Fitness set by Fabletics

Happy Thursday, Babes! I wanted to take a quick second to thank you all for the love again regarding my pregnancy! I love being able to connect with those that are also pregnant and the excitement of bringing you all my pregnancy fashion looks is just boiling up inside me! Probably the most asked question lately is how I feel and how exercise looks for me these days. Well I am happy to say that I feel great and have still been able to train 5-6 days a week. Exercise during the First Trimester is definitely the hardest in my opinion (and the last few weeks!) due to drained energy but I always know that I feel better once I get my sweat on. I am thankful that my body has allowed me (so far!) to go through great pregnancies which helps when it comes to staying active. I will never take that for granted!

Pictured at 11 weeks

I am currently 14 weeks pregnant and the First Trimester is finally ovaaaaaa’! It went by SO quickly, despite knowing pretty early on at around 4-5 weeks. Like I said in my First Trimester Pregnancy Questions post, the only symptoms I really had these past few months have been cravings, sense of smell, and loss of energy. I am the type of person that LOVES to train and I look forward to it everyday. There weren’t many times in my First Trimester that I missed a training session and I am thankful for that. In case you are a new follower and reader of Vida Noel (thanks for being here!), I am a huge believer in weight training. I have been weight training for about 7 years and it has done wonders for my body and mind. I do some cardio, but my main focus is lifting. Once I found out I was pregnant, I removed all ab work out of my workouts. I never did too many ab focused exercises prior to be honest, but I made sure that I cut it all out. This includes crunches, planks, leg raises, hanging leg raises/leg tucks, etc. I got Diastasis Recti pretty bad with Noelia and I just want to be super careful this time. Diastasis Recti is the separation of the abs and it will never go away, unfortunately. Just one of those things I have to deal with, but if my body makes healthy babies and allows me to feel good I can’t be mad at it! God is so so good in that aspect.

As far as working out during pregnancy in general, always always consult your Doctor about it first. He/She should be your main boo during this precious time! Tell them EVERYTHING; your eating, your activity levels, how you feel, etc. I have always made sure I laid out my whole health and fitness regimen/routine to be sure that everything was still safe while pregnant. Since I was so active before, all my lifts are completely safe for me right now. The only thing I need to takeout are ab movements and once I hit 20 weeks I can no longer lay on my back for thing like bench and laying down glute raises. As my belly expands, the amount of weight I put on my back for a squat will decrease as well as a few other Olympic lifts like Deadlift.

My eating has definitely increased, but not by too much. I definitely give into cravings more, to be honest ;). I strive to eat my normal 6 small meals a day but if I am still hungry, I definitely grab a snack. I always want to be in tune to my body and listen to it…If I am hungry, I eat…If I am full, I don’t. The “eating for two” mentality is a fallacy. YES, you are technically feeding another human inside you, but that little babe only needs you to increase your diet by 300-450 cals. I cringe when I hear stories of women purposefully wanting to gain a ton of weight during pregnancy just because they “can”. I guess do it your way, but a healthy pregnancy is what I strive for. Massive weight gain in a short amount of time is not healthy for you nor your baby, so remember that! By all means EAT, but eat well. This is another blog post entirely, stay tuned!

A few examples of my favorite snacks right now are Triscuits, cheese, grapes, cantaloupe, carrots, almonds, and rice cakes.

5 Tips for Staying Active During Pregnancy

1. Always consult your Doctor! Fill them in on your current lifestyle. If you are someone who was never active before pregnancy, this is even more important to do (IMO).
2. Stay hydrated. Your fluid intake should increase when you are expecting and water is always best! Some days I am really good at my water, and other days I am not (being honest!). I always have a shaker bottle with my full of water wherever I go.
3. Keep moving. I get it…you come home from work and all you want to do is grab those snacks and chill on the couch for a while (unless you’re already a mom of littles LOL this doesn’t happen). Resting when you know you need to is perfectly find and recommended, but if you’re like me, If I sit down I stay down. I try my best to stay up and moving from when I get home until gym-time. This could be doing laundry, house chores, cooking dinner, etc.
4. Have a routine and stick to it. I always train in the evening right before Noelia goes to bed or after. I am a creature of habit and I like knowing my schedule to a T. For me, it allows me to prepare my mind for the day ahead. Remember, you don’t have to workout…you GET to workout!
5. Fuel your body with wholesome foods. Since us pregnant ladies have to watch our caffeine intake, you don’t need bad food slowing you down, too Foods that are highly processed and that come from a Drive-Thru are more than likely to make you feel groggy and sluggish. This does not help you! Fuel your body with the right stuff so you can get the good stuff out of it! Like a BA workout 😉

Remember, everyone starts somewhere. You cannot compare your chapter 1 to someones chapter 10, especially during pregnancy! Love your body at every stage that it is at.