Considering Pregnancy?

I recently was thinking about why I’m on this journey, and for the most part it’s due to wanting to just lose the weight and get healthy but the small picture in this is I want to have another baby! I want to not be a high risk case because of my weight, and I want to not gain 50 lbs during and after my pregnancy. There are so many reasons all women who are looking to becoming pregnant should focus on their fitness levels and eating habits before the blessed beginnings of pregnancy.

Here are some alarming facts about obesity and pregnancy. A child is more likely to become overweight is the mother was prior to becoming pregnant, and the more over weight the mother was the greater the chance the child would become overweight as well. Now, I know what I’m thinking, my child has a huge chance, except for the fact that I’ve already made the changes in our lives not to let that happen. (Plus the fact her father was a bean pole most of his life and she was a preemie.) But, what about those of you who haven’t made that change in your life to insure your children don’t become overweight by the age of 7?

Planning ahead for your pregnancy is such a great step in making sure your family will be healthy and active as they grow. If you’re already at a good weight, just keep it up and watch what you eat. You really only need to increase your calories by 300-400 each day to grow your baby healthily and maintain your weight. Add ankle weights for your walks, or just do some light weight lifting with your cardio workouts. If you are still working towards getting to a healthy weight then keep up the hard work. Eat a low calorie diet and exercise every day as much as you can work into your schedule.

Once you are pregnant and are maintaining a healthy weight you will you will feel better, it will help you keep your weight gain during pregnancy within a safe range, it will contribute to a greater sense of well-being, and it can reduce your postpartum recovery time. This last one is so important to me. I think it’s so important to be able to recover from the trauma your body goes through and for me the depression that can follow.

The journey we are on is so important, and if you are working towards a future pregnancy then it can be even more important for you. Keep up your hard work and dedication, and remember the end results will all be worth the effort you put in.