To all the pregnant women out there – I commend you. This week was tough. I had a 6 day week at work for my first full week and I happen to have started at their busiest time so getting my routine this week was super hard. I had it in my head that I would still be pumping it out at the gym 5-6 days a week – for full hour sessions and maybe the occasional run but that is definitely not what is happening. On top of the long days at work and early gym starts – I’m getting a lot more tired a lot more quickly at the gym. For those feeling the same – its ok – you’re growing and feeding something amazing. The thing to remember is to not over do it. I’ve cut down what my gym sessions look like – making sure I take a good 30 second rest between each set and drinking a tonne of water. Getting your heart rate too high during pregnancy is dangerous. It can decrease blood flow to your uterus and raise your body temperature which can lead to birth defects. As well, if you’re getting to the point where you’re huffing and puffing you are probably getting dehydrated which can lead to a premmie baby – and we don’t want that either. Like a lot of women who train quite often – I love the challenge of getting myself all tired out and really feeling like I’ve had a good session. Now though – it’s not just me I’ve got to think about and I’m trying to do everything correctly so to have the best possible pregnancy and feed this little one all the nutrients it needs.
As well as making sure I’m drinking water between sets and resting – I’m limiting my sessions to 45 mins. Any more than this and I start to feel very tired and we all know that exercising whilst tired leads to injuries – which no one needs.
So I had a shocker this week when it came to food. I didn’t get a chance to meal prep on Sunday as I had to work so I went in to the week winging it – which I hate. I’m starting to feel nauseated when I’m hungry at the moment so heading off to work with nothing more than some fruit and nuts and not knowing what my lunch will be was frustrating. On Monday as I headed into the food court of the local shopping centre I suddenly had a realisation – there was almost nothing I could eat. As most pregnant women would’ve been told – you have to be very careful about live bacteria during pregnancy. This means staying away from left overs that haven’t been fully heated through, food that’s been left out and pre made salads. A pre made salad place is usually my go to for a quick lunch – but I realised this wasn’t the best choice for me and the baby – having no idea how long they’ve been sitting there. My whole week was like this – and I really struggled getting enough veggies in. This Sunday is going to be all about my meal prep and making sure I have enough nutrients and meals to last the week. That extra time to prep can make the biggest difference mentally.
So although a stressful week we had our first appointment with our obstetrician. We got to hear the heart beat and as I looked over at Chris he was welling up which was just so beautiful. We are actually a little less along than we thought so 7.5 weeks as I write this and due the 6th September. It’s all starting to feel a little more real now – as we have our next appointment booked in before too long we will be able to find out the sex. My boobs continue to grow and are enormous (for me) and I’m feeling quite bloated a lot of the time – so this weekend is shopping time for some more comfy fitting clothes. My skin is also terrible and not getting any better – this is just all the hormones and should calm down by the 2nd trimester – so those women out there not feeling 100% – I’m with ya – but keep your head high – you are doing a great job and it will all be so worth it.
Instead of heading to the gym today – I jumped out to our backyard or a 20 min power session. I love these sometimes as there’s no distractions and being pregnant that extra vitamin D from the sun is gold.
I’ve popped today’s work out below for those who are interested. It was great to get my endorphins going especially after feeling all over the place this week.
Love and Life
the Figure x Danni
3 SETS OF EACH
12 banded squats
20 lunge walks
10 push ups
12 lunge jumps
12 banded leg raises each leg (band around your ankles, standing straight and extend your leg to the back)
20 tricep dips (find a chair or stair)
1 minute plank
30 second side plank each side