I haven’t been bothered one bit by weight gain or body changes in the past 7 months. While I sometimes feel bad for eating too much, that’s pretty par for the course. In the past, I probably would have worked out more to make up for it but now I just can’t do that. And that’s okay with me. In fact, it’s helping me mold into an even healthier mindset.

The thing is, I shouldn’t be using extra exercise as a way to get rid of calories. I should eat what my body wants, make good choices and exercise should be a wholly separate function. Of course, fueling correctly is important but, you get my drift.

Weight Confessions

Today, I weigh 168 pounds — which is the most I have ever weighed. I got up to 163 my sophomore year of college (that’s another story for another day) but to be honest, I don’t really feel heavier! I wore the most comfortable maternity stretch pants and t-shirt today, and running down the metro stairs in my Tom’s, I felt completely normal. Like…am I really pregnant?

I consider myself lucky! I know I have 9 weeks to go so who knows how it feel then but so far, this thing has been a dream (minus first trimester nausea, obviously!)

Yesterday in my Body Pump class, a couple of women came up after to ask when I was due and tell me I was inspiring! I don’t feel like I’m doing anything extraordinary but it was still fun to hear. The truth is, I can’t imagine not being active during this pregnancy. What’s the point in that (unless you are physically unable?)

What I’ve noticed as I get deeper into pregnancy:

• Lose  breath more easily
• Have trouble following directions (like with barre moves, my mind seems just…slow)
• Trouble keeping up with quick movements
• When my body is done working out, it’s DONE.
• Much more fatigue later in the day.
• Hunger hits out of nowhere & is very intense!

I’m surprised that I haven’t needed to scale back more on weight lifting but so far, so good. While I have noticed my arms turning to flab, I know it’s because when I’m not doing CrossFit, it’s hard to keep consistent and I did very little arm work for months. I have been getting back into it the past two months though.

Body Love

As for my body? No complaints. Some days my bump seems huge, other days it seems small. I swear it’s all based on my emotional state or how I feel physically that day. There are moments when I look in the mirror at barre and dislike the flab on arms, but overall, I am happy with my body. I have no stretch marks though I occasionally use body butter for preventative measure!

I’ll admit, I’m a little terrified of the after-baby tummy that everyone talks about. I feel like it’s going to kind of gross me out when there’s no baby in there and it’s all soft and flabby but I suppose that will pass. Hopefully, I will not be thinking much about that. At this point, I have no plans to do anything specific for “post-baby body.” My only plan is not to work out for 6 weeks and then gradually get back into a routine.

Good News: Sciatica is Gone!

The good news is that my sciatica disappeared out of nowhere two weeks ago. It was like when I became pregnant, the whole thing just got started on a nerve and now the womb has shifted off the nerve. No real explanation but I’m really happy! Fingers crossed it doesn’t come back. Since the sciatica left, I’ve done squats a few times — boy it feels good to be able to do that again.

I’m just hoping all this activity makes pregnancy recovery easier and that I will be able to maintain my fitness to a level where it’s still within reach after a few months. I’ve see so many others do it, I know I can too.