Your heart is pumping overtime...

Cardiovascular fitness depends on your heart’s ability to pump blood throughout the body efficiently delivering oxygen to your organs, lungs, etc. When you become pregnant, your heart works overtime pumping extra blood (50% more blood than you normally have!) The biggest physical change that you might notice is an elevated resting and working heart rate. The average pregnant woman’s heart beats about 15 beats per minute

Cardiovascular changes during pregnancy*:

• Increased volume of circulatory system
• Increased blood volume
• Increased heart rate at rest
• Decreased blood pressure

Effects of cardiovascular change on your daily exercise

• Increased fatigue and reduced stamina
• Heart rate response will be higher for same workloads compared to when you are not pregnant
• Blood pressure may drop with changes in position such as laying on your back and standing up quickly

Effects of exercise on the cardiovascular changes of pregnancy

• Increased blood volume
• Improved oxygen delivery
• Increased blood vessel growth
• Increased circulatory reserve

*adapted from the Prenatal and Postpartum Exercise Design curriculum by Gwen Hyatt, MS and Catherine Cram, MS

Depending on what your doctor tells you to do, you might want to buy a heart rate monitor to see how your body is responding to your workouts. Click here for more info on heart rate monitors.

Why am I breathing so hard!?

Sometimes, just walking up the stairs makes me feel like I've just run a marathon. So you can imagine what it feels like when I'm actually exercising. For the first 10 minutes, I feel like the oxygen levels in the room has been reduced dramatically and I'm huffing and puffing like a crazy person. This just started to happen when I became pregnant...and there is a reason why! So if you have a baby in the belly and are feeling like you just can't catch your breath, here's why...and also why you should continue to exercise!

Respiratory changes during pregnancy*:

• Increased over breathing
• Increased O2 consumption, even when at rest

Effects of respiratory change on your daily exercise

• Shortness of breath happens more easily
• O2 consumption increases

Effects of exercise on the respiratory changes of pregnancy

• Increase availability of O2
• Improved VO2 max for up to a year after giving birth!

*adapted from the Prenatal and Postpartum Exercise Design curiculum by Gwen Hyatt, MS and Catherine Cram, MS

So what can you do to make sure that your breathlessness doesn't affect you or your baby adversly? Listen to your body. you should be able to carry on a conversation without gasping for breath.

FRE to drink

So on Friday, Nate and I had a bunch of people over to celebrate his birthday with a BBQ. Normally, I would have popped open a nice bottle of wine with some of my girl friends to celebrate with while the boys drank their beer. But this year, I was chugging down water like a good pregnant girl until it happened...Our friends Bill and Tracie brought a bottle of alcohol removed wine...maybe the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me...okay...maybe not ever, but at that moment it was totally the best.

The brand is Fre and it's delicious. Their alcohol removed wine comes in 7 flavors ranging from white and red to champagne. Plus, it's made with real wine (hence the alcohol removed) so it has a wine, not just grape juice, flavor. And though it doesn't taste exactly like wine, it's close enough, especially when you see how many calories you save with this tasty drink.

Normal wine: about 25 calories per 1 oz (150 calories per 6 oz pour)

Fre Alcohol Removed wine: about 9 calories per 1 oz (54 calories per 6 oz pour)

With that information in mind, this is also a fantastic drink for those who want to trim down their "drinking calories" to practically nothing!

Cheers!

Cravings made healthy

I had NO idea what power pregancy cravings had over the prenatal woman until of course I got pregnant. These cravings can come when you least expect it...after a morning sickness episode...durning a morning sickenss episode, in the middle of the night, at the slightest hint of some food mentioned by a friend. And then what happens? You HAVE to have it or you might die...or at least that's what it feels like. But living off of Taco Bell and shells and cheese might not cut it for the whole nine months, so the last week or so, I have craved and then karate chopped my cravings with similar foods with more nutritional substance and not as many calories*


Here are some of my major, die-without cravings and how I've made them "healthy" for me and my baby.

Velveeta Shells and Cheese:

A box of this packs a ton of calories. Yes...I said a box, cuz really, is a ravenous, craving pregnant woman really going to stop at 1/3 of the recipe? I think not.

STATS: 990 calories, 36 grams of fat.

VS

Smart Ones Creamy Mac and Cheese:

Still the whole thing, but it's portion controlled so I have been less likely to make 3 boxes and can be satisfied with just one :)

STATS: 270 calories, 2 grams of fat.

Taco Bell 5-layer Beefy Burrito:

Hey! Don’t judge…I know it’s gross…but man…I crave this like crazy! Where did it come from? I suspect the baby knows all about Taco Bell and other fast food from his daddy!

STATS: 550 calories, 22 grams of fat.

VS

Homemade bean and cheese burrito:

Still delish and really hits the spot with protein and cheese, but it's just ¼ cup fat free spicy refried beans, ¼ cup reduced fat cheddar cheese all hot and rolled up in a Mission Carb Control Whole Wheat fajita sized tortilla.

STATS: 220 calories, 8 grams of fat.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Any restaurant carrot cake will do, but these stats are from Outback Steakhouse…it’s delish, but not so much nutritionally sound.

STATS: 1,200 calories, 28 grams of fat.

VS

Weight Watchers Carrot Crème Cake:

Seriously still satisfying without eating a quarter of an actual cake.

