Six week ago, I wrote this blog post on weight during pregnancy. I hadn’t heard many people talk about the pressure to NOT gain weight during pregnancy so I wasn’t all that surprised when you guys agreed with my sentiments. I decided to turn my blog post into a video and add a few things that some commenters brought up that I hadn’t thought about!
So, just how much weight should you gain during pregnancy?
When it comes to exercise, I shared this photo on Instagram this week at the gym along with me workout while being 40+ weeks pregnant. I didn’t share this picture to shame other pregnant people who are not working out past their due dates, like I didn’t write the weight gain post to shame women who gain less than the recommended amount. I keep seeing people tag their friends and I hope it is for inspiration not to shame each other. I simply shared it to motivate others and realize that pregnancy is not an excuse to stop treating your body how you usually do!
I have felt great the entire time during my pregnancy. I like working out. The gym is my me time. When LittleFit arrives, that me time is going to disappear for awhile so being able to still go is something I enjoy doing.
People have told me to “take it easy” my entire pregnancy and even more so now. Considering how good I’ve felt these past 10 months, I’m pretty sure whatever I did/have been doing is just fine. We won’t know for sure until he is born but my doctors haven’t given me any sign otherwise.
I also write this blog and have a fitness YouTube channel for a living. I stopped teaching weeks ago so really all I have planned for this week is to give birth! I have the time to workout since he is in no rush to arrive. I don’t have to be at work at 8 or 9am and work all day. If I did, I doubt I would have the energy to be going to the gym before or after work. Going to the gym essentially, is my job at this point. It gives me something to blog about! If I were to sit on my couch all day and watch Netflix, it wouldn’t be a very “fitness” inspired business.
I only share this because I don’t want to me a mommy shamer. I don’t mean to put down other women. We are all trying to do our best. I have shared my journey hoping to inspire, relate or inform other women in my position. I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad about not working out, gaining too little or too much weight.
What are your thoughts? Has pregnancy taken on a FitSpo mentality of it’s own lately due to social media?
Read the original blog post here.
This is a conundrum I see with fitness posts in general -- not just pregnancy fitness posts. Sometimes when I workout I want to post about it -- to share with friends the workout I did (they might want to try it!), or to maybe be an inspiration to someone else to workout (because sometimes when I see someone worked out, it makes me go “yea I’m going to do it today!”) but then I don’t want to come across like I’m bragging about the fact that I got a workout in today, or that my workout was harder than yours type of thing. So then I don’t post it. Which kind of sucks because then that could have been someone’s inspiration?
If I see a workout pic, and it makes me feel bad or makes me feel like I’m getting shamed…I try to ask myself “Am I mad because this person is bragging and being annoying (which yes, that happens too) or am I mad because I haven’t gotten in my workout today yet?”
I say post your pics, be proud, don’t shame others, and if you see a pic that makes you feel bad examine the real reason WHY it makes you feel bad. If it’s that person being annoying, then remove them from your feed and move on. If it’s you, well then that’s another story.
Very nicely said Sarah. I will admit that I am very envious of your pregnancy as I had a tough pregnancy that included weight gain pre-pregnancy from infertility drugs, extreme sickness for 25 weeks, and weeks of limited movement. The best thing you can do is listen to your body and realize that you have to do whats your best for the baby. For some, its just resting because your body has a trouble handling what is happening and for others, it’s being as active as you possibly can be.
I’ve been following your pregnancy and blog for awhile now and am 4 weeks behind you with a baby girl! I love your posts because
I view you as a fitness professional and am curious to see what you have been doing through out your pregnancy. The fact that you are still working out is very motivating to me! However I have also had a fairly easy pregnancy with minimal weight gain and consistent workouts, I did have bad morning sickness the first trimester though. I can see how if you are having a rough pregnancy seeing other women not gaining a lot of weight or working out could make someone feel bad about themselves or start the comparison game, which is not what pregnancy should be about! I think your posts are inspiring and I appreciate you sharing so much of your journey with the public .
I love your posts! I am currently 32 weeks pregnant and at my heaviest of my life. It’s hard to look in the mirror or even get dressed because nothing fits. I have done my best to stay active but not being able to sleep from hip pain or even walk on the treadmill anymore hasn’t helped. My husband doesn’t help either and makes comments daily of my weight gain, if I’m going to work out, what I’m eating etc. He has never told me I look nice while being pregnant & makes fun of me for being winded just going up the stairs. Do I know that one day I will run half marathons again, and do Body Pump 3 times a week, yes I do, but for now it’s a daily struggle not to be depressed about it all. We are packing our house up and moving cross country next week, we’ve known this was coming so I’ve been smart and doing little things daily for months now. My husband has just been playing videogames & hanging out with his friends. It makes me giggle because he’s like come on we have stuff to do, and I just look at him and go, nope I did xyz months ago it’s just you.
This is a great post! I am not pregnant but my husband and I have begun to try and I have been worrying about my fitness journey and how being pregnant will affect that. All I have to go off of is what my friends have said about their pregnancies. I am so happy that you wrote this and shared this with us! I am so happy for you and for your great pregnancy!
Take care,
C | http://atlantic-c.blogspot.ca/
I love your instagram and finally made my way to your blog today. i’m 4 months behind you in pregnancy and have had quite a difficult journey so far. I’m a fitness trainer myself and a very healthy eater, but so much changed when i got preggo for the first time. My entire first trimester was filled with constant nausea, i had to stop working out completely and my food intake consisted of pizza, pasta and more bread.
Anyway -- it’s hard not to beat yourself up about it, esp if you’re a fan of fitness and balanced eating.
I did have a question for you though -- where do find your workout tops? I’m expanding quite a bit up top, and need to have roomier tops that cover the belly. Any tips on that?
good luck with your delivery! Hope everything goes smoothly for you 🙂
This top is by mumberry and is my only maternity workout top. The rest are mostly lululemon bc they are my longest tops. A few are kohls that are were the kind that were roomy on the belly area with an elastic around the waist, cinched if you will. I haven’t needed bigger sports bras. I was already big on top and had larges.
Sarah I thought this was post was great, I am not pregnant nor do I have any plans to be for a long time but I thought your break down of the weight gain was very interesting! Also love your attitude on health and fitness in general.
I am 20 weeks pregnant for the 3rd time. I kind of hate it when people ask “are you sure you should be doing that?” I can make decisions for myself and I am not going to do anything stupid. It is like becoming pregnant makes me less of an adult and people don’t trust my decisions any more.