Weight loss for IVF 2021/2022

[WeightlossKin]

I need to lose three stone to qualify for IVF. I've got one to lose for my referral and two more after that for treatment.
Creating this for myself and for others who might want to buddy up!

It's hard isn't it? I'm feeling very tired today and I find it so hard not to have extra snacks when I'm feeling as bit low.
The thing is I dont really want Chinese! I'd current much prefer salad or jacket potato or something. Maybe I'll change my mind when I'm face with it though 😂
I hope the weather allows for lots of walking!

If it helps at all, you can get there. I lost 3st for my first round of IVF and then 4st for my second. It was definitely worth every bit of struggle to get there. The first round was successful and I'm now pregnant from the second. For me it was about cutting carbs to below 50g a day. I joined a keto for fertility group on facebook during lockdown and used the carb manager app, then slowly started exercising so I could approach my treatment with my body really strong and healthy. The best piece of advice I received was to start today and not let life get in the way. Last Christmas I went right through with low carbs and it was no problem at all. Then in spring I started my treatment. Good luck to you all.

Thanks @SerendipitySunshine that's great to hear and really inspiring. I'm glad IVF has worked for you ❤️ thank you for sharing.

I'm very much dreading going through Christmas with low carb. Not because I'll miss the carbs myself but because other people are really funny about someone being less indulgent at Christmas time and not drinking, not having dessert, not eating treats. My husband already wants to know if I'm going to eat any of the chocolate we've bought 😂 it's about saying no in the face of pressure for me but I've got potentially the rest of my life to eat cake when I want to but I need to lose weight for IVF now.

I've weighed in today and I've lost 3lbs since Monday possibly more 🥰 even though I allowed myself a doughnut on Thursday. I'll be absolutely thrilled if I can do similar next week as I've stalled the last few weeks and struggled to lose more than 1lb a week since the beginning of the year. I don't think I was ready to admit until now that it really is what works best for my PCOS.

Great work! 3lbs is amazing. I had prediabetes and a bad relationship with carbs (saw them as comfort/a treat/something I deserved) rather than just another food group, so cutting them down really helped. My husband is a real feeder (trained as a chef!) so goes a bit mad at Christmas. I had to explain to him that I was doing it for us as a family and he was much more supportive after that. I still had Christmas lunch but roast celeriac not potatoes and I had a massive cheeseboard with seed crackers not a pudding, so it was still enjoyable.

Thanks 😊 it's the most I've lost in one week since starting!
I would be absolutely doomed if my husband could cook and was also a chef 😂
I'm definitely not bothered about roast potatoes actually. It's chocolate and sweets I struggle with and there's not even any good nutrition in them! I've got a LOT of meals coming up for Xmas and birthdays so sensible choices ahead.
I keep reciting that it's all short term strictness and will all be worth it for a baby.

Hello ladies, I'm a lurker, and you keep me good company these days, as I'm bed bound (I'm a few steps ahead of you as I'm currently doing my 1st cycle).

How are you all getting along? @IsabelHerna I will agree, sounds like self sabotage dear. We all do it, trust me, if you read my older posts you will clearly see me do it too.

Accidentally posted so here is the rest 😅

@WeightlossKin Oh roasted potatoes...I'm drooling now. How are you getting along? I've been saying this too, to myself and to my DH 😂 Keep strong, it's just for now, then, once the baby comes, your DH should get you a full bakery of pastries and sweets.

Thank you ladies, you're right, sometimes (often), I self-sabotage, but the past 5 days I've been really good (okay, it's not long, but still 😅)

How is everyone going on with their plans?

@dutchessmom welcome to the club ☺

Hi @dutchessmom I hope your first IVF cycle is going well! Did you have to lose weight in the lead up to it? What stage are you at now? How exciting for you!

I've had a difficult few days in that I've been feeling overwhelmed by the amount I have to lose to get us to IVF and had a little emotional breakdown at bed time. I'm really struggling to find a balance between beating myself up mentally and keeping a positive can-do attitude.

@IsabelHerna well done so far this week 😊 if you can do it for one day and even five days, you can do it the majority of the days and that's a great achievement! Something to hold onto if you have a day where you struggle.

@WeightlossKin you said it so nicely, thank you! I am going to write it as a post it note and put it in my computer's screen! Okay ladies, new attitude, I am going to treat this whole thing like cutting smoking. One day at a time!

Oh, also I have been trying a trick for sweet cravings. I have healthy alternatives in small bite portions, always with me, and I have just one when I want something. Mostly I have tiny almond cookie "bites" which help out a lot

Sorry for falling off the face of the planet this week... work has been manic and I've been very overwhelmed and exhausted.

