Working out woo!

So, since I've been pregnant back in November I have not been doing the best job of keeping up with my exercise routine. I went running a couple times around Thanksgiving and that was great, but besides that I have just been doing my usual 1-3 hours of dog walking a day and some yoga. Mostly I have been so tired, I haven't had the energy to do anything else, and I think that's fine. Usually after dog walking I eat a much need lunch then pass out into nap time while I attempt to read in my bed. I feel like its been good to take it easy and really listen to my body while the baby is just starting to develop and my body is adjusting to all the changes. I didn't want to put my body under any unnecessary stress, especially in the first trimester, and besides it's not like I wasn't getting any exercise. Dog walking was wearing me out!

This week however, I decided that if I want to make sure I have a really healthy pregnancy and perhaps some more energy I should get back into a workout routine. Especially now that I am nearing the end of my first trimester. So I got a gym membership at Planet Fitness. I really wanted to get one for the YMCA so that I could swim as my primary exercise, but the Y is so expensive! Planet Fitness is only $10 a month, so I really didn't have much of a choice. Plus my good friend Lauren (Her awesome art blog) is going to Planet Fitness too, so I can have a workout buddy yay!

After napping for about an hour today, I kept looking at my clock trying to convince myself to get out of bed and go to the gym. It was a long struggle. But eventually I convinced myself that if I get up and go, not only will I feel better about myself and feel more productive, exercising might help me to feel more energized and less sleepy all the time. I'm glad I went. Today I didn't think Lauren was going, but there she was going into a parking spot that I was hoping to snag! So I got to have a work out buddy today and the gym was extra fun. Having Lauren there to talk to is really good for me because it prevents me from overexerting myself. I asked the midwife how I can tell if I am pushing myself too hard, and she said that I should be able to still hold a conversation easily while I am working out. So Lauren and I were chatting, and it was really nice to catch up. Today we went on the treadmills, and I stayed on for 40 minutes. Most of the time time I just kept to a brisk walk because I haven't been running for a while, I didn't want to push myself to much. But I did allow myself a couple of running segments and it felt really great to stretch my legs and use those muscles again. I am so happy to be exercising again! I also had to work hard to make sure I drank more water than I usually do; I have a bad habit of not staying hydrated and so its been a challenge for me to try to drink a lot of water these days. Oh, and one other cool thing about Planet Fitness is they have TVs in front of all their equipment. Normally I wouldn't be too excited about this because I would rather listen to music, but today Gilmore Girls came on and I love that show! I think I am really going to enjoy going to the gym again, its nice just to be exercising for pleasure rather than worrying about losing weight.

After working out I was SO hungry! I had a kiwi before I left, but that didn't last long. So while I was at Trader Joe's picking up a few things we needed before we went home, I couldn't resist picking up a bag of reduced fat cheese puffs to munch in the car. So yummy! That did the trick at getting my blood sugar back up until dinner is ready. I also ate some watermelon when I got home which is both delicious and an excellent source of hydration.