Many months later...

So... my last post was May 24...

oh boy

Since then I have... Had a baby.  With minimal drugs and interventions - had to have some for my safety and that of the baby.

May 29!  Gorgeous little boy.  we are so glad to have him

Had emergency surgery... twice.

additional bedrest to recover... 7 weeks total.

So.  that sums that up.  I've been posting primarily on my Errantsoprano blog and think I will stick to posting there and will take to posting my fitness updates over there as well... It just takes too much time with a little boy to update both!

So -

To catch up:  www.errantsoprano.blogspot.com
Check it out!  :)

37 week look-back. Expectations vs. Reality

I recently discovered a blog called Healthy Tipping Point through the Fitnessista and was SO excited once I started reading... Among other things, I have the same due date as she does! She wrote a post today about her expectations of pregnancy and the realities so far.  Inspired, I decided to do the same! So...

I am 37 weeks pregnant and I laugh, because reality did not quite match up to my expectations of pregnancy!

1) I will be that crazy fit pregnant woman. (just like when I wasn't pregnant...) Y'all knew I was expecting this...

post workout glow, dec 2010

HAH!
my body had other ideas.  working out beyond walking or yoga destroyed me, so I had to couch it.  Then I went into preterm labor at 33 weeks, 5 days and it's been bedrest since then (until now, since I'm full term! went on 2 longish walks yesterday and it was GLORIOUS). I stayed active at work, walking around, moving light furniture, etc... and best of all,  I joined an amazing prenatal yoga class at 14 weeks and I wish I could go every day!  (sadly they only have class 3 days a week, and I can really only make it one day a week...)

I can still do this, though!  31 weeks pregnant!!! :-D

2) I'm going to gain a ton of weight, get huge as a house, and enjoy every second of it!  Eat my way through our pantry with NO sense of guilt!

Before...

Now - 37 weeks

oh boy... this one...  I have only gained 21 lbs.  21.  0_0  and it was a struggle to make it there sometimes.  I'm 5'2" and small framed, but I don't know if that's an excuse.  My weight - all belly and boobs.  and don't get me wrong, I get a kick out of it, but I look like I stuck padding in my bra and a watermelon under my shirt and called it "pregnancy."  I was also surprised that I'm almost never hungry. And when I do eat, I rarely feel guilty, except when I let my sweet tooth rule.  I think the baby has flattened my stomach so there's no room.  End Result?  I'm afraid I'll weigh less after having him than I did when I got pregnant!  As for getting huge as a house... I see that top picture - or any picture of me before I got pregnant, and can't believe that I EVER looked like that!  I've gotten used to my Watermelon belly!

3) I'm going to hate knowing baby's gender.
not completely!
my husband wanted to find out, and I didn't really.  But I decided it would be too much of a strain for him to keep it from me for 20 weeks.  So, I caved.  But, you know what?  I actually LOVE knowing that I'm having a little boy.  We have gotten to get used to the name we picked for him (we have a backup in case he's a she when he comes out!), and its fun to just know sometimes... I still tried to keep our baby stuff as neutral as possible, but I can't wait to meet him and kiss his baby face, so that's enough excitement to keep me going! I think I would have loved not knowing too... Maybe the next one we can play it that way!

4) Labor and Childbirth - no worries!  ;)
Hmmm
funny thing here.  I wasn't scared, wasn't worried, never freaked.  My body is meant to do this, so it will happen.  Then I went into preterm labor.  and it never stopped, but baby hasn't arrived yet.  SO I've been in labor for 3 and a half weeks now.  and it SUCKS.  and I have moments when I'm curled up on the floor bawling because I'm in pain and i'm scared. Or a contraction wakes me up at 2 in the morning and I start crying because (and this is a quote) "I can't do this.  He's not going to fit.  Can we undo this pregnancy?"  or "I can't do this anymore.  Get him out NOW!"  I'll let you know about the childbirth part when I know!  the scary part at this very moment is that it could be tonight, tomorrow, or not till June 20... (God help me...).  So, along those lines, any prayers, good thoughts, good vibes, friendly 'ju-ju' you wanna send my way is INCREDIBLY welcome.  and accepted with love.

