Do you ever feed a little sad or insecure about your body ? Is it the same with c section and natural birth? I’m 6 months post c section, I adore my baby, but i used to be fit, and now barely any clothes fit. With a lovely “mom pooch”
What helped you get back to prepregnancy shape? Or helped you be at peace with it?

I am 29 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Prior to being pregnant I was super fit. I would do muay thai 2 - 3 times a week, go to the gym 1 - 2 times a week, ride a bike, play badminton etc. As soon as I got pregnant all of that tanked. I found it hard to exercise as I am often bloated or have acid reflux, I am sort of still suffering from that but do have more moments I feel like I can exercise but wondering if it is too late to make any valuable difference at this stage?

What have you found satisfies your sugar cravings thats better for you than actual pure sugar like chocolate/candy/ice cream?

I’ve tried fruit, unfortunately it did not scratch that it. Thank you!

just wondering if others relate? FTM, 16 weeks pregnant and I’m just starting to ease back into lifting, though I’m lucky to workout twice a week at this point. I used to lift HEAVY 3-4 times a week pre pregnancy.

I beat myself up a lot over not exercising more. I have a remote desk job so I don’t get many excuses to walk during the day until I’m already exhausted from mental stress. I feel like I need to be seeing a pelvic floor PT, doing pelvic floor and core exercises, lifting, running, all the things to prep for the “marathon” of labor.

I know I should but I’m just so tired. I’m worried it’ll reflect in my labor and postpartum recovery. Maybe I’m just hormonal and too hard on myself, but does anyone else feel this way?

Got my diagnosis approximately 5 years ago and since then was so, so afraid to get pregnant. Well, it happened anyway.

Today I'm 35w pregnant and still go to the gym, lift weighs, do the usual stuff, cleaning, going to job, do side-gigs. I'm doing surprisingly well despite relaxin!

Next week I have appointment in maternity ward where they will advise me about the type of birth I should give. I have quite damaged joints, including hip dysplasia so I'm really wondering what will they tell me.

FTM here! I was a beginning personal trainer and worked out 4-5x/week prior to getting pregnant. I barely moved first trimester and am now 16+5. I want to have a fit pregnancy both for birth and easier return to fitness post birth; but I am worried its too late. I also feel like I have gained too much weight too fast and I don’t know how to safely slow it down.

Is it too late to reverse course and get back to the fitness level I was at pre-pregnancy? IE maintain leg/arm muscle tone without starving or over exhausting baby or myself. Is anyone else trying to reverse course?

My husband has freaked me out and I definitely cannot go as hard as before and my max heart rate gets to 140…. My muscles just burn way faster with lighter weight but I wanna workout still.

Nervous because last time I had a miscarriage and I was doing HIIT a decent amount. I miscarried at 6 weeks

Or neither? When I asked my OB (who never asked about DHA) she said I could do either. What do you think is most cost-effective since fish like salmon is more expensive than other proteins like chicken? Thanks!

Now that I've started my 3rd trimester, I've noticed more inflammation in my joints in general, which surprised me because I don't look swollen yet. But the last couple of times I've worked out (reformer pilates & guided weight lifting), my wrists and hands hurt so bad afterward. Almost debilitating pain that lasts for a day or two after.

I know I'm not doing anything too extreme, and I've worked out regularly for 12 years, so I know my form is right. It's like my hands/wrists just can't handle supporting my body in pilates or holding weights.

Did this happen to anyone else?

It really sucks because I need to workout, but I don't know if I can take this much recovery pain every time.

HI everyone! I just found out I'm pregnant (6w 1d). u/S looked good. First, I'm going to ask my OB this question tomorrow since I don't think I'm going to meet with her until after the run. But I just wanted to get any insight from moms who run/ran while pregnant. I am by no means a runner- like I took up running on a treadmill back in July bc it was getting too hot to walk outside where I live. In my previous pregnancy I walked/pilates/yoga and continued that throughout postpartum. I occasionally lifted weights. So I wasn't inactive when I started running (I actually think it helped with my endurance that I didn't have previously). Anyway I signed up to do a 5k at the beginning of November and I'm just wondering if it would be okay to still run it? My goal is at least under 40 minutes 😅 maybe I'm over thinking it. I've had nausea for the past week and I'm tired but that's about it. Once I start going I feel fine and I feel fine after- (I don't run very fast, maybe 5mph.) I'm surprised by how much I've really enjoyed running and would be sad to stop. Any advice or tips are appreciate!!

Hi everyone,

I will be welcoming my baby via C-section in two weeks. Of course, my absolute priority is having a healthy baby, but I also have a few questions regarding my body's recovery process during this time. I would love to hear about your experiences and advice:

 When did you start doing doctor-approved light exercises (like walking) after the C-section surgery?

 Do you have any tips that helped you during the recovery process, especially regarding abdominal healing?

Thank you so much!

