I'm Celiac, Should I Exercise While Pregnant?

Celiac.com 08/16/2016 - The short answer, yes! Although some women, due to certain complications are told not to exercise, for the most part exercise is totally fine while pregnant and actually quite a valid implementation to a healthy pregnancy.

There used to be this myth that women had to be extremely careful with physical activity while pregnant due to the risk of possible miscarriage. Now we see pregnant women doing CrossFit, running, lifting weights, etc., as well as all sorts of beautiful yoga poses. This doesn't mean that if you haven’t worked out in 5 years and are pregnant you should suddenly start running 12 hours a day. No, not at all. On the other hand, if you have kept up a normal exercise routine it is totally fine to keep it up.

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Listen to your own body and understand things may feel different so don’t push yourself too much. I worked out plenty before getting pregnant and continued my many normal activities up until around 7 months. At that point I was very round and more tired than usual and going for regular walks, swimming and yoga was plenty enough "exercise" for me.

I am celiac and I maintained my gluten-free diet during my pregnancy. I felt it was extremely important for me to be as healthy as I could so my body would feel good and therefore make my pregnancy that much easier. I have read that exercising throughout one's pregnancy can possibly shorten the labor too. Now this is a win-win in my eyes!

The benefits of exercising while pregnant also include a lower risk of getting sick, lower risk of gestational diabetes, lower risk of depression and the list goes on. Plus, you can work on that lower core and strengthen your pelvis which will help a lot with back pains and hip issues that are all too familiar to pregnant women.

Ask your OB-GYN or midwife for approval and once you get the green light go have some fun. You are more than likely to meet some other wonderful "future" moms, many of which are also looking to connect up and make friends.

This is also a perfect opportunity to help other moms who may have some "odd symptoms", and if you are well-versed in the gluten-free diet and the symptoms of gluten sensitivity or intolerance, you can help another woman in need, hence her future baby. Moms uniting and sharing their tested knowledge is a lovely aspect of pregnancy these days.

I hope this has inspired you and please feel free to contact me at any time with any questions. I focus on the gluten-free diet as well as the grain free diet, celiac disease, motherhood, and children issues. These are all subjects that I'm very passionate about.