Barefoot and Pregnant in the Workforce

The Title was too catchy to pass up!

So, it's true - Thanks to an unfortunate footwear choice this morning, I am barefoot and pregnant in my workplace...


Those shoes are going away... they do NOT get along with my feet!

Thankfully, my wonderful coworkers are quite understanding (and have done the same from time to time)!

Its been a while since I've posted (months!) for a variety of reasons - none of which are particularly good when it comes down to it other than they stack up and make getting to the computer difficult:
1)  I've been working in an office, then
2) going to teach, then
3)  rehearsals or collapsing on the couch.
4) The house is yet to be ready for the baby and while there is very little I can actually do by myself, I'm always trying to 'help.'
5) I am the WORST at resting, even though I know i'm not going to be getting any sleep in a couple weeks, so I tend to work myself into exhaustion and then need several days in bed/on the couch  to recuperate.
6) This means that working out DEFINITELY doesn't happen.  Sometimes yoga or walking does...

On the Fitness front, I have discovered that doing anything resembling  my workouts (that weren't yoga) before baby has set me downward spiraling physically and it takes a week and a half to recuperate from them... so no 'workouts'.

As I'm sure you can imagine, I've been missing my workouts like crazy!  Can't wait to get my bodyrock on...

The good news is that I've managed to stay in pretty decent shape between work and yoga and I'm looking like this these days:


WHOAH, right?  haha
I keep getting random people coming up to me with "you're having a boy, right?"

um.... yes.  how did you know?

Apparently i'm carrying like a typical soon to be mommy of a boy. The part i'm happy about is that that baby  weight is all in the front - all 19lbs of it!

Seems like a long time since I looked like this:


or this:

The awesome thing is that I can still do this:  

that was from yoga 3 weeks ago...whose a strong mama?  

just goes to show that pregnancy doesn't have to change how strong and amazing you are except to make you MORE so.  

anyway.  That's it for now, but hopefully next time won't be so long away and the plan is to bring in a little more life - because being fit is more than just how you workout! 

~Katie

Trying out the Thai

I've been trying to at least throw something worky-outy into my day. That has been my current 'workout' maintenance. Despite my original plan (what did I know back then, really?) to be the fittest pregnant woman ever, it turns out that with work (office job) and work (teaching) and then the general exhaustion that comes with being pregnant (UGH... its actually really exhausting just to BE pregnant) it's near impossible to do actual workouts these days.

In the meantime I'm trying my hand at making Thai Curry....

Pictures to follow!

Opening to new possibilities

We've all had a moment when we realize how stuck in a rut we've gotten, right? It is our tendancy as humans to find routine pleasant and treat it like a security blanket. This applies to workouts, too.

I know you are now sitting there saying; "wait, you're always saying to find something you like and sticking with it."

Good point.

To get into a regular routine of working out, to get yourself started on the route to fitness you need to find something you can stick with long-term. However, your body will get stuck in a rut just as much as your mind tends to. Before you start to lose interest and notice that you've hit a plateau - change it up!

This may not be as much of an issue for some of you, but others - like me - tend to repeat the same workout (video, written out, gym) over and over again until our body can move through it without thinking. NOT a good habit for improving your fitness. So, here are some suggestions for changing it up:

For the Runner:

*add some weights

*go on a mountain run (or make it a brisk mountain hike)

*Snow hike

*Take a yoga class

*Try bodyrock.tv or workouts from online websites like womenshealthmag.com or mensheath.com

*try out the weight room or resistance bands.

For the weightlifter:

*go on a run

*take a long walk (any terrain)

*jump rope

*grab your bicycle and hit the hills

*take in a ZUMBA class

*go to a yoga class

For the Yogi:

*hit the trails - walk, run, jog, unicycle (ok, just joking), bicycle

*hit the gym - try out something new like an elliptical, treadmill, or rowing machine

*try a class - spin class, zumba, aerobics, dance trance, etc

*check out a workout video

*try some bodyweight (alla bodyrock.tv)

For everyone:

*go for a swim

*go for a hike

*try a new class (at the gym, community center, yoga studio)

*go for a fast walk

*try a new workout from a website.

