The title says it all! After charting my heart out and taking the leap to follow my passion, which caused my stress to nearly dissolve instantly, I am finally pregnant! But unlike the lovely crew of bloggers on this site, I’m overweight. Not massively overweight but enough to be uncomfortable. I’ve been hovering around this size since JaMonkey stopped nursery. Shortly after that I was the size I was at 9 months pregnant. It was very depressing and defeating because I went through some pretty low points that I’d rather not dig up. Alas I lost 22 pounds after that and I’ve been holding at this size. The main reason for loosing the weight was so that I could carry another baby without getting huge.
When you are plus sized you should only be gaining from 15-20 pounds during your pregnancy. Much different from the average 25-35 pounds. Or in my case 60 and no I didn’t had twins I just had the worst potato craving of my life! One of the best things about being pregnant are the chemicals your body starts to produce. One of which is hCG. HCG or human chorionic gonadotrophin has been linked to the severity of morning sickness, it’s also the hormone that causes that pregnancy test to turn pink. Obviously that’s not why you’d be excited about it though. It’s because hCG helps burn fat storage to give to the baby! So women that are overweight when they get pregnant can actually use it to their advantage.
I’ve recently started working out as much as possible. Many people think that once you get pregnant you have to sit back with your feet propped up until you pop but that is quite the opposite. Having a fit pregnancy is something I’ll be going for. During the first trimester you can do pretty much everything. I wouldn’t suggest pushing yourself to be a body builder but things like crunches and running are completely fine. Moving into your second trimester your body will start releasing more Relaxin causing your joints to soften and stretch so that you can birth with ease.
Relaxin is another chemical you can use to your advantage especially during workouts because stretching and building muscle tone can help in your labor and delivery. Yoga is a perfect way to do that plus most pregnancy yoga videos offer each trimester so you can see your limitations. Start moving away from those floor crunches though after you start showing. The pressure that the baby puts on your spinal cord will start making you dizzy and faint. Start doing them standing up!
Once you cross into your third trimester you probably aren’t going to feel like working out but a simple walk can be productive. Staying active during your entire pregnancy is going to help when it comes to the marathon of labor and delivery.
You never want to diet while you are pregnant, your baby will miss out on proper nutrients. Just make the smart decision to eat better and stay away from the guilty pleasures of an entire box of Little Debbie snack cakes or french fries from every place you pass on the way home. (Guilty) I’m sure during the first trimester you won’t be eating much anyways. Eat smaller meals so that you don’t get sick.
