How I’ve Kept Active Throughout My Pregnancy
Tips on how to keep active and have a healthy pregnancy from a first-time mom.
ACTIVE AND HEALHTY
While it is no secret that I love a good workout or run, I’ve been determined to keep healthy and active during my pregnancy, to not only stay healthy for me and babe but to strengthen myself for delivery, postpartum and motherhood.
One thing I know for sure is that home workouts are my jam. I mean, I love waking up some mornings, not washing my face, not brushing my hair or teeth, staying in my pj’s and hitting play on a 30-minute workout in my cool basement. Talk about convenience. But, my home programs also help me stay active and healthy!
I’ve chatted with many people over the years about how I manage to get the motivation to workout at home, and not be distracted by other things. My response, it only takes 30-45 minutes, and it is my time I dedicate myself to working on bettering me. I put on a good playlist, I hammer out a good burning workout and I feel like a million dollars once I am finished.
The added bonus is that I can step right up from my basement to my hot shower and get on with my day. Heck, if I don’t have time to shower right after, I don’t even care because I am in my own home and there is no judging here… just reapply some deodorant, spray in some dry shampoo, moisturize and get on with the day {this will be one of my mommy methods, I’m sure}.
THE KEY TO STAYING ON TRACK
The key to staying on track for me is having a group of women who help hold me accountable. I check into a group on Social Media every day. It’s a place where we are all encouraged to share our journeys, check-in with how day/week is going and we simply inspire one another to reach our goals.
Being pregnant and all, my one and only goal was to just be healthy. Obviously, weight gain was going to happen and many changes with my body, but you can’t beat the feeling of, “feeling healthy”. It’s all about living a healthy lifestyle, however, whichever way you view that, or see that is up to you!
For me, it is regular exercise, eating a balanced diet with lots of vegetables, and drinking at the minimum the amount of water I should be drinking each day. About 3-4 days a week, I substitute a snack for a superfood shake, that’s loaded with vitamins, minerals, etc. to ensure that I am getting all the nutrients that I need, and to keep my energy levels up, because “team no sleep” has been around a lot throughout my pregnancy.
While some days aren’t always easy for me to get motivated. I know how a good workout makes me feel and how important it has been so far throughout my pregnancy. Just as some weeks, I don’t always show up to hit play on that workout, because I need some time to just mentally clear my head.
We all have off days, hard days and challenging days. It is okay to fall off the wagon, but it is important to know when you have to jump back on. Do what feels right. Don’t push yourself to do something that you’re not enjoying. Just like you shouldn’t restrict yourself from the foods you enjoy. Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to punish yourself.
For me, it is about fuelling my body, exercising regularly and still treating myself to things like ice cream. Live a little my friends, laugh a lot and just feel beautiful in your own skin! Try and stay active, eat healthy and for goodness sake, eat the dessert would ya.
FINAL TIPS
- Create a playlist of your favorite hits
- Do workouts that you enjoy and that are fun
- Find the best time for you that works to get that workout in {morning, noon or evening}
- Find yourself someone or a group to help hold you accountable
- Most importantly, have fun!!!
