During my first pregnancy, I was a sluggish mess validated by all of the excuses and inaccurate information I could get my hands on. As I mentioned before, my preterm baby was born as a result of hypertension (linked to excessive weight gain, mine to the tune of 60 pounds) and preterm rupture of membranes (linked to hypertension). An unhealthy mom, I knew, couldn’t mean a healthy baby.

With a background in fitness, I should have known better — and did. But instead, I held dearly to my right to put my feet up and be lazy. Let’s just say it didn’t pay off and created a long list of regrets that inspired me to change my ways. (more…)