Fit Pregnancy: The 1st Trimester

Gaining 60 lbs during my first pregnancy has been a huge motivator for me to stick to my normal healthy habits as best as I can.  This pregnancy was planned, so I feel like I was gearing up for battle with all my weapons of knowledge, tips, tricks, recipes, etc.

Boy, was I in for a surprise!  To all my mommas out there that deal with morning sickness and nausea(not to mention extreme fatigue); I give you major props.  Especially if you have other children to tend to, aaaand especially if they are of toddler age.

I've had many of you ask me if I have changed my workout routine since becoming pregnant. The answer is a big, fat YES!

My first priority is the health of this baby, which directly correlates with my health (of course).  So, I really had to listen to my body.  I went from working out 5-6 days a week (heavy lifting and HIIT cardio) to sometimes only making it to the gym 2 days a week.  I didn't beat myself up over it, because I knew that I needed to rest as my body kicked into overdrive to create this little miracle.

Once I stopped throwing myself a pity party(did I also mention Sofie stopped napping around the time I got pregnant...? Ha.) I made some new goals.

1. Make it to the gym 4 days a week.

2. Drink, at minimum, half my weight in ounces of water (approx 65 oz)

3. Eat as healthy as I can, when I can (see below)

4.  Listen to my body

There was a time where eating things like pizza, bagels and cream cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, and burgers were the ONLY things that settled my nauseous stomach.  So, that's what I did.  No regrets.  

The mental battle that I had with myself over going to the gym was very similar to how I felt when I was out of shape and lacked motivation.  So I told myself the same thing I did then, "Just show up and stretch, go home after that if you want."

Some days, I did just that.  Just stretched.  Most of the time, I would overcome the mental battle and focus on getting a workout in. Every single time: I always felt better!

The nausea in both of my pregnancies have been identical, except for this time around. Working out has truly helped with my nausea, as well as my energy levels.

....

Here is what I changed about my workout routine in the 1st trimester:

1.  Started to use a heart rate monitor, and focus on keeping my heart rate below 150 bpm

*Keeping your heart rate below 140 is a bit outdated, so after doing my own research and consulting with a few of the personal trainers at my gym, I focused on the level of my perceived exertion.  

2. Weight training 3-5 days a week(depending on how I feel) Lower weight with 12-15 reps

3.  Combining muscle groups.

*I used to focus on only one, usually. However, some weeks I only made it to the gym 2 or 3 days. So I worked on 2-3 muscle groups at a time (shoulders/back, biceps/triceps/chest) Except Leg Day, holy crap does my heart rate go up quick with just air squats!  I am as slow as molasses on Leg Day. Haha

4. Take daily walks.  I chose to no longer do any HIIT for cardio, but I tend to do a lot of supersets still, so I know I am getting enough "cardio" in.  When I got pregnant, I was not focused on cardio.  I was focused on maintaining and build muscle.  Now it's just maintenance

....

My advice? Same advice I give to those who ask me how to
start being fit/healthy:

....

Now that I'm in the 2nd trimester, things have been a lot easier as far as eating healthier and consistently working out.  I plan to write a separate post and am thinking about doing a weekly bump update with pics and other fun preggo details, yay.

Until next time!

Lex, xoxo

P.S.  In case you missed it, we are Team Blue this pregnancy. Yay!