Is it OK to lose weight during pregnancy on purpose

[Olive1988]

Hello,

I have just found out I'm pregnant and I am over the moon.

Just before the pregnancy I had put on quite a bit of weight (2 stone) and I am now medically considered overweight. It is also affecting my self esteem. I'm really worried about putting on more weight.

I won't do anything that will affect in any way or risk in any way the health of my baby, but can you healthily lose weight while pregnant eg slimming world?

You can lose weight as long as you eat a healthy diet and meet your nutritional needs. As you're 2 stones overweight it's probably best to try not to gain weight, or to keep weight gain to a minimum, then you will find you lose weight when the baby is born. When I had my 2nd baby I didn't put any weight on at all (I was about 21 pounds overweight to start with) and the midwife never mentioned it, even though I was weighed at every appointment.

I'm 30 weeks gone atm but at my booking appointment with the midwife I was weighed and told my bmi was higher than normal so I had to have a gestional diabetes test at 20 odd weeks. The midwife suggested I joined slimming world and try not to put any weight on but not go on an extreme diet or exercise too much. Luckily when I was weighed again at 28 weeks I'd only put 3 pounds on and my GD test came back negative. I'd say your definitely ok to join slimming world and watch what your eating, I feel loads better in this pregnancy not having put much weight on

You should have a booking in appointment soon so ask the midwife or your gp for advice on this and Make changes on their advice.
Many women find they loose weight anyway because of sickness in the first trimester.
Most people can do a little gentle excercise like walking or swimming so get some advice and go with that. Good luck!

It's fine. Plus now you have even more motivation to eat well for your baby. You do not need to consume any more than you usually would in the first and second trimester, then only am extra 300 calories in the third. Be sensible and go steady.

Talk to your midwife about it, she will probably advise that you try not to put any on but that's extremely hard to do when you're growing a whole new person. I put on a stone and a half and 2 weeks after the birth I was a stone and a half lighter than when I started so don't stress too much. The weight you put on in the first and second trimesters are fat and hard to get off but in the third you stack it on and it's mainly fluid and baby stuff and falls off after the birth on its own.

Stick to a really healthy varied diet with sensible portions and a pregnancy multivitamin and you and baby will do great.

Just to clarify my above post, say when I fell pregnant I was 10 stone, at 38 weeks I was 11 stone 7lb and a few weeks later I was 8 stone 7.

Sadly these are not the real figures

I would check with your midwife, but I think Slimming World has a pregnancy plan which is intended to keep weight gain to a sensible level and make sure you get all the necessary nutrients.

idk but I think you definitely need to check with a professional.

Maintaining your weight would be the same as losing quite a lot of weight seeing as people naturally gain weight with pregnancy. So actively losing sounds dangerous to me, regardless of being overweight. Eg - if you would normally eat 1200 calories to lose weight then the amount you'd have to restrict by to not gain weight and actually lose it wouldn't be enough to support the baby.

I was actively anorexic through my first pregnancy. I didn't gain any weight. I didn't lose any either but I'm still incredibly fortunate that my daughter didn't have serious problems. I carried her to term but she only weighed 5lbs and birth, had some breathing problems and was difficult to feed. She's now 15, the size of an average 11 year old, underweight and has food issues herself. I will never forgive myself for the way I acted while I was pregnant with her. I was still anorexic through my other pregnancies but in a much better place and managed to eat more healthily and gain an appropriate amount of weight.

I don't really think it's appropriate to think of your body weight in any way beyond what is healthy for your baby while pregnant.

Yes. All of the rules against weight loss only apply to low and normal bmis. If you are overweight or obese you will often be told to cut calories.

I think if you lose weight by eating healthily it's fine, just no crash/fad diets.

You can join slimming world, they are recommended by royal college of midwives for sensible support and advice if you have a raised bmi. I think they emphasise weight maintenance rather than loss and are aware of nutritional needs during pregnancy and breastfeeding as well.n

When I was pregnant the doctors and midwives kept going on about me being overweight and to make healthier choices, think salad instead of pizza. I thought that it was a good idea as I could lose some weight during my pregnancy as well as being healthy for the baby. I had a 28 week scan where they were really worried as the baby was showing up too small (I know they say scans aren't always accurate). I had lost 2 stone during my pregnancy, which isn't a lot with how much I weigh.
I went back to eating normally, I was so petrified I was harming my baby by reducing my calories. No matter what anyone says, replacing unhealthy food for healthy food is going to create a calorie defecit. My baby then got progressively bigger on every scan until he showed up bigger than average.
He was born 9lbs. But I mega regret the worru and stress I caused losing weight while I was pregnant.

How can ‘eating healthy’ cause a calorie deficit? Only a calorie deficit can cause a calorie deficit and that can occur by eating unhealthy foods in small quantities or not enough healthy food.

Eating healthily and cutting out junk food can never be a bad thing so long as you are aware of how many calories you need and you ensure you eat them. Slimming world maintenance plan is excellent for that.

Thank you all :)