26 weeks and I feel like a loser

V

VLESTRANGE

New Member
Hi everyone, I am in my second pregnancy (my little boy is 2 1/2) and I'm having a much harder time with my body image this time around. I never look at my weight, so I haven't a clue how much I've gained. I FEEL huge!! I work out 5 to 6 days a week and until 2 weeks ago I was still doing the cross train express series on a 6 inch step with SEVERAL modifications. All of the books I have read sya how so many people can train at their "normal" level throughout pregnancy. I feel So weak now. I have really had to decrease my weights, and if I did what I want to do, I would pull out my pregnancy tapes (I haven't resorted to this yet). My OB/GYN says "Oh, those tapes are too easy, just switch to the FIRM". These even seem challenging to me. Blah, Blah,Blah sorry to be so long winded, but I just wonder if I'm being a wimp. Reading all the other posts here definately makes me feel better. It seems like a lot of us "hard Core" Cathe users seem to get "wiped out" during pregnancy. Good luck to everyone.

Vickie
 
Hang In There Vickie!

I think you are doing wonderful! Just the fact that you are trying is saying a WHOLE LOT!!! It is normal to feel "wiped out". Don't push yourself beyond what your head and body is telling you. As you know, Cathe is not a "walk-in-the-park for even us non-pregnant exercisers. Be kind to yourself and really enjoy the miracle that is taking place within you. Before you know it, you'll be back to par. Keep us posted!! Here's a big cyber hug for you { } Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH :)
 
You're doing GREAT!!

Do you realize how few non-pregnant people do even half of what you're doing? Your body is very busy growing the baby, so even when you're "resting," your body is still hard at work. My personal opinion is that your body knows what it's doing. If it's telling you to go with lighter workouts than your OB is telling you, go with lighter workouts. The guideline I was given by my OB was that to feel fatigued after a workout is fine, but if I feel like I need a 2 hour nap afterward, I overdid it, no matter how much or how little I did. It could be that the baby is making particularly heavy demands on your body right now, and you'll feel more energetic in a few weeks, but ONLY if you don't let yourself get run down now.

The body image thing is tough. I don't know any preganant woman anywhere who hasn't struggled with it. You're used to your body looking and behaving a certain way. When you're pregant, all of those things change. It's out of your control for the most part, and you feel helpless. Where other people probably look at you and see a woman who looks AMAZING and say, "I can't believe how great she looks at 26 weeks! What is she doing to stay looking so great?" YOU look in the mirror and see the newest stretch marks, the mark on your belly from the waistband of your pants, the extra padding you're picking up ( and SHOULD, by the way ). We're always our own worst critics, and it's never more true than when you're pregnant. Those hormones get to messing with your head and the next thing you know you're crying at a long distance commercial, and you don't know if it's because the people on the TV look so happy, because the dog barfed behind the couch and you can't fit back there to clean it up ( That's what husbands are for anyway! :) ), or because you feel so fat. :D

Hang in there! This too shall pass ( in just a few more months! :) )

Erin
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Mar-14-01 AT 12:54PM (Est)[/font][p]Hi Vickie! What Debbie and Erin have said is sooooo true. We all go/went through this, and with the ever changing pregnancy hormones, somedays it is just so much harder to cope with than others. Just take it day by day (or even moment by moment depending on the kind of day your having)and do only what you can. Each pregnancy effects us differently so you really can't compare your first with this one. Just know that you are ahead of the game for the simple fact that you are even working out, regardless of how much or how little you do. Try to just push through your yucky moods (mentally, not physically) and focus on the little miracle growing inside. Soon enough, with having(and chasing)two under your belt, that weight will come pouring off ;-)! Big Hugs To You!
 
Vickie - If you're a loser - then what does that make me? I am just about 16 weeks along and can't even begin to think about working out 5-6 days a week! I'm lucky if I get 3 in. I have a 2 yr. old running around at home and sometimes it takes all my energy just to play with her (I work outside the home too). So please, keep your spirits up, just think about all your body is going through right now making this little bundle of joy! Sue
 
HI Vickie

Hi Vickie-
Just read your message and I know how you feel, but I am only in my 10th week, and I don't even have a 2-1/2 year old at home, this being my first!
Do NOT feel bad... your body is going thru so many changes right now, it is a wonder we can even function thru a normal daily routine most days!
This is such a small part of your whole lifetime..When you look back at this period of your life, it will mean nothing that you couldn't work out as hard as you wanted for a couple of months.
You are so NOT being a wimp! Hang in there, and be proud of what you accomplished fitness-wise in the past, and what you will do after your baby is born!
Take Care,
Your "feel your pain" friend,
Lynn
 
You don't SOUND like a loser to me. In fact, you sound like a contender for Xena :)


>yet). My OB/GYN says "Oh,
>those tapes are too easy,
>just switch to the FIRM".

Yeesh. What is easy to one is hard to another. Although you sound very fit, pregnancy hits us all differently. And each pregnancy is different as you know!

I guess I haven't been a hard core "Cathe user" since before my pregnancy, (my first one!!! This is my second too), but I have to say you sound like you are doing all the right things.

Please, I urge you to be kind to yourself - you are 26 weeks pregnant - you have a lot more blood in your body that needs to be pumped around, and you are also breathing for 2, etc..

Leela
 
Thanks Everyone

Dear Everyone,

Thank you so much for all of the words of encouragement and support. I am about to enter my 29th week and although I feel like a blimp, I feel pretty good. I have cut down to one Cathe tape a week (When I can get motivated for that kind of "Blast"), but in general I am doing less intense workouts. Thanks again everyone, we'll keep you posted.

Vickie
 
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