When I first started blogging last December my husband was away in another Province studying to become a Paramedic. As a single parent who was working full-time, it was an opportunity for me to have something to focus on and become accountable to my own fitness goals. I used my blog as a means to stay active, set goals and share my thoughts about being a working mom, wife of a vegan and trying to balance it all. Little did I know how much I would enjoy blogging, meeting people and realising that what I write actually had an impact on others.

During my first trimester I was working out 3-5 days a week, either running or doing an in-home DVD. I had to slow down my pace as exhaustion took over. I had set a goal of running in two 5k’s, one in May and the other in June. This helped me to keep focus on being active. As a pregnant working mom, it can be really hard to find the time (even 20-30 minutes) for a workout. I work all day, and then have to manage our daughter, dinner, playing and chores. Our daughter is the first priority and once she is settled I put working out as a close second priority in my life. Some days, when my husband is home, I walk before he goes to work at 6am, or I try to walk/run during my lunch break, take a few extra 10 minutes to walk to a meeting or running errands. Time is the biggest challenge for me but I would choose working out over sitting down at night and watching TV. On weekends, we do at least one “physical” activity with our daughter; running around the playground, swimming at the beach, kicking the soccer ball around, and we try to walk our dog as a family – when time permits!

Currently, my favourite type of workout would be a Fit Mom DVD and Yoga. It get’s my heart rate up, makes me sweat a little, is helping my body get ready for the birthing process and makes me feel like I’ve had a great workout. It can be done any time of day, so I can schedule it during nap time on weekends or after our daughter goes to bed at night. Prenatal Yoga makes me completely relaxed and feeling like a whole new person – I highly recommend it.

The most important advice is to speak to your doctor about your fitness goals during pregnancy. Having their support can make the world of difference during your pregnancy. The other advice I would give to set realistic goals – each week. Because your body is changing so much through each trimester, you may want to limit or increase your level of physical activity depending on how you are feeling each week.

Our biggest challenge when preparing meals is making sure everyone gets what they need; a vegan meal for my husband, protein for me and veggies for our picky toddler. Some days it means making two meals, making the same meal but in to pots, or making a vegan meal with chicken/fish or eggs on the side for me. The thing I love about being a vegan is that it’s a healthy diet that has forced our family to have a variety of foods. Our daughter now loves spicy foods and slowly eating more veggies, I love trying new recipes and do so as much as possible and my husband seems to benefit the most.

Recently, I love eating a good cheese and crackers and grapes. Smoothies seem to be a bit hit in our house. My favourite decadent indulgence, anything chocolate: chocolate cake, vegan chocolate muffins, Jr. Mints and the occasional ice cream in the summer.