Namita Nayyar
From your busy schedule, how are you able to find out time to workout? Share five favourite exercises for pregnancy fitness?
Monique Lamoureux-Morando
Right now, Jocelyne and I still try and get 5-6 workouts in a week. Our workouts are drastically different now that we are pregnant but continuing to train and stay fit through our pregnancies is a priority. If we are traveling or we know we have a busy week, we will rearrange our training in schedule and get our workouts in on the weekend if we need to, or we get in a hotel workout in. We must be flexible and adjust and adapt to our schedule, but that’s just part of the “job.”
1. Push Up Holds: Core work is important to continue during pregnancy.
2. Rope Battles: a good conditioning alternative and it burns the arms
3. Versa Climber: A great machine for conditioning but has no impact (I hate running or jogging while pregnant because I find it very uncomfortable.)
4. Any exercise on a Kaiser Machine: it allows you to use fairly heavy weight in a safe manner.
5. Squats
Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson
My twin sister, Monique, and I are expecting 7 weeks apart so that has definitely made it easier to have someone to train with that is in the same situation going through similar changes. But with our busy schedule we rearrange our training week to make sure we are getting the volume in that we are shooting for. If we are traveling in the middle of the week, we will get our training days in on Saturday and Sunday and shift our days off to travel days with the goal of still getting in five to six training days in each week.
Right now, my favorite exercises and machines are the ones that are most comfortable which can change depending on the day. The ones that have been most consistent for me have been:
1. Assault Bike- low impact and great for intervals and steady state work
2. Versa Climber- low impact and great for intervals
3. Squats- Using dumbbells or kettlebells.
4. Upper Body Kesier work- allows for adjustments in stances depending on what is comfortable for that day.
5. Total body circuit workouts- these have been great for cardio and still moving some weight around.
Namita Nayyar
Are there any foods that you eliminated or added to your diet which would help you stay strong during pregnancy? What about those midnight cravings?
Monique Lamoureux-Morando
I normally eat vegan/vegetarian, but I have not been able to follow that during my pregnancy due to daily sickness. For whatever reason, foods with a lot of protein or fiber does not sit well with me, so I have been vomiting multiple times a day basically my whole pregnancy. I try and snack throughout the day instead of eating big meals, but I just try and eat whatever I “think” will be okay on my stomach or sounds good at the time. I love chocolate, so if I have a craving for chocolate, I will have some.
Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson
I haven’t had any crazy cravings. I have eaten an entire jar of pickles on a couple different occasions but other than that it’s more of the timing of my appetite that has changed the most. I must remind myself to eat more frequently and also eat less in one sitting. If I eat too much in one sitting, which is an amount where I feel satisfied not full, I find I’m not hungry for hours. So, trying to figure out the timing has been the hardest part. I have had to wake up in the middle of the night and grab a midnight snack and basically whatever looks good to me in the middle of the night is what I eat. I try to keep my homemade peanut butter protein balls always on hand so that I’m snacking on something healthy.
Namita Nayyar
New mothers often have a misconception that during pregnancy they must eat for two. What are your opinions in that?
Monique Lamoureux-Morando
I think this misconception is sort of comical. I had someone tell me that I was eating for two when I was 13 weeks pregnant and I needed to eat more. First, at that time, the baby is the size of a clementine. In your first trimester, it’s not recommended to take in extra calories, and by the third trimester, you are supposed to take in 450 extra calories a day, which really isn’t that much extra food to be taking in. Every woman has their own unique pregnancy, so I understand that cravings, hunger, and hormones differ for every woman, but I think it’s important that to understand guidelines and recommendations for pregnancies.
Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson
At this point I can’t eat that much at once anyways but eating for two I think would be impossible for me, but I have also been lucky with not having crazy cravings or extreme hunger pains. Everyone is different and everyone’s body is different, but the recommendations for increasing caloric intake is not that much more even in your third trimester. The most important thing is that you are healthy, and the baby is healthy.
What that can look like from an appetite standpoint and weight gain standpoint is varies from mother to mother but understanding the healthy guidelines can help steer women in a healthier direction.
Disclaimer
The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
