weight loss for treatment

[lugo40]

Hi,

i need to lose weight before starting any treatment. I am thinking of lighter life or slimming world. Has anyone got any experience with these or knowledge about whats best before treatment/pregnancy etc

thank you

Well done all of you, reading all your posts is so inspiring! i know it can be hard goandplay when you have lost once and need to try again but you have noticed it and doing something about it which is half the battle! and once you have done it once you know you can do it!

I have just convinced my husband to join slimming world with me tomorrow - he has 20kgs to lose and i could do with all the support i can get!!

Good luck all x

Dewdrop, I totally hear you on the maintenance thing - I've lost fairly substantial amounts of weight several times in the past and then gained quite a bit back.

My (private) clinic would, I think, theoretically treat me with a BMI of up to 35. I've always looked at it not as the NHS excluding people to save money, so much as private clinics maybe being a bit more prepared to take your money even when your odds aren't optimal, though. And actually, last time I visited my clinic (to plan for my upcoming IVF) they suggested I follow some specific steps in relation to diet, and try to get my BMI a bit closer to 25 (it was maybe 27ish at the time).

For my first (unsuccessful) IVF I pretty much stuffed my face with cake non-stop. This time around I've been reading a lot more about the effect of both weight and diet on success rates, and although I definitely think it's possible to get to hung up on it, I thought it would make sense to make a few changes. Partly that's been around aiming for a BMI of 25 (I'll probably be just above that when my cycle begins, but only just), and partly that's been around specific dietary changes which might potentially have a positive impact. I'm currently quite into 'It Starts With The Egg', which summarises research into the impact of various factors on fertility generally, and IVF success specifically, and has an interesting chapter on diet. I've been trying to follow the guidance there.

With that in mind, my thoughts on things like Weight Watchers or Lighter Life would be that they might not emphasise exactly the same things as what would be an optimal diet to help your body prepare for IVF (although, to be fair, there's probably a reasonable overlap), so it's maybe worth bearing that in mind? I've found My Fitness Pal helpful, because you can define your own goals, and look at graphs of your macros (really helpful for me as I'm assuming for less than 40% carbs and over 25% protein, so I can keep track of that at a glance) - also, it's free, and has a massive food database to help you track your food and exercise.

I think if you have over a certain amount of weight to lose healthy eating is the only way. I read Zita West's book and she has some really good advice regarding food and egg production/quality.

I had a failed attempt, gained 6lb and fell with twins.

It all swings in roundabouts. I think having something like your diet and exercise that you can control and make a difference to, when you feel out of control whilst dealing with infertility can be quite a positive thing.

Incidentally, I had hypnotherapy with both my successful cycles.

Good luck everyone.

The NHS BMI rule annoys me. When I was still in the nhs system, my bmi was 34, but I used to weightlift three times per week. I had a lot of muscle weight but the NHS consultant was not interested.

I'm 35, and my AMH had dropped from 24 to 17 in 10 months...I'd no idea where it would have ended up if I'd delayed treatment by another 6 months to lose 2 - 3 stone.

The NHS consultant's solution was to crash diet, and to take orlistat (the pill you take with food to stop you absorbing fats). I was horrified. They didn't care about my health, only my bmi.

I refused to follow their advice and went private. im now just over 15 weeks after one successful round of ivf.

Good luck. I needed to loose weight for treatment. I lost half a stone and got pregnant naturally. I would recommend SW as you can continue while pregnant. I find it great for cooking for a family

Tootsiepop that's so frustrating that there's no common sense thinking and to recommend a diet pill and crash diet is really shocking.

I joined slimming world with my husband on Saturday and so far I like it a Lot. Seems to be very healthy eating which can only be the best thing for preparing for a pregnancy. Plus have signed up for an initial 6 weeks with a personal trainer.
In a way I'm viewing this fertility set back as a positive. If I had fallen pregnant easily I may have remained overweight all my life. This is giving me the motivation to lose weight and get fit.

Reading all your success stories is so encouraging , keep them coming!! It's also great to know it's not just me whose too fat for treatment. I'm going in tomorrow for a hysteroscopy and wishing it was over!

Hi all,
My update is; polyp now removed, was apparently a large one so surgeon seemed sure it was stopping implantation. We're still awaiting the results of the second semen analysis to determine if low motility is the problem.

We both joined slimming world last sat and first weigh in today I am 5 1/2 pounds lighter :-)

Really pleased for you Lugo. Slimming world is great! I managed to loose 8 pounds this week (dont know how?!) Good luck with the semen analysis.

Wow Dolly that's amazing!! Well done, well on your way to target now that's fab! Did you do anything different this week?