I have a confession to make….
I hardly worked out at all during my first trimester of this pregnancy. There, I’ve said it, it’s off my chest. Now that that’s cleared up, let’s talk about how great the second trimester has been!!
I’ll take a step back. I found out I was pregnant when we were in Idaho for our annual salmon fishing trip.
After I got back from my trip, I still felt great! I didn’t have any nausea or fatigue. At this time, I was in week 7 of James Wilson’s 12-Week online trainer (click HERE for details on his program) and loving it! His program was really challenging, but fun at the same time. I liked how every single workout every day was different and that James was around to answer questions. Here are some progress photos I had taken right around this time – I had built some pretty good muscle during his program:
I continued to workout doing James’ program and just modifying it slightly (mostly just taking longer breaks in between sets so my heart rate wouldn’t get too high). Then, however, Week 7 came and that’s when I started getting really sick. This happened with my first pregnancy too. I get very severe fatigue in the first trimester of my pregnancies. It’s funny, because after my first son was born, I remember thinking back and wondering if I had just been lazy. After experiencing it again with this pregnancy, I know it’s not just being lazy, it is a genuine fatigue. I had some days where I would come home at 6pm, my husband would take over and help with my 2-year old, and I would sleep until 6am the next morning. On top of that, I had pretty bad food aversions this time. The smell of meat cooking made me really sick, and eggs made me nauseous. It’s strange the things that your body reacts to, because these had been a part of my daily life for so long! I wasn’t really craving junk food, but was having a difficult time eating as clean as I usually do because cooking was tough for me.
Also in the first trimester, I drove cross country with my 2-year old and spent five weeks in Idaho/Utah helping one of my sister’s get ready for her baby to come and another of my sister’s get ready for her wedding. I had a wonderful time but it was hard to stick to my normal clean eating habits when I was on the road often, staying with relatives, and not in my normal routine.
So, fast forward to the second trimester and I have been feeling great! We made the announcement that we are expecting:
And finally the fatigue, nausea, and food aversions have gone away! I am finally feeling back to normal self. I have been home for about two weeks now, have been back in the gym consistently, and am back on track with my clean eating. I didn’t really gain much weight in the first trimester, only 5 lbs, but my body composition feels different. I feel softer and feel like I have lost some of my muscle definition. Hopefully I will gain some of that back, but I’m not stressing out about it too much. My main focus is to just continue to have a healthy pregnancy, eat clean and healthy foods, and maintain a consistent level of activity.
Here are some of the things I have changed in my diet since becoming pregnant:
-I haven’t been quite so strict about the amount of fruit I eat. Before getting pregnant, I tried to limit my daily grams of sugar to 35g per day. I still limit artificial sugars, but if I am craving a banana, apple, berries, or peaches (for example) I don’t limit myself as strictly. Fruit contains many beneficial vitamins and antioxidants that are great for me and baby.
-I have slightly increased the amount of healthy fats I get per day. Before, I would have 1-2 servings of healthy fat per day, along with MRM brand SmartBlend CLA/Omega-3 capsules. Now, I take the capsules still, and just listen to my body. If I am craving avocado, or natural nut butters I will have them with my meal.
-Now that the 1st trimester food aversions are over I am still eating my normal breakfast of egg whites and oats. I’m still sticking to my usual 6-meals a day with protein at each meal and complex carbs in 3-4 of the meals, and feeling great. I’ve been having one protein shake a day (post workout). My doctor said this was ok as long as whey protein wasn’t my only source of protein during the day.
Here are some of the things I have changed in my workouts since becoming pregnant:
-Well, like I mentioned, I didn’t really workout in the first trimester. In hindsight, I don’t really regret it either. I mean, of course I would have loved to continue exercising, but I listened to my body and my body was telling me that I needed extra rest. We were still hiking and going for walks, I just wasn’t getting in the gym.
