10 Reasons Why You Should Exercise During Pregnancy

Exercising during pregnancy is very beneficial for yourself and for your baby 'If mummy feels good baby feels good too'. Of course this does not mean you have to run marathons or throw gigantic weights around, you can choose to maintain your current fitness routine or take it down a notch but I wouldn't suggest aiming for any personal bests or participating in extreme sports. 


As some of you may know i am 37 weeks pregnant! Woohayyy...  My second baby boy is on the way.Luckily I have been able to keep active during my pregnancies which is good for me as I am very passionate about exercise. And of course I need to keep up with my 2 and half year old son(an athlete already).
If you are new to exercise then I would recommend prenatal Pilates/Yoga classes and swimming. 




Exercising during pregnancy is completely your choice. You have to expect yourself to be very unpredictable and to allow your body to take the lead. Sometimes your brain will want to do more but your body just can not, please listen to your body (I am forever telling myself this). Focus on yourself and your growing baby, try not to compare yourself to others' as every ladies' pregnancy is different. 

However, if you have been doing regular exercising before pregnancy then definitely continue, just listen to your body and make the changes when you need too, 'mumma' knows best'.

10 reasons why you should exercise during your pregnancy

• Happy Hormones- pregnancy is like riding an emotional rollacoaster for 9 months. Sometimes you will feel on top of the world and sometimes you will have some pregnancy blues. This is very normal, yes it is wonderful that you are pregnant but sometimes you may suffer with anxiety/depression. You are flooded with so many new hormones your body is rapidly changing you have to expect yourself to feel a little low now and again. This is where exercising can hugely help as serotonin is released which will naturally increase your mood. You don't have to go crazy to release this hormone, so get moving! However, please seeker further advice if you do feel constantly low. 

• Helps prevent extra weight gain- Some struggle with the body changes that can occur during pregnancy so keeping active throughout will help you maintain a healthy pregnancy weight gain. Click here to workout how much weight you will gain during pregnancy

• Helps maintains fitness levels- If you loved your fitness before being pregnant you will be keen to stay on top of it during. Of course you will have to amend the way you train but you can still push yourself and walk away feeling fabulous. 

• Reduce stress- Exercise can be very therapeutic for some individuals. Therefore some may feel it is very important for them to carry on with exercise during pregnancy to help manage their stress.

• Prepares your body for labour- Childbirth requires stamina, strength and plenty of determination. Exercise demands the exact same. This is where you can help prepare yourself for childbirth so you are familiar with the determination and are able to use your strength and control that you have been using in your exercises. Labour massively requires control and stamina, some may feel completely out of control during childbirth especially in your first pregnancy so it is very useful staying connected with your body. (I describe childbirth similar to a HIIT session hehe)

• Reduces constipation- Constipation is very common during pregnancy so say hello' to very slow bowel movement. Throughout most of our pregnancy our intestines are squashed which means our digestive system goes at a snail pace. So move more to get things moving, and eat less but more regularly to feel more comfortable.

• Improves sleep- Getting a full nights sleep becomes impossible. Your mind is constantly thinking/worrying, legs are cramping, you just cannot get comfortable and the amount of times you will need to pass urine is uncountable... Exercising can help relax the mind and body aswel as stimulate blood circulation which will reduce leg cramping and calf pain- so you do have hope with being able to sleep better.

• Reduces pregnancy discomfort- It is no secret that our growing baby puts extra pressure on our joints and back therefore keeping active will reduce discomforts. Stretching can help with your back pains as well as pregnancy pilates/yoga. Cardio/walking can help increase blood circulation, leg cramps and vicarious veins. Swimming/water aerobics can be very soothing due to the water being able to support your bump. (I must say I love being in water with this pregnancy). Exercising can also safely get the baby to shift around abit if they are causing discomfort in a certain position.

• Me time- Exercising during your pregnancy will allow you to get some time to yourself which is very important. Whether it is a pregnancy class or your own gym session, either one is great.

• Quicker post labour recovery- Your body is more likely to 'bounce back' quicker if you were able to workout throughout your pregnancy. This is due to your body being fitter and most likely to have gained excessive unnecessary weight. 

