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At 29, I was 30lbs. overweight and found myself newly pregnant. Great, now it doesn't matter how much I gain, I'm pregnant, I'm entitled! I soon found out how very wrong I was, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and put on a strict diet throughout my pregnancy and encouraged to take up some moderate exercise, or potentially put my baby's and my own life at risk.

Now let me say I HATE exercise. I don't like to sweat, I don't like to be 'jostled', I don't want to feel the BURN. I only run when chased. Luckily, I found the perfect exercise for me, WATER AEROBICS.

Yes, it IS aerobics, but not like any you've ever done before. Water aerobics relies on the resistance of the water around you to tone and build muscles as well as increase cardiovascular endurance. Much like you use weights and gravity on land to build your muscles, moving through the water creates resistance in much the same way, but with many positive benefits:

LITTLE to NO IMPACT - Most of us float in water. If you stand in water up to your neck, you have decreased your effective body weight by 90%! That translates to 90% LESS impact on your joints, lessening the pain that so many us can't tolerate on land.

NO SWEAT - The cooling effects of the water help maintain a lower body temperature, making exercise more comfortable.

IT'S FUN - In my class we use fun music and dance moves, water weights and even pool noodles and beach balls in our workout! I also engage the class in conversation so we're all distracted and time just flies by.

And, yes, that's right, you may have caught on to my secret now. I started attending water aerobics in the third month of my pregnancy. Four years, and two children later, I am a certified water aerobics instructor. Oh yeah, and not only did I lose all my pregnancy weight, I lost an additional 30 pounds just working out twice a week.

Learn more about this author, Kellyann Dinoff.
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