A 2 Minute Pick Me Up to Have You Smiling All Day!

You know, there will always be those days where you wake up feeling more emotional than usual. It maybe that you've been feeling sick or tired for a few days on the trot, or that stress at work or at home has got you down and as a result you just can't be bothered to do your workout that day or stick to your nutrition plan. That's completely normal and to be fair if it's the odd day, it's never gonna hurt you.

What is a problem, is if that one day turns into two or three and suddenly a whole week has gone by and you've gone completely off-track. Now it's so much harder to get back to it and here starts the slippery slope to hit and miss nutrition and workouts. Suddenly the fatigue, aches and pains and emotional ups and downs are much more evident and all these things that you so wanted to avoid are the very things stopping you from enjoying the fabulous pregnancy you dreamed of...

The great news is that just a simple 2 minute exercise morning, afternoon and evening will keep you positive, focussed and feeling so excited about all the great times to come!

OK have you got a pen and paper?

I want you to list out all the reasons why it is so important to you to stay fit and healthy during your pregnancy.

You can list them by category:

So...eating well, exercising safely and effectively, remaining positive and emotionally balanced

and by the benefits they will bring:

a)to you

b)to your baby

Don't rush this bit, it may take you a little while to get right to the core of what's important to you, but that's what you really need to identify. Once you have this then I want you to condense it into a written statement of your core values. What you should end up with is a short but deep and meaningful statement that truly identifies with your deepest core values surrounding what you envision for your pregnancy.

Write this statement on a card and put it next to your bed so you can read it morning and night and also pop a duplicate card in your handbag so you can read it whenever you need a boost or a quick reminder during the day.

You'll be amazed at the difference it makes to you when you've got a major case of the "I can't be bothered's"!

Here's your first action step to a Positive Pregnancy Mindset

How are you feeling today?

Not too bad? Or are you a little nauseous and tired?

Even if you are feeling pretty good right now, chances are that you won't wake up feeling like that every day of your pregnancy and this is where things can start to go off track pretty quickly.

No matter how good your intentions are, I'm sure you've already had the odd day where you've used the fact that you're pregnant as an excuse to skip your workout, skip a meal here and there or pig out on junk food that you'd never normally touch - I did exactly the same! But what I rapidly found out was that these little slip-ups were making me feel a lot worse in the long-run. Sure, I'd have a temporary sugar high, or an extra 20 minutes to veg out on the sofa,but I felt ten times worse because of it!

It didn't take me long to figure out that it was my mindset that needed focussing. If I was to have a great pregnancy and stay fit, healthy and looking and feeling amazing all the way through, I needed something to keep me thinking in my pregnancy mindset.

So I started my vision board.

(Here's where your pictures and cutouts come into play :0) )

I want you to create a mental picture of your perfect pregnancy.

Think about:
what you will eat,
how you will look and feel,
how you will dress,
how much energy you will have,
the exercise you are doing every week,
what people are saying about you...

Now I want you to take all those pictures that you found that represent your perfect pregnancy and stick them up somewhere where you can see them frequently every day. Maybe your fridge at home, or your desk at work?

You can add to this collection whenever you feel like, with pictures, quotes, recipes - whatever you like really, but use it to remind you every day just why you are going to eat well or spend 15 minutes exercising, instead of reaching for the tv remote and ice-cream instead! It's a very simple but effective tool to keep you on track even when you are feeling like hiding under the duvet and telling the world to go away!

You'll also be creating a valuable keepsake that you can one day show to your child to show him/her just how much love and care you put into them from the very start!