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Health & Exercise
Those who worked out for your entire pregnancy-question
If you don't mind me asking ,how much weight did you gain and was your doctor okay with that amount? This is my third dc and I want to stay fit while pg and not use it as an excuse to binge so I can recover quickly. When I got pg this time I was about 15lbs over what I would like to weigh, but still within my healthy weight range. I was doing Chalean Extreme for about 4 months before I found out I was pg so I plan to continue the weight training segments of this 3 times a week and speed walk 6 days a week. I am also tracking my calories on Babyfit, I by no means am trying to lose weight now, but I feel I need to keep track of it or I could lose control and I need to eat for energy because I have 2 other little ones to handle and I think the exercise will help with that too.I am trying to eat sensibly like I should have always been, every 2-3 hours with some protein with each meal. The exercising makes me nervous-I read somewhere on here you don't really need to keep track of your heartrate and you can just do it on if you can talk comfortably while exercising-is that correct. I had placenta previa last time and wasn't able to exercise very long for the pregnancy. I have my first appt next week and will talk to my doctor about weight and how much I should gain then, but how did it go for you? How much weight did you gain? Did you track calories? Was your doctor okay with the amount of weight you gained? Thank you for any insight you can share!
Former nest name=nettie
Mom to Nick 09/13/05, Isabel 07/20/07, and Tori 09/08/11
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Re: Those who worked out for your entire pregnancy-question
I'm a runner and I ran throughout my entire (and I mean entire -- I did my last 3 mile run at 41 weeks 2 days, the day before I went to the hospital to be induced) pregnancy. I had a totally normal/no complications pregnancy and ran 5 days a week, cross trained one day a week, and tried to lift 2 times a week -- I never kept track of my heart rate.
I started at 120 lbs and at my 41-week appointment I weighed 140 lbs, so I had a total of a 20 lb weight gain -- pretty normal and my baby was 7lbs 4 ounces. My doctor never said a word about my weight.
I did track calories most of the time and I also made sure I would eat super healthy -- getting tons of protein, calcium, whole grains, fruits/veggies, etc.
I'm actually really happy with how this worked out -- I was comfortable my whole pregnancy and was back to my pre-pregnancy weight very quickly. And able to get back to exercising around 5 weeks pp.
I'm not done quite yet, but I'm pretty confident I'll be able to work out right until the end. I've gained about 18 lbs at almost 38 weeks, so I anticipate I'll end up right around 20 lbs at the end. I've worked out my whole pregnancy, including running, light weights, aerobics and the elliptical.
I think it's much more important to keep up some level of activity for your whole pregnancy, rather than burning yourself out early on with difficult workouts, so take it easy on yourself if you need a couple days of easier workout, especially in the first trimester if you're very tired.
I was exhausted in the first tri and did a lot of running and walking mixed because I was just too tired to keep up my regular running routine. At about 14 weeks I started to feel much better and returned to my regular routine. I felt great from 14 weeks until about 32 weeks, when I started to slow down again. I'm still going, but it's definitely more of an effort at this point.
I track my weight via BabyFit.com, and occasionally track my calories if I have a big jump in weight, just to be sure it's baby related, and not just plain old over eating.
I really think that keeping on top of my eating early on was the key to keeping my weight gain low. I cut out most sweets during the first trimester and early second trimester and really focused on lean protein. I did relax a bit in the late second and third trimester about the sugar/sweets, once I felt my weight gain was on a good path.
Another important thing for me has been being very honest with myself about the extra calories needed for pregnancy - it's not very many calories (even in the third tri it's only 300-400 per day) and it's very easy to blow through that number quickly if you're not careful.
Good luck to you!
I have 3 kids and worked out pretty much the entire time I was pregnant with all of them.
With the first I worked out about 4-5 days a week on the elliptical, walking or taking a step class. I started at 118 lbs and gained 22. I was able to lose it within a month or two.
PG#2 was similar in that I worked out about 5 days a week. I worked out a bit harder since this was my second pg and I was not as "afraid" to exercise. I gained 22 lbs in this pg and again was able to lose it fairly quickly.
I started running between #2 and 3 and kept it up during pg#3 until 34 weeks. I gained significantly less weight with #3 but this was due to complications and bedrest at the end. My theory is that I lost a lot of muscle after being put on bedrest. Surprisingly I still go no comments from my Dr on the minimal amount of weight I had gained. I think b/c they were monitoring the baby so closely and could see his growth they weren't really concerned so much with the weight gain. Ironic that I was in the best shape with #3 and ended up with complications.
My Dr was fine with the weight gain-it was within the normal range and I was measuring fine each time. I did not track calories. I ate well during the week (as I did pre-preg). I would splurge a bit on weekends-I love Ben & Jerry's and pretty much had it every weekend.
