Exercise

My weight has always fluctuated...I've gone from a size 10 to a size 8 when I was doing kickboxing to a size 14 by my second year of law school.  I finally had enough....I quit smoking after 10 years in October 2005 and joined Weight Watchers in March 2006.  It did wonders!  I was down to a size 2/4 in 6 months.  

While I was able to get my eating under control, exercise was a whole other story.  I've always had a hard time working out...I get bored easily or push myself too hard too quick and hurt myself.  Then, in January 2008, I joined Planet Fitness and my friend (now my husband) set me up with a great workout plan.  By March 2008, I really felt the difference in my body and could tell I was getting firmer.  But then life went haywire and got way too busy to make it to the gym every day.  So I've struggled on and off for the last couple of years to get back into that mode...going through spurts of working out for a few months at a time.  

Now that I'm pregnant, I really want to make sure I don't blow up like a balloon!  I've also heard being in shape does wonders for your pregnancy, labor and recovery.  So, I started using the workout room in our development this week...so far I've worked out three days this week.  I'm still a little nervous about pushing myself too hard; at least until I have my first prenatal appointment next week.  As a result, I've been doing 30 minutes of cardio and some light strength training.  Starting next week, I will also be adding one night of yoga and two nights of pilates.  My weekly workout plan will consist of yoga, pilates, and 2-3 days of cardio/strength training.  I really think diversity in my workouts will keep me coming back!

The only problem I've noticed so far is shortness of breath.  I read that shortness of breath can begin very early in a pregnancy, but I never imagined it would be this early!  I almost feel like I'm a smoker again!  I'm hoping that slowly lengthening my cardio workouts will help with that.  

Wish me luck!