Big birthday & wedding - need to lose weight - but doing IVF!?

[FishnChipz]

Just wondering what to do for the best here…

We’re getting married in April, and my DP is 40 in February so we’re having a big party. I need to lose three stone but even one or two would be amazing. I’m also feeling old and creaky with limited strength and cardio fitness.

So in an ideal world I’d start on a three month diet and fitness routine, three nights a week in the gym etc. I do it every few years and it does work.

However the only problem is that I’m about to embark on IVF. Everything I’ve read says that I shouldn’t be limiting my food or doing any excessive exercise. I’ve basically gotta relax and take it easy and keep the stress levels down!

But there is no way I want to be at the party and at my wedding looking this fat. Can anyone advise please?

I don’t know anything about IVF but being overweight is detrimental to your overall weight and personally I would lose the weight and then embark on IVF.

We are doing IVF through the NHS and it’s just so happened that I’ve got to the top of the list right now. It’s not the best timing but I’m not allowed to postpone it unfortunately, I would otherwise love to wait until after we get married!

By all means do some exercise if you feel like improving your fitness, but IVF is stressful enough without adding strenuous dieting in. I'd be prioritising that and your mental health so you can enjoy planning your wedding and birthday rather than frantically trying to lose weight that you'll almost certainly put back on (statistically most people do, and you also mentioned that you'd done this before). Despite what society tells us, you aren't required to be thin to get married, be a mother or exist in public. Congratulations on your engagement and good luck with the IVF.

You’ve got four or five months to follow a healthier eating plan and lose some weight.
That won’t be stressful, in fact a healthy weight, nutrient rich diet will increase your chances of pregnancy.

No need to crash diet or punishing exercise.
You don’t have to have an all or nothing approach!

Wishing you success x

Surely it doesn't have to be a strenuous diet and a punishing exercise regime. Just eat a healthier diet and do some moderate exercise.

Do you know your BMI?

The NHS recommend a BMI of 19-25 for IVF.

Why not aim for a smaller weight loss and a more permanent change in eating habits that you can sustain throughout pregnancy (hopefully) and beyond?

I’m limited to how much exercise I can do due to having M.S, and as I get older the dreaded menopause has helped the weight to creep up.

The dilemma is i eat a healthy diet already, don’t smoke or drink. I found a fasting regime 16/8 and it’s amazing. I’ve been doing it for 3 months now and can get back into dresses I’ve not worn for 3 years thanks to the menopause. I haven’t changed what I eat, I’ve changed the hours that I eat them. There’s loads of information on the internet about the diet and how it works,I highly recommend it. Good luck.

BMI is 29.

You can lose weight without going mad doing it. Make small tweaks to your diet, increase fruit, veg, protein, wholemeal carbs. Weight loss may have a very positive impact on your fertility for the ivf, you can and should carry on healthy eating while hopefully pregnant and it’ll be far more sustainable than a crash diet and hardcore exercise. It’s not one or the other at all. Focus on nutrients and health, cherishing your body in preparation for pregnancy.

There’s evidence to suggest better IVF success rates if you’re eat a healthy diet prior to/during treatment. If you eat a Mediterranean diet and cut out processed foods and alcohol you should lose weight in a healthy way. Make sure you drink plenty of water too.

in terms of exercise I wouldn’t go mad doing anything super strenuous but there’s no reason why you can’t do gentle exercise like walking or swimming. Yoga would be a good thing to try if you look up beginner practice - there will be loads on YouTube.

You are usually advised to have a protein rich diet when doing ivf. Take a look at Joe Wicks, either the plan or the app. You can do the exercises at home when it fits in with you (there are also yoga options, for example). The recipes are mostly low-carb and include lots of protein. You are also meant to drink lots of water.
Good luck. We're about to embark on round 5 next week.