-Now that I’m past the severe fatigue phase (aka first trimester) I’m not really following a particular program anymore. James Wilson’s program is an awesome program, but it involves a lot of jumping exercises and is a pretty intense program that keeps your heart rate really high the entire time you are working out. I’m trying to keep my heart rate in the 140-155 range while I workout, so instead of continuing to follow his program I am just sort of writing my own. I am combining what I’ve learned from Jamie Eason’s LiveFit trainer (click HERE for that program) and James Wilson’s program and putting together my own workouts. I’m still focusing on weight training for the bulk of my workouts (different body parts each day) and adding 15 minutes of cardio in a few times a week (usually stairmill or incline treadmill). I’ll do another post soon talking more specifically about my workouts.
-We are also going for family walks each night. It’s a nice way for my husband to de-stress after he gets home from work, for me to take a break from everything I have going on, and for us to talk about our day together. We push my little guy in the stroller and usually walk for 30-60 minutes.
- 11 Weeks Pregnant
Here is a picture when I was 11 weeks pregnant. I can’t believe how BIG my stomach got so early this time around!! I wasn’t this big with Baby #1 until I was around 5 months pregnant. I had an ultrasound today and the doctor couldn’t believe how big my stomach was! She said it is likely because my first baby was so big (he was 10 lbs!) that my body is just popping out early and I will probably stay at this size for a while.
Now that I am back home and settled into my normal routine, I will try to be more regular with my blog posts. Leave a comment and let me know what kind of activity you did when you were pregnant, or what you wish you would have changed in your pregnancy! I’d love to get a discussion going about this.
Your Friend,
Natalie
19 Comments
I popped at about 5 months with both my boys. Are you going to find out what you’re having? 🙂
Hey Natialie, you look great, and such a great post!!
I found out last december when I was starting phase 3 of the jaime eason livefit program that I was pregnant. I was JUST starting a new job too…argh! HAHA It had taken us so long to get that positive result, that I was super paranoid about working out…and to top that off, I was super sick right up to 5 months! Throwing up lots up to 3 months, and pretty frequently from then to 5 months. I also had the same sort of aversions as you…eggs and chicken…yuck!! All the stuff I ate like it was going out of style before pregnancy! All I wanted was muffins!! After the 5 month mark, I finally got back to the gym and basically just kept repeating phase one of the JE program. Cardio wasn’t sitting well with me, so that worked out perfectly! 🙂 I was really glad that I was able to get back to the gym for the last 4 months at least, so I was able to keep at least SOME of my strength! And kept my weight gain to a total of 26 lbs. I wasn’t too bad for energy at the beginning, but I can relate to those feelings at the end!! I was SOOOOOO tired!
Baby Haley is here now (arrived july 12th) and I don’t know if it’s because of the breast feeding, or because I stayed active most of my pregnancy, but I lost all the weight in about three weeks! plus and extra two lbs! YAY. Now, I just have to work on firming up that midsection (c-section has put a delay on abdominal exercises) All in all, I am so pleased with the experience and happy that I was able to get back to eating clean and working out by the five month mark, so I didn’t lose ALL the progress I had made. Of course as soon as I got the green light to work out again I started the JE plan again! (I’m in week 3) I want to finish the whole thing! AND I have been eating 95% clean since Haley was born. I’m more motivated than I have ever been, even thinking of competing for the first time for another motivation. I have also purchased the James Wilson program and will be doing that next 🙂 I’m following in your footsteps natalie! 🙂
You are looking amazing, all the best in the rest of your pregnancy!
Natalie! I am currently 16.5 weeks pregnant with my first and felt awful about not working out much I. The first trimester. I think I was maybe in the gym and average of once a week. I’m glad to know its not just me being “lazy” either. I just had zero energy at all. Now that I’m feeling more energized, I’ve been back at it. Have you decreased the amount of weight you are lifting now that you are pregnant???
You are like a breath of fresh air!!! I appreciate your honesty so much!! Its so good to hear that when you are tired– you listen to your body and take a rest!! I follow you on facebook along with a bunch of other really healthy girls… of course you are my favorite bc i feel like you always are so real…. and THIS is real.. it happens… when your body is going through so many hormonal changes… its tired!! and im sure a TON of other women will appreciate this post– its normal!!! Glad you are feeling good and back on track!!!
Thanks for this post. I am currently 11wks pregnant and feeling great. Looking forward to ur pregancy eating and workout blogs!