Does anyone have tailbone pain while doing lunges? I never had this issue lifting heavy but the pain is sharp now

I’m 6.5 weeks now, and have been dealing with low blood pressure off and on for 2 weeks so far. I see my doctor in 5 days, so trying to take it easy until then. I’m deloading majority of my workouts and taking an extra minute or two between sets. I typically work out 4-5x a week but dropped down to 3-4x. Whenever my heart rate gets above 150 I feel like I’m going to hug the floor, so I’ve been trying to keep it around 135.. my max HR is 189, and I’m comfortable staying in my top end range for ~10 mins or more at a time pre-pregnancy.

Certain exercises will jump your heart rate a bit more, like kickbacks and such, I’m having a hard time not having to sit between sets. Is this normal? I don’t feel like I’m lifting heavy at all, I’ve lowered my weights and increased my rep ranges. From everything I’ve read, lifting will help me keep my blood pressure in a higher end.. I’m consuming a buttload of water and salt/electrolyes.

Any advice is appreciated. I really don’t want to have to quit working out 😭 anyone else dealt with this and what helped you?

Hi everyone 👋🏽
I struggled with intense nausea, fatigue, heartburn and some heart palpitations during my first trimester.

Before pregnancy, I was fairly active — weight training 3–4 times a week, usually with 20 minutes of cardio, as well as regular walks throughout the week. I really enjoyed my routine and how it made me feel.

From around 5–19 weeks of the pregnancy. I completely lost my motivation and honestly felt like a shell of a human. Exercise was the last thing on my mind, and I feel like I’ve lost some muscle mass during that time.

I’m now 20 weeks pregnant, and thankfully, my nausea has finally eased and my energy levels are starting to improve. I’m keen to ease back into exercise and rebuild some consistency, but I’m also conscious that my body has been through a lot and I don’t want to push myself too hard.

For those of you who struggled with symptoms during the first half of pregnancy, how did you ease back into a fitness routine? What kinds of workouts did you find manageable, and how did you approach rebuilding strength and stamina without overdoing it?
I’d love to hear your experiences, especially from anyone who was into weight training before pregnancy. ❤️

I’m 21W, past all my nausea and aversions (praise be!), but I am never hungry or have any real cravings, and don’t enjoy cooking. This is the antithesis of me pre-pregnancy - I was a lift 6x a week (I’m still at about 4) and running 40-50 mpw, and was a good eater. Three square meals a day, solid on protein, and loved to try new recipes from croissants to steak. I have never been so apathetic about food in my life and have only put on 4 lbs. OB isn’t worried and little man is measuring great. Can someone just tell me they’ve had this before and that it will go away - even if it’s not until PP? 😅 I miss being excited about food.

how we doing? barely surviving? still taking daily walks? working out?!? are we all just gonna hit “restart” in the second trimester? lol

I’m 10w, been throwing up 1-3x a day since 5w, and consider it a win if I can get a short walk at some point with my toddler. 😂 my standards are on the ground right now

I tried to keep up with my Ladder workouts and get my steps in but gave up on that in wk 5. I’m just calling it a loss and going to ride out the morning sickness. Hoping the nausea subsides and the energy comes back soon cause I’m itching to work out again.

I’ve been in a good routine with exercising lately (mostly strength and some cardio) and hope to keep that up through pregnancy (currently just over 7 weeks!) My question is - every strength program seems to focus on progressive overload making your weights heavier or more reps aka making the workouts slightly harder each week. But when pregnant, it’s sort of getting slightly harder each week on its own as the baby grows, so does progressive overload make sense to think of in its intended form? Any insights of what has worked for people would be super helpful!

Hi all, I’m trying to build a plan based on mobility, flexibility and all around strength rather than specifically muscle building, I’m hoping to get pregnant soon and would like a plan that I can maintain some elements of and that will help me cope with being pregnant. My thought is
1 day swim (cardio)
1 day Pilates class (core and flexibility)
1 day full body weights/gym session (strength focussing on compound movements)

Any recommendations for the full body workout or comments on this plan in general? Thanks!

Just came here to say how absolutely weird it is to be working out/ lifting weights and have the feeling of an alien trying to climb out of you 😂

I’m 36+2 and thankfully still able to do some weightlifting, but baby has gotten so big that every little jab, push, and movement is obvious (even with an anterior placenta). Today I was getting an elbow to the side of me during my entire workout, and it just hit me how crazy and wild pregnancy is. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so grateful for my baby and to be well enough to work out, but it’s such a strange sensation 😅

Anyway, thanks for reading and commiserating!

I am 6 weeks pregnant after two years of ttc and two losses. I got back into the gym last December and have felt great. Ever since I found out I was pregnant I’ve been afraid to work out 😭 I want to stay fit during this pregnancy but have no idea what work outs to do at each stage of pregnancy… I don’t want to hurt the pregnancy. Please any advice or YouTube recommendations would be appreciated!

11wks 2 days and my food aversions are basically all healthy foods! Chicken and salad make me want to hurl, even though those where a staple for me previously - I just want crappy food like chips and a weird mayonnaise craving :X

I’ve tried making soups to sneak veggies in but I’m already tired of it two weeks in. Any suggestions?