Ah, time flies when you are busy.
And boy have we been busy!
Yes, yes, the good news is that we are already pushing 20 weeks into this #fitpregnancy!
So far the ride has been a breeze, touch wood.
The first trimester was actually the easiest. I am one of the fortunate few to not be plagued by morning sickness or any other common discomforts.
Life went on as normal really, except for a few modifications. Since I have always been an active person, I had to first check with the Dr, to get the green light, but basically, I could carry on exercising as I did before, but just employing some simple common sense and adapting my work out routine to accommodate my growing belly.
Most important is nutrition. Eating 6 small balanced meals per day (as opposed to 3 huge ones) and taking the right supplements. You will need to add Folic Acid to your diet, as early as several months before even conceiving actually.
Here’s my routine :
1. Early morning run/jog/walk for 1 hour. Used to do 21-30K runs but have cut this back to 10-12K with still good results.
2. Weight/resistance training – either body weight, or with added 5KG weights. Planks, Squats, Lunges and core exercises are still very much part of the programme. However, no more burpees or jumping maneuvers, for obvious reasons – there’s no point risking a fall or high impact movements that can affect the baby.
3. Breakfast – I usually start off with a glass or red dates juice (boiled from Chinese red dates, and concentrated, then refrigerated). The super nutritious Red Dates has around 80 times higher in Vitamin C than grapes and apples, red dates also abound with Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron and magnesium.This vitamin-packed punch makes red dates great for people who are in their early pregnancy stages. Red dates are said to stimulate the production of white blood cells, which improves immunity, and decrease the levels of cholesterol in your bloodstream, which helps protect the liver.Though these dates are really great nutrition for everybody, they are especially popular with women as they enrich and replenish blood (good during your menses) – they keep the hemoglobin count high.Also phosphorus and iron play an important role in preventing osteoporosis and anemia, in pregnant women.
This is followed by a generous breakfast of oats, brown bread, avocado eggs, and add chia seeds, flaxseed in my vege shake. You need to tailor the veggie shake as I found some vegetables gave me gas – things become more exaggerated when you are pregnant, so through trial and error I found the leafy greens of Kale, spinach, and celery to work best for me.
4. Supplements that you must take, include Folic Acid (Obimin is a good brand), Fish oils and for me, I take probiotics to keep my gut strong.
Right now I am into my second trimester, and though I had an easy 1st trimester, I will share about my episodes of low BP and blacking-out, in my next post.
Stay tuned!
No comments yet.