My name is Tea Thome and I am a lifestyle and business coach focused on empowering women. Five years ago, I took the leap, quit my secure job and went on to pursue my passion for fitness and coaching. I absolutely adore the work that I do and could not see a better way to spend my time and energy than by making women feel beautiful, inside and out. I am married to the most amazing and supportive man and have two fur balls that own my heart.

12 years ago, after battling with my own weight for most of my adolescence, I got myself a gym membership and took the first step to bettering my life. The feeling that I gained from training was unlike anything I had experience in the past and I knew I had to pursue it further. After having my own transformation, I decided to get a job at a local gym and dedicate my spare time to helping other women feel the same. Although I was in school for Psychology, fitness was always on the side lines and brought something special out for me. I went on to compete in fitness shows for many years, gain numerous sponsorships and publications, grow my coaching business and brand and channel my life around living a healthy lifestyle.

Anything glute related! I absolutely love training glutes and bonus, it’s been such a great addition to my pregnancy program keeping my back in great health and pain free! Deadlifts and hip thrusts are my fave!

In the first trimester, I was more tired than anything so training was all about survival. I made sure to keep moving when I could but also listen to my body and take breaks as I needed. The second trimester was great for me, full of energy and ability to keep most of my training the same. I did lower the weights and intensity overall and focus loads of energy on a strong core and glutes. The third trimester proved to be a bit more difficult to work with the ever-evolving belly but my energy has (luckily) remained so training persists. However, it’s only 3 times a week of weights instead of 6 and 3 days of moderate cardio.

I think being active has played a HUGE role in my pregnancy. It has helped with maintaining a positive mind set, given me the ability to keep going through tough days, kept me mentally sane and helped alleviate most pains that come with pregnancy. Overall, I believe maintaining a fit lifestyle is the biggest reason I have had such a positive experience during my pregnancy.

I would say keep being you! Do the things that make you feel good and help you keep a piece of your identity and happiness. Fitness during pregnancy is not only amazing for the mama but also the baby. It may be tough to get moving on the slow days but you will always feel better, mentally and physically, that you did something active for you and baby. Do what feels good and feels right, even the smallest effort matters. Keep moving, eat to nourish your baby and your body and keep a positive attitude towards this amazing new life transition.

My name is Kasa Ananti and I started afrikoPOP as a fun way to burn fat, lose weight and condition your body. I am a wellbeing enthusiast, health coach personal trainer, wellness consultant that has worked with Shell, Samsung and Texas Instruments. After the death of her infant son in 2016, Kasa was determined to help people feel good and do something good for their bodies and founded the company January 2017. She is passionate about health and wellness and helping people reach their goals.

I’ve been into fitness since I can remember. I love exercise and movement from a kid until now a 35 year old woman.  It gives me such a rush and I feel empowered.

afrikoPOP, running, and strength training

With this pregnancy during the first trimester I was on physical activity restrictions and I re-injured my knee so I was out until week 14. My second trimester I had my energy back but I adjusted my afrikoPOP routine so that I wasn’t jumping and kicking like previous routines but still an intense workout.  I hardly run or strength train right now, just afrikoPOP.

Absolutely! My energy levels are so great right now, especially since I was active before I became pregnant.  Right now being in my third trimester my energy can be up one moment and then I just get so tired.  I still will afrikoPOP until this baby drops. I just get as much rest as I can and do the events and programs I can do.

I give the same advice to both parties. Start now, even 10 minutes of dancing in the house does the body good. Do what you enjoy and try something new a prenatal yoga class, water aerobics, at the simplest level, walk for 10 minutes. Something is better than nothing.

Dr. Oluchi Immanuel is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician, consultant, best selling author, and entrepreneur with a special focus on preventive health and obesity medicine. She attended Iowa State University where she completed her degree in Biology with a minor in Sociology. She then attended medical school at The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston (McGovern Medical School). After medical school, Dr. Oluchi stayed at McGovern Medical School to complete her residency program in Internal Medicine. Upon graduating, she began working at an Executive Health & Wellness Clinic. During Dr. Oluchi’s time at the clinic, she saw and coached more than a thousand patients in preventive health and wellness practices. Dr. Oluchi is the founder of Fidem Wellness, LLC, a faith-based wellness company that provides innovative ways, including one-on-one health coaching, to inspire wellness in women of all stages of life. Dr. Oluchi believes that women who begin implementing small lifestyle changes will experience an overall better quality of life, and prevent diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Dr. Oluchi can be found on social media, under the handle DrOluchiMD, where she shares health tips and inspiring messages. Although work keeps her busy, her most important and fulfilling jobs are being a wife and a mother to her amazing husband and wonderful children (4-year-old and 2-year-old).

