My Pregnancy Health and Fitness Routine

It seems a little unreal to me that I'm well into my third trimester of this pregnancy! I wanted to write up a short post about my food and exercise routine these past few months, because I like to think I'm a pretty health and fitness-oriented person but I've definitely had days (or weeks) where diet and exercise (especially diet) just weren't a priority, and I think that's okay. I'm happy to report that my mostly good habits have really carried me through and when I look back on this pregnancy as a whole so far, I think I've done a relatively good job taking care of myself (even if I've eaten more ice cream since about April than anyone reasonably ought to).

Diet: 

I've really relied on my prenatal vitamins the past few months. I had really high hopes for eating super healthy and staying gluten-free and even low-carb throughout this pregnancy, but after about week 8 it just wasn't an option. I wanted to thrive and eat tons of veggies but a lot of the time I was just trying to make it through. I was really nauseated for weeks and the only thing that kept it under control were carbs--rice crackers and toast especially.

Then in my second and third trimester I started craving sugar so much--I've tried really hard to eat fruit instead of ice cream but I'm indulging in my fair share of milkshakes (and Oreos...and s'mores). I think it's a little weird when women obsess too much about pregnancy weight gain but just for reference, I've gained about 30 pounds so far...and I still have 9-10 weeks to go. It's recommended that women of average weight gain about 25-35 pounds, so I'm kind of on track but I think I'm probably going to clock in closer to 40 by the time November 21 comes around.

So my diet has looked a lot like this:

• I eat eggs for breakfast as much as I can, even if it means putting them in a wrap or on toast (usually gluten-free).
• Have a salad a few times a week (this is usually a generous handful of spinach in a smoothie or on the side of my plate for lunch and dinner).
• Drink tons of water and La Croix all day and try to limit my Coke Zero intake to once or twice a week, which I used to hate but now literally daydream about on hot afternoons.
• Incorporating veggies as snacks as much as possible.

I passed my gestational diabetes test with good numbers but apparently I've developed anemia, so in addition to my prenatal vitamin every day I'm also taking an iron supplement. I didn't feel like I was overly tired or anything but I do think extra iron has helped boost my energy a bit. I'm also adding spinach to everything and trying to eat more beef, which oddly enough is really one of the only meats I've been into this pregnancy so far, so I'm not sure why my iron levels are so low. Either way, we're getting them back up so it's all good.

Exercise:

I feel really lucky to have been well enough to exercise consistently throughout this entire pregnancy. In March my Pure Barre studio did a 20 in 31 challenge and I felt like it was the perfect way to start out, so I worked out 5 days a week the whole first month I was pregnant! Once I started teaching I was going a bit less, since I was figuring out my schedule, but I quickly got back to it. I know every labor and delivery is different, but I really am hoping that staying in shape is somehow preparing me to actually get this baby out of my body in a way that is effective and a mostly positive experience to look back on.

• Walks: 20-60 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week
• Barre:
  • Pure Barre 2-3 times a week (although I teach 6 classes a week which sometimes feels the same as taking about 1/4 of a class)
  • Pure Empower 2-3 times a week--if you haven't tried this class out yet you really should! It's a lot more intense than classic Pure Barre classes, but it's only 45 minutes. I've found it surprisingly pregnancy-friendly because there's less abs, which means I have to modify less of the class (in regular class I do a lot of sitting around/stretching the last 20 minutes and sometimes it feels like a waste of time).

I'm starting to stretch a bit more than usual, especially at night when my back, hips, and now ribs hurt a lot. I'm definitely slowing down physically and trying to be patient with myself but also reasonably challenge myself to stay as active as possible for as long as I can. I feel so much better when I've worked out, gone on a walk, or even just taught a Pure Barre class than I do if I just lie around all day, so I try to remind myself of that on days when I'm extra tired--and I still make time to nap when I need it, which is usually at least once or twice a week. 

What were your food and exercise habits like if/when you are/were pregnant? Did you succumb to cravings like I have? As always, let me know if you have any questions! I've had so much fun documenting some of these things on the blog and I hope you've enjoyed reading them!