exercise- opinions

[NY4thtry]

I have always been very athletic.. I had a trainer 3x per week did kick boxing Bikram yoga etc and was very thin. 5'9 125 lbs..

I have read all sorts of things that say you shouldnt exercise heavily when ttc.. for example restorative yoga is ok but bikram is not..

the drs say exercise ok but after 4 faled ivfs.. i want to do everything i can to ensure success.

so i have stopped .. and i feel like crap..

I was planning to go back to my trainer this week cut it down to 2 x per week not do the kick boxing and have already stoppd bikram.. the only thing i have been doing is 30 min a day on the bike..

I have gained 5 lbs which they say is good (but makes me feel awful) and have been really trying to make sure that i eat

does anyone have any opinions on this

Thanks

[amysbabies]

Although extreme exercise and weightlifting isn't good during pregnancy..I think for someone that has always been very athletic to completely stop is probably not so good either..It's making you feel crappy and you should be feeling as least stressed as possible during pregnancy.

Maybe during the 2ww and a wk on top of that you should rest up...but after that I imagine the biking and some power walking (not too straining) wouldn't be harmful. Then you can slowly get into an exercise routine that you feel comfortable with after the 1st trimester.

[emfossum]

I am also an athlete, marathon runner, triatlete, and road bike racer. I am accustom to a vigorous training schedule and love it. However, I was told to stop running, to reduce my activities substantially. I found this brutal, because I have gained 11 lbs and feel very uncomfortable, not to mention that I had to buy all new jeans and this was prior to becoming pregnant. Well...it sounds like I am complaining, but the truth is I am not getting younger, and if this means that my odds of having a baby are that much better than so be it. In enough time I will be doing the things I did before. I will be able to have my wine, and endless amounts of chocolate, and work out like a mad women. My choice is that I will sacrifice all of that and gain weight and change my routine because having a baby is my priority. It would be nice to have my cake and eat it too, but at the risk of losing baby...it just isn't worth it to me.

[NY4thtry]

emfossum i agree with you thats why i have slowed down.. but the weight gain is killing me.. if i was pg i wouldnt mind at all..
Its really frustrating..

do you think wine matters that much.. i have given up caffeine diet soda smoking etc.. and even my nightly vodka but i havent been able to give up my wine with dinner

[stefanie]

I used to be that thin, and gained weight to have a baby. I got preggers, m/c'd and never lost that ten pounds and then stress and such had me gain more. (20 lbs total) grr. It didn't feel great.

BUT... there is evidence that a little extra weight is good. and you aren't talking about weight you're talking about moving. During this IVF I did yoga (Bikram Until stims began and then stopped) and I did vinyasa (active) 1-2 times a week and 4 spinning classes a week. You do not want to be jostling those ovaries around (that's what my nurse said our doc says) so spinning was a good sweaty workout w/ no jumping. Then I would walk for an hour once a week. After retrieval I stopped. Now w/ the positive Beta and a history of miscarrying I'm afraid to do much of anything.

My accupuncturist had me doing NIA dance (combo of tai chi, yoga, dance) and yoga and more sensual stuff. It goes w/ a chinese meds thing. I have another friend, a runner, who quit running and switched to yoga and dance and got preggers. I bought monica morell's fertility Yoga workout on amazon and liked that quite a bit. Always had that at home.

My thoughts is that it's good to keep blood moving - sun salutations are great. and keep things fresh and active - like the body of a young woman, but if you are on the thin side, be careful.

I will say, if you are active like I was, spinning and yoga were also healing mentally. I just could really lose myself in the classes.

stef

[NY4thtry]

Stephanie

Where did you do NIA? I know you are in NY.. also who did you use for AP?

i am going to Dr Wu.

it is moving but its also the weight.. i look at my wedding pictures last labor day weekend and i feel like a fat old married woman.. i know it will be worth it i am just not enjoying the process.

[emfossum]

I understand the feeling. One thing I did to make me feel bettter was go out and buy some new clothes that made me look awesome. I wasn't so caught up in the sizes, thank goodness because they were larger than I would have liked. I just wanted to feel good, and somehow I have seem to have an issue with image and have always put a lot of emphasis in being in tip top shape. It is difficult when all you friends are still running, and still in trialthlons and they are training and look great. I suppose this time around it is a eye opening experience for me. I had my DD at 27, and was between size 2-4, I bounced back in no time, and people commented on how great I looked throughout my pregnancy. Not this time!! Mostly because of the hormones, and the lack of physical activity. I also haveln;t colored my hair yet, so this is double whammy on my self esteem. So I suppose I need to try to deal with this the best I can and know that 10-12 monthis is not forever. Good luck

[stefanie]

Hey -

I did Dr. Wu . He trains everyone at the pacific College of Oriental Medicine, but ended up at Oriens with Elizabeth Carpenter this year. She has also studied w/ Randine Lewis who wrote The Infertility Cure (bible of TCM and infertility) and she offered so much more companionship, friendship, emotional talks, nutrition advice and I liked her herbs better. It was like awesome therapy for the price of Acupuncture. She is more pricey than dr. wu, though.