I've managed to lose 1kg this week, which I'm happy with. Exercise hasn't happened though, I've been too exhausted and busy. So I'm going to have a relaxed weekend and restart the exercise next week.

I've taken to reminding myself how far I've come, rather than focusing on how far I've got to go. I need to keep it all in perspective, I've become so obsessive about how much I've got to still lose and it's really gotten me down lately. But considering I've finally been losing weight this year, I need to see how far I've already come. My clothes are a size smaller or looser that they've ever been and I'm almost halfway to my goal.
It's so easy to just see the bigger picture isn't it and then get overwhelmed with how far you've still got to go. But we never celebrate how far we've already come do we?

So this is me celebrating all of our progresses so far, knowing that we will get there and all reach our goals! Here's to us, keeping on keeping on and doing our best, one day at a time! ❤️

@IsabelHerna I think that's a really good idea! Better to have little bites to shove off the cravings than suddenly give in and have lots more! You can do this!

@Lakyta1717 life can get so overwhelming can't it? 1kg loss is fantastic, well done! Exercise is really good for your mental health, but so is being kind to yourself and acknowledging when you deserve a break. I really needed to read what you've said today. It's so so easy to focus only on how far away we are rather than looking back to see how far we've come! It's good practice to celebrate our victories. Anyone else losing weight, half way to a goal would be ecstatic. I do find the extra pressure of IVF means I'm never happy as i still feel so far away.
When other people comment on my weight loss I find myself being really negative and my standard response is "well I still have a really long way to go" rather than just accepting the compliment and feeling proud of myself. I'm going to try and adjust this attitude!!

2lb loss for me this week which I'm happy with! I'm hoping to be at target by the end of March 2022 but as I've got so much to lose I know this is potentially unrealistic. I'm going to focus on trying to lose 2lb a week and it takes as long as it takes.

@WeightlossKin I'm exactly the same. I always give a response about not having lost enough or how far I've got to go. It's only this last week where people have commented on how loose my work clothes are that I've realised I've done well so far.
I'd like to be close to my goal by then too, so I'm just going to keep focussed and lose 1kg a week, get back into my routine of exercise and keep plodding along.
Having you guys being supportive and giving each other kind words has really helped. I've felt alone on this journey for so long and it's been wonderful to find people in the same boat as me who are also doing the slow and steady route. It's nice to know I'm not alone!

You've definitely done well! 😊 I find it a bit awkward when people mention it. It always comes from a really good place especially as they know I've been trying so hard but it makes me realise how much people look and see? Probably a silly thing to think about as I'm exactly the same 😂 but it made me feel a bit naked!
It's so helpful to know other people are in the same sort of limbo not being able to move forward with IVF because of their weight. I wouldn't wish it on anyone but makes me feel like it's more normal than I thought it was.
A reminder came up on my phone to book my GP appointment the other day 😒 as I stalled for a month and didn't make the progress I expected. So I shook off that feeling of utter failure and I've made a new target to have an appointment for my referral by the end of January 🤞 and then hopefully by the time I get an appointment I'll be super closer to target as I'm expecting it to be several months to a year 😂. Sorry I've gone on a massive ramble.

I find it really difficult when people bigger than me get so easily pregnant 🙁 I wouldn't wish for them not to at all, but feels like a slap in the face that it's clearly not the be all and end all that IVF makes it seem.

Ladies today I deserve some kind of a prize, an award, something! I had 3 different occasions where I could eat something out (pizza, burgers, etc), and I didn't. 3 separate occasions ladies! By the end I thought someone was trying to make me cheat!

I kept imagining strollers and babies blocking my way to the restaurants and that's how I declined each time. 😞 Sad, I know, because now I'm at home crying for a whole other reason...

That's my news. How about you?

@WeightlossKin I get it, we all get it. Feelings like these are normal (we just have to remind that to each other). It's when I see women older than me getting pregnant easily. :/

That's amazing will power @IsabelHerna! ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Babies are a good motivator but also an emotional trigger for me! Sometimes it makes me emotionally eat if I'm already fragile!

It's hard not think 'why not me'?! We will all get there!
I think really my plan does need to be to just lose anything at all over the Christmas period and be happy with that or I'll drive myself crazy.

Hi ladies! Hope you're all doing okay and this week has been a good one!

