You know something?
It’s not easy to be a “fitness/healthy living” blogger while you’re pregnant.
I mean really, how many times can I talk about my morning walks with the Mini Athlete? As much as I enjoy them, I’m not breaking any new distance or speed records.
You don’t want to hear about my healthy eating – or lack thereof. Of course, this has never been a food blog anyway (for obvious reasons.) I just ate a brown sugar pop tart. Categorize that in the “this is what you should not do” section of the blog. But oohhhh it was yummy.
I have no “progress photos” to post – unless you count the progress of my belly growing increasingly larger day by day. I have no weight loss to report (nor should I at 23 weeks pregnant!) I’m not training for any races – heck, I don’t even have any on my calendar right now.
So where does that leave me?
As a cranky second-trimester pregnant wannabe athelte, apparently.
I want to continue to inspire people. To motivate people. To help YOU realize that yes, YOU can accomplish your goals. There is nothing I love more than receiving comments or emails from people who have received a bit of encouragement from this little blog of mine.
Quite frankly, those comments and emails are why I keep blogging! I want to use this space to encourage and inspire other wannabe athletes. To help you know that you’re not alone.
So how do I do that while pregnant?
thewannabeathlete@gmail.com
I think that one of the many reasons your readers love you because you are completely genuine. You do not sugar coat anything, and you make little advances that add up to really big milestones. Don’t lose sight of that! I sure love seeing your baby bump updates, and seeing that even though you may plan one form of exercise, it may or may not happen, and you are ok with that! Especially for people like me that don’t have kids, but are thinking about it one day, its nice to get a glimpse of what pregnancy is like for others.
Keep it up Callie. You are amazing, plain and simple.
Big fat amen.
I think that people appreciate that I have blogged about the hard part of being a pregnant fitness blogger and been “real” about it. Working out frankly sucks when it’s 100 degrees, you’ve gained “too much” weight according to your doctor, and your tailbone feels like it’s going to split in half. I finally quit exercise last week at 33.5 weeks and it felt so liberating to admit it and make that decision. Not everyone can bounce out of BodyPump the day before delivery feeling great, and THAT’S OKAY…but more people need to be honest about that. So many pregnant health and fitness bloggers are all roses and sunshine, and…it’s not like that for most people.
You are being an inspiration to us all by doing what’s best for you and continuing to stay active as a beautiful pregnant woman
It’s great to see pictures of you and your family together having fun and enjoying this time. We don’t need pictures of all your healthy food. Poptarts for the win! We don’t care if you keep talking about your sweet walks with your son. I love just reading about your experiences being pregnant for a second time around and trying as hard as you can (just like the rest of us!) to stay healthy. Please don’t stop!
You can encourage us by telling us about the one healthy choice you made on any given day. By saying you miss exercise, which reminds us that it feels good. By being real about your life. By sharing fun tidbits about your family, which you already do. I like hearing about your job, your life in Florida which is so different than mine in Baltimore. I like stopping in to be reminded that here is someone who keeps choosing health through the reality of all that life brings.
You are human. We all are and we know you cannot always be the shiny, wonderful inspiration. It’s ok to post about regular life too. We don’t expect you to be extraordinary all the time… then it wouldn’t be extraordinary! I’m personally glad you’re taking it easy during your pregnancy. And if you want, it’s your blog, you can post about food.
YES MA’AM! My “good” workouts these days at 31 weeks pregnant are the ones that get done. I had to bump my treadmill speed down to 2.5 today just to keep putting one foot in front of another
I will say that I am inspired to stay active myself because of the pregnant women who have come before and showed me that it’s possible, so as much as you can, keep letting us know about how you’re making activity — even in its slowest forms — a priority.
To be honest, I’m still reading! haha. But if you are looking for something different, some suggestions:
- Review a prenatal workout DVD
- Talk about pregnancy body changes
- Talk about pregnancy nutrition
I would be interested in all of that, and I’m not even pregnant!
I don’t know because I haven’t been pregnant yet but I promise I’ll keep reading!!
My dear friend – you DO still inspire!!!!! Just wanted you to know that. And your feelings are totally normal because I felt the SAME way when pregnant with B. I felt like an imposter. Then, I remembered that I’m doing my best and that’s what counts. Plus, I would be danged if I would end a blog with a support system I knew I would need when losing the baby weight.
You inspire me to keep trying. You remind me that bloggers are human & eat pop tarts when they should of had whole wheat toast. Saturday I ate something like 18 mint oreos, and I thought about how you get up every morning & walk every morning. No complaints from you, you & your busy life showed me how to incorporate exercise into my busy life.
Yesterday I got up at my normal time, but instead of laying in bed, I grabbed the dog & walked. 5.8 miles before she started limping & I called hubby to pick us up. 5.8 miles. It took me 2 hours to walk the 5.8 miles, but I know that the pace doesn’t matter, the simple fact that I got out of bed & did it is all that matters. That is what you teach me every day. It doesn’t matter how slow, or how fast, or if you do the same thing everyday, all that matters is that you do it.
Thank you for that.
This was me last year!! I was pregnant and so sick I could barely get out of bed let alone do anything “inspiring” for my blog. I pretty much set pregnancy goals for myself and blogged about the challenges of being a pregnant fit mom. I don’t know if it inspired or was interested but if nothing else, it kept me going when the days were tough.
I just discovered your blog and I am loving it, pregnancy and all! I hope you do keep blogging. I like some of the suggestions listed above. As a wannabe-athlete looking to join the motherhood ranks within the next couple years myself, I am really looking forward to continuing to read your blog and learning from you!
You keep writing about you, your life and that sweet mini athlete! I love your blog and despite the lack of posts about weight loss or runs, you share your positive and healthy outlook on life – so much more important!
I struggled with this question so much during my pregnancy and never found my voice through my blog again. I agree that it is hard to maintain your self-identity while learning to be a healthy baby grower in the weight-loss/racing world.
I am a weight-loss blogger and pregnant with my 5th. I feel the exact same way. Some days I feel like I am just a huge fraud or that I am letting my readers down by not posting about my weight-loss or inspiring and motivational stories about how great I am doing. Admittedly, I have backed off my blog a bit because of it. I do, however, want to show others that you can have a healthy pregnancy at any weight and I will be sharing about my pregnancy a bit. But then I fear it becoming a pregnancy blog, and most of my readers don’t follow me for that kind of thing. I hope they do stick around though, because once baby comes I hope to write lots about losing after babies. I totally understand how you are feeling. (Btw, first time reader here-sent from Tina’s blog!)
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