Exercise while pregnant?

G

Gracey

Registered User
Up to about a year ago, I was reasonably physically active. Not very athletic, but I sometimes went to the gym, jogged on the treadmill, did yoga or some other sports.
When I started fertility treatments about 9 months ago, my doctor told me to stop all physical activity. In retrospect, I think much of what this doctor told me was far too conservative -- or sometimes just downright wrong -- but I listened to him at the time.
The total lack of exercise (practical bedrest when I wasn't at work) plus the hormone treatments caused me to gain some weight.
Then, I was exhausted during my first trimester and continued not to exercise. I am shockingly unfit -- climbing two flights of stairs leaves me winded.
Now, my exhaustion / nausea are lifting and I feel I should get in shape again.
Was Doctor #1 right? Is exercise dangerous? He really crushed my confidence.
That said, he also said all women should have C-sections, so I don't think he was interested in getting patients fit and ready for natural birth.
There's that -- plus the fact that I don't want to get HUGE and then have to diet like crazy after the birth.
I've gained about 2 kg in 3 months, which I think is fine. But I don't want to balloon like a gf of mine who put on 60 lbs!
Any help?
 
firstly, i would have a hard time trusting anything a doctor whose belief is "all women should have c-sections" says. I think the general advice about exercise & pregnancy is so long as it's not too hard on your joints & you haven't had any complications (like bleeding), then it's fine. I would suggest keep it gentle - walking, prenatal yoga or pilates, swimming - & listen to your body. if it's telling you to stop and rest, then stop and rest. with my first pregnancy, i did pump classes a couple of times a week until i was about 4 or 5 months pregnant - just dropped the weights to quite low - but i had been doing it regularly before i got pregnant & was already conditioned. it's probably not a good idea to take it up if you hadn't been doing it before! this time, i wasn't as fit before i got pregnant, so i've just been walking & doing prenatal yoga. i always feel much better when i've done at least a little bit of exercise - even just a 15 minute walk does wonders!
 
Sounds like you have a terribly conservative doctor. I have heard of doctors in HK who virtually recommend bed rest to all their patients.. apparently they serve wealthy & pampered women!

Most textbooks and obstetricians (Western at least) will recommend staying fit during pregnancy, for your own health, the baby's and for moderating your weight gain, provided there are no medical complications for baby or yourself. You do need your doctor's "okay" before you embark on vigorous exercise, so either try to talk to yoiur doctor again or get a second opinion. Culturally I find Hong kongers overprotective of pregnant women.

With my doctor's blessing, I swam, did pre-natal yoga and went for pregnancy massage. I also walked up stairs and the hilly area near my home. In fact, the more advanced my pregnancy, the more I swam as I was preparing for a natural birth. Overall I gained 15 kg/30lbs during pregnancy which is within the normal range. But I ended up having an emergency c-section.

The exercise and yoga helped me feel good throughout my pregnancy and helped beat some of the aches and pains associated with 3rd trimester. I would recommend exercise as long as it is endorsed by your doctor.
 
My doctor isnt so conservative. I gain like more than 20kg for my pregnancy. I had a miscarriage before therefore just too afraid to do anything vigorously. So end up shedding only less than 10kg. Just ballooned up. :(

Therefore, when going for baby #2, i'm not going to let that happen.

In fact, swimming is a very good exercise. I'm going to pick up yoga slowly, and start to eat wisely again.

Hope i can regain where i was before i'm pregnant.

Good luck ladies.

@ Gracey

When are you due?
 
i did pre-natal yoga, light weights (3-5lbs) and walking...swimming is good, but i just don't like swimming. you can ask the instructor at fitness centres to recommend exercises for pregnant ladies - it should be no problem!

you wil find that you get tired more easily than before ...walking up stairs WILL be more exhausting, it's just natural. do remember to listen to your body and don't over exert yourself...it definitely does "feel" better if you exercise during pregnancy, but apart from pre-natal yoga don't try anything new now,
 
@lalligirl i totally agree with you especially about the c section comment! Also there is lots of research to show that exercise in pregnancy is very beneficial - no exercise at all (unless of course there are complications and/or special circumstances) is a very outdated approach. However as PP have said, as you are not currently fit just take it easy and listen to your body, especially as the heat and humidity increases. But find something you enjoy, swimming, walking, gym work as recommended by someone with experience with pregnancy, pre natal yoga/pilates. You will cope with pregnancy much better if you have some fitness and it also makes you feel so much better in yourself apart from helping with healthy weight gain.
 
I don't think "conservative" is the term to really describe your doctor (his response is an overreaction, I think, though) and unless you've had complications warranting it (as mentioned before: bleeding/threat of miscarriage etc.) then I think it is a very bad idea to be inactive. Muscles atrophy if they're not used and this can cause all kinds of problems for you including back problems later on in pregnancy. Also, labor is called labor for a reason--it's hard work and the more stamina you have in general, the better off things can go.

