Ignoring BAD advice and recommiting to "the diet!"

I just have to share my opinion on something I have really struggled with. In a previous post, I mentioned how I am trying to keep my heart rate under 140 (because that is what everyone/everything seems to say you should do). Well, after a couple weeks of doing that and feeling like my body was going to POT because I was NOT getting the kind of workout I was used to, I realized that, "you know what? I am going to continue doing what I've been doing before ever getting pregnant!" I know if my mother-in-law reads this, she will flip! (She is an aerobics instructor and says I need to keep my heart rate under 134! Sorry, but I'm not feeling much that low!) My doctor says I am find to keep doing what I've been doing and bottom line, I am really tired of people placing all these restrictions on pregnant women! I felt strongly about this before, and then I found this post by my friend Marilyn who reconfirmed that my thoughts are not selfish and let me know that I am not alone in these feelings. I hope she doesn't mind, but she said it all so well, I am going to "quote" her:

...I have been getting annoyed with some of the old school thinking of what a pregnant woman should or should not do. I am appalled at some of the unrealistic reports that are still out there... some of the myths out there about exercising while pregnant are disturbing and they are from supposedly "credible" websites.

I was researching exercising while pregnant because I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing trying to keep active and maintaining my fitness routine. My doctor has already reassured me a couple of times. I have asked him fitness-related questions the last few visits, just to make sure I was on the safe side. I am a little paranoid I guess and don't want to do any harm to the baby of course! So, I was doing further research for myself.

Here is what upset me... Associate Professor of OB from Babycenter.com said and I quote "you generally shouldn't raise your heart rate over 140 beats per minute while pregnant" and "You'll know you've probably gotten too hot if you break a sweat and continue sweating." Luckily, all of the posts beneath the article were very plainly disappointed and had very supportive evidence to prove the article wrong. It made me feel better that I wasn't the only one to recognize the falsity and ridiculousness of the report.

Pregnant women should exercise just as everyone should. It helps strengthen the body and build endurance to prepare for birth, steadies and greatly minimizes emotional stress, encourages healthier eating (at least for me) which supports the growing fetus, and allows one to bounce back into shape after the baby is born. It is healthy to break a sweat otherwise the "workouts" would be extremely limited. Plus, you have to push yourself to feel satisfied and have your workout time be productive. The advice to not push yourself is very disturbing to me. I know I shouldn't go overboard and I need to be careful but I get sick of reading how the only exercise you can do is yoga! That is a lie and is only promoting the excessive weight gain that is occurring for pregnant women in our society.

Basically every comment made after the article had a similar stance as myself and it was very refreshing to seem some reality! There are so many restrictions out there for what a pregnant woman should or should not do that it gets a little discouraging!!! What are we supposed to do then? Sit in a cocoon for nine months? Nine months is a long time and I am sorry but women have been having healthy babies for hundreds of years without this advice. They say the health-risks out there now are so many times smaller than what they were in the past with all the technology, healthcare, and research available. I am not going to worry.

Here are a couple of the other posts after the article....

I'm VERY disappointed that an assoc prof of OB would still be following this outdated report. I'm an exercise physiologist and did my masters work in exercise and pregnancy. I have read >70 studies and there is clearly NO evidence to suggest that you shouldn't get your HR over 140. It is an arbitrary #. Dr. Artal wrote a good book, Dr.James Clapp wrote an even better book, check it out (Exercising through your pregnancy)that is based on RESEARCH, not guesses. About monitoring your core temp, you would literally have to use two probes, one that goes down your esophagus and one that goes up your rectum. This is not really feasible or comfortable. The best thing to do is exercise indoors during the summer, listen to how your body feels, drink fluids, and use a fan. Sweating is good... it cools you. But if you feel like you might be getting too hot, then bring your intensity down a few notches. Also, if you're already fit, your circulatory system is efficient and will get sufficient blood flow to the baby.

I'm a faithful exerciser in my first trimester. I'm still running regularly. I drink a lot of water and if I feel the slightest that I'm pushing myself, I stop to walk. My HR usually hovers around 155 and I usually slow down if it goes over 160. I think that each person is unique and it's hard to say that NO ONE should go over 140...I'd be very limited in my workouts if I couldn't go over 140...

There were many more comments I did not post here that proved the article wrong. This morning in my weights class, I asked my instructor about how long I could continue the weight lifting (trust me, there is plenty of "advice" out there about this as well!). She said that she TAUGHT the class up until the day before she went into labor. Also, a spinning instructor of mine taught well into her pregnancy. She says I am fine if I stay below 165. I think the best thing is for me to LISTEN to my body. When I am running, there are times I feel like I need to slow down to a walk. I don't let my heart rate get above 160-165 and I am being very careful to stay hydrated. So, that is that!

As far as my "reporting..." My workouts have been going well and that is probably the easiest part of trying to stay healthy with this pregnancy. Eating, on the other hand, is another story. I have really struggled with BAD sugar cravings and I have given in WAY too many times (I have been eating donuts! What the heck? I have never liked donuts!) Anyway, after a week of very poor eating choices, I have realized that the best thing I can do for my baby is take the 5 minutes it takes each day to REPORT IN on this blog! So, I am recommitting! It does NOT take time to track my calories; and when I do, I make smarter choices. So, although it may seem inconvenient when I want to reach for those chewy sweet tarts, I will always make the wiser choice if I know I have to record the calories... so I REALLY am back to DAILY REPORTING! This time, for REAL!

So, here it is!
DIET:
protein shake - 350
go lean cereal and yogurt - 350
chips - 150
raisins - 50
lentil soup - 400?
fruit bar - 130
chicken stir fry and rice - 500?
ice cream - 200
edemame - 100
cereal - 200
TOTAL: 2430

WATER:
65 ounces (so far)

EXERCISE:
hour long weights class