New year, new fitness goals – am I right!?
Usually I take a new “before picture” of myself after holidays and at the beginning of the year and set myself new fitness goals to get back on track and motivated during the dark cold months (usually motivation comes more naturally the closer to summer we get haha!).
So that’s what I did again, except that for the first time, I looked at my belly in the mirror thinking: “Grow”!
Dieting when trying for a baby would not be very smart. I know from experience that training hard and lowering my body fat can easily result in loss of period, which obviously is not what we want right now!
So this year it’ll still be all about staying healthy and fit but no so much about getting leaner. So whether or not the Christmas holiday eating/resting now show on my body is not something I’m going to be worrying about! I’ve also read that underweight women tend to have underweight babies, which doesn’t sound very good to me…
All this got me thinking about the physical changes pregnancy would bring. The whole concept of pregnancy and childbirth, as natural as they are, just sound incredible – and a little weird – to me. I’m so excited to experience it (and hopefully I will) but obviously it will mean big changes to my body, some of which will be permanent.
I don’t always love my body the way I should, but until now it’s been 100% mine. I don’t believe it’s vain to be concerned about the physical changes that will inevitably happen during and after first pregnancy and giving birth. Primarily of course I worry about my ability to bring a healthy child to the world. And will I stay healthy myself in the process?
Of course the weight gain, torn abs, possible stretch marks, saggy boobs etc. have crossed my mind. Younger women also recover from pregnancies quicker than for example me, being thirty plus… What I have read however is that being fit before getting pregnancy and keeping a healthy diet and exercise routine during pregnancy will help both the unborn baby and the mother.
But what does this mean, exactly? In practical terms? To find answers, I bought a book aimed especially for active/athlete women about wellness – exercise and nutrition – during and after pregnancy (it’s in Finnish, called “Liikkuvan äidin hyvinvointi” by Mari Stenman). I’ll share with you what I learn 🙂
xoxoxo,
Sini