But, I don't think you have to "exercise" in the classic sense. Just be active. Be active in your daily life. Decades ago very few people really "exercised" but they had physically demanding jobs (washing clothes by hands, no lifts or escalators etc.) so they just stayed fit on a day-to-day basis.

One of the best things you can do for yourself is walk. Walking is easy, not dangerous and can be done anywhere. How hard you push yourself, as laligirl said, depends on what signals your body is giving you. If you can do it, walk the stairs in your apartment building. If that's too much just make sure you walk as much as you can every day. This is good for your bones (weight-bearing exercise) and simple.

Swimming is also FANTASTIC when you're pregnant. This time around, my skin has been so itchy that I can't go in the pool because of the chlorine but with my first pregnancy, I loved swimming. I also did prenatal pilates up until a couple of weeks ago (I'm 9 months right now). Also, I just find that stretching at home is helpful--just keeping my hips, legs and everything else limber helps me deal with body tension. These last few weeks I'm doing some prenatal belly dancing videos at home--belly dancing is great as the movements open up the hips and get your ready to give birth. Even having an exercise ball at home you can sit on and rotate your hips on is going to give you more flexibility and comfort.

And I do have to add that even if you do everything in your power to not "balloon" in your pregnancy, sometimes your weight gain is really out of your control. (That's got to be one of the most frustrating things about pregnancy, I think--the fact that your body just decides what it's going to do and you sometimes just have to go along with it).

I got really big with my first pregnancy (I gained 80 pounds--obviously putting your girlfriend who gained only a mere 60 to shame, ha!) and I vowed that I wouldn't get "that huge" again this time. I've drastically changed not only my eating habits but my lifestyle and while I've not gained 80 pounds I've probably gained around 40 pounds this time which is more than I had hoped. I got really depressed about it for awhile but I've moved on.

Physically, I feel really pretty good this pregnancy (despite an old injury in my back being bothered and the skin problems) and I know I am really active--I walk at least 2-3 miles/day because I walk to and from work. I work all day which means I'm very active on my feet (I don't have a desk job) and after work I chase my 3-year-old around. I eat a lot of greens every day (helps me deal with the increasing indigestion problems that come with the 3rd trimester) and I'm doing really well on the health front.

I feel physically and mentally prepared to go through a natural, medication-free, childbirth as I did with my first son and to me, that is what matters. So, psychologically, I find it's pretty pointless to get caught up on what number you are on a scale--it's better to just be kind and gentle to your body and your baby and if you have a "ton of weight" to lose afterward, so be it.
 
thanka2 said:
And I do have to add that even if you do everything in your power to not "balloon" in your pregnancy, sometimes your weight gain is really out of your control. (That's got to be one of the most frustrating things about pregnancy, I think--the fact that your body just decides what it's going to do and you sometimes just have to go along with it).
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I just hope that i can shed the weight i ballooned after my delivery last year. I walk alot, but maybe not as much as you.

Good luck. And keep your good posts coming.
 
I was really fit before I got pregnant. Was running about 30km per week and doing weights and abdominal exercises 3 or 4 times per week too.
When I got pregnant my doc also advised me to stop exercising. So, no exercise and massive appetite during the first trimester I put on about 5kg. I'm now 20 weeks and have put on about 7kg over all.
I have been trying to go swimming and have been to the gym a couple of times too. I also like to walk places but compared to what I was doing before I think the weight gain is inevitable.

Yoga and aquanatal don't burn many calories so they won't stop you putting on weight even though they are undoubtedly good for toning and preparation for labour.
Not overeating is probably the best way to avoid excess weight gain but from my own experience I know it's really tough if you have cravings. My appetite seems to be stabilising again now so I hope my weight gain might slow down a bit too.

Don't forget though that if you breastfeed this will help you burn more calories and lose any extra pounds. Also if you have a natural birth you can probably hit the gym again quite soon afterwards.
 
taysty said:
I just hope that i can shed the weight i ballooned after my delivery last year. I walk alot, but maybe not as much as you.

Good luck. And keep your good posts coming.
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Thanks for the well wishes and for liking my posts. :grouphug:

Well, I never did get down to my pre-pregnancy weight after my son was born and before I got pregnant this time. Not even very close to my pre-pregnancy weight but thankfully, I carry weight well so I look deceptively thinner than I actually am.

But, I have to say, if anything, pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood has done two things (among others) for me:

1. Made me aware of my own mortality/falibility. Yes, things sag. Yes, things stretch (and can't go back to their original shape). Yes, things get wider. I guess we all know it but now I know this experientially. Nothing like life to teach you things. :haha:

2. Made me less vain (not that I was exceedingly caught up in appearance before): So what if I'm packing around a few extra pounds? Sure, I'd love to be 128 pounds and have the figure I had when I was a competitive swimmer.

But, time keeps marching on and the likelihood that I'm going back to those days is pretty slim (pun intended). Might as well learn to love the me that I am now. Of course, I can work toward being thinner and fitter but honestly, there are bigger fish to fry in my life now.