I am a marathon runner and ran daily throughout my entire pregnancy. I did my last 6-miler the night before I went into labor. I only gained 12 pounds in my pregnancy which was on the low side, but our daughter weighed a healthy 6 lbs 11 oz at birth. It was clearly all baby, as I lost all the weight when I gave birth. My doctor was a little concerned about the low weight gain but we monitored the baby and she was doing fine.
I didn't track calories or restrict my eating. I ate when I was hungry and stopped when I wasn't. I am a vegetarian and eat pretty healthy food, and continued doing that.
I gained 28 lbs. with DD. She was born at 38.5 weeks at 8 lbs. 15 oz.
I gained 32 lbs. with DS. He was born at 41.5 weeks at 9 lbs. 12 oz.
I was at a normal, healthy weight before each pregnancy. Ate when I was hungry and didn't give into every little craving (though I did give in to some of them). With DD I was on the elliptical the day before I had her.
I taught group fitness (Bodypump and Bodycombat) all the way to 41 weeks with DS.
I never kept track of my heartrate (even when teaching), but just made sure I could talk and I had a fan on me.
OB was A-ok with my weight gain and level of activity.
It definitely helped my recoveries to stay active.
I gained 28 pounds and was low-average weight to start. Never had any weight comments. I didn't track calories - just ate when I was hungry and made (mostly!) sensible choices. Kiddo was 8lb6oz.
True that you don't have to watch your heartrate - the talk test is fine.
Breastfeeding Counselor with Breastfeeding USA
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Another marathoner here. I was training for my 4th marathon of the year when we found out I was pregnant. I ran up until 25 weeks, then switched to power walk during races. I worked out 5-6 days a week, for about 60 -90 minutes each session, for the 39 weeks of pregnancy. I also lifted weights about 3 times a week.
I gained 27 lbs. This was right in the 25 -35 lbs range my doctor set. I didn't count calories, however, I was cognizant of my food choices.
GL!
I gained 35# with the first, 40# with the second, starting at a low-to-average weight for my size. I lost it all within 12 weeks the first time, and about 24 weeks the second time.
I worked out, lifted, and pretty much ate whatever looked good, including LOTS of milkshakes, string cheese and peanut M&Ms (and lots of healthy stuff).
I worked out the entire time, did a spin class the day before I went into labour. I did spinning 3x a week, ran 10-12 km a week, lifted weights 3x a week, and went on lottsss of walks with my husband. I gained 17 lbs. I had my baby 6 days ago, and now have 5 lbs to lose. I am breastfeeding though, so if it doesn't go right away I am not too concerned. I never kept track of my heart rate, just made sure I wasn't gasping for air, and I did keep track of calories. I had a midwife, so she never weighed me anyway. I found most obs and drs to be safe will tell you the standard stuff, heart rate, 25-35 lbs bla bla. Do what feels right for you. Everybody is different. I felt great my entire pregnancy, and only 6 days later feel fantastic. Don't be nervous about exersize, keep it up, you won't regret it after!
Oh thank god! We are JUST starting to try and get pregnant and everyone is telling me I'll need to 'cut back' on my workouts. That's how I ended up lurking on this board. I do cardio 5-6 mornings a week for about an hour, then 2-3 half hour strength training sessions during the week. I do wear a HR monitor and count calories though, I try to keep up my HR in the 150-165 range for the marjority of my cardio and I my goal is to burn 500 cals a day during the workout, however long that takes.
And I'm definitly not underweight, 5'6" 140--about 10 lbs heavier than I like but still comfortable. But people are telling me it's too much and that I'll need to "slow down" when I get pregnant, seems so counterintuitive. Exercise keeps me healthy and sane...and the rest of the day I'm sitting in an office chair, just couldn't imagine NOT exercising. Anyways, I'm really glad to see so many people say they were able to keep up workouts, sounds like as long as I'm just keeping up a routine I already had, it should be okay for me and baby.
I have been working out thus far in my pregnancy although I have scaled back my intensity. That's just my own comfort level, though, not based on anything other than the fact that I'm a worrier. I do lots of walking on an incline, elliptical, and weight training although not as heavy as I used to. We thought I had a short cervix for the past 8 weeks so I was avoiding things like squats and lunges for a while. Now my fluid is low so I'm not pushing it wit cardio because of that, but those are all unrelated. If I didn't keep having random scares related to my PG I would probably be working out a lot harder.
I have gained 18 pounds so far at almost 30 weeks and my doctor says that's "perfect." I was told to aim for 25 but I have a hunch I'll go over that. Who knows. I was 115 pre-pg (with my normal goal weight being closer to 110 but I had just pigged out on vacation.)