Fitness, Wellness and Body Image During Pregnancy

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sports bra // athletic shoes  // leggings (run big) // yoga mat // water bottle

Welcome Back!

I hope that everyone is having a great week! I’ll be honest, in that I don’t know how to exactly start this post.

If you have been following me for a while and are an original LtoL reader, then you know that health, wellness, and fitness has always been a huge part of my platform and was actually one of the main reasons I started blogging in the first place. From opening up and sharing my whole Fitness Journey with you guys to sharing my tips and tricks throughout the years. I’ve tried my best to keep you guys motivated and have been honest about my own personal struggles with self-image. I’ve preached self-love and the importance of “health” over the number you see on the scale and I’ve always tried to be 100% completely honest with you guys.

As ya’ll know, this pregnancy was a huge surprise and has been just one big ol’ learning experience for us. We always knew we would eventually start a family but didn’t think it wouldn’t happen for a few years. While we had a list of reasons for wanting to wait, selfishly, one of the main reasons I wasn’t ready was because I was terrified of the weight gain that would come along with it. I had worked so hard the past 10+ years on staying in shape and was scared of how my body would change. I know that sounds selfish and should be the least of my worries but at the time, the thought of gaining 25+lbs on my 5foot frame was terrifying to me. 

Yet here I am, in my Third Trimester with six weeks to go and I can honestly say that so far, it hasn’t been that bad. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve worked hard and have made an effort to stay as healthy as possible throughout my pregnancy but the weight gain hasn’t been as traumatizing as I thought it would be and I honestly oddly love my little pregnancy body? Which is something I never thought I would say! I mean do I love it all the time? No… lol not at all. There are definitely days/moments that are harder than others. Ones where I miss my old clothes and how easy it was to get dressed. Sometimes I walk past a mirror or reflection and I barely recognize myself. I miss running and not getting winded so easily. I miss my little boobs lol and the little “waddle” I’ve picked up recentely is not cute ha. The good news is that I know that my body will go back (maybe not immediately but eventually), I’m excited to get back in the gym and look forward to having to push myself again! At this moment though, I’m just trying to relax, cherish this time and enjoy these last few weeks of feeling him move around in my belly. 

My mom recently shared something with me that said “pregnancy and the wonderment of getting to grow your baby inside your body is the only chance you’ll get in life to assist God with a miracle” and that really stuck with me. So if you’re pregnant and are having a hard time dealing with your new body or newly pregnant and scared of what’s to come, just keep that in mind.

So what have I been doing to try and stay in shape this pregnancy? 

To put it simply, I’ve just tried to do my best, while also giving myself grace but I truly believe that the healthy lifestyle I was used to living before my pregnancy and the fact that I am no longer drinking alcohol have been my two biggest saving graces. I’ve continued to eat healthy while also feeding into my cravings, I’ve made the effort to stay active and just keep my body “moving” but definitely haven’t been pushing myself the way I’m used to doing. Walks (some long, some short) have been life. I haven’t stepped on my scale once. If I’m craving something, I’ll have it but I won’t overindulge and I’ve completely ignored the whole “eating for two” mentality. Meaning, if I want something, I’ll have it… but I haven’t used this pregnancy as an excuse to eat a whole gallon of ice cream, have an entire pizza to myself or order a burger, shake and fries just for me. 

Where the “eating for two” saying came from, I have no idea but it couldn’t be further from the truth. When a baby is born, its stomach is the size of glass marble… so there is no reason to be eating for two people. You just want to make sure you’re eating enough to nourish your body and growing baby. In the first trimester, they say to only increase your caloric intake by 100 calories. Then in your second increase it by 300 and by the third 500. 

PREGNANCY DIET AND EXERCISE 

First Trimester

DIET

Nothing changed for the first six weeks. I was still eating healthy and sticking to my normal diet because I had no idea I was pregnant. Once I found out though, my “morning sickness” hit pretty quickly and I just ate whatever didn’t make me sick. Aka – lots of carbs. I tried to eat healthily (and did as much as I could) but honestly, I had food aversions to almost everything I was used to eating (salads, chicken, vegetables, oatmeals, smoothies, etc.) and could only handle very bland, flavorless carbs. During this time, my doctor told me not to worry about eating healthy and to just do what I had to do in order to eat/keep food down and then in the second trimester, start focusing on eating healthy again. 

