Exercising in your second trimester ~ my experience

Well I am officially over the halfway point of pregnancy, cheers to that! My favorite “maternity” pants have become my Teeki yoga pants which just happen to be made of recycled plastic bottles so at least I am helping out the environment with my purchases, they seem to have an infinite amount of stretch which is a friend of any preggo. I am now at 5 ½ months and have gained 14lbs and added 6 inches to my waist so far. I have separated my workout clothes into piles of “too tight”, “can still squeeze into”, and the “super loose” pile. Thankfully I own A LOT of workout clothing.  Here’s me at 14 weeks, 18 weeks, and 22 weeks; growing, growing and a growing!

I am staying active and have not adjusted my eating. My pace has slowed down even more so and I become winded quite quickly. My standard run of 6 miles has been dropped now to 4 – 4 ½ miles. After running this distance I feel the same amount of fatigue and tiredness as running a marathon pre-pregnancy. People aren’t kidding when they say it takes A LOT of energy to grow a baby for 40 weeks!

I attend yoga classes 2 to 3 times a week, at least 1-2 runs and try to get at least one strength training workout in. It is sometimes (mostly all the time) mentally frustrating to not be at my normal level of athleticism (and clothing size), but I take one day at a time and realize this will not be forever.   As I progress further along and enter the third trimester, I may need to back off on running and sub in more strength circuits….there really are just not enough Starbucks along my usual running route to accommodate a pee stop every 10 minutes. I have added hot water with lemon to my morning routine and has worked wonders for the pregnancy induced slowing of the digestion system. My blood pressure was dropping very low due to pregnancy but has now leveled out to an acceptable level and I am no longer getting headaches and dizziness that accompanied the low BP.

I purchased a bright orange BOB Revolution jogging stroller over the weekend which has gotten rave reviews from many of my friends, I am very excited for the stroller and to be able to start Baby Dehestani off early with running! On the fur baby front: Zubi is enjoying her time being top our #1 child while she still can.  She will always be our “daughter”.

That’s my update at 22 weeks! More to come once I’m into the third trimester!