exercise and pregnancy

Hi ladies I have a question.  I am wondering if anyone has some suggestions as far as exercise goes when you are pregnant.  I was an athlete before getting pregnant...ran, biked swam and played softball.  Now that I am lucky to be pregnant, some of these activities the doctor wants me to avoid.  I have been walking on my treadmill, but getting bored with that.  I may be athletic but I love food... so I am starting my pregnancy off overweight.  I want to have a healthy pregnancy and enjoy some exercise.  Does anyone have some fun, ideas to keep me moving and not towards the frig? : )

Thanks

Alli

[LisaRG]

There is a monthly magazine out there, I think its called Fit Pregnancy.
There are also some good books specifically for pregnant women - also try Neo-natal yoga( maybe they have this in your area, not everyone does) also google it online!
Good luck with your pregnancy!
Lisa

[findinghumility]

Did you have complications getting pregnant, etc that are behind your doctor asking you to stop a lot of your previous activities?  My doctors always told me that you can pretty much do what you've always done while pregnant until you get farther along or it gets uncomfortable.  My sister in law ran her 3 to 5 miles a day until she was about 7 months along and it was too uncomfortable.  Swimming for sure should be perfectly safe throughout your pregnancy as it is so low impact. Assuming of course there aren't any physical problems you didn't post. I would seek a second opinion if your pregnancy is considered low risk.

[ALT76]

I've heard quite the opposite.  For starters, you should not be attempting to LOSE weight while pregnant.  Secondly, the only exercise you can do is things where basically your heart can't race.  If you cannot maintain holding a conversation while exercising, then your heart is going too fast and you are exercising too hard.  This is because you will be causing your baby's heart to race as well.  If you are breathless it also means you (and consequently your baby) are not getting enough oxygen.  This doesn't mean you can't do some things, just probably not to the level of exertion that you are used to.  But for this reason and obviously for reasons of needing to maintain proper nutrition, you should not attempt to lose weight while pregnant.

[lmcrt]

Thats funny I'm 5"6 and 155lbs which is considered overweight. I workout alot to but love food as well. I just love junk food and going out for italian. My doc said I could cont. to exercise just keep the HR under 140 and know bouncing up and down.

[findinghumility]

ALT - Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think any of us are talking about "losing weight" we're just talking about being healthy and keeping active. At least that's what I was talking about. If Alli is talking about losing weight then yes I agree that is usually not ok unless the doctor for some reason says you need to...don't think that really happens.

This pretty much sums up what I've always heard from my doctors:

http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/fitness/exercising_pregnancy.html
"What's a Safe Exercise Plan During Pregnancy?

It depends on when you start and whether your pregnancy is complicated. If you exercised regularly before becoming pregnant, continue your program, with modifications as you need them.

If you weren't fit before you became pregnant, don't give up! Begin slowly and build gradually as you become stronger. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes (that's 2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week for healthy women who are not already highly active or doing vigorous-intensity activity. If you're healthy, the risks of moderate-intensity activity during pregnancy are very low, and do not increase risk of low birth weight, preterm delivery, or early pregnancy loss.

Before you continue your old exercise routine or begin a new one, you should talk to your doctor about exercising while you're pregnant. Discuss any concerns you may have."

Good Luck Alli! Hope you have a wonderful and healthy pregnancy!

[mysty2001]

my RE does not allow excercise while preggo
that was hard for me
once I hit that safe period - I started riding my bike - then the doc said :stop"  because twins were growing diff rates

[Alli21]

Thanks everyone. I have had a hard time getting pregnant, so the doctor doesn't want be to run. (which was my favorite) but I recently purchased a prenatal low impact aerobics and yoga combo.  It was fun and quick.  I am NOT trying to lose weight, but stay healthy and active.  I hear horror stories of women gaining exessive amounts of weight and I don't want to happen. I want to stay active, have fun and be healthy for my twins.
  Thank you for all your suggestions they really helped!