EXERCISE DURING PREGNANCY

In one of the last classes I took for my major in exercise science, we were put into groups and then had to chose a condition and research the effect that exercise would have on it. My group was all girls so we decided to research the effects of exercise during pregnancy. None of us really knew what the exercise recommendations were for pregnant women and since we all wanted to be mothers at some point, we thought that this project would be pretty useful. This assignment was particularly helpful for me as I was pregnant with Eve about a week after we gave our presentation.

Me when I was 8 weeks pregnant

Even though I had this new knowledge about exercise, I wasn't the best at implementing it. For the first half of my pregnancy I didn't exercise as much as I should have. It was summer, I was taking summer classes, and the school gym was closed. This was particularly bad because I needed to take two gym glasses in my next semester, when I would be 6-9 months pregnant. John and I started going on walks to prepare myself for these classes. I ended up taking water aerobics and yoga. I'm lucky that I had the option of less intense exercise classes.

Me when I was 36 weeks pregnant

I wish that I had exercised regularly throughout my entire pregnancy. I definitely saw benefits from the exercise I did in the last few months of my pregnancy but it's not a good idea to begin exercising this late in a pregnancy.

If any of you are in the same boat as I was in before I did my research project (wanting to become pregnant someday in the not too distant future and not knowing about how you should exercise when pregnant), this post will help you become informed.

Before I start, I should say that this information was gathered from a series of studies that we read about. When you become pregnant, your doctor may give you different recommendations about exercise. Some doctors still recommend not letting your heart rate get about 140 bpm (this is pretty outdated). This is because there aren't any hard guidelines on exercise during pregnancy. I believe that the recommendations that I am going to provide are pretty consistent with what most doctors would approve of. My own doctor gave me similar recommendations. If you don't feel comfortable using the information I'm providing, talk to your doctor and follow their recommendations. Okay, let's get started.

Is exercising during pregnancy safe?

Yes, the majority of research shows that exercising, even vigorously, during pregnancy is safe for both the mother and the fetus.

Why should I exercise?

Exercising while pregnant will prevent:

- excessive weight gain

- weight retention after you give birth

- gestational diabetes

- complications during labor

- pre-term births

- constipation

- having a very large or very small baby

- preeclampsia

- postpartum depression

It will also help you to recover faster from childbirth

What type of exercise should I perform?

- Low impact

- Non weight bearing

- Aerobic endurance

- Ones that focus on large muscle groups

Can I do strength training?

Yes, but you should use light weights and perform a higher number of reps. Make sure not to hold your breath (you don't want to deprive your baby of oxygen)

How intense should the exercise be?

It should be about as intense as the exercise you did before you got pregnant. If you were working out at a high intensity before you got pregnant, you can still continue to exercise at the same level while you are pregnant. If you didn't exercise before you were pregnant, you will need to start out at a very gentle intensity and gradually increase the intensity over time. The important thing is not to jump into exercise that was much more intense than you performed before you were pregnant.

On a scale of 6-20, you should feel like your level of exertion while exercising is 13-16

If I didn't exercise regularly before I got pregnant what should I do?

You should start out by exercising for just 15 minutes a few times each week. You should gradually increase your time by 2 minutes until you reach 30 minutes. Your goal should be to perform 30 minutes of exercise, 4 days a week.

THE BASICS OF WEIGHT LOSS

There are a hundreds of different weight loss programs and diets out there. The issue is that many of these only work for a select few people and if they do work, they are usually only a temporary solution. Most people regain the weight they have lost because they haven't made lifestyle changes which they can maintain. 

Today, I want to share with you some basics of weight loss that will lead to a successful weight loss program for anyone.
The key is making maintainable, healthy changes to your lifestyle..

How often should I work out?

5 days per week!

This is the goal you should be shooting for. It will bring you the most health benefits and will increase your chances of becoming thin and staying that way.

If you have been inactive this is going to be too much for you at first. Start out at 3 days per week and progress to 5. 

How long should I work out?

60 minutes!

If you are working out 5 days a week, you should do 60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per workout session. 

If you have been inactive you should start at 15-20 minutes and gradually increase to 60 minutes.

Why do I need to work out that much?

Studies have shown that this much physical activity is required to maintain healthy body weight.

This means that even if you work out for 300 minutes each week (60 min, 5 days/wk), you probably won't lose weight.

You will receive significant health benefits from working out this much. 

How can I lose weight then?

Exercise + dieting. 

You probably already guessed this.

You need to watch what you eat as well as exercise. If you cut back on your calories and exercise, you will lose weight. 

What if I work out at a higher intensity? 

Do I still need to do 300 minutes of exercise per week?

No!

If you are doing vigorous-intensity exercise instead of moderate, you can significantly cut back the amount of time spent exercising to about 150 minutes/week.

What is considered moderate-intensity exercise?

Exercise that causes a noticeable increase in your heart rate and lasts for longer than 10 minutes.

On a scale from 1-10, you should feel like the difficulty is a 5-6.

What about vigorous-intensity?

Results in rapid breathing and a substantial increase in heart rate.

On a scale from 1-10, you should feel like the difficulty is a 7-8.

This is when we work out!

How many calories should I be consuming?

It varies.

It depends on your age, gender, weight, height, and activity. 

You can use an online calorie calculator to find out how many calories you should be eating per day. Here is a link to one that I like: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm.

The nice thing about these calculators is that they will tell you how many calories to cut down to lose weight. 

What is the minimum number of calories that I should eat?

1200 Cal/day for women and 1600 Cal/day for men

If a weight loss calculator tells you to eat less than this, don't follow it!

You need at least this many calories to get the vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy.

If I'm working can I eat more calories?

It depends.

If you are just trying to maintain your current weight, then yes, you can eat more calories. If you are trying to lose weight, then probably not. You can check this using a calorie calculator. 

However, if you are working out for more than 60 minutes, 5 times per week DO NOT follow the amount that the calorie counter tells you. It will overestimate how many calories you are able to eat.

What type of diet should I use?

Don't use any extreme diets.

The best diet to follow is one that is one in which you eat less calories than you need to maintain your weight. 

Fad diets in which you drastically alter what you eat generally DON'T WORK. They are too hard to maintain and you usually don't enjoy them.

Just eat a diet that includes fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, dairy. In other words, get all the necessary vitamins and minerals.

Eat your favorite treats, just in moderation

The key is to make sure that you know how many calories you should eat and try to stick to that.

I find that I am most succesful in dieting when I write down how many calories I eat during the day.

Do you exercise for 60 minutes, 5 days per week?

At the moment I do not because I just had a baby. I didn't work out very intensely while I was pregnant. I just did yoga and water aerobics. This means that I'm not jumping straight in to this much exercise. I do 60 minutes of exercise about 3 days per week.