Avoid indulging in your third chocolate chip cookie. Instead of ordering chicken fingers, why not get a grilled chicken sandwich? While you’re watching your recorded reality series, don’t fast forward through the commercials and rather use that time to get off the couch and do some lunges until your television show resumes. There are countless ways to cut the unnecessary calories and find time to get active. Learning how to stay fit while pregnant is not exactly a science. It’s just about taking different approaches to your normal way of life.

If you are pregnant and reading this, congratulations! Being pregnant can be a good thing or a bad thing to your body. It’s what you make of it. If you’ve gone to your first doctor’s appointment, he/she probably would have told you that an additional 300 calories is all you need for your growing baby. Now, those extra calories don’t really go a long way. Having a cup of OJ in the morning and a granola bar will have topped 300 calories. How to stay fit while pregnant requires the first basic step of portion control. If you are going to make a concerted effort to eat well during these precious months, just have it ingrained in your mind that the small amount of extra calories needed really equates to just a couple extra healthy snacks.

Many pregnant women start off on the right track to eating balanced meals, but it’s no surprise that we (I have been pregnant twice) cheat here and there. It’s completely fine to have cheat days and to spoil yourself with foods that you crave. Even non-pregnant people who are trying to stay fit have their weak moments and eat something they probably wouldn’t eat on a daily basis. How to stay fit while pregnant also involves exercise. This is a no-brainer. To live a healthy life, you want to be stay active and exercise. That goes the same for pregnant women. Just eating a healthy diet isn’t the end all to stay fit while pregnant.

Exercising just two or three times a week would be the ideal scenario. If you were active prior to pregnancy, then you could probably get the clear from your physician to continue working out at the same level. Exercising does not have to be hard. Do not think of the gym when you hear the word exercise. There are some exercises that can get your body moving and your heart rate up that can be done at home. You just have to be creative!

For example, turn up some of your favorite dance tunes and just dance for 20 minutes without a break.  This was a favorite of mine to do while pregnant with number 2. My daughter and I would turn on The Wiggles and then I would switch it up to Britney Spears when my daughter got bored of dancing after 10 minutes. It was a fun activity for both of us, and it got me to laugh with my daughter and spend some silly one on one time with her before my second came along. Learning how to stay fit while pregnant might require some creativity on your part, but it’s really doable and something to highly consider especially because losing the baby weight after pregnancy will be tough to do.

Researching how to stay fit while pregnant is already the first step in trying to stay fit. Reading up on what other pregnant women have eaten for snacks or exercises they were able to squeeze in their busy schedules is going to give you ideas and perhaps inspire you to do the same.  Remember that nine months isn’t that long of a time and before you know it, you will be holding your precious bundle of joy. How to stay fit while pregnant might not be a top priority, but if it’s something you want to do, then start now! You won’t regret it.