22 weeks pregnant & feeling like a whale

[farpitzs]

I realize there`s not A LOT I can do right now, working out is really difficult and I`m not allowed to push myself really. BUT after my daughter is here I`m really going to need some tips.
I`m asking & begging you guys for tips. I need to loose (after some more weight I`ll gain) a total of about 70 pounds & that`s a lot of weight. Than I want to gain muscle and definition. It`s going to be hard with a newborn, BUT I hate and I mean HATE the way my body is now. So please help me out & give me great tips and/or motivation guys! I have to do this for myself & my daughter, I HAVE to set a good example for her lifestyle choices!

Enough is enough!

[burlyman619]

I admire your motivation. Just do a lot of reading here.


Diet, training, rest. Thats all you really need.


There is a search button that you may find of use.


Good luck .

[farpitzs]

Well obviously, I`m no fool. I need specific tips obviously.

[Animelee]

I hardly ever post, but this seems important, so hopefully I can help!

Obviously I'm a male, LOL!, but I'm studying to be a pediatrician, and some of the subjects I study on the side are care for pregnant women and their babies, as well as exercise and nutrition (which they don't even teach us!).

There was a new study released very recently that said pregnant women do not need to eat for two, as thought in the past.

<Tried to post an article link here, but I only have six posts>

If you've felt the need to eat for two, and have been forcing yourself to do that out of fear that your baby will not be getting enough nutrients, don't worry. You really only need a surplus of about 200 to 300 calories a day -- like when bulking! What's your daily diet like, may I ask?

As for exercise during pregnancy, just stick to power walking or swimming. Nothing strenuous like hardcore squats or deadlifts, LOL! You can work with light weights for now, but as the pregnancy advances into the later weeks, you'll have to put a full stop to the weights completely, as your cardiopulmonary system will not be able to handle it, and you may induce contractions.

Swimming and power walking are perfectly fine in the later stages, though.

My mom is the same height as you. Before she got pregnant with me, she was 4'11" and 96 pounds. After her pregnancy, she was about 160 lbs. She never exercised during her pregnancy, but she was able to lose the baby weight within a few months, easily.

But you want to cut down while pregnant, which is possible. My two female cousins who were 5'4" and 104 lbs before their pregnancies only got up to about 140 lbs during their pregnancies by power walking and swimming a few days a week. They're back down in the 100-105 range now.

I really hope I could help!

[mamafit]

First, Congratulations! Second, I am not a Dr. and my advice is simply my personal experience.
You're only half way thru your pregnancy so I would first focus on being healthy right here and now. I was at about 22 weeks and gaining a lot of weight when my doc told me to forget the old "eating for two" way of thinking, your baby is only consuming a very small amout of calories right now. At first I wanted to cry but then I realized he's totally right.

So I started charting my meals on the daily plate and I went to the gym 4x a week. I made sure to listen to my body...I didn't do anything where I was on my back nor did I do anything that made me feel uncomfortable. Until my belly got bigger I continued to use the stairmil and cycle bike. Once my belly got bigger I walked on the treadmil at 5%-10% incline at 2.5-3.8 speed for 45min. And throughout I continued to use weights; lighter weight and 15reps. I wasn't looking for results, I was just trying to maintain a healthy vessel for my baby. Working out helped me to feel better and love my growing belly. In the end I still gained 45lbs but gave birth to a very beautiful 9lb. baby girl. Also remember that a lot of the weight you're gaining is water weight too...I lost 30 lbs within 2 weeks of birth.
Best of luck to you!

[Amanda76]

Glad you're not looking to lose weight now!

There actually is quite a bit you can do right now so far as nutrition goes. Start getting used to eating whole foods and learning how to get variety and create meals eating as close to nature as possible. Now is a great time to ease yourself into that kind of thing without being aggravated with having to create a calorie deficit at the same time.

Get out and go for an easy walk or swim every day unless your doctor has told you not to for some reason or another. I used to teach water aerobics and pregnant women really enjoyed that class (you create resistance with the water and only have to push yourself as hard as you want to). Heck, you can just wander around a pool for an hour playing with creating resistance yourself. I personally LOVED being in the water when I was pregnant. It was the only place I felt graceful. Also check into other group classes geared toward pregnant women. A few of the gyms I have gone to have yoga classes specifically for that purpose.

[Bluelinersgirl]

Try to stay as active as you can now... and then...

BREASTFEED!

You'll burn about 500cal a day! Once you get the hang of it (there can be a pretty rough start!) you literally burn cal sitting there lol. I gained 60lbs during my pregnancy and lost it all by 6 months postpartum without diet or exercise (I couldn't exercise let alone walk till 9 months pp but that's another story!) I attribute the weight loss to my hormones and metabolism getting back to normal and to exclusively breastfeeding!

[nicholeraine]

Originally Posted by farpitzs

I realize there`s not A LOT I can do right now, working out is really difficult and I`m not allowed to push myself really. BUT after my daughter is here I`m really going to need some tips.
I`m asking & begging you guys for tips. I need to loose (after some more weight I`ll gain) a total of about 70 pounds & that`s a lot of weight. Than I want to gain muscle and definition. It`s going to be hard with a newborn, BUT I hate and I mean HATE the way my body is now. So please help me out & give me great tips and/or motivation guys! I have to do this for myself & my daughter, I HAVE to set a good example for her lifestyle choices!

Enough is enough!

I have never posted on the forums but I have a 3 month old baby and thought I had at least SOME advice. Then, I went to your profile to see how old you are and if it's your first baby and realized you live in the same city as me and use the same gym!! Perhaps in 18 weeks if you need a workout buddy and a mommy to have baby play dates with it could be arranged!

Anyways. I felt like a cow my whole pregnancy... Just keep walking, exercise as much as you can without pushing yourself. You look young, the weight really did fall off me and I believe it's because of my age. Breastfeeding is amazing for weight loss too, and when your baby is a couple months old start slowly easing yourself basck into exercise. They say 3 months postpartum is the time you can slowly begin a low fat diet and fitness plan. That's where I am now, and I will be starting to eat clean in July. Just make sure to slowly build up your fitness plan, instead of diving into something really intense if you're breastfeeding, otherwise your milk supply will dry up.

[favoriteblonde]

One thing to remember is that your body will never be the same. Don't get me wrong you can work hard and look fabulous, but your body will have some changes (mine was that my ribs and hips became wider).

What I did was worked out while I was prego. Nothing too intense, just some walking and light weight training for my upper body. I also tried to eat semi-good and resist those ice cream cravings.

I can honestly say the girls on here are right and breastfeeding is one of the easiest and most benificial ways to lose the baby weight. Outside of that here are the things I have done in the last six months.

No snacking
working out 5 days a week weight training
vary my cardio between running, eliptical, bike riding, etc.
at frequent small meals
rest as much as possible

If you are going to nurse you really have to make sure that you are eating healthy. If you decide not to you can obviously get more intense with the diet. If your gym provides daycare then that is nice, but I also find that having time to workout without worring about the kids is more theraputic for me (which means sometimes I am running to the gym after the kids go to bed).