I wasn’t exactly at my most physically active when I fell pregnant. Even before I left for the States, unknowingly already a couple weeks pregnant, I hadn’t been as regular at the gym as I like to be. I was blaming it on work but the reality was that I just wasn’t feeling it as much. I love weight lifting, it’s my gym activity of choice (other than boxing and Zumba), but I just wasn’t being as committed to it as I should have been, probably because I didn’t have a set routine to follow. Then I disappeared off the States for 7 weeks and by the time I came home my first trimester was almost over and my doctor said no weight lifting.

Okay, so my exercise of choice was ruled out. What was I allowed to do? Apparently walking, yoga and swimming. Ugh. It’s not that I mind any of those – I love to walk, but more in a “I live in an urban area and can walk everywhere” kind of way rather than going for a purposeful 5km walk. Yoga is cool and I’ve dabbled in it for years, but it just doesn’t grab me and I’ve never found myself able to stick with it for long periods of time. Swimming? Well, I never REALLY did much swimming for fitness’ sake, although that seems to be my best chance at the moment.

It’s been so warm lately, that I’m sort of happy with the idea of forcing myself to go swimming on a regular basis, but until now, about 26 weeks into being pregger, I haven’t really done it.  In fact, I have done almost no exercise whatsoever. I did do the odd YouTube video with some prenatal yoga, and I’d walk around and stuff, but I feel like I have been totally unfit. Part of that has been about giving myself permission to eat whatever feels comfy, especially when so many foods were so totally unappealing for me, and to rest when my body says to. Of course, that also means that I’ve basically been turning into a lazy slob, which is not making me very happy. It’s not about weight gain per se, but rather about feeling strong, capable, and comfortable in my own skin.

Having seen what my friends went through with their newborns, I’m definitely going to wait a while before worrying about getting fit, though. I plan to give myself a year off once Harley is born and see how I feel. That doesn’t mean that I’ll do nothing, but that I won’t beat myself up about whatever diet I adopt and whatever fitness routine works for me. At least, that’s the plan. That said, I do want to go swimming more. It makes me feel great while pregnant – cools me down in this heat, and also makes my weird center of gravity not as noticeable. In the water, I’m weightless and I don’t need to arch my back or do funny things to move my body. It’s definitely my plan to go as often as possible for these next 14 weeks – what better way to focus on getting and staying fit than to become a submarine, right?

I guess I’m just realizing that many things will change and pregnancy is just a taste of that. I’d love to think that when Harley is a year old I’ll be able to pop to the gym for an hour and lift weights, or do a quick Jillian Michaels video while she takes a nap. Or maybe use HER as the weight and do all sorts of things to play with her that involve lifting her in various ways that give me a decent workout. But, the reality will probably be very different, and supposedly it will all be worthwhile. Geez, raising this tiny human had better blow my mind with awesomeness…

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