Keeping fit during pregnancy!

Pregnant/new baby? Keeping fit? No way!! 

Keeping fit normally takes a lot of dedication, time and motivation. So keeping fit while pregnant of after birth is out of the question for most women, especially Asian women.  I have been a ‘victim’ where some Tamil aunties have called me crazy to do exercise while pregnant. But, by God’s grace, 2 easy labours, 2 healthy babies and a fit me, I learned how wrong those aunties were. It’s been 5 years since I first given birth and even now people can’t believe I am a mother of 2 (being a young mum also helps a lot). I am always asked how I regained my pre-pregnancy body. Unfortunately, I’m no Kim Kardashian to pay for a fitness instructor. It is all DIY and wanted to share to my beloved beautiful expecting mothers and mums, tips and benefits on keeping fit. 

As a young girl, I saw my mother looking at her old photos enviously and telling me how she would love to get back to that shape she was. However, numerous diets later, purchasing exercise bike and trying to start on healthy diets she just couldn’t lose the weight that she gained during her 3 pregnancies.  Finally, she just accepted that she can never lose her baby fat. We grew up in a culture, where once our family finds out we are pregnant, our mothers come to help us with everything and all we had to do was eat the nice food they’ll cook and relax which leads to putting on extra weight . I believe the root of this problem is the lack of exercise and the lack of a healthy diet. Sound familiar? Then take action! It’s never too late to start exercising although your body will benefit more if you started during your pregnancy. It isn’t easy and it doesn’t happen overnight. Keep in mind that, in order to get the result you want, it will take time! If you have that mindset then nothing can stop you from having that perfect pre-pregnancy body you had.  However, doing it too much is not good either! 

Unfortunately, with only my husband doing his best to look after his pregnant wife, I did not have time to relax nor think about exercise. My boss at that time was truly a God-send. When she found out I was pregnant, she supported me enormously. She is the one who taught me how looking after yourself will not only do you good but your baby good too and eventually your pregnancy and the aftermath! As a mother of 5 and a fitness instructor, after my shift, we will go into the fitness studio and will teach me both pilates/gyrotonics! I never knew how much a pregnant woman’s body can stretch until then! To this day, I still practise some basic pilates moves. I started my maternity leave 1 week before my due date and that week was used to move house. My daughter arrived 12 minutes before her due date and the whole thing lasted 8 hours. No pain relief was used except the birth pool. My baby was healthy and I quickly regained my pre-pregnancy body with a month.  Why? Exercise! In my second pregnancy, I was busy with my final year exam, dissertation and an internship which finished 1 week before my due date. I did swimming with my daughter (bonding time and exercise for me, win-win situation). My son was born on his due date. Start to finish – 3 hours. Another natural birth. No fuss. Went home the next day and straight into the kitchen to cook lunch. Body back in less than a month! How?! Keeping active. It is common psychology that when you feel good about yourself, you become positive too and this is extremely true. From my experience, you may call me crazy, I thoroughly enjoyed both my pregnancies and my labours and importantly, no pre/post-natal depression moments. I always had a positive outlook and to this day, still have that! 

Exercising means, walking more, taking stairs whenever possible, cleaning around the house (vacuuming, sweeping), etc...  However, there are very specific exercises that you must do while pregnant. These are: 

• 1) Pelvic floor exercise. The most important exercise that you need to keep doing until your old age. The pelvic floor is the major muscles which is going to help you in pushing your baby out. This involves pulling in your inner muscles, as if you are trying not to go to toilet and hold it there for 10 whole seconds and relax. You need to repeat these 8 times. These can be done sitting down, standing up, at work, watching tv, waiting in a queue or even when driving. Doing this exercise after pregnancy will strengthen those muscles again ready for your next baby but also reduces the risk of incontinence ( urine leakage) 
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• 2) Abdominal muscle exercise .During pregnancy, we lose our abdomen so this exercise will help you regain it after baby by strengthening those core muscles. Kneel down on all fours and breathes and out 10 times without arching your back.  
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• 3) Back exercise.  As we all know, carrying the weight of the baby has a profound effect on our back. This exercise will help relieving that pain. Lay down on your back, knees up and relaxed and breathing in and out. 
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A combination of those specific exercises and normal daily exercise will prepare you for labour by stretching the relevant muscles and also by having a positive, feel-good pregnancy as exercising relieves stress. It will also  increase the blood supply and as a result, more oxygen for the baby.  

Balancing exercise with a healthy diet is essential. I never believed in commercial diets and neither should you! There are just to rip off money. When pregnant, I started to eat more healthily by steaming food instead of cooking it the usual Asian way. This way, you don’t lose any vitamins and minerals that is needed for your baby and you. Yes, it doesn’t taste nice but once we enter motherhood, we need to be ready to sacrifice things we once loved. For me it was Nutella and sour sweets, much to my frustration (however that only lasted until I gave birth)  

Once baby is out, most women just don’t have time. And it is true. Looking after a newborn is time-consuming, emotionally and mentally draining. But if you manage your time properly, then you will find time to keep fit. As soon as I was allowed to go out, I put my baby in the pushchair and just started to walk/run. Getting fresh air will benefit your body and your mental health. It is a benefit to your screaming baby too. He/she will love the fresh air and go to sleep, much to our relief.  So don’t blame the weather. Plan something to do each day thus you won’t feel like you haven’t done anything! If this is your second baby, then playing with your firstborn will also burn some off those calories. With my firstborn, we play catch, hide and seek, wrestle and dance. If my son is awake then we get him involved too. This way, your elder child won’t get left out, your baby will get tired from all that playing and you feel much happier that you have lost some calories. But I also never forgot to do my pelvic floor exercises! In terms of diet, I never miss my breakfast. It is the most essential meal of the day which will provide you with the energy you need for your whole day! Lunch is mostly Sri Lankan food. Dinner is light an usually Western food and I never eat rice at that time of the day! 

Now that you have read this, you can’t use your pregnancy or having a newborn as an excuse! So start living healthy, exercise with or without baby and get your pre-pregnancy body back! After all, a happy mummy= happy family. So ready, steady, go!!!!