Have a Happy,Healthy Pregnancy!

The worst ways to lose weight

Most of us are always so eager to lose weight.

 We all want instant results, we all want to do the next big fashionable thing which is then forgotten about 3 months later. 

This year we have already had boatea, waist-trainers, and of course the celebrity dvd-blasts (because they suddenly decide to lose weight which obviously gives them the certificate to educate others-not! ).

All of these FADs' last short term, and most likely provide long term damage.

I always preach that 'slow weightloss or weight-gain is best' 

Yes it will be a long journey, but i can guarantee it will last forever. 

The most common worst way to lose weight is;

Skipping meals

Most of us would feel that skipping meals would help us lose weight, when in fact it is doing the complete opposite. This massively contributes to slowing down your metabolism which is what we do not want to do. Let alone makes us very moody, tired, and probably the most unfriendliness person alive. 

Of course there are plenty of health concerns associated with 'skipping meals'. 

Let's talk about my favourite!

 FADs' (a thing that becomes very popular in a short amount of time, and then is forgotten about at the same speed). A bit like celebrities really. Hehe...

We have the popular 'waist-trainer'. Mrs kardashian west tut tut tut......

Now of course we are all going to want to do this fad, because the gorgeous Kim k revealed she was doing this. I can most definitely tell you she may have done this for a week at most until she realised the dangers of it, as she obviously wants/is having more children. And then you have Jessica alba (shame on you, I never thought she would do this rubbish) and khloe and kourtney and then half of the world obviously. 

So do they work? Experts have actually said there is no way it can really work. Infact they have said it can actually cause real bodily harm. If anything squeezes you this tight it is iffy!!!! 

After seeing these celebs do it and how it makes you look it does seem very appealing! But to risk your health for something so damaging it is definitely not worth it. 

FADs' are normally displayed by celebrities' they come and go very quickly. Making the company a nice quick million. 

Okay let's move on. I really could go on and on about FADs'.

Diet pills and drugs; 

First things first; There is not a magic pill that will make you lose weight! If you come across "one" avoid avoid avoid! Danger danger danger! 

Unfortunately cocaine and other similar drugs are often used to help with weightloss but will obviously cause long term damage to your brain and heart aswel as damage many other factors in your life. 

As I have said 'slow weightloss or weight gain is best' 

There is no such thing as a healthy weightloss pill. 

Purging

Unfortunately one reason people can start purging is due to the pressures of society. (I am not saying this is the only reason as I am very sure there are a lot of other reasons that can cause this too). 

Of course this is increbily damaging to your body aswel as psychological damaging. This allows one to eat what ever they wish to eat as much as they can, which is then followed by throwing up losing all the calories consumed. 

If you happen to be in this cycle I would recommend you seek professional help! No ideal body image is worth this addictive health risking behaviour, as your'll never be satisfied! 

!Love yourself! 

Over exercising

Yes that is right over exercising can also be another worst way to lose weight. However, this is only if your body is already undernourished. If you are eating enough, there is no such thing as over exercising as long as you are not doing the same thing everyday, as this will cause damage to ligaments, muscles, bones ect, plus it will get very boring. 

Laxatives 

That's right some people excessively use laxatives to help lose weight or maintain weight( Pills, teas, powders, suppositories). This can weaken your digestive system aswel as making your bowels lazy and can cause abdominal complications. This also means you could eventually become reliant on laxatives, or in reverse affects you could have accidents in public (ahhhhhhhhh- again, not worth it)! 

Smoking

Yes smoking smoking smoking. This is a very popular way to suppress hunger. Chronic smokers can actually replace meals with a cigarette and not feel any effect from this. Of course we all know that smoking causes long term damage to your body, internally and externally. (And you will smell of smelly smoke too, definitely not a good way to lose weight).

'Getting your ideal body is a life change. It takes a lot of patience and dedication. Learn how to eat healthily, create an exercise routine, plan ahead- especially your meals. Enjoy a treat, because we all deserve treats but treat treats as a treat(that was tongue tangular). As long as you never give up, you will never have to start again.'

Thank you for taking time out to read, please feel free to leave comments and share! 

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