Top Three Ways To Stay Fit Through Pregnancy

Keeping healthy in pregnancy is not only about eating right and keeping the stress low - it's also about keeping moving. I'm due in the early fall/late summer, which means I'm spending most of my pregnancy, i.e. the third trimester, in the heat of summer. And heat here in the South is wet and sticky and life giving, but man is it hot!

I know a part of not feeling the heat is keeping in shape, but how to do just that? It's so easy to swell up and just want to lay around under the fan and decide weight gain is just fine right now. But being already too curvy, I don't want to put on more than the necessary poundage. I have to keep my body moving!

Here are the top three ways I'm keeping fit through pregnancy (in the summer!):

1.  Swim, swim swim. There's nothing like feeling weightless - and the water of course keeps that pregnant body really cooled off. Find the nearest pool or the nearest beach and sink in and swim a few laps!

2.  Early morning (or evening) walks. I am woken up by kids early anyway, so why not get my exercise done when it's not too hot yet? I've had the "duh" moment that walking outside is actually tolerable before the heat kicks in, and I'm so glad I did. Everything seems more peaceful at this time of the day, so it helps my mental state too.

3.  Yoga baby.  Enjoying practicing prenatal yoga has been so fun - and I can do it indoors! I don't even feel like battling the heat to drive to a yoga studio, so I have a few videos at home that I'm really enjoying. If the teacher/student thing is more your speed, head over and enjoy the air conditioned workout!