working out during pregnancy question

I have gotten down to a great weight and feel very fit.  My husband and  I are hoping to try to conceive this spring.  My question is, I have heard that the secret to dropping weight after having a baby is to workout the entire time your pregnant?  Has anyone else had this experience?  And if so, how often did you work out?  What did you do to work out?  Any responses would be very welcome!!  It took me almost 14 months to lose all of my pregnancy weight last time, I would love to drop it quicker this time. (and yes I did breastfeed!)

I don't have kids, but oneof my good friends swam everyday of her pregnancy (including the day she gave birth) and was back in her pre-pregnancy jeans for the ride home from the hospital.  her doctor recommended swimming because it's low impact so it doesn't cause stress on the body, is good cardio, and works the whole body.  She also ran for the first few months until her doctor suggested swimming.

WOW now that is motivating!!

There was a girl at my gym who was obviously pregnant, she used to use the elliptical machine a lot. also I knew a women who was pregnant who did water aerobics and swimming also.

 Well, I've obviously never been pregnant, and barring a very unlikely set of circumstances I never will be either.

You kinda have to figure out what combination of exercise works the best for your body at the various stages of your pregnancy and doing so with the help of your doctor is pretty much crucial as I understand things.

But check out  Exercising During Pregnancy from Paige Waehner for a starting point - Postpartum Fitness is also a good read though you're obviously going to have to go through the pregnancy before you can do a post-pregnancy workout ;)

 Oh, yes - Walking & Pregnancy is also interesting - I think exploring different options makes you well prepared for choosing the right workout mix for the various stages of your pregnancy.

I worked out during both pregnancies--for the first one, I had to since I was still in the Army. For the second one, I did Jane Fonda's pregnancy/recovery workout--very old but it worked for me. You have a lot more choices now!

Another thing to keep in mind is you don't need to be a blimp while you are pregnant. I think the best advice I ever got regarding diet was to eat for ONE and drink fluids for TWO. I gained a healthy amount with each pregnancy and lost it pretty quickly afterwards, even having had c-sections (which severely limited how much physical exercise I could get for the first 6 to 8 weeks afterwards).

Hey!  I have four kids.  Definitely working out helps tremendously!  Do what makes you feel comfortable.  But only for about 30 minutes of cardio at a time because they say it takes more oxygen away from the baby.  Just staying up with it is great.  I was doing crunches until I was about 7 months along with my first two.  I worked out about 3 times a week, sometimes more.  I did weights (not massive amounts, but enough to stay toned).

And like someone else said, Water aerobics is great!  Especially at the end when you have so much extra weight to carry around.  It lifts a bit and helps ease the weight. 

Staying fit during pregnancy can also help the delivery itself be easier. 

And, like Contrary said, keep in mind what you are eating and drinking.  Don't let the "eating for two" mindset fool you. 

That's my two cents.  Good luck!

I had a baby 4 weeks ago and was back in my jeans a little less than 2 weeks after he was born. I was unable to exercise other than walking during my pregnancy and even that was not done regularly. This is my 3rd child and I think what helped was that I did not gain a lot of weight during the pregnancy.

The most important thing is to make sure you check with your doctor. I was unable to exercise due to the placement of my placenta for much of the pregnancy.

Thanks everyone!  I actually only gained about 24 lbs my entire pregnancy- but only lost 12 after delivery and the other 12 set up camp while I breastfed my daughter for 9 months- I mean that weight would NOT come off!!

I am going off yaz this month and I am scared because last time I went off I gained about 5 lbs of water weight (yaz has a diuretic in it) so I am nervous to gain all that weight and then get pregnant.  I am going to give myself a couple months to lose that weight before we try.

thanks for all the advice everyone!