Am I too fat to get pregnant?

[HalcyonDayz]

My husband and I have been trying to conceive for over 2 years now. We are both 30.

We have been to the doctor and been through all fertility tests which came back normal for us both (his sperm motility was very slightly low but doctor said no significant enough to worry about)

I have very regular 28-32 day cycles and have positive OPKs.

We have tried everything! Acupuncture, vitamins and supplements, SMEP programme you name it!

The only thing I can think preventing it from happening naturally and what is stopping us getting IVF is my weight.

I am about 3 stone overweight a UK size 14 and have been told I am not eligible for IVF as my BMI is too high.

I have no health issues though and I have been going to a personal trainer twice weekly and walking 7km per day and cannot shift any weight!

I did slimming world three time and I can only lose 7lbs and then I stop no matter what I do.

I now think it is impossible and it’s never going to happen.

Am I just too fat to get pregnant?

Try the 5:2 diet? Great running thread on here. It gives the body the 'shock' factor so I imagine it'll work when other diets don't

Sorry I don't have any other advice. All the best

I was the same. I lost some weight and accessed ivf, which gave us our daughter. Now trying to lose weight again to try again. It's a hard slog but worth it.

You don't sound that far at all. If you were several stone over weight then I'd say yes.

I'm currently doing a keto diet called New You that has actually worked. Have done slimming world and weight watchers many times.

I think really it comes down to hormones, which is what ivf does, as does losing weight and diet changes as well as exercises, so why not give your hormones a bit of a refresh (I did this after a miscarraige to help my body recover quicker) to help things along, even if u do go down ivf route, wont hurt x

I think it probably depends on your height tbh. Have you had your thyroid function tested too recently?

No I had blood tests done when I went to doctors initially about a year ago but no problems detected !

Optimal bmi for conception is about 22-25. Obviously loads of people can become pregnant outside this range, but some just don't. Fat is an endocrine disruptor. It stores oestrogen and then can release it at the wrong part of your cycle.

I did a low carb/ no sugar diet to help.

Find a way. Slow and steady is usually best for weight loss. Could you change/ increase your exercise regime?

You don't say what your BMI is? You don't have to get to a normal weight to have ivf - just BMI less than 30 (I've never heard of stricter criteria?)

Most of my relatives have been on the 5:2 diet and all of them have lost significant amounts of weight and they all seem to quite enjoy(?) it and not find it too much of a burden.

Overweight people get pregnant naturally, normal weight people don't get pregnant naturally. So although your weight may be a factor it also might not be. The problem is your weight is preventing you from getting ivf.

Best of luck to you and I hope you succeed xx

You mention 'health issues' are stopping you from losing weight. Could they also be affecting your fertility @HalcyonDayz?

What is causing your weight may also be behind your fertility problems so it is worth addressing

You can not loose weight through exercise alone - it is your diet that is more important.

I would follow a careful fertility diet

We were in a very similar position (although actually they’d missed that I have endometriosis). They found that DH had a treatable condition causing his poor sperm count/motility which improves with medication. We were told the reason our area didn’t do IVF if your BMI was over 30 was because of the increased risk of miscarriage in obese women. I set about losing weight (exercise and diet), lost enough weight to get my BMI under 30 (just) and conceived naturally.

Clearly SW doesn’t work for you (I don’t really agree with it anyway after doing it for a while) but if you’re doing such intense exercise, you should be able to lose weight by adjusting things. Could you ask your GP for a referral to a dietitian?

Hi I was overweight when we were trying to get pregnant I had three miscarriages and we started to look at ivf so I knew I had to loose weight to qualify. I have always found it incredibly hard to loose weight and do all the diets you can think of. I was fit and went training, walking a lot but just could not shift the weight. I ended up calorie counting and I would not advise this but the only way I lost weight was to stick to my exercise as normal and cut my calories down to 800 then I started to loose weight. Good luck OP

@dottydot No I said I have no health issues.

We can't really advise you unless you post your BMI. Anything over 25 is sub-optimal for conception, but over 30 and there is a strong link to infertility. That's not to say you will never conceive with a BMI of >30 but it's much less likely, and you would be much more likely to miscarry or have a premature baby or stillbirth.

Can you use this as motivation to lose weight? I've been through infertility over MANY years, and can honestly say it's been the strongest motivator to exercise the right amount and eat well. It paid off for us, IVF gave us a beautiful DS.

i am a size 26 and got pregnant in 3 months i just used ovulation tests you are far far from to fat.

Have the doctors done any tests on you in regards to fertility to work out if there is something wrong

sorry i meant have the doctors found any health problems that may have affected your fertility like i am trying to remember but one is a thyroid condition