To think I can improve my bmi whilst pregnant?

[mameulah]

And if you have improved your general fitness and figure whilst pregnant then can you please motivate me by telling me how?

This is my third pregnancy so obviously I know that, all going well, I am going to get huge. But I also figure that if I exercise and eat well then my overweight bits might decrease a bit? Perhaps?

[Mim78]

You might be able to improve general fitness with gentle/moderate exercise and eating healthily.

However, I wouldn't try to "improve" i.e. decrease your bmi as that could be dangerous. If you eat a normal amount the baby will get what it means and some of the fat might burn off the other parts of you, but I wouldn't make a concerted effort to do this.

[mameulah]

I was hoping it might happen by default?

[BlueGoddess]

If you want to loose weight, Slimming World is OK to follow with the blessing of midwives & doctors.

[CrohnicallySick]

Well no, because BMI is just a measure of how much weight you're carrying compared with your height. Growing a baby means you will carry much more weight than is normally advised.

However, I did improve my general health and fitness during pregnancy. I contacted my local leisure centre, who advised me on which classes were suitable, and I started doing aquajog. I also improved my diet due to being diagnosed with gestational diabetes- cutting out refined sugars and reducing other carbs. I never felt healthier!

Unfortunately all my good work went by the wayside thanks to DD's poor sleeping, and breast feeding meaning I was constantly hungry, and I blame cerazette for some of my subsequent weight gain!

[SimLondon]

Yes, I was overweight / borderline obese when I got pregnant. I knew that if I then put on 4 stone (as some famous person did at the same time) my health would be in trouble. I knew that if I was obese on the 3 month hospital booking-in appointment I would be high risk / consultant led care.

So I calculated exactly how many calories I needed to lose weight healthily (slimming world do a plan), had a lot of morning sickness and got obsessed about eating 5 portions of fruit/veg a day. Usually you only need extra calories for the baby in the third trimester. Your doctor should be able to refer you to a nutritionist who might be better able to judge, if your a healthy weight to begin with then its probably not a good idea, if your obese or morbidly obese then it possibly is.

[Sixgeese]

I lost about a stone when I was pregnant with DS, I was very obese and weighed 113kg at the start of the pregnancy (the medication I am is given based on weight so I could see it coming off slowly over the 8 months) and 104kg at the end. But I didn't try to lose weight, while I was pregnant I just tried to eat healthily to help the baby grow healthily and found that I went off sugary and fat laden food and losing weight was just a happy side effect.

I did put it back on afterwards, but have now lost the weight (currently 80kg) on the Slimming World diet.

[mameulah]

This is so motivating. Thank you. Did you stick to a certain amount of calories or did you try to be much more mindful of what you were eating? And, how much exercise did you do?

[WooWooOwl]

YABU to think you can improve your bmi, because it just doesn't work like that, but you can definitely improve your health and fitness.

I found it much easier to do when I was pregnant thank I do now, the baby wriggling inside is a great reminder to eat healthily and not eat anything junky.

There are loads of classes that cater for pregnant women like yoga and aqua natal and they are less daunting to go to than other classes that are full of people that know the routines and have been exercising for ages.

You need to have an aim in your mind of what you want your bmi to be on your baby's first birthday rather than during or straight after your pregnancy.

[Riprap63]

Unless you are overweight I would not be bothered. When I got pregnant for the first time I got paranoid about weight, I started exercising, I lost the baby.

Next time I was so sick for 5 months I would have given anything to eat.

[AntoinetteCosway]

I know someone who lost 2 stone while pregnant. She wasn't dieting but she was extremely obese when she got pregnant and being pregnant made her focus on eating healthily and walking as much as possible because she wanted to be fit for the birth. Quite incredible really. Because of her size she was under consultant led care and they were really supportive.

[mameulah]

Riprap I am sorry you lost your baby. We lost our first pregnancy too, it is very sad.

And I am overweight. I am horrified that I am 15 stone so I definitely have to do something.

Antoinette That is really encouraging. Could you see a big difference in your friend? Or, did she still look flabby pregnant?

