Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Backstory
Five years ago when I learned I was pregnant with my first child, I began a search for stories of moms who stayed fit through their pregnancy via good diet and exercise. This proved to be surprisingly difficult to find.
Frustrated, I decided to follow the general consensus of moms and doctors which was to walk as often as possible. I also decided to eat a lot because I had been convinced by some well intentioned experts that I needed to eat for two. That didn't work very well. I gained over 65 lbs. and my little baby was a whopping 9 lbs. 11 oz.
The following year, I was determined to lose all that I had gained and I worked very hard to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. It took me almost 1.5 years to shed those extra pounds which I felt was way too long (and way too much work).
Now that I was thin again, I resolved that if I ever got pregnant a second time I was going to do things very differently. I was not sure what I could do different but knew that there had to be a better way to be healthily pregnant - for both me and the baby.
One year and ten months after my first pregnancy, I got my chance to try things differently. Now pregnant with my second child, I decided to keep doing what I had done in order to lose all the weight from my previous pregnancy: running. I'd run a half marathon and logged many miles on the road. I decided to go against the grain and run through my pregnancy if I could manage it. It was hard but I kept running right up until 3 days before my daughter Simone was born. She weighed 7lbs 13oz.
I changed my diet as well and this time only ate for two in regards to quality, not quantity. It worked. I gained a little under 35 lbs. I was thrilled. It took me six months to lose the weight and another two months to feel toned and strong again. In November 2011, 19 months after giving birth to Simone, I found out that I was pregnant for a third time.
I have created this blog so that I can have a place to journal and document how I stay healthy and fit before, during and after this pregnancy.
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Thanks for this! My daughter is 20 months and I gained 57 pounds to my 5'4' 120lb pre preggo frame! I ate a lot! I'm down to 130lbs now and started running again in January. We just found out Feb 15 that we are expecting again. The last few weeks I have not been running due to morning sickness and being plain tired. However I just signed up for my first 10k!
ReplyDeleteI need to get back to my running routine. Can you give me any advice on how to stay motivated and find time to run with a toddler? I don't mind pushing the stroller but really enjoy my alone time running too.
A big congratulations to you!!! And what a great age gap between your kids that will be! Way to go on losing so much of the weight. It never just "fell off" for me after my first pregnancy but it did after my second and I believe the running was a major contributer to that.
DeleteI love my alone time too! Is your husband able to help with childcare while you're out? Honestly, the only way I'm able to get my workouts in is because Jake is willing to watch the kiddos. A lot of days he takes them to the park while I'm lifting, or we all go to a park with trails so they can play while I run. Would either of those scenarios work for your family? Another option might be getting up early enough to run? It does gets tricky when you have kids involved.
As far as motivation... I'd get on a set schedule where you know that on this day, your run is set in stone. Start with any number of days that you can absolutely commit to and make it as important in your day as drinking water or eating food. Also, I'd suggest taking vitamin B and eating a small meal that you know will give you a burst of energy before your runs. Another thing that helps with motivation is getting connected with a running club or even a facebook group where you can stay encouraged and motivated by others doing the same as you. Also, signing up for emails and articles that you receive weekly just helps in staying reminded of the reasons you're choosing to run.
A great one to sign up for that includes but isn't limited to exercise is Mercola.com. You've probably already seen this-http://www.runningskirts.com/PregnancyFitness.html... I found this website fun and inspiring while running through my second pregnancy.