The Truth About "Eating For Two"

During pregnancy, one of the most common phrases you'll hear over and over again is "eating for two."  You probably hear this from your parent's generation and most likely your grandparent's too, but that's because this is what they were always told, just like they were also told they couldn't run, jump, or get their heart rate above 120 bpm.  Which is all obviously BS.  So, should you be eating for two?  

Um no, you shouldn't, at least not literally.  Think about it...  Are you giving birth to a full grown adult? No. You're giving birth to a baby that will not weigh more than 10 lbs (most likely).  I like to say I'm eating for one and an eighth.  That being said, being pregnant is not a time to watch your weight, carbs or calories, BUT you shouldn't overdo it either.  The best advice I can give you is to eat every 2-3 hours so you're never worried about your baby lacking or needing nutrients.  I rarely let myself get hungry, because if I do, it makes me think I'm depriving my baby!  I'm sure that's not true, but I'd rather not worry about it or risk it, so I eat every 2-3 hours.  Just keep in mind that you're eating snacks in between meals, not full meals every two hours, that would probably put you in the "60+ lbs Gained Club" during your pregnancy, which is not good for you or the baby (hence why doctors say only 25-35 lbs). 
 

Now let's discuss "cravings."  Being pregnant is not an excuse to go to Dairy Queen everyday or to Burger King in the middle of the night.  If you find yourself wanting to do this, it's not a "pregnancy craving,"  it's just you letting go of your self control because you can use the "craving" excuse.  Pregnancy is a time to feed your body healthy foods like whole grains, fruits, veggies, dairy and protein.  It's not a time to feed yourself crap, especially if you think you're eating for two, then that would be two servings of crap - YIKES!  When I'm in the mood for something not so good, I ask myself this question, "What would I feed my future child?" 



Mmmmmmm!

It works pretty well.  Here's an example:  A few days ago I was out running errands.  When it was time for lunch, I knew I had to get fast food since I didn't bring anything with me.  I decided on Chick-Fil-A because I'm a sucker for their spicy chicken sandwich.  But as we know, fast food is not the best thing for us.  This is when my question comes in handy.... "What would I feed my future child?"  So, I ordered just the sandwich, no fries and no soda.  When I got home, I had an apple and some yogurt, which are much better choices than fries and soda.  Go me!   
 

Need some nutrient rich snacking ideas for in between meals?  Here you go!  Notice I try to include fiber in almost all of my snacks (an EXTREMELY important thing for a prego)!

• fruit and nuts
• whole grain crackers and cheese
• yogurt and fruit
• cottage cheese and veggies or fruit
• veggies and hummus
• peanut butter and apple
• one package oatmeal and fruit
• pretzels and fruit
• water, milk or juice
• hard boiled egg (I usually have two, or I'll have one with fruit or veggies)
• beans (black, garbanzo, kidney, etc.)
• a couple pieces of dark or milk chocolate - if you need to indulge a little during the day :) I like to have a small handful of chocolate covered almonds  

Long story short: Don't literally eat for two, don't give into ridiculous cravings, and ask yourself "What would I feed my future child?"  Making good choices will not only give you a healthier baby, but a happier, less stressful pregnancy.  It's a win-win situation! 
 
 


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Prego Cardio

I love running, but it has definitely been challenging since I've been "with child,"  probably because of just that, I'm running with a little child in my belly.  So more power to those ladies running marathons while pregnant.  I've never been a marathon runner though, and most likely never will be.  I ran cross country in high school and have been running regularly since then, anywhere from 2-6 miles.  I have gone through my periods where I run more than that, but I find with my regular weight training routine, my joints prefer less mileage, not to mention I personally prefer a body with tone and definition over a stick skinny one... just sayin'.     

 

Now that we've covered that, here's a recap of my workouts this week.  I'm at 19 weeks, here's another bathroom selfy for you to enjoy :)

love my lil' baby gut!

 Since it's Wednesday, we'll start with that day a week ago....

Wednesday: I did my favorite simple warm up of jumping jacks, high knees and butt kicks.  Then I did an all leg workout which felt awesome!  Meaning I definitely felt it the next day (so did the clients I did this workout with).  Here's how it went:
Warm up - 20 seconds each of jumping jacks, high knees, and butt kicks
Repeat 5 times
Leg Workout - 20 squats
20 lunges (10 on each leg)
20 plie squats
Repeat 5 times
Take a 30 second break when needed

Thursday: 25 minutes on the elliptical
I needed to give my arms some love since I did all of that leg stuff the day before, so I did bicep curls and seated dips.    

Friday:  I took my doggies on a jog. I took them individually - one is a pure bred Great Dane (Cody) and one is a Great Dane/Black Lab mix (Cooper), so naturally the lab mix has more energy than the lazy Dane, plus it's just easier for me to take one massive dog on a jog  than two. I took Cody for a 1 mile jog and Cooper for a 2 mile jog. That would be 3 miles total if math is not your specialty.

My boys... aren't they handsome?!

