish) for birth and looking after the baby afterwards. Should add I'm combining this with industrial quantities of chocolate (dairy milk, cookie, slice of cake and more dairy milk yesterday, for example) in case you think I'm some sort of health fanatic .

So far I feel great - not too tired (seems to help me sleep well) and not too guilty about stuffing my face. I've put on about a stone and a half, I think (from 10st 5 to getting on for 12 stone), and while I'm definitely a bit more padded, my arms and legs are still fairly toned.

So... go for it!

this is good to know.
how do you monitor your heartrate though -do you need one of those watch thingys? they seem to be really expensive.

my gym has these bars on each cardio machine that you put your hands on and it measures your pulse rate.

hi - just to mention that working out your max heartrate in pregnancy isn't just a case of a calculation based on your age. it depends also on your fitness level, and should be calculated based on your resting heartrate - please make sure you speak to someone at the gym about it

it is advisable to retain your level of fitness whilst pregnant - not wise to try to 'get fit'

also - i would always now wear a heartrate monitor when exercising (pregnant or not) - it helps make sure you are doing just the right level of exercise

where do you get them from? which kind do you recommend?

polar is the brand most used and they are compatible with most treadmills adn other gym equipment

google "polar heartrate monitor"

I'm still doing total body conditioning classes as the pre-natal aerobics classes bore me.
If you want to continue ordinary aerobics classes, you must make sure the instructor is trained in pre-natal exercise as there are certain exercises you can't do, such as anything to do with your abdominals and lying on your back.

i lost 9lbs in the first three months of pregnancy due to HG - can't recommend it though!

Retain fitness level... I have the fitness level of a sloth at the moment.

I was at least a stone overweight when I got pregnant. I did antenatal yoga, walked for 30 minutes in my lunch hour 5 days a week and mostly ate healthily and now my dd is 7mo and I'm back to my normal weight. Don't do anything too strenuous please . The yoga and the walks were for my sanity as much as my physical health. I just wanted to improve my stamina and not put any more weight on than I needed too.

My fitness levels have now returned to sloth levels and my chocolate consumption to Willy Wonka levels

yes, I lost weight in the final trimester with dd2.
did it by swopping a sedentary life in front of the computer for an active SAH life....

Oh, you know, it's funny you should say that, because with last pregnancy I was at a desk for 9 or 10 hours a day and I PILED on the weight, even in the first trimester.

Now I'm at home, running up and down three flights of stairs all day, carrying DD2 around, walking with the buggy and other than the couple of pounds from Christmas excesses, I haven't really gained anything, despite my belly being bigger. I'm 14 weeks now. I suppose that must be positive.

Thanks all.