Pregnancy PT: Before, During and After (Part 1)

Taken one month before I was preggers. 

I'm finally getting around to this post about fitness before, during and after pregnancy. And it's going to be a 3-parter! Woohoo! After I had my daughter, I was frequently asked about my fitness regimen and how I lost all the baby weight so quickly. Well, sorry to break the news to you, but my workouts didn't start after I had my baby. My plan actually started way back when my hubby and I were trying to conceive. So, I figured that would be a good place to start this 3-part blog post. My fitness regimen during the "Trying To Conceive" days.

I think normally when women begin the journey of “trying to conceive” they start taking their prenatal vitamins and take their activity level to a lower level. When my husband and I decided that we were going to get started in the baby making business, I didnʼt want to compromise my active lifestyle. I was already signed up for the Chicago Marathon and had started my training. I told myself that even though I was trying to get pregnant I was still going to go about my normal level of training. If during the training I did get pregnant, then I would drop out of the marathon and talk to my doctor about exercise, specifically running, during pregnancy.

My marathon training consisted of running 5 days a week at varying distances and I took 2 days off to rest. During this time I started taking pre-natal vitamins and those yummy fish oil pills. I continued to eat my normal diet which, due to all the running I was doing, consisted of a lot of carbs, protein and whole grains. I continued to have a couple of cups of coffee in the morning and also indulged in a cocktail here and there. Really, the only thing that changed while I was trying to conceive was taking the extra vitamins. I didn't adjust my level of physical activity at all.

As it turned out, I got pregnant (but didnʼt know it yet) during the most strenuous part of my marathon training. I was doing my long runs on the weekends which ranged anywhere between 15-20 miles. I think itʼs amazing what our bodies (and embryos) can endure. I was definitely putting a lot of stress on my body during that time and the little babe turned out perfect.

Iʼve read about women who have run marathons while pregnant and Iʼll admit that I thought about giving it a go. However, taking into consideration the fact that I was already 39 and didnʼt want to risk miscarrying at such a late age and also my doctor didnʼt condone running 26.2 miles while pregnant, I thought it was best for me to pass on the Chicago Marathon.

In a nutshell, my philosophy was to stay healthy and not lower my level of physical activity just because I was trying to conceive. Worked out pretty well.

xxoo-
K