No weight loss for me this week, but I found a load of clothes I'd bought last year but didn't fit at that time. Tried them all on and they finally fit, made me feel so good wearing clothes a size smaller. One pair of jeans was even too big which was a huge confidence booster. I don't see much progress/change in my body, despite reminding myself how much I've lost so far, I never see the changes that others say they can.
But I've realised it's a huge difference to where I was a year ago, so celebrating the win of new clothes and feeling good!
Im going to stay on track food wise this week, less snacking and more planned meals for work.
Hope everyone has a fab week ahead ❤️

Hey @Lakyta1717! Those are amazing victories to have. I think it takes a very long time to see weight loss in ourselves so trying on clothes that were too small etc. Is a great way to combat that. Well done on making such good progress, you deserve to feel amazing about that!
As I gained three stone last year whilst TTC and while struggling with bereavement I'm just fitting back into clothes that I couldn't wear at the beginning of the year but could the year before. So that's nice! 😊 I've also got some dresses I bought deliberately too small to use as progress-checkers. I've got a smaller size 16 pair of unforgiving jeans I bought five years ago and never made it to so when I fit into those you'll be able to hear me screaming 😂
I didn't lose any this week either as I've just ovulated and had an indulgent meal out last week and a takeaway burger on Saturday, I was hopeful it would balance out but my body is not very forgiving of those things! So my plan this week is similar to yours: no chocolate or snacks at work unless pre planned and I'm going to come to work with lunch everyday (actual lunch. Not 'a boiled egg and piece of fruit should do ot' kind of lunch 🙄🤦).

Hi ladies sorry I've been awol the past few days, some covid news almost broke me. things have been going from bad to worse and I cannot travel for my 1st ivf cycle. I'm really fragile I don't know how to react, I'm just a mess and I fell off the wagon... I ate a lemon drizzle cake last night...

How are you ladies going?

Oh no Isabel I'm so sorry 🙁 when were you due to go? It's okay to let yourself have some cake, maybe not great if it was an entire cake! But sometimes things happen. Sadly food doesn't fix our problems does it.
Where were you going for it? Covid rules are temporary aren't they so it's not that it'll never happen? (This wouldn't make me feel better either as I want it NOW but thought I'd try and be positive).

Hi ladies! It's almost the new year. Hope you're all okay and geared up ready to get this IVF weight loss sorted!
I want to lose 12lbs on January and get my fertility referral and then I can lose the next 30lbs in a more reasonable matter whilst waiting for IVF. This is my plan anyway. 12lbs might not be 100% doable but I'm determined to get as close as possible!

@WeightlossKin how much are you away from BMI 30? I'm 1 stone 7lbs 🤦‍♀️ I was hoping if I could lose a stone in January I can phone and say I was almost there like they told me to do as I'd think I'd have a bit of time before I got to my local fertility clinic to be weighed? Then I'd have to starve to get the 7lbs off 😅 I just don't want it to take me forever as I've been told it could be between 6-8 months before I'm seen then an extra month or two before starting IVF. That's another year 😥

I'm sooo far! My BMI is currently 37 😬 down from 44 at the beginning of 2021.
I've got PCOS so my weight loss is always slow. I'm blaming it on that!
I've got 12lbs to lose before my GP will make the fertility referral (BMI 35), then 30lbs from that until I'll be eligible to have NHS funded IVF! So my plan is to get my referral by the end of January and then I know it'll be six months + for the IVF itself and I'll have lost the rest of it in those six months 🤞 I've stalled since November really.
I don't know if yours will be different but my gp has to physically weigh me - I can't ring up and claim anything. I know my friend was weighed by the fertility clinic in person as they wouldn't even accept a letter from her gp stating her weight! But I imagine everywhere does things differently. It's so disheartening and overwhelming to think of the extra time it'll be ontop of weight loss 🙁 you will get there! In the great grand horrible scheme of things an extra month is neither here nor there.
How hard do you find weight loss?

@WeightlossKin I was already referred by my GP last October but it was April before my other half had his tests due to Covid then it was the end of July before we were both seen together and more tests etc. At that point my BMI was 34.3 so I would have qualified for any of the meds they might have tried but due to my ovulation appearing ok they would just like to go to IVF which they confirmed at the end of Nov. I've lost 20lbs this year (but also lived a lot..) and have another 25lbs to go which I want off by end of Feb at the latest so the clinic can put my ivf referral in. In my area they don't add you to the ivf list until you are at BMI 29.9. Then the list is about 6-£ months wait just now.

That sounds more realistic to what I should expect as I'm not actually sure what my area is like and my GP said I only need a BMI below 35 (full stop. No mention of needing to lose any further) but I know that's not right! Thank you for sharing - it's good to manage my expectations! I guess I should expect that it'll be several months before we're seen and then subsequently more months before I'm added to the IVF list when I get to my target. Although someone I was speaking to on MN had to get her weight down as the very last barrier, reached her target in November and starts IVF tomorrow? So maybe it is a bit dependent on area!!
You've come so far already! Living life has a lot to answer for doesn't it. What method for weight loss are you going to use? I'm here to cheer all the way that you get there by end of Feb! 🤞