[Hoppinggreen]

I lost 2 stone while pregnant!!!!
Mainly due to constant throwing up and when I could eat only small portions and luckily I had extra weight to lose.
Sadly once I could eat again I put it back on but I did lose 1 stone in my 2nd pregnancy that I am still keeping off 5 years later.

[frumpet]

I discovered i was pregnant with my third whilst overweight , i decided not to get huge , but to put on the amount of weight that is actually required whilst pregnant , so i carefully put on just over a stone and weighed exactely the same the day as i came out of hospital as i did the day i found out i was pregnant ( it was still a lot !)

[hippo123]

My friend was obese, bmi of over 40. She managed to lose a bit of weight whilst pregnant. I wouldn't recommend it unless your actually obese though, and even then only with the help of your mw, gp or sw.

[BocaDeTrucha]

I lost 35lbs from my last weighing at 36 weeks to the moment I left the hospital, more or less. It literally fell off me with the birth of ds, who weighed just over 9lbs.

My bmi was verging on me being overweight before I got pregnant so I think in theory I was losing weight during my pregnancy in an odd kind of way. I didn't count calories but had very bad heat burn which affected what I could eat, and as was pregnant through a very hot summer, I only wanted to eat salad and drink water.... So it can be done! But weight loss was the last thing on my mind during my pregnancy.

[Joysmum]

I didn't aim to lose weight, I was very particular about what I are though, I ate what you are meant to eat and only gained in my third trimester. I was at my ore-pregnancy weight 5 days after the birth. I continued to lose weight for 8 months because what I ate was what my baby ate as I was breast feeding.

So for me, I never 'dieted' to lose weight. I led the lifestyle I should always have done. I was in close contact with health professionals throughout and just concentrated on giving my baby the nutrition she needed by feeding me correctly.

[Feckadeck]

I was about 15.5st pre-pregnancy and just under 14st immediately after giving birth, 4 months later just over 13st. I didn't aim to lose weight. My aim was to not over indulge for the sake of it and tons of weight as I knew it would damage me long term and I'd never be able to shift it . I didn't eat a particularly ridged diet or do tons of exercise. Small changes helped me and I seemed to lose weight by default stopping drinking wine helped of course! I had midwife appointment every month (outside uk) and weight was taken but never commented on. No concern that I was losing not gaining. It I'd defiantly do able but dont be silly about diets or Bmi. Just eat well and do moderate exercise would be my advice.

[Feckadeck]

Oh and to add I had no morning sickness so weight loss wasn't through throwing up at all. I was lucky that way. It's achievable but don't fixate on it. Post-birth I looked much better than pre-conception (esp in face) but I've still a long way to go of course. I am 5' 5" if that helps.

[CooCooCachoo]

Reading with interest OP, I want to do the same. I'm not so fussed about BMI but keen to try not to gain more weight than I should.

My view is that the only way to achieve this is by really looking at what you eat. I'm 16 weeks now and have just got over morning sickness. I ate quite badly as all I could really face was toast, potatoes and other bland brown food. Despite regular bouts of being sick I've till gained about 7 lbs, I didn't eat a huge amount of carb pre-pregnancy and think this has been the main reason.

Now trying to reduce the amount of carbs or at least replace them with lower GI options as well as increase lean proteins and bring back some dairy that I've been avoiding. Hoping that this will hope sort out weight gained or at least slow its momentum. I've also developed a raging appetite too though so I doubt I'm in danger of becoming pregorexic!

Good luck!

[AntoinetteCosway]

You could definitely see a difference OP. After she'd had the baby she carried on losing too

[LadyCelia]

I lost 2 stone when pregnant with DS. Apart from the obvious for me, which was cutting out the booze & junk food, I did pregnancy yoga 3 times a week, and swimming once a week. I also walked everywhere if possible as I got so travel sick on public transport or in the car! It can be done, just be sensible about it.

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

I was obese when pg with DS2 and I just focused on eating healthily. I also suffered from chronic heartburn later on so I couldn't face eating much. I put on just over a stone in total and was back to my prepregnancy weight within a week of giving birth and down a bit more in the next few weeks.