Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Stay safe, take care of yourself and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

Hi, I am in the same boat and have been looking for more posts like this. I am gaining weight/ puffing up and what feels like just eating and sleeping. I’d like to have a healthier pregnancy that is safer on my body and better for the baby. But I immensely lack motivation and energy. Looking forward to seeing what others say. Good luck to you!

Hi! I’ve always been really active . A gym rat and tennis player. I didn’t even completed 2,000 steps a day for mu first trimester. The fatigue and nausea was so real, I felt dizzy as soon as I did something. I started to workout at week 16 with so much more energy! So if you don’t feel like it because of physical symptoms , don’t push yourself and try it during the second trimester. You and baby will be just fine for skipping some weeks of workouts. First trimester is so tough in the body , adding workouts isn’t necessary for now!

There are no studies at all that show it will cause completely if you're not active (assuming you're healthy), only studies that hint it may help make labor easier. Studies also show that exercise during pregnancy helps with pregnancy insomnia

If you can't stay active, these are some things that are recommended to keep up on, but are not harmful if you don't - Birthing ball - Walking - Squats - Pelvic floor exercises

Exercising is a struggle, so you can try and fit a little here, a little there, or take frequent breaks.

The first trimester wreaks havoc on most people's activity levels! You still have time to get back at it when you're feeling better. I'm 18 weeks and went on a 2.5 mile walk today, and I've gone back to going to the gym a couple times a week.

And even if you don't, it's still not a big deal. Being physically fit during pregnancy can make labor a bit easier, but it doesn't mean you or baby will have complications if you're not active. Just do what you can when you can.

It's completely, completely normal to feel this way in first trimester, and I don't believe any degree of motivation can or should overcome your sudden clear body signals to slow down.

I am a person who habitually takes 3-4 hour walks for fun. I usually cannot nap at all, and struggle with insomnia, which I have historically managed by running on an elliptical and lifting weights. I love movement.

During first trimester I was a SLUG. Nausea and fatigue had me regularly needing to nap in the middle of a workday, barely able to or unable to walk our dog, and exhausted by basic things like going up and down the stairs a couple of times. Worse, whenever I DID do any meaningful movement, my nausea would be much more severe the next day and I would vomit more. This didn't really improve for me until starting around 18 weeks, and only around 22+ weeks did I get my old physical pep and desire for exercise back.

I was convinced I would have lost an extraordinary amount of fitness during that time, but I actually haven't! I haven't returned to weightlifting, I'm pacing myself very very carefully on that one because I know there are more risks, but my walking stamina and even my elliptical slow-running stamina are so much closer to the pre-pregnancy baseline than I expected them to be. There is still plenty of time for me to now be closer to my usual active self again, and to regain the endurance that I hope will help me in labour. I can still sit in a comfortable squat for a long time like I could before getting pregnant; I still love a long walk and the only main difference now is how fast I get hungry and how early my feet feel extra blood pooling in them.

I'm incredibly glad I listened to my body's signals around fatigue and didn't try to move like I usually do during first and early second trimester, because I am actually not sure it even would have been physically possible. I think my body desperately could not handle anything other than its core jobs during that time - growing a whole skeletal and nervous system for this baby, plus the placenta, and sorting out all the extra blood volume took absolutely everything I had, and I'm glad I trusted that, and sort of glad I was forced to trust that (even though it felt horrible).

Similar to you, pre-pregnancy I was working out consistently 3x per week. In the first trimester I struggled to get to the gym in the morning. The immediate nausea, shaky/low blood sugar feeling, and lack of energy really slowed me down. But evening workouts were easier!

Once I hit 13 weeks it was like those symptoms disappeared overnight (very sus at the time). But I was able to be back at the gym in the morning like 2-3x per week again and some days would even feel a rush of strength.

But THEN at my 20 week scan doctor said that I have low lying placenta and they want me to take a break from strenuous activity including weightlifting and even power walking 😟 currently still in that 8 week period. Mostly just take short, non-strenuous walks at this point. Just trying to eat as healthy as I can. After baby is born I can start getting back into it

I’m 32 weeks. Exercise during pregnancy has just not been happening for me. I was literally training for a half marathon (my 7th ish) when I found out I was pregnant (did a 9 mile run during the TWW) - I had grand intentions of continuing training until the fatigue kicked my butt. I felt better in the second tri but never managed to figure out a new workout routine other than walking and prenatal yoga. At this point I’m just letting myself off the hook. If you’re wiped it’s okay to just rest. Probably you’ll start feeling better in a few weeks and if you feel like exercising, good for you! My advice is listen to your body and give yourself grace with however that ends up looking