Long, but I hope it helps!
Give yourself a break -- you are growing a whole new human being inside of you, and it is totally normal to feel famished, exhausted... all of the things you describe. Additionally, Mother Nature is intentionally putting an extra layer of maternal fat on your body to protect the baby and to provide the fat you'll need to get your milk started after you give birth.
I think that women (and especially moms) often get into a vicious cycle of thinking that, if we get out of shape, it is a forever existance. I've been there, done that, and it really just had me in a spiral of despair over my body. Instead, it is helpful to just start doing something -- if you don't feel up to anything else, take a 5 minute walk with the stroller... or do 10 squats... or do the first 5 minutes of a prenatal video at night (and don't be surprised if suddenly you find yourself doing the whole thing
. Do small bits that you know you can accomplish. Afterwards, instead of saying, "Aw man, I am so lazy... fat... (or any number of the other hateful things we women tend to say to ourselves)... I can't believe I only did 5 minutes worth" tell yourself, "Good girl! That was 5 minutes more/10 squats more than I would've done if I'd sat on the couch." Start small, and always, always, make a habit of giving yourself positive feedback for any level of movement that is beyond what you'd usually do. Eventually, you'll find yourself wanting to do more because even the most moderate exercise almost always gives you more energy... Also, it is very, very important to exercise for your health first and foremost... if you are consistent for that reason, your body will follow.
Prenatal exercise really helped me get a handle on my self-image... for once in my life, I exercised for strength and energy (and because it helped my aching back during my first pregnancy) instead of to "get skinny" (wasn't going to happen anyway, so why worry about it
I was lucky that Sheila Watkins (moderator of this board
held her Healthy Moms classes about 5 minutes from my house, so I had a scheduled time just for me every week. The classes were twice a week, and I also tried to get out and walk at least a couple of more times. I hadn't exercised for about 4 mos. prior to getting pregnant, and so I didn't push it too hard, but I tried to get my body moving as often as I could.
Really, I had an epiphany during my months of working out during that first pregnancy. Every time I exercised -- even on those days when I barely shuffled into the aerobics room because I felt so tired -- it made me feel better. I kept up moderate exercise until the day before my due date (my son was due the day after)... and when I gave birth to my son, I felt strong and capable. I was proud of what my body could do. Now, that said, let me add to this that I'm 5'10" -- my "happy weight" (a small size 10) is somewhere in the low 140's... and, as I am prone to doing in my adult life, I'd gained a good 15 lbs. or more prior to getting pregnant(I was only married 3 mos. before we conceived, and the excitement of honeymooning, moving to a new location, and being blissfully happy got me away from good eating habits and exercise
... then I gained another 43 lbs. while I was pregnant (Oh did I ever crave Whoppers with Cheese LOL
, so I was something like 203 the day I gave birth. I have to admit that, at the end, I'd lost my good humor... I cried and cried after my last regular OB visit the day before my son was born. My cervix hadn't progressed in a month's time, and the scale said that I'd gained something like 9 lbs. in my last month of pregnancy (there was probably some water gain there). I felt huge and hormonal... my quote of the day was, "WAAAH! The only thing the doctor told me today is that I'm FAAAAT!" (My poor husband had to listen to this all day long LOL
But... because I'd exercised during my pregnancy, I was able to get back into it much more quickly than most women... within 4 days I was out walking with my son in the Baby Bjorn, I earned my Healthy Moms certification, took and taught stroller classes, continued to do Sheila's perinatal class with the postpartum variations, and within 4 mos., I'd lost all 43 pregnancy lbs... and another 10 came off within the next 5 mos. after that. The baby was born in February, and by August, I looked better and felt better than I had in years. The more I did, the more I wanted to do. I did work at it, but I honestly feel that consistency and nursing were the answer rather than dieting.
And guess what I did... when my son was 9 mos. old, my husband and I moved up here to New England for my husband's new job... I kept up a routine of jogging & exercise videos for the first few months... and then my husband's company closed down, I didn't know a sole, and here we were living with my Mother-in-law (it was only supposed to be for a couple of months while we sold our own house and bought another... it ended up being a 6 month stay while my husband got another job and THEN we found a house!)... and then the Maine winter set in, and it snowed and snowed and snowed... we had snow on the ground from Christmas until MAY! I was feeling seriously depressed, and so I slowly got away from exercising, and I baked a WHOLE bunch... and I put on those same 15 or so pounds... and then, I got pregnant again LOL
Sigh! Luckily, though, this time, I had just gotten back into my exercise routine, and begun to teach prenatal aerobics at the local YMCA... so through this pregnancy I've continued to move my body... this time I spend a lot of time on the elliptical trainer (usually 35-40 minutes at a time), I am consistent with resistance exercises, and I did some step classes for the first 6 mos. (modifying as I needed to) of my pregnancy... Now I'm 32 wks. pregnant, and I've recently had a little bit of sciatica, so this past week I switched swimming laps... I'm not fast, but it feels great to kick around in the pool, and I'm finding that I'm using different muscles, so that's good, too. The weight has come on a little slower this time (but not by much... we're looking at 35-40 lbs. this time)... but mostly my attitude is SO much improved. I know I'll be able to get it off again... I'm not even worried about it. Instead, I'm shopping for a double jog stroller, and I'll be adding stroller classes to the prenatal classes that I currently teach. My next goal is to get AFAA certified (I was certified when I was just out of college, but I'd let it expire) and to begin teaching "regular" classes.
Okay, so I've rambled on and on... but, the bottom line is, you CAN do it, and it will feel great. You don't have to go nuts at this stage and feel like you have to do huge workouts. Anything you do for yourself is ALL GOOD!
Hang in there
Susan