STATS: 90 calories, 3.5 grams of fat

Grilled Cheese

Ooey-Gooey and oh so cravable, right? But if you’re like me, you crave 5 slices of cheese on thick, white Texas toast with a crisp buttery outside.

STATS: 510 calories, 30 grams of fat.

VS

Cheese Quesadilla:

These have become an absolute staple for me and it totally hits the grilled cheese spot! One Mission Carb Control Whole Wheat fajita sized tortilla with 1/3 cup reduced fat cheddar grilled to crispy, gooey perfection!

STATS: 183 calories, 10 grams of fat

So those are just a few examples and I am definitely not saying to not go for your “real” craving every once in a while, but it’s also important to keep a majority of you caloric intake reserved for fruits and veggies and lean protein and whole grains and such.

Also, just because my healthier versions of my personal cravings have much lower calorie and fat values, does not mean that I’m promoting weight loss or calorie restriction during pregnancy. I believe that gaining the recommended 25-35 pounds (for a person at a healthy pre-pregnancy weight) is necessary. But to go over that, can sometimes cause complications with pregnancy such high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, babies with a high fat percentage. Not to mention that it will take longer to get back to your pre-baby weight!

Just some things to think about.

Over-doin' it...

Exercise, as noted before, is important for a mama-to-be and can be extremely beneficial for your pregnancy as well as after. But beware, you can over do it. Remember that your heart rate has increased now that you are pregnant and you are starting to carry around a few extra pounds. The extra pounds and elevated heart rate can make exercise feel more difficult than ever before. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that a pregnant woman get 150 minutes per week (think 5 days of 30 minute workouts).

So what's a pregnant girl to do: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!!

I totally blew this concept today as I decided that I was going to make a conscious effort to walk where ever I went for the day (except to spinning class...too dark at 5:30 a.m.). I have eaten like total crap...I wont go into the gory details...just trust me. So I taught spinning for 50 minutes, walked to my parents' house (3.3 miles...50 minutes) and walked to a client's appointment (1.3 miles...25 minutes). Maybe any other day it would have been fine, but man, I am pooped. My nausea came back with a vengeance as well as an overwhelming sense that my body is going to fall apart or at the very least collapse at any minute.

Moral of the story here, is to be smart about exercise. Just because you were able to do something before you were pregnant, doesn't mean that it's going to be a piece of cake to do it when you are expecting. Give yourself a break. Forgive your body for giving out on you...you ARE making a baby in there!

I'll say it again (mostly for my benefit)...listen to your body and don't push too far...there will be a lot of pushing later :)

Check your heart rate!

At my last OBGYN appointment, my Dr. told me that I needed to keep my heart rate under 140 beats per minute (bpm). At first I balked at this new requirement because I thought it was old and basically an old wives tale. But then I remembered that when you exercise, especially exercise intensely, the blood is pulled away from your core to your legs or other engaged extremities. Therefore, I suppose it does make sense that if you exercise regularly and intensely, you might want to watch your heart rate so that your baby and inner workings of your pregnancy are not left bloodless/oxegyn-less.


If you are used to checking your heart rate, whether when exercising or just for fun, you might have noticed that since you've been pregnant your heart rate is significantly faster than it was pre-pregnancy. In fact, my own resting heart rate used to be a cool 46 bpm and now it's up to 70! Needless to say, getting up to 140 bpm now doesn't required a sprint, in fact, it might just happen when quickly walking up a hill. Therefore, a heart rate monitor is a great investment for the active pregnant woman.


I just got mine in the mail. I ordered the black Polar F4 from amazon.com (pictured above). It is a Polar F4 and is totally easy. I bought it for $69 but it retails for $99...and I got free shipping...hurray for Amazon!

It's super easy to set up if you follow the instructions. You wear a strap around your chest (right below your bra) and the strap sends the signal to the watch unit. This particular model reads your heart rate continuously plus measures your calorie burn based on your height, weight, gender and energy expenditure (heart rate). It's a nifty little tool that I have been wearing when I go on walks, teach fitness classes and lift weights.


Please note that doctors have different opinions on how exercise should be handled while your pregnant. My Dr. has insisted that I keep my heart rate below 140 bpm because of how often I'm active. Others will say that heart rate doesn't matter. So do what your Dr. tells you to do; they know best! :)

Yoga and your pregnant body

Yoga has been a major player in reducing stress before I got pregnant and now that I am pregnant. I highly recommend finding something (if not yoga) that relaxes you so that you can be a fantastically mellow baby carrier!

There are some great yoga studios in the KC area. My favorite right now is Yoga Patch at Gregory and Wornall in KCMO. They, and other studios, frequently offer prenatal yoga classes and workshops specifically designed for those of use who are expecting. Typically these classes are relaxing and focused on flexibility while focusing on the needs of the pregnant body.

If you are going to take normal (non prenatal) yoga class (which I continue to do 3-4 days a week), there are some precautions to take.

• Avoid deep twists
• Do not engage in any upside down poses such as headstands, handstands, etc. Downward Facing Dog and forward bends are fine.
• After your first trimester, avoid laying on your back for very long as it can decrease blood flow to the uterus
• Save the hot yoga (or Bikram) for after the baby comes...you don't want to increase your core body temp
• As you gain your baby weight and your body becomes more cumbersome, make sure that your balancing poses are supported by standing near a wall or using a chair
• As with any exercise, don't do anything that is uncomfortable...listen to your body

If you have any questions, please contact your doctor.

Namaste!