Sweatin' the Bump

Some of you may have been wondering (okay, nobody probably has been wondering, but for the sake of writing a blog, I have to pretend somebody has been wondering) what happened to all of my lofty exercise and weight loss goals once I became pregnant.

Well. Pregnancy is a funny thing. It simultaneously makes me feel awesome about my body and totally awful about my body. Growing a baby is an incredible feat, and I think pregnant people look stunningly gorgeous. I am proud of what my body can do, and so, in many regards, I feel more confident about myself when I am sporting the bump. On the other hand, if you are a person who has suffered with terrible body image issues almost her entire life, watching your body--whatever shape it was in before--morph into a giant THING, no matter how psyched you are to be pregnant, can be somewhat traumatizing.

So, I vowed to myself that this time around I would do a better job staying healthy while pregnant. That means eating better and exercising more than I did last time. Because I worked full time up until two weeks before Jillsie was born, and because my job was kinda stressful for me, I found myself with NO energy for intentional exercise. It was all I could do to walk the dogs around the block after work, if that.

This time around, I am not working, so I can be more flexible with how I use my time. I kept with my running schedule until I was six weeks along. I had been running three times (4, 5, and 8 miles) every week and lifting weights twice a week. Then, when the nausea struck, everything fell away and I did NOTHING. For ten whole weeks. Yucko. So, for the past two weeks I have been getting back into it.

I've been doing the dogwalk at least four times a week. This ain't no ordinary dogwalk. There are hills and dirt roads involved, and, of course, I'm pushing a 32-pound child in a stroller the whole time. Once this feels comfortable again (or, probably, once Jills starts her daycare,) I will try to add in more vigorous walks without the dogs, where I can focus on exercise, and maybe even sprinkle some running back in.

I have also been doing T-Tapp three times a week. This has been making me feel awesome. T-Tapp is a hybrid exercise program. It is all no-impact, kinda like yoga, kinda like Pilates, kinda like calisthenics, kinda impossible to describe. You'll have to Google it. Anyway, the back stretching portion alone is a pregnant woman's best friend. I am hoping the T-Tapp will keep me flexible and relatively free of those aches and pains that are so prevalent in the third trimester. And, I am hoping the walking/running will enable me to return to running relatively soon post-partum.

I know one thing for sure. IT WILL NOT TAKE ME TWO YEARS TO LOSE THE PREGNANCY WEIGHT THIS TIME AROUND. That is not an option. I got down to my pre-pregnancy weight about three days before conceiving Baby #2. I am glad I got back down there, but that was cutting it a bit close.

The Gutsy Mom is gonna be a Fit Mama this time around.