Dina Al Sabah Healthy & Fit Pregnancy Update


Checking in from the 3rd Trimester at 28 weeks !!

Lots to catch up on since I last touched base. I visited DC, celebrated my 40th birthday, took the gestational diabetes screening test (gag!), had my maternity shoot and started working on the baby room.

dina al sabah fitness

At the start of February, I decided that I needed to make more of an effort to walk more. Even with cardio, I felt that I could be more active, so I bought a Fitbit Flex. It was surprising to find out that on an average day, I did not meet the 10,000 steps that are recommended. Most of us have jobs where we sit all day, and unless we make conscious decisions to move, we end up not doing much. I have been incorporating a daily walk along with my gym workouts which has helped keep my step count above 10,000. My husband thinks I have lost my mind as I have started marching about during TV commercials, but I think it is a great way of adding additional activity to your day. I truly believe that staying active is one of the factors in allowing me to have an easier pregnancy with minimal swelling up till now.

My trip to DC was wonderful as I got to catch up with my best friends, eat Baked & Wired cupcakes (hands down the best cupcakes ever!) and walk all over to burn off the calories! I managed to log 22,000 steps one of the days we walked to the Capitol. I thought that my DC cupcake escapade would be the last time I ate cupcakes as I usually do not eat that sort of thing. However, my dear friends decided to surprise me for my birthday, and I ended up with cupcakes, mini cupcakes and cake pops. Of course, I had to sample a little bit of  all the treats which extended my sugar coma for a few more days. Once the sugar coma wore off it was time to take the dreaded glucose screening test for gestational diabetes. The glucose solution was one of the most disgusting things I have had to drink. The sweetness was so cloying that I felt nauseated. Now if only they could give you cupcakes instead!  The little munchkin, on the other hand, loved the sugar and proceeded to dance about for the next few hours. Thankfully I passed!

As far as working out, I have tried to maintain my original schedule, but I have been feeling more tired these last few weeks. I am making it to the gym about 3 to 4 times a week instead of my usual 5. When I am down to 3 days, I usually have a leg day, and then split arms, back and shoulders into 2 separate days. The days that I do treadmill cardio, I set the incline to around 5% so that the booty and hamstrings are activated. I  am listening to my body and am doing only what I feel I am up to. I have to admit that it has been a bit hard to get over the guilt of not making it to the gym, but I know that this is not the time to have a competitor’s outlook on things.I have also been a lot hungrier than usual. The 3rd trimester is when you require the most calories, so I am sure that the hunger is from the drain of growing another human albeit a rather small one (2.5lb at the last check up).  To manage the increase in hunger, I have gone from  4 meals a day to 5 so that I have a mid morning snack and a mid afternoon snack.

I have attached a collage of what I looked like prior to getting pregnancy, and what I look like now. It is pretty amazing how the human body can adapt to growing and expanding to accommodate a baby! I marvel at it daily.

dina preggo

New Finds:
Storq http://storq.com/  – non fussy maternity basics that fit for the entire pregnancy

Isabella Oliver http://www.isabellaoliver.com/us – stylish higher end maternity wear that can also be worn after pregnancy

Tieks http://tieks.com/ – hands down the best and cutest  ballet flats I own.  I wear them to walk around everywhere and they keep my feet happy

Keep up with Dina on her Facebook fan page.






Disclaimer: Reader discretion advised, please consult your physician before beginning any exercise or diet program.