Every day women reach out to me during various stages of their pregnancy.
Most women feel frustrated because there aren’t many resources available to expecting moms that show the REAL side of pregnancy while giving proper guidance on exercise and nutrition.
I began sharing my own stories during pregnancy about how I felt frustrated with myself because I couldn’t exercise at the same intensity during pregnancy, how I was worried if my partner was still going to feel attracted to me, and how I was afraid I might not be a good mom.
I would share these struggles and would get a flood of women saying, “Oh my gosh Natalie, me too. I thought I was the only one who felt that way.”
The problem is that most of the fit pregnancy programs on the market are aimed toward perfection… when truthfully… showing yourself grace during pregnancy is more important than perfection.
So many women were feeling ashamed or embarrassed because they were struggling during pregnancy… but nobody was talking about it!
Most of us didn't want to admit that the fatigue was so severe during the 1st trimester that exercising was almost out of the question, or that cravings and aversions were worse than we expected, or the emotionally we really struggled towards the end of pregnancy with fear about our changing bodies, or nervousness surrounding labor.
Even worse was that there weren’t very many resources for what a new mom should follow after the baby is born. You usually just hear, “begin to slowly exercise after you get clearance from your doctor.”
This isn’t very clear for a new mom…
This problem was impacting so many of us! Nine out of 10 women will have babies during their lifetime! It blew my mind that nobody was really leading the charge to help!
You see, so many celebrities and magazines focus on “getting your body back,” but the truth is that there are so many #variationsofnormal and the exercises we performed before getting pregnant are rarely appropriate right after having a baby.
Abdominal weakness, separation, and pelvic floor dysfunction are common, rarely talked about, and easy to overlook for new moms.
A recent study showed that fewer than one in four women get enough exercise during pregnancy.
Women face so many new body changes during pregnancy, including
Increases in blood volume, fatigue, morning (or all-day) sickness including nausea and vomiting, tender, fuller, and heavier breasts, headaches, increased urination, insomnia, vivid dreams, and vague exercise recommendations.
So many women get discouraged because of the changes they start to see in their body and begin to wonder “what’s the point of exercising anyways? I feel like I'm just making negative progress. It’s not worth it.”
Often women are told things like "Just enjoy pregnancy! You don't need to workout or watch what you eat. You're growing a baby! Relax!"
But what most women AREN’T told is that doing moderate exercise during pregnancy and focusing on solid nutrition can actually give you more energy, and can lower rates of gestational diabetes, hypertension, and depression.
More than 75 percent of women aren’t getting enough exercise during pregnancy, and I get it! There aren’t enough resources for pregnant women and most of the resources available don’t talk about the REAL struggles pregnant women face.
So, I set out on a mission:
To help as many women that struggle to stay healthy during pregnancy (and in the vulnerable few months after birth) to have a clear path and guidance they can follow throughout each trimester.
And that’s when this program was born!