I have always loved fitness! I have two brothers, so we spent our younger years chasing each other around. I actually set a District standing long jump record in Elementary school and then began running track and playing basketball in middle school. In high school, as a freshman, I became one of the starting five on the Varsity basketball team. I also earned my position in track as the anchor leg on the 4×1, 4×2 and 4×4 relay teams.

My favorite type of exercise would be dance classes. However, since those are difficult to fit into my schedule, I also enjoy jogging.

Throughout my pregnancies, my goal has always been to remain as physically active as possible. In the first trimester, and through part of the second, I could run easily. As the pregnancy progressed, it became more difficult to run so I focused more on strength training and power walking.

Being physically active helped me tremendously through my pregnancies. I felt more energized, did not gain an excessive amount of weight and the recovery after the delivery was much easier. Also, exercising releases chemical called endorphins which make you feel happy. So staying physically fit can also improve your mood.

I always tell my clients that pregnancy is an endurance test and delivery is the final challenge. The more you push yourself to get fit prior to getting pregnant, and to stay fit while you are pregnant, the better you will do on the final challenge. Pregnancy puts a significant amount of stress on your body. Unless your doctor has specifically told you not to exercise, everyone should be exercising daily!

My name is Ifeoma Meremikwu I have 4 children and I’m the owner of Instyle Blading, a microblading studio, in Houston Texas.

I’ve always been active since I was a kid. My parents were always putting me into organized sports team. As I got older I stayed active but not as vigorous as when I was younger.

I love to walk outside.

I was involved heavily in Fitbit challenges. So I was getting a lot of steps in. When I first found out I was pregnant I still kept up with the challenges. It wasn’t until I was showing that it ended up becoming difficult. I was very tired and I couldn’t go as long. So I walked shorter distances and less frequent.

I have four children and during my last pregnancy when I really took exercising seriously is where I saw the most difference. I didn’t gain a lot of weight, the labor was my easiest out of all of them. And my recovery after having the baby was very fast.

I would suggest developing the habit of being active before you get pregnant. It’s easier to continue during your pregnancy. And to listen to your body. Every little bit helps. Maybe it’s not full blown work out sessions. But it could be as easy as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking further away from the grocery store entrance.

My name is Ifeoma. I am an encourager of women and want them to find their God-given calling in life, a wife, and a mother of three children (4-year-old, 2-year-old, and 7-month-old), and an attorney. Currently I live in Austin, Texas.

Since I can remember, I have always been physically active and loved participating in sports and any physical activity. I remember being the captain of my school team during field day when I was in 6th grade.

I appreciate anything high intensity. I love HIIT, boot camps, running (sprints, interval runs etc.) Any way I can work up a sweat is best. Currently I am in Camp Gladiator and I try to work out at least 5 times a week. I am also an avid fan of traditional Pilates. I love using the Reformer, Cadillac, and Chair.

• 1st pregnancy – I worked out throughout. First, I had no children so this gave me a lot of leeway to take care of myself. Mostly, I did studio Pilates 3-4 times a week and had an excellent instructor who took expert care in making sure that I had the correct modifications for pregnancy when working out. We worked on pelvic floor strengthening exercises on the Reformer throughout my pregnancy.

• 2nd pregnancy – Nope. I did the LEAST (big mistake because the recovery was longer) exercise. Maybe walking from my house to the car?

• 3rd pregnancy – I worked out by running, doing low impact cardio, and fitness videos through the first half. During the second half, I had to back down because I was experiencing pelvic pain. Plus, chasing two kids under 3 was a workout in and of itself!

5) In what ways did/has being physically active helped you through your pregnancy?
I find that if I work out during my pregnancy, it is easier to lose the weight and get my abdominal muscles back together with a quickness. Exercise has also helped during my labor (always short—my third baby was almost born in my car).

