Weight gain in pregnancy seems kind of easy. It's really the one time in your life when people not only encourage you to eat and get bigger, they offer you the opportunities! While it's easy to agree with the idea "I'm eating for two", we still remember that we're going to want to lose all that we gain and gain what we lost someday again. Ideally, you want to aim 25-35lb overall but that does depend on your body. If you were underweight before pregnancy, your health care practitioner may suggest a higher goal. If you were heavier, you may be suggested to gain less. No matter what you're body weight was, all of us are at risk of pregnancy related illnesses, such a gestational diabetes, which are related to how we eat. We know what foods to avoid because of the higher chance of food poisoning and those that put the development of our baby at risk (unpasteurized and moldy cheeses, deli and undercooked meats, raw fish and fish higher in mercury, large amounts of caffeine, alcohol). We tend to forget there are other foods that are just as dangerous, but to our waistline and thighs: ice cream, chocolate, chips. Along with my water bottle, I liked keeping granola bars, crackers, mixed nuts stashed everywhere for when I needed a quick boost.
Am I on track?
On the numbers side of thing, if you're in the healthy-weight zone pre-pregnancy your goal is to gain 2-8lbs your first trimester and then about 1.5lb every 2 weeks until delivery. But numbers aren't everything. It's easy to gain weight by eating only cheeseburgers and french fries, but that won't put you on the right track. Having a well-balanced pregnancy means eating properly (remember all those nutrients you need now more than ever) and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The best way to know if you're on track is how you feel about your body. While you're probably thinking: "I feel disgusting", those are the pregnancy hormones and the fact you can't see you feet that are getting you down. But really feel your body: are you suffering from headaches, a lot of swelling, back pain, are you sad/angry all the time? Those are symptoms you can help control with a healthy lifestyle.
Post pregnancy, I find I'm even more hungry! With the lack of time and lack of hands to cook and then sit down and really enjoy a meal, I find myself snacking and eating on the go, if I can remember to eat! I'm not that great of a cook to begin with and the hunger that hits hard means I have very little desire to plan a well-balanced meal. A bowl of cereal can easily become my staple so we try to make sure there are lots of good foods that are easy to put together. Remember that if you're breastfeeding, you aim to intake about 400-500 additional calories a day from your regular diet. A few things we always have in our home:
- crackers (we buy the gluten-free, flax seed ones because they're super tasty)
- hummus
- baby carrots, cherry tomatoes or other cut up veggies (I'm lazy and hate cutting up veggies so we buy them pre-cut)
- almonds
- craisins
- lean ground meats (usually turkey or extra lean ground beef)
- pasta sauce (we look around for the lowest in sodium and with the least amount of unnameable ingredients)
- dry pasta
- eggs
- Apples, pears, or other fast grab fruit
- oatmeal
- milk
- yogurt
- sweet potatoes
Am I on track?
The first 20lbs were easy to lose! They came off by the time I got home from the hospital. Then things plateaued and it can be very frustrating. On average, your body should shed about 1-1.5lbs a week and it takes time for your hips and ribs to realign. While you give your body time to heal, you have to realise you won't fit back into your regular clothes right away. My maternity bottoms are all pants and because even my go-to shorts wouldn't fit (I just wore a really long shirt so people wouldn't notice I couldn't zip them up), I decided to get a few cheap pieces of clothing and continue wearing some maternity outfits to get me through the rest of summer. To know if I'm on track, I think about how I'm feeling physically after completing simple exercises. It's frustrating to go through the recovery phase at such a slow pace but getting back to doing what I love has been a huge motivator. We go for lots of family walks to keep us out of the house.
While being on track physically is important, your psychological well-being is just as important. Something I found interesting was how the health practitioners would ask about my psychological recovery. First the doctors in the hospital, then the public health nurses, my family doctor and my OB, they would question my support system, my sleep, my moods, everything! Postpartum depression is very serious and affects many women but it seems society is being more and more open about it. I'm lucky that my husband is home most days with me and I have many friends who have children already and many that are on maternity leave at the same time as me. I strongly urge every new mom to make it a daily habit to get out of the house. A walk around the neighbourhood, a drive to the store, a matinee (movie theatres here have weekly baby & me shows), a date with friends, early years drop-in centres. There are lots of ways to get out. While you want to be cautious of your new baby's low-immunity, I chose to avoid places that tended to have poorer air circulation with lots of people (like the mall) but a walk in the fresh air is great for everyone!
I'll be back to teaching BODYPUMP and BODYSTEP 10 weeks post-delivery and, honestly, the first feeling I have: fear. I am actually very worried about how I will survive a class let alone teach the class. Fear plagued me in my pregnancy too and it seems to keep us from our common sense. In pregnancy, people are quick to tell you all the dangers of exercise but forget to inform you of the benefits. Post partum, there are just as many myths (like exercise dries up your milk supply). I have also been worried about how my body will feel and react to exercise. Will I be able to walk the next day? Will I ever be able to lift the same weight? Will I be able to run without wetting my pants? Will someone be able to take care of my child while I'm gone? These fears can stop you from achieving your goals so the first thing I had to do: try. I started back by doing light weights at home and going for short walks. When I felt ready, I hit the gym for a quick workout (gone for less than 30 min) between feedings and let my husband stay home with our little girl. That led to leaving her home with her grandparents. My daughter feeds well whether it's from a bottle or breast so I began to pump and leave a bottle so I could go to an hour-long class. While child-minding is available at my gym, I'm not ready to leave her there yet so I plan my workout schedule around when my husband or in-laws are available. My first class back was a CX Works class which is a core strengthening class at about 3 weeks post-delivery. My first BODYPUMP class was 2 weeks later and I used light weights, I've gone for a few runs but it's all been tough. At 8 weeks post, I'm close to my pre-pregnancy weights for BODYPUMP and I feel stronger all the time. The runs and step classes, although exhausting, feel great. I had forgotten how good it feels to have a good hard sweat. Very important: listen to your body. Fitness levels vary greatly from one person to the next so it's extremely important to work at your level of ability and not do something simply because you heard another person do it. I would not run a marathon pregnant even though others do it and I'm not back to pushups on my toes because my body is not ready for it. Overexertion can only lead to injury.
Whether your pregnant or enjoying the cuddles with your new little one, set goals that will help keep you on the right track and continue to build your new goals on those.
See you at the gym!
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