Pregnant Does Not Mean Powerless: Fit Pregnancy Journey

First Preggo Race - Atlanta Women's 5k

I was cruising along on my maintenance mode journey, had lost my “first year at a new job” weight and boom...found out I was pregnant. That was January 2019. We’d been trying but not trying to conceive (does that make sense? Lol), so I was still a bit surprised. Nevertheless, I had goals and figured this was my opportunity to see how far I could push myself this time.

My first pregnancy ended in miscarriage at 11 weeks. I wasn't active, overweight, and sedentary. Five years later, during my second pregnancy, I ran until I was 4 months pregnant. I was very nervous about miscarrying again. I also remember it becoming uncomfortable to run past 4 months. I didn’t have as many examples as I do now, i.e. the plethora of women who workout during pregnancy and post on Instagram. Now there are tons of resources, personal and professional for pregnant women who want to continue exercising. It was even recommended by my doctor to continue. So, with that being said...here’s a few snippets from my workouts during my pregnancy.

Circa Month 1

Circa Month 2

Month 2

Circa Month 3

Circa Month 5

Circa Month 6

Month 6

My personal rule was to go as long as I felt good. This round was already different, as I now had a 5 year old and worked full-time...as a Teacher 🤯. So continuing to exercise was a huge mood and energy booster for me if anything else. Thank God for the summer off!

I had no complications and stayed within the recommended 35 lbs weight gain recommendation. The only thing that almost threatened my ability to workout at the time was me having placenta previa, but that was resolved. 

Month 7

I was feeling good, feeling great, and stuck to my routine until my family’s Orlando trip and then a week later it was back to school. Now, non-preggo, those are enough to mess up a routine, but being pregnant and having that to occur? Yea, unfortunately I could never get back on the 2-3 day a week thing I had going on. I just made sure to focus on my eating habits. I didn’t feel as bad because being a teacher, I’m on my feet all day and I did walk around two major theme parks in Orlando. 🤷🏾‍♀️ I was also starting to experience major, MAJOR pelvic pressure that the support bands just were NOT helping with anymore. That was something else I didn’t have or know to purchase during my son’s pregnancy.

Universal Studios 2019

I had a healthy pregnancy, a quicker, problem-free delivery, only gained exactly 35 lbs, and a healthy baby girl! I’d say I reached my goal and would recommend any already active person to keep it up in SOME way because pregnancy does not equal POWERless.