Matt and I are expecting a baby boy this March of 2020 and we couldn’t be more excited! Here’s a little clip from our gender reveal 😊.
It’s been a crazy journey so far, to say the least. We didn’t find out I was pregnant until at about 6 weeks. I was unusually tired and nauseous and so I decided to take a pregnancy test and well…here we are!
Food Aversions/Cravings
I was starting to have some serious food aversions at around 6 weeks. I remember coming home and not wanting to cook anything. I was suddenly craving chicken cutlets and french fries all the time.
The things I normally loved like vegetables (mushrooms in particular), nuts, and even chocolate made me nauseous! I was craving salty, carb-heavy, bland foods. Besides chicken cutlet and fries I needed some healthier options, so my saviors were sourdough bread with avocado and pink salt, apples (particularly green apples), lots of lemon water, and plain oats cereal or oatmeal with fresh strawberries. Occasional I could stomach salmon and eggs (omelet style). This probably all sounds so random but that’s how pregnancy is and everyone has different cravings and appetites for different things. I’m now finally able to eat most foods but haven’t been back to “normal” just yet.
Being someone who focuses on getting in nutritious foods on a regular basis, I worried a bit about my diet suffering in my first trimester but I had comfort in knowing that my prenatal supplementing was a good insurance policy. Now in my second trimester, I’ve been incorporating more greens and veggies by adding in baby spinach to my omelettes, making green smoothies like this one, and eating large greek salads (really the only salad I’ve been craving) on the regular.
I will say, protein has definitely been my friend the second trimester. Now that I can stomach more of it, it’s the only thing that keeps me satisfied and full. I’ve also been trying to add in more lean, grass-fed red meat into my diet since finding out I’m slightly anemic.
My Workouts
At 6 weeks, I had no desire to run, anything high impact really I avoided due to the nausea. I still tried to do my at-home workouts with weights and some light jumping/cardio, but I mostly rested and did some light yoga and breathing exercises.
It’s all about listening to your body when you are pregnant, I felt great one morning at about 8 weeks and decided to go for a run and it was as if I wasn’t even pregnant. Other mornings I could barely get out of bed.
It’s all about listening to your body when you are pregnant, I felt great one morning at about 8 weeks and decided to go for a run and it was as if I wasn’t even pregnant. Other mornings I could barely get out of bed. The important thing is to not overdue it and push yourself too hard, your heart rate will definitely spike much more quickly when pregnant due to higher blood volume. I find myself out of breath easily when exercising now.*
Most days I don’t really feel like working out, but when I do, I almost always feel better afterwards. Yoga has been my savior, lots of cat/cow stretches and deep breathing and some light stretching. I also continued to do BTONE classes in my first trimester but now being in my second trimester, I’m doing mostly pregnancy specific workouts, some running and barre with modifications, and prenatal yoga.*
I’ve been loving this pregnancy workout on YouTube by POPSUGAR: 20 MIN Full Body Pregnancy Workout*
*always consult your doctor before starting any fitness routine
Perinatal Instructor Certification & why Exercise is great for Pregnant and Postpartum Mamas
I’ve been a little quiet on here, especially with posting workouts (for obvious reasons), but I’m excited to be back and to share more of what’s to come for fitgreengal as a mama-to-be.
I’m currently in the process of getting certified to be able to teach pregnancy and postpartum-safe workouts 🤰 through ACE (expanding my current group instructor certification) so that I can educate any of you mamas-to-be (myself included) or postpartum mamas on which exercises are best to do, how to modify them, and which moves to avoid based on American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
Studies have shown women who exercise at a mild-to-moderate intensity for 30 minutes three or more times a week will experience the positive effects such as (1):
- Less physical discomfort
- Improved mood and posture
- Increased energy
- Better sleep
- Better muscle tone, strength and endurance
- Reduced risk of gestational diabetes
- Reduced risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Less time in the pushing phase of delivery
- Lower incidence of Caesaraen section birth
And it doesn’t stop there. Exercise is also great for postpartum moms. Women who continue their exercise program after delivery experience positive benefits like quicker return to pre-pregnancy shape, lower incidences of postpartum depression, better quality of sleep, less physical discomfort, and faster recovery from pregnancy, labor and delivery (1).
All that being said, I plan to have some new workouts to share very soon which will be great for pregnant mamas, postpartum mamas, as well as beginners new to working out. Stay tuned!!
Xoxo
Marisa
References: (1): ACE: The Importance of Perinatal Exercise
