Ab workouts and 8 months pregnant? Seems like the two don’t go together, but Married to Medicine’s Dr. Simone Whitmore thinks it’s A-OK. The OB-GYN sat down with Us Weekly to chat about Bachelor Nation’s Krystal Nielson’s maternity workouts and gave advice on how to keep up with your fitness while pregnant. Watch the latest episode of Moms Like Us with hosts Christina Garibaldi and Stroller in the City’s Brianne Manz to see what the doctor had to say.
After Nielson, 33, shared an ab workout via Instagram where she showed how she trains while 8 months pregnant with her first child, multiple users took to the comments to share their opinions and ask questions.
“Definitely the only pregnant woman I have ever seen with a 6 pack,” one user commented, while others asked questions like, “The pressure doesn’t affect the baby Im sure right?!” and “But…where does the baby go?”
Dr. Simone had nothing but positive vibes to send the former Bachelor contestant, telling Us, “She made me want to go do some ab work and I’m not even pregnant!”
As far as her professional medical opinion goes, she thinks the workout is “completely fine.”
“Research has shown that women who exercise have an easier time on labor delivery than women who do not,” Dr. Simone noted. “I think that an ab workout is OK, you cannot hurt your baby until you physically hurt yourself. So as long as you’re in a low risk pregnancy, the workout would be completely fine. If you don’t have an extremely large baby, you’re not carrying multiples and you don’t have a history of preterm labor, I think it’s completely fine.”
If you’re looking to get in shape while pregnant though, Dr. Simone warned, “If you did not work out before you became pregnant, I certainly do not recommend starting some strenuous exercise routine in the pregnancy.”
If you can’t follow Coach Krystal’s intense workouts, she still wants pregnant women to get moving.
“I encourage my patients to walk 30 minutes, three or four times a week and you want to try to do some light exercise,” the reality star suggested. “Swimming is great, but if you were not a runner pre-pregnancy, don’t now become a runner because pregnancy can have some aches and pains that go along with it.”
Lastly, she told Us that fitness and nutrition go hand in hand, so also be careful what you’re putting in your body when you’re expecting.
“You are not eating for two in a normal low-risk pregnancy. We want to see about a 25-30 pound weight gain, but that’s for the entire pregnancy,” she advised. “And I tell my patients [not to] succumb to the cravings, especially sweet cravings. So if you eat a lot of pasta and rice, I ask you to cut back on complex carbohydrates, like pasta, rice, sweets, and get rid of juice and soda. [Drink] more water for the baby.”
Catch Dr. Simone on Married to Medicine which airs on Bravo Sundays at 9 p.m. ET. Watch Moms Like Us on Us Weekly’s YouTube page every Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.
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