Elizabeth's center, Oriens, offers NIA dance with a woman named Toni. (who gave birth at 40) They're at Club H on 55th. Toni also teaches a few classes at New York sports - the only ones they offer! Tues in soho and sat at noon on the upper west. Love toni - she has a fabulous energy. I belong to NYSC so I went there for classes as I just could only shell out so much more money for dance classes.

[stefanie]

And I have to let go of the weight thing too. I have all these tv friends who are preggers and skinny and it didn't work out for me that way. I vgot married 2 years ago and am 25 lbs heavier because of everything I have been through. 10 of those pounds and I still looked okay. I went from a 4 to a 10. It's hard. I don't even know HOW to dress for this body, but now that I finally got the BFP. I don't care. when its all over- I will worry again.

I think as women it feels good to control weight when other things are so out of our control. 125 is pretty thin though for our height. Check out Randine Lewis' book. I think CM touches on this part of infertility.

stefanie

[Hopeful in SD]

Prior to starting IVF treatment in April I ran 6 days a week and gym workouts twice a week. For my first cycle I was told to stop running after my first b/w & u/s. They said I could continue walking, so I walked 4 miles a day, including some strenuous hills. I did my 3 days of bedrest after ET and then went back to the walking for the 2ww. I had been told not to do anything strenuous, which I did not think vacuuming or gardening were. I ended up with a chemical pregnancy.

In our next consultation meeting with my doctor we asked his opinion. He assured me to blame myself, as many women still run, vacuum, and do gardening but he also said those women haven't had trouble TTC. Thus, for my second cycle I ran until I started stims then I walked until ER. I did my 3 day bed rest and then I only walked the dog ... about a mile and it took us 30 minutes. While it just ended in a m/s I did get pregnant.

I also stopped all caffeine, alcohol, and chocolate. I really watched what I ate and while my clothes do fit a little tighter in the 7 weeks I actually lost a couple of pounds, which I know is muscle.

It is difficult to give up the exercising but I know when I finally have that little baby in my arms it will be worth it.

[Mellie_1233]

I had a similar problem. I used to run marathons but stopped running cold turkey once we were diagnosed w/a fertility problem. I gained 8-10 pounds but even worse was how all my muscle turned to fat. I had to buy all new pants. We had a weekend ritual where a friend would come over and she and my husband and I would all run together but then I stopped and had to just watch them go without me. That was so hard. Sometimes when our friend's husband couldn't watch their child she would ask me to push him in the stroller so I would watch them go off running while I pushed her kid around. Man, that was hard.

Like some of you mentioned I became paranoid about other things, too. I stopped lightening my hair so by the time I got pregnant I had about 6 inches of dark blonde hair on top of a few inches of light blonde (not a pretty look!). I think I wore ponytails for about 6 months! I also was afraid to use tanning cream so my naturally pasty pale complexion returned. Gave up alcohol, caffeine, nutrasweet, and during stims I even gave up chocolate. And, I even was paranoid about things that don't probably even matter like perfume and scented lotions.

I was so embarrased of my appearance. It felt like going through all the unattactive pieces of pregnancy w/o the baby.

[kimmysq]

Hi:
I know this is such a tough subject. I am not a marathon runner, but someone who loves to spin, yoga and run. I too, gave it up. What was even harder, is I gave up all caffeine, soda and alcohol (even wine, and I love wine!!) I don't know what finally made the difference, but something worked.
GL,
Kim

[NY4thtry]

thanks girls for all the input..

I havent given up my hair color or the wine.. but i have given up everything else...

i know i should probably give up wine too.. although the Drs say its ok..


Kimmy was this your first ivf?

[kimmysq]

Hi:
This was my 3rd FET (2nd in the past year). I am 43, and this was the very last batch of frozen embies. That is why I wanted to give it my all, and gave everything up. The caffeine was the hardest. Honestly, I felt like crap for 6 weeks. I never thought I had that much. One Starbucks in the am, and maybe 1 diet soda in the afternoon. Apparently, my body was quite hooked on it. Also, I have read so many negative stories regarding diet and regular soda and how it effects your GI system. I feel so much better after giving it up...my dh, Mom and Dad have all given it up also. Sounds like you have already done this...
We have to try so much harder once we turn 40, and I truly believe diet plays an important role in IF. I didn't enjoy acupuncture, but I did a massage a week while I was stimming. I was so relaxed. I also asked for a Valium during my last ET, and for the first time, I was also relaxed during the ET. Again, not sure what clicked, but my ultimate goal was to not be stressed. Baby dust,
Kim

[santa]

NY4thtry - I was emphatically told by my RE that bedrest after ET was a no no, as the uterus needed blood circulating as much as possible to help implantation.

I was also told by my RE that wine in moderation was fine, the only thing to watch out for is smoking, and to a lesser extent caffeine, so I have switched to decaf. I miss wine though - it is tough !

Regarding exercise, apart from jumping, I think spinning and cycle classes are fine. I am still continuing to do both as I am about to go for egg retrieval on Friday, and I will continue after ET.

S