When I was pregnant, I ate what I wanted and didn’t work out. It showed for a long time after! I have gotten in a pretty good routine and just started training for a 5k. My son just turned 6 and loves being active and eating healthily. My next pregnancy is going to be a lot different now that I’ve gotten some proper education on eating clean and working out. Oh, and I’ll definitely be referring back to your blog for pregnancy tips when the time comes!
Hi Natalie,
Thank you for the post, I have been looking forward to it since you mentioned it. Like most ladies have noted, thank you for your honesty. It really is refreshing!!! I have been conflicted with doing spinning or just sticking to lifting and pilates. I like your routine and will be making changes to mine and definitly listening to my body.
Thank you for being so encouraging!!!
Hi Natalie. You look great and congrats to you!
I’m curious if you are still eating things like ezekial bread, almond milk, liquid egg whites, cocoa powder, stevia etc. are all those things ok during pregnancy?
Thank you so much for your post. I recently found out i’m pregnant for the first time and i had no idea what to expect and to dull it down it feels like i have been hit by a bus. I can’t stomach any of my usual clean meals and feel like i’m on the verge of vommitting ALL day. I also have’nt worked out in over three weeks because my energy levels are non existent i can barely stay away for an hours at a time. Enough about my rant, i really enjoyed reading your post to know it gets better, PHEW! Thankyou so so much Natalie. All the best with your second time around 🙂
Natalie- I absolutely love that you shared all of this with us! I absolutely adore you, and love following your journey (pregnancy and all!). I’m so excited for your growing family and love how you’ve been working so hard through it all!
I am 3 months post pardum, and just started following your blog. I started Jamie Eason’s live fit challenge a week ago, but then I got sick and haven’t been able to stick with it. Will probably start over in a few days, but I am still sticking with eating clean. I would love it if you would blog some about your plans for post pardum (get your body back) workouts, as well as how to to eat clean but still make sure you eat enough calories for nursing. Also, I have so many questions about how you fit in workouts with little ones. Its been so hard for me to figure out when I can hit the gym, while my newborn is still not on a very consistent schedule. I was not super fit before I got pregnant and have a long way to go, but I am struggling to manage it all and give it 100%. So any post pardum tips you have would be awesome!
Your so lovely!!!!!! really! take care of you and your family
Natalie, I’m so glad I found your blog! I was on week 3 of Jamie Eason’s livefit trainer when we found out we were expecting. I was so scared to continue with this program and remembered seeing your blog last month. I figured with your example and encouragement through your blog I could keep my workouts up as long as I’m feeling good and have energy. Thanks for your blog post and I hope to be seeing more info from you soon! =)
You are welcome!! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your comments and CONGRATULATIONS!!! That is so exciting and I am so happy for you!
Thank you babs!!
I have come across your website over 2 months ago and I am greatful I came across this blog. I found out I was pregnant in March and have been beyond tired and nauseous, therefore I stopped doing crossfit and now I don’t feel as guilty. This is also my 3 rd pregnancy even though their is a 8 year difference from my last, completely forgot how tired your body gets. Once again Thank you for all your wonderful information and stories you share.
Sarah congratulations on your pregnancy!! I am so excited for you to have your third! The thing I kept trying to remind myself is that it was really important to listen to my body and not to push myself too hard. I am excited for you!
Hey Natalie,
I just found out I am pregnant and Im trying to figure out what workouts I can do during my pregnancy. I am about 4 weeks now. I was doing Jamie Eason’s LiveFit trainer but have stop since I found out that I was pregnant. I guess you can say that I am afraid that the program is to much for me. i don’t want to harm my baby. I was going through your page to see if you had any workout tips during pregnancy but cannot find. Do you have any suggestions? I will greatly appreciate it! 🙂 Do you think I can still continue with Jamie Eason’s LiveFit trainer?
Hi Natalie.
Thank you so much for this! I am 12 weeks preg today and i have been fighting to work out during the first trimester but i have not succeeded hardly at all. I feel soft and not good but I am also at the mercy of my baby. i dont have much of a bump yet so i just feel fluffy but i am not stressing too much. At the same time I feel like i am eating a lot to combat the nausea but as of today it seems to be getting a tiny bit better.I hope things will get better so i can work out but my new goal is to chill out until body says go.