EXERCISE

No changes. I was still working out 5-6x a week, doing weight training, HIIT, running, pilates and spin. 

Second Trimester

DIET

Once I entered my second trimester, all of my food aversions were thankfully pretty much gone, I got both my appetite and energy back and was eating normally. I was back to eating my normal diet (oatmeal for breakfast, salad or smoothie for lunch and chicken or fish with veggies for dinner) and did my best to choose healthier choices but definitely fed into my cravings. For example: If I wanted Chick-fi-la for lunch, I had Chick-fi-la for lunch. Same thing if I wanted pizza for dinner. I just didn’t have both for lunch and dinner, every single day. 

EXERCISE

At the beginning of my second, things were still pretty much the same as my first trimester but after a month in, I definitely had to start to making modifications. I continued weight training and pilates but cut out all HIIT workouts and chose walking and the stair stepper over running and spin. I remember going for a run one week during my second and feeling fantastic and then five days later going out for another one and quickly having to stop. It didn’t feel right, I had a weird pain and immediately decided it wasn’t worth it. This was around 20 weeks and was about the same time I stopped going to spin as well. 

Third Trimester

DIET

lmao. I’m just straight up hungry y’all. I’m still doing my best to make healthier choices (remember it’s something that’s just normal to me) but like, yo girl can eat. At this point, I’m just making sure I am doing my best to nourish my body by getting my daily greens in and making sure I’m eating enough protein, along with healthy fats but there is no hiding that I am eating a lot. 

EXERCISE

Lots of walks and 1-2 at-home workouts a week from the Baby2Body app. Some days I am able to do three miles and others I am lucky I’m able to do one. My stomach has been getting really tight recently which can make walking super uncomfortable (especially when I go on long walks and don’t worry – my doctor is aware of it!) so I just do what I can and have been taking it easy. I’ll do a random 10-minute arm workout here and there while watching a show or periodically stop and do 20 squats if I feel like I need it. I’m just trying to listen to my body and stay active by doing what I can. 

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

What vitamins are you taking? 

These Ritual Prenatal Vitamins!

Did you have to take a break from working out due to fatigue/morning sickness?

No…not really. My exercise routine really stayed the same (5-6x a week) throughout my whole First Trimester. I didn’t always feel like myself and had to take it slower some days but keeping up with my workouts during that time made me feel better. 

Do you do spin or any cardio like that?

I did both spin and runnning up until the middle of my second trimester.

When you were running early in your pregnancy, did you check your heart rate? 

No, not really… I mean I always run with my Apple Watch and like to watch it but I never monitored it for pregnancy reasons. I know some people say that pregnant women should not let their heart rate get over 150 but I wasn’t given any limitations. 

With that being said, please talk to your doctor! My heart rate is naturally very low, so it takes a lot to get my heart rate really high. 

Did your doctor tell you to keep your heart rate low during exercises? 

She did not but as I said, everyone is different and I would talk to your doctor. My doctor knows that I worked out a lot prior to my pregnancy, my pregnancy isn’t considered high-risk, I have very low blood pressure and as I mentioned above, a very low resting heart rate… so for me specifically, she did not. 

How did you modify your workouts for pregnancy? 

I basically just stopped doing anything that didn’t feel right. As I mentioned, I subbed running for long walks, I cut out all jumping and workouts like burpees and then stopped doing anything that required major twisting. 

Favorite Pregnancy Workout Leggings? 

These high-waisted “move” leggings from Aerie!  

Was it hard to push off cravings and overeating? 

I honestly never pushed off cravings. If I wanted something, I had it. It’s all about portion control, so I haven’t had to worry about overeating since I haven’t been depriving myself if that makes sense…? 

Is there anything you would recommend doing to help with self-esteem during pregnancy? 

Honestly, spray tans (or at-home self-tanning) have done wonders for me in this department. It sounds silly but having a tan has been the only thing that has made me feel like me. Other than that, it has been simple things like making the effort to shower, do my hair, put on makeup, and dress in clothes that make me feel good! 

xo,

Lauren

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