Exercising During Pregnancy?!

This is going to be more of a reaching out post in a way to all my readers. Because when it comes to exercise I know close to nothing about it. I know it is a good and healthy thing to do… but know nothing about what or how to do it… especially now that I am pregnant!

I haven’t really been the one to be physically active at all! If you know me or remember me from high school I absolutely hated gym class. I would avoid any physical activity whatsoever; I would rather sit out in the sun while everyone played whatever sport it was. And sports in general... I just don’t get them. Don’t understand playing them, don’t understand watching them, sorry. Call me weird… I just don’t get it.

As far as exercising, I never saw the need or had a physical need to do it hence never did it. Same with food, growing up I never had an issue in watching what I eat or watch my weight. I would eat whatever the heck I wanted and never had to worry about a thing. This isn’t to say I wasn’t self-conscious about my body as every teenager is growing up. I have big thighs and a big butt, but not because I would eat a lot, that is just how my body is built ( obviously I can only say that now with a sober mind looking from a third person perspective- If I only knew that then!)

I only encountered an issue with weight, I have to say, when I went to college. I ended up gaining 25 pounds. Part of that obviously had to do with food, but I think a big factor of that was stress as well. I think  I attempted to go to the gym a few times in college, to try to be cool like the rest of them college kids. But those were one time occasions, without a plan or a goal to achieve something.

My biggest weight gain was probably last year living in the city. My hubby just overdosed on the Russian food stores there. I think that definitely played a role in my weight. I went up to 148 pounds which I have never gone up to before. And even looking at pictures of me a year ago, I wasn’t obese but obviously can tell I was chubby! Then I started getting my wonderful stomach pains and being in the hospital and the colitis and gastroenteritis kicking in and having me eat nothing for like 2 weeks, which dropped me 8 pounds right there. And of course that brings me down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 140, and you all know where the weight change went from there.

Even at 140, I am still a bit chubby. I mean, I used to weigh 116-122 pounds before college. So I might have to work on that after labor, I’m not sure yet. Weight is just a number on the scale right?!

But getting back to the topic… exercise and pregnancy! I have read that exercising during pregnancy can bring a lot of benefits to mama and baby! I heard it can ease constipation, give you more energy levels, and make labor easier and shorter. But where the heck do I start? What kind of exercises should I do? I know women who haven’t been physically active before pregnancy can’t just start right off the bat doing some exercise sessions, there has to be some steady flow into it. And to be honest, I never even thought I would consider exercise seriously at all during pregnancy. I mean my energy levels are still pretty sucky, but they have gotten slightly better and I am now considering it.

The reason I writing this post to begin with is because we ended up going to a gym today with my hubby and a couple of friends! And at first I was like, uhmmmm… I’m pregnant! But then decided I would just swim around in the pool a bit. It was fun! I probably swam for a whole straight hour without stopping. I felt very relaxed and not pressured or overtired at all, it was very nice. Of course a few hours after that I suddenly felt very tired, and relaxed as if I took a sleeping or relaxing pill. I definitely felt it in my body that it did something very unusual today. So after today’s swimming sesh, it just got me thinking.

Also, a friend of mine has been really at it in trying to convince me to try to start being physically active. I tried to explain to her that I can’t even cook dinner normally without being uber exhausted and needing to rest in bed for the rest of the day! So just everything piling up has got me thinking today.

So back to the original point of this post, aside from just sharing my thoughts. Any mamas out there HAVE exercised during pregnancy? Were there specific exercises they did, if they did what were they and for how long and how often?

Maybe I am just so inspired at the moment about exercising and think I am suddenly going to change my lifestyle and exercise, but that might change tomorrow morning. :) Bottom line is, even if I do start exercising and such,  I don’t even know where to begin or who to ask  what the best routine for me to do is. So for anyone who reads this, any helpful thoughts or ideas would be great! Even if I turn back to my lazy bum self tomorrow, it would be good to know for my next exercise-inspired moment!