*hit the skating rink (ice or roller)

*join a sports team

*check out something you've always wanted to do - Gymnastics, trapeze, dance classes,

*grab your bike and hit the hills (or the flats)

Some questions for the day:

What is your favorite workout?

What is your favorite way to change up your workout?

and here is a non-religion specific prayer to send you on your way today:

Reminding Myself of Myself

I have been taking it at a really good pregnancy level for my workouts - low key, but I've been feeling pretty good about them. Lots of Yoga lately, my favorite has been Prenatal Flow. It's SUCH a good workout, I'm usually a tiny bit sore the next day, but leave the class feeling worked and energized. :) Then, on Tuesday I decided to step it up a notch and rocked my own modified 'bodyrock.tv' workout:

Gymboss set for 10 seconds rest: 1 minute work x 24

1) side to side squats

2) side walks and kicks

3) side lunges, alt.

4) down dog to Plank flow

5) girl pushups

6) lunge pulses, Right Leg

7) lunge pulses, Left Leg

8) bicep curls

9) bent over Rows, Right Arm

10) bent over Rows, Left Arm

11) low squats

12) tricep dips

Unlike typical bodyrock workouts, I didn't push full out, rested when I needed to, and didn't count reps, so no scores!

End result, though, is that I'm going on 2 days of being SORE!!! My legs have been on fire! This would rock your world, pregnant or not!

Goal now is to find moderation - somewhere between Tuesday's workout and daily yoga!

P.S. We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday and ITS A BOY!!! Dinosaur (my hubby) is understandably excited!

~Katie

Working past the winter 'blahs'

Now that Winter has finally hit northern California (hooray!) I thought this would be a good time to talk about making a change in your fitness for the new year and how to keep it going past the first 2 months!

So - first things first- Come up with realistic answers to these questions:

1) What am I hoping to achieve?

2) what are my goals for this week? this month? this year?

3) What am I willing to change?

4) HOW am I willing to change?

5) what is going to keep me motivated?

6) WHY and WHAT am I trying to change?

Answering these questions (and maybe you have more, that I didn't mention?) allows you to get an idea of what your serious goals are (what recurs?) and start your journey!

1) What you're hoping to achieve - I could get on my high horse here and tell you it should be something like "a strong and healthy heart" or "a better sense of health" or "be fit enough to have energy for the day", but we all know No.1 on most of our goals is to look better and feel better about how we look. Eventually, this may segue to the others, but for now... for a start - it'll do.

2) what are your goals for this week, month, year - this will give you practice making goals (hopefully realistic) that will help guide your progress. It also will help you connect to the rest of the questions in a realistic, achievable way.

3) What are you willing to change - This is important! What you are willing to change will determine (in a big way) what your progress will be and how you will progress. Are you willing to change your eating habits? Sleeping habits? Time use habits (c'mon people, I'm as addicted to facebook as you are!) Only you know the REALISTIC answer to this question. For example, I keep telling myself I'm going to stop eating sugar and that I won't eat artificial sweeteners (which I don't anyway - gross!), but I know that realistically, I'm not going to be able to cut sugar out of my diet completely. I'm not fully willing to change that part of my diet!

4) HOW are you willing to change - are you willing to change how you think about yourself? how you think/feel about exercise? about food? How can you make changes that will help your journey - only you can answer this!

5) what is going to keep you motivated - do you need someone else to keep you accountable? can you do it yourself? Maybe you need a picture to remind you of goals (or where you were that you don't want to go back to). Motivation - a serious, long term motivation - is what will keep you going when you most want to stop.

6) WHY and WHAT are you trying to change - Hah! this sounds familiar (see question 1). "I want to have slimmer thighs because I want to feel sexy in my jeans." sound familiar? :-D But seriously, think about why you want to change what you want to change. It will bring everything around.

Next up - workout options to keep you going in the new year!

- Katie