3rd Trimester Fitness

28 weeks... I can't even believe it. 

I can honestly say just about everything about this pregnancy has been different than my last one! One thing is that I have tried to maintain a healthier diet and kept exercising. I haven't worked out nearly as much as I was pre pregnancy but I've tried to maintain a good balance. With Samantha, I honestly quit the gym in my first trimester and then gained 40+ lbs. Now this time around I haven't craved sugar sugar sugar as I did with Samantha (though I do enjoy daily chocolate) but I feel like I've had LOTS of carbs as of recent. I'm not really into big meals, so I feel like I've had lots of little snacks which consist of cereal, crackers, apples & cheese. 

My 3rd Trimester goals for Nutrition:

-Eat more protein. I'd like to start doing some protein smoothies in the morning for breakfast. For snacks I'd like to add in lean meats (cold cuts- I'm not big on the listeria from cold cuts during pregnancy- I buy good quality meat) and eggs. I'd also like to make some muffins with quinoa and try out this recipe for protein pancakes. Samantha is a bit of a vegetarian herself so it might these might be good for her too. 

-Eat healthy fats. I love love love healthy fats.  I know healthy fats like avocados, oils and nuts aid so much in brain development plus I've heard they help with breast milk production. We usually always have avocados around here so I plan to try to eat 1/2-1 whole one each day. Samantha LOVES avocado pasta and Larabars (which have nuts & dates in them). If I feel brave enough and have energy, I'll attempt making my own Larabars.

-Agua. I need to drink drink LOTS and LOTS of water!

My 3rd Trimester goals for Fitness:

-Yoga. I've loved pre-natal yoga classes at Blooma. If you're in Minneapolis/St.Paul, Blooma is an amazing place that has pre-natal yoga classes, Barre classes & a bazillion childbirth classes. I highly recommend it to mamas to be & new mamas! Pre natal yoga makes me feel so strong, flexible and that I'm in control of my body-not vice versa. I'm absolutely determined NOT to be induced or have a c-section. Because I've had a previous c-section, my chances of a repeat would greatly increase if I had to be induced. C-Section + 18month old= extremely difficult recovery.  Yoga has given me good breathing techniques and encouragement that I can have a VBAC naturally.

-Barre & Weight lifting. I wrote a previous post on my love of Barre classes, and now Blooma & Lifetime offer them! They are AMAZING strength training workouts and by simple movements you discover muscles you never had. I've had a lot of back pain now and I think part of my problem is posture (which barre & yoga help) and my lack of strength. When I was in BootCamp for 4 months I felt pretty darn strong- then I got pregnant and haven't lifted as much as I would've liked. Therefore I hope that I can build some strength in the coming weeks!

-Cardio. Cardio in 3rd trimester looks different than each trimester and definitely when you're not pregnant. Cardio for me now is walking a few miles on the treadmill, the eliptical machine for a half hour or so. I like the feeling of a good sweat:)

Enjoy your day!