Plans for a Healthy Pregnancy

As a mama-to-be, I have a responsibility to my little fetus to provide the safest and healthiest home as I possibly can for 9 months. While pregnancy seems like it would be a great excuse to be lazy and eat whatever I want, that's not the case. Now more than ever, I need to take care of myself because it's not just my body I'm nurturing, it's the body of my unborn baby as well. Of course, all pregnancies come with some energy limitations and cravings/aversions but these 9 months are far from a free-for-all. 

Over the past several years, my weight has been a bit of a struggle for me. I shared my whole weight loss/gain story in THIS POST awhile back and reading that back now, if I'm being honest, gives me some anxiety. Weight gain is absolutely part of the gig and is essential in growing a healthy baby and I am all on board for that. What makes me nervous is afterwards. With Kenley I gained just over the healthy recommendation of 25-35 pounds and gained 36 pounds but after she was born took terrible care of myself and kept off only 24 of those pounds {which I lost with no effort beyond breastfeeding} leaving me 12 pounds heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight for over a year after Kenley was born. But worse than the number on the scale, I wasn't healthy. I had no energy, felt like crap and had pretty bad self esteem. I worked my butt off for the following year to lose 20 pounds and get myself 8 pounds lighter than I was when I got pregnant the first time. I feel so much better and so much more confident and I never want to get back to that place where I was after Kenley was born.

Therefore, I have some plans and goals in place to help me take care of myself {and my baby} over these next 6 months in hopes of looking and feeling great throughout my pregnancy as well as making my postpartum bounce back easier than it was the last time. 

Utilize MyFitnessPal. Call me crazy, but I kind of like counting calories - it makes nutrition like a little game. Of course counting calories when you are pregnant is a little different than when you are trying to shed pounds but MFP is just as helpful. The first trimester you do not need any extra calories so maintaining your weight is your goal and you will naturally gain a few thanks to extra blood, fluids and that growing zygote. The second trimester you need an additional 300-350 calories and the third trimester another 100-150 on top of that. So I use MFP to calculate those first trimester calories by going into my goals and changing it to "maintain current weight", then it gives me the calories I need my first trimester, then the following trimesters I will go in and manually add those additional cals. I'm not nearly as diligent as adding every little thing as I am when I am trying to lose weight, but it is nice to keep track and see where I am each day. Plus, MFP has a nutrition section where you can track the nutrients {think protein, calcium, vitamin c, and iron which are all super important during pregnancy} you've had, which is super helpful when trying to maintain a well balanced diet. 

Walk/Run/Ride 400 miles. With Kenley I walked over 250 miles which was a doable challenge that kept me moving. This time, now that we have bikes that we love, and I am in much better shape I want to up that goal and push myself a little harder by hitting 400 active miles during this pregnancy.

Curb the caffeine. It's no secret I LOVE my coffee and an occasional mountain dew {I know, I know - such poison} but now is not the time for either. I will definitely keep one cup of coffee as a part of my morning routine because I might actually die if I don't, but that's it. No pop. And only decaf after my one cup in the am. I'm actually really hoping I can try and maintain this after baby is born too, for sure during breastfeeding but beyond as well.  

Take a quality prenatal. Unfortunately, not all vitamins are created equal and some contain some really icky ingredients {like high fructose corn syrup! yuck!} I looked at quite a few and found one I LOVE at a price point that is manageable. I've been taking the Rainbow Light Prenatal One which provides vitamins and minerals in a base of superfood extracts. It has plant-source enzymes, ginger juice and probiotics to make for easy digestion and absorption {it never makes me feel sick} and is 100% natural, vegetarian, vegan, and is free of animal ingredients. It also contains no gluten, soy, yeast, milk, eggs, nuts, fish or shellfish and is lactose-free. Basically, it's the bomb. 

Maintain regular chiro appointments. My number one biggest complaint during my pregnancy with Kenley was back pain, and it only got worse after she was born with nursing and lugging around all her stuff. I've been seeing a chiropractor that I love for almost two years now and plan to continue my appointments throughout this pregnancy.

Splurge on a couple prenatal massages. Rest and relaxation is just as important for mama's health and I think growing a human warrants a massage or two. Again, my back was an issue the first time around so hopefully having a couple massage appointments set up will help compliment the chiro appointments. 

Make workouts fun. I definitely want to take some prenatal yoga classes because I LOVE yoga. I also want to take advantage the free workouts that the Twin Cities Bump Club offers once a month. And I want to spend time with friends while being active - I'm thinking coffee and walking laps at Mall of America might be the trick!

Any ideas, motivation or tips you ladies can contribute would be much appreciated!!! 

OH! And I finally got my FitBit fixed after nearly two months of not having it! So add me as a friend and we can step battle! :)