This is quite an interesting site revolving around these issues:

Shape of a Mother
 
I believe the issue is with heart rate. normally you want to reach a higher heart rate for cardio, but in this case you want to keep it (research this to confirm) i believe below 140. The idea is that above that rate you may not get enough blood to the placenta and therefore the baby. Keep it simple and go slowly and exercise is considered beneficial :) Also remember that if you are planning on breastfeeding dieting is not recommended, just eating healthy, well balanced meals. for some, breastfeeding melts the weight off but this is not the case for all, so don't expect magic.
 
Yoga and aquanatal don't burn many calories so they won't stop you putting on weight even though they are undoubtedly good for toning and preparation for labour.
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When I had my most recent personal freakout over my pregnancy weight gain I read a ton of stuff on exercise and pregnancy and actually, you don't want to be burning a lot of calories when you're pregnant as the acidic buildup in your body can be unhealthy for your baby. Toned muscles burn calories naturally.

Don't forget though that if you breastfeed this will help you burn more calories and lose any extra pounds. Also if you have a natural birth you can probably hit the gym again quite soon afterwards.
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If you think pregnancy made you overeat, look out, breastfeeding is a major calorie suck and you may feel like you're ALWAYS starving. So, inevitably there are two things that I've heard happen to breastfeeding friends--either everything goes smoothly and they really benefit from the extra calorie burn and shed weight fast or the opposite (which is my own personal journey and that of several friends as well) they gain a lot of weight after the baby is born.

You have to remember also that a new baby puts a lot of strain on your body and emotions so if you have any tendency to overeat (or eat junk food) when you're tired (exhausted is more accurate because that's the level dealing with a newborn takes you to) or stressed then you're going to have to really guard against that. Also, if you're a comfort eater--maybe missing home and the absence of family after the baby is born not eating wisely can be an issue. And this doesn't even touch on if you deal with PPD (PND) or not--that's an entirely different thing which can also affect things.

I was so excited to hear that breastfeeding helps with calorie burn but I think you can't take too much solace in that as the truth is, for many women, post-pregnancy weight loss is work--and a lot of it--maybe even more difficult than it was pre-pregnancy (thanks hormones!) But, take it easy and look at it as a long-term process of health rather than a crazy "get thin quick" scheme that you may have been able to pull off previously but doesn't work so well under new circumstances.
 
rebekah said:
Also remember that if you are planning on breastfeeding dieting is not recommended, just eating healthy, well balanced meals. for some, breastfeeding melts the weight off but this is not the case for all, so don't expect magic.
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Exactly.

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rebekah said:
I believe the issue is with heart rate. normally you want to reach a higher heart rate for cardio, but in this case you want to keep it (research this to confirm) i believe below 140. The idea is that above that rate you may not get enough blood to the placenta and therefore the baby.
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The 140 heartrate recommendation has been out of date since 1994 when it was removed from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' recommendation. The issue is supposed to be the core temperature and whether you are still able to talk while exercising. Here are a few links that explain in more detail:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-during-pregnancy/AN01560
http://www.examiner.com/pregnancy-h...-fitness-101-debunking-the-140-heartrate-myth
 
I'm one of those breastfeeding mummy that doesnt shed weight but gain even more i think. And what make this even "better" is the fact that the majority OP believe or had seen mummies losing weight when breastfeed. When they look at me, they just couldnt believe their eyes. To be more exagerating, they popped their eyes out. Needless to say, they keep on reminding me the fact that "i'm the minority". Well... thanks but no thanks... :(

Anyway, i will keep on pumping breastmilk till my bub is 6 months. Less than 2 months to go.

I'll see how it goes.

@ Thanka

Lucky you that you carry weight well. Not for me. Haha.
 
Gracey, were there specific issues as well as the fertility treatment that caused your doctor to recommend no exercise? I had fertility treatment but exercised a lot - went to the gym at least three times a week for cardio & weights and hiked with my dogs at the weekends - up until week 37.
 
Hi everyone,
Thanks much for all the helpful comments!
Well, the whole situation has turned on its head because now I've had some spotting / discharge.
I had a tiny spot of blood earlier on that my new doctor (I'm no longer seeing the conservative one) said was probably no big deal. Though he did give me an HcG shot just to be sure. It stopped and we both relaxed.

Then, last night, I had some pinkish-brown discharge. I called doctor #2 again, who had me go in for a scan this morning. Baby looks fine, but he's a little concerned. So I'm back on the HcG shots twice a week, and back on progesterone. I've had a little bit more tonight, too. I just don't know what to think.

So... looks like all my plans to restart exercise have been pushed back. Which is a bummer, because I was reasonably active before all this baby-making stuff, and now I feel like a slug.

Thanka -- My apologies. I didn't mean to sound like I was poking fun of weight gain. Every woman is different. Honestly, I'd rather have weight gain and a healthy pregnancy, than no weight gain and these "scares."

While I have you all here -- any of you guys have similar pinkish-brownish light spotting? Is it serious? I'm 12 weeks tomorrow.
 
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