Saturday:  I normally teach an outdoor Bootcamp (emilyexercise.com will give you more info on that), but we'll start up again in March when it's hopefully not so darn cold outside!  So instead, I went to the gym with my hubby and did a treadmill interval workout: 
10 min warm up walk
1 min run at 7.0
1 min walk at 3.8-4.0
Repeat 10 times
5 minute cool down
Then I just followed up with some shoulder toning and love handle exercises

Sunday:  No workout!  I went shopping for maternity clothes instead :)

Monday:  Kept it simple and did a 30 minute walk on the treadmill.  I maintained a 4.0 speed with (what I call) a slight incline at 6.0.

Tuesday:  I did another treadmill workout. 
10 minute warm up
5 min run at 6.5-7.0
5 min walk at 4.0
I did this for 30 minutes
Then I did some assisted pull ups and other back exercises.

As you can see, I like to mix it up with my workouts.  Not only with weight training, but my cardio routines as well.  Being pregnant, you feel different everyday.  Some days you may feel great and hardly notice a growing baby in your belly (my Friday) and other days you will just feel sluggish (my Monday).  But no matter how you're feeling, sitting around all day won't help your body or mood feel better.  Match these cardio workouts to your personal pregnancy mood of the day (and to your personal fitness level too, of course) and see how much better you will feel!

Now go do some cardio and have a good day!

 

Basic Prego Exercise Guidelines

There are so many opinions on what you can and can't do exercise wise while pregnant.  The way I see it, if it doesn't hurt or feel strange, then you're golden.  Just keep it simple to keep it safe.  Tried and true exercises are safest in my opinion.  This really isn't the time to try some new fitness craze... but that's just my opinion.

 Legs:

I can't tell you how many people have asked me, "should you be doing squats while pregnant?"  Ummmm YES!  Strengthen those legs.  Do you honestly think your baby will fall out?  Does it fall out while walking up the stairs or while sitting down into a chair? No. A squat or lunge is performing the same type of motion, so trust me, those exercises are safe.  You should definitely do squats and lunges while pregnant to help support your growing belly.  Plus I heard it helps with pushing during labor!  Safe exercises for legs include: 

• squats
• lunges
• plie squats
• side lunges
• straight leg dead lift

Arms:

Keep them toned!  After your pregnancy, you will have your work cut out for you trying to tone that belly and getting back to your "pre-pregnancy weight,"  don't give yourself more work or added stress by skimping on one of the easiest body parts to keep the same during pregnancy.  Safe arm exercises to try:

• bicep curls
• tricep pressdowns
• seated dips
• shoulder raises (lateral and forward)
• shoulder press

Back:

This is an important one.  Your belly is growing, so it's very easy to get back pain.  Try to keep this pain to a minimum by doing simple, basic, and safe exercises:

• rows
• lat pulldown
• assisted pull-ups 
• rear lateral raises

Core:

I've also had several people tell me I shouldn't do core exercises when pregnant.  That's not true either.  If you're afraid to do your normal core exercises (since we've been told not to do exercises where you lay on your back), keep in mind that all exercises incorporate your core (squats, lunges, bicep curls, shoulder press, etc.).  Just make sure you're standing up straight, keeping your core tight, and not arching your back or using momentum to lift the weights.  Also, stand up when doing arm exercises, don't sit down, otherwise you're not going to engage your core.  Some safe exercises include:

• standing core twists
• plank
• side plank 
• mountain climber
• wood chop with dumbbell

You're welcome :)

Thus Far....

Hi!  I'm Emily Hopkins Da Silva.  Personal Fitness Trainer (check out my website EmilyExercise.com!) is my main gig for now, but soon I'll be taking on another role... as a mama :)  I'm 18 weeks prego and feeling pretty darn good.  I've continued to work out regularly since I found out I was pregnant (at 4 weeks).  Here's the gist of my pregnancy  and fitness so far:

• 4-8 weeks - I felt normal for the most part, a little more tired than normal but I still pushed through my workouts, which consisted of running (2-4 miles), weight training, and/or circuit training.  I averaged 6-7 workouts per week.

• 8-14 weeks - Hell.  My morning sickness didn't include throwing up (luckily), but I kind of wish I did, it probably would have made me feel better.  It was more of an all day nauseous kinda thing - joy.  I was exhausted and hardly any food sounded good (which really sucks when normally ALL food sounds good).  I had to scale down my workouts; running at a slower pace, taking longer breaks during circuit training, etc.  But I will say, even though I felt like crap, I felt fine during and for a short period after my workouts.  The endorphin release truly helps those raging hormones, TRUST ME!  It may only be temporary, but that's better than nothing.  I averaged 4-6 workouts per week.

• 14-18 weeks- My energy has come back (it's true what they say!).  I averaged 5 or 6 workouts per week.

Ok, here are some baby gut pics.  My husband wanted to take a picture everyday like that girl on that commercial with the Buddy Holly song "Everyday," but that didn't happen.  Sorry babe!  I wanted to do a weekly one, but that didn't really happen either.  I am, however, trying to be better now with the weekly pics since I'm starting to actually notice a difference in the size of my lil' baby gut.  I call these my "myspace baby gut pics," you know, the bathroom selfies - classic.


8 weeks

11 weeks

 

14 weeks

15 weeks

16 weeks

17 weeks

 

18 weeks

 

So there you have it! That's my pregnancy and baby gut thus far. Have a nice day!