6) What fitness advice would you give to someone who is pregnant or planning to get pregnant?

• First, listen to your doctor or midwife. You want to get clearance before doing any physical activity that is too strenuous.

• Second, the human body is able to cope with many things, but you are the only one who knows your limits—so listen to your body’s cues. If all you can do is walk, then walk, but do something.

• Third, don’t judge women who workout when they are pregnant. I have been so inspired by seeing women lifting weights and keeping up in boot camp. God has given each and every one of us different abilities—even in pregnancy. Let’s celebrate all types of women’s’ abilities and support the choices that they make.

Q: Tell us about yourself.
A: I was born in Ilorin, Nigeria, but moved to Canada when I was 9 months old. I was raised in Kingston, ON Canada. I now live in in Toronto, ON where I have been for the past 10 years, and this is where I completed my medical school and residency training. I currently work as an Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgeon. The three most important things in my life are (1) Family (2) Fitness and (3) Faith.

Q: How and when did you get into fitness?
A: Being physically active has been apart of my life for as long as I can I remember. My career in sports started at an early age, thanks to being the youngest of 4 siblings who were all extremely active! I started playing competitive basketball and volleyball at age 8, as well as participated in track and field. I played all of these sports throughout high school. During my 4 years of undergraduate studies at Queen’s University, I was a member of the Varsity Track and Field Team and was the 2nd ranked Canadian university female sprinter in 2007. Once I  moved to Toronto to start my medical degrees, I could no longer play varsity sports, but keeping fit and active has always been important to me. I continued my fitness love by joining a gym, as well as training for half marathons. In 2016 I became a personal fitness trainer at an amazing Toronto bootcamp called, Resilience Fitness.

Q: What is your favorite type of exercise?
A: My favorite type of exercise is weight lifting/strength training. I know many women are scared of “looking like a man” if they lift heavy weights, but boy are they wrong! Weight lifting has so many benefits including, keeping you toned, boosting your metabolism, strengthening your bones, and SO MUCH MORE!

A: During the FIRST TRIMESTER I was very tired and nauseous. So although the TYPE of exercise did not change (i.e I continued my weight lifting, running, and high intensity interval training (HIIT) hit classes, the frequency in which I exercised went from 6 days per week to about 3-4 per week. I also had to give up hot yoga + Pilates to keep baby safe.

During the 2ND TRIMESTER, I felt great and pretty much went back to my original exercise regimen of HIIT and weight lifting. I added a belly support band to help keep my core engaged and to (hopefully) limit a significant diastasis recti.  I avoided all exercises that required me to lie on my stomach OR on my back for long periods of time. I continued to run, but reduced my heavy weight lifting + increased the # of reps per set to compensate. During the end of the 2nd trimester I stopped any jumping activities, such as jump squats, burpees, and box jumps — more out of precaution versus necessity. I also added prenatal yoga sessions to help with flexibility + hip opening, as well as starting doing monthly prenatal massages.

Now as I am 1/3 of the way into my the THIRD TRIMESTER, I have stopped running as of 30 weeks, and now do incline walks as an alternative. I continue to go to HIIT classes 3 times per week – but avoid ALL high impact activities & core exercises that requires a crunching motion or an excessive increase in intra-abdominal pressure. I have continued my weight training sessions to 2-3 times per week, and continue to do prenatal yoga.

A: Fitness and exercise have been apart of my entire life. So being physically active has helped me in many ways including: (1) Mentally – my fitness community is amazing and continuing to see them and socialize with them while we all exercise has been wonderful (2) Physically – My energy levels have been great, I have limited back soreness, and this has made pregnancy be a great experience

A: I would advise those who PLAN to get pregnant to start being physically active prior to getting pregnant. Pregnancy is not the best time to start a new fitness regimen, as it can cause added stress to your body. I would advised someone who is pregnant to be active in some way! Whether its is daily 30 minute walks, or continuing your past exercise regimen with appropriate modifications, DO IT. Being active will help ensure you stay FIT both physically, mentally, and emotionally. Lastly I would tell everyone that before they do any sort of activity, they MUST be cleared by the obstetrician to ensure that what you plan to do is safe for you and baby!