Honesty please

[pollypocket123]

18 stone and want to be pregnant. Feel fit and am very active all day. Better to be very overweight and 33 or lighter and 35? Many thanks in advance x

Lose weight first. You are at a much higher risk of gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and having to deliver the baby preterm.

If you can get your BMI under 35 (or ideally 30) you'll have a lot more freedom when it comes to medical stuff. Mine is late 30s (even though only a pretty average size 14-16) and it means I have to give birth in the labour ward instead of midwife unit, plus had to have the GTT (which I passed with flying colours!) and lots of other extra appointments despite pregnancy being pretty textbook. Even as a size 10/12 a few years ago my BMI was over 30 though so you may struggle - some of us are just heavy! To be honest though I'd just try to eat healthy while TTC, as others have said you don't know how long it could take and when you're 35 you'll be considered higher risk anyway.

My plan was to lose weight whilst TTC; I'm 36 and everybody told me it would take at least 6 months/ a year to conceive at my age, plenty of time to lose a couple of stone.

Well. We conceived within 4 WEEKS of my coming off the pill. I am 36 and weighed just under 18 stone at booking in with a BMI of 35. I'm 5'11" and, like you, keep active (I used to run 5/10k races regularly), have no health issues and eat a lot better than some people- all meals are home cooked from scratch (just a lot of it!), minimal 'junk' food.

I've had a veeeeery boring, straightforward pregnancy to date (touch wood!). No blood pressure issues, no sickness, no fatigue, no secondary health issues, no glucose/diabetes related issues...everyone is different. My friend who is a 'normal' weight had a very difficult pregnancy and horrendous birth.

I wish I had had a bit more time to shed a couple of stone before becoming pregnant, but I'm committing myself to losing it afterwards instead now- I'm already looking at 'jogger' prams/buggies so I can take baby out running with me once I've recuperated from the birth!

Great to hear different opinions and experiences from you all!

Obesity can make it harder to conceive but also the pregnancy more complex.

I'm sure you have googled the potential complications of obesity in pregnancy and are aware of the increased risk to both yourself and your baby, although many have uncomplicated pregnancies, some will end in serious complications.

You will rarely hear people on here say they think x or y complication was caused by their weight - over or under.

You have a few options...

Google 'counterweight plus' it would allow you to lose the required weight within a year.

Likewise looking into a gastric band or gastric sleeve may be an option.

Experience within this area tells me that a more radical change may be the most beneficial.

You have perhaps dieted several times in the past. If 'eat less and exercise more' worked everyone would be thin. This is really not that simple.

Please also don't think the methods suggested above are set to make you 9st they certainly won't. We are talking 3-5st off. Realistically, with motivation 4st in maintenance and minimal regain during pregnancy.

If you want to ask me more please pm me.

Best wishes

xx

come on to 2nd what nelly says - TTC can take a while. I don't think there's any harm in dieting while TTC but check your diet plan with your dr and take your vitamins/folic acid.

I will say, from personal experience of 2 NHS trusts, they often won't let you go forward for any fertility referrals or investigation beyond a blood test unless you've (a) been trying for at least 3 years and (b) have a BMI in the normal or overweight range (I think that's 29.9 or lower). So I'd say it's worth at least checking what the local regs are, just in case you are less fertile than you'd like.

And lots of fat ladies have perfectly healthy babies...

I'm under consultant care due to my last baby being stillborn. I got pregnant again quite quickly so haven't managed to lose the 1.5 stone I put on. My consultant has said it's absolutely fine to diet during pregnancy. I'm not actually hugely overweight, BMI of 29, but he still recommended it.

Sorry, was just a bit shocked by the diet and toxins comment!

Again, thanks all. Positive changes to diet/exercise can only be a good thing, in all respects.

Hey Polly,

Just wanted to add my two pennies worth.

I'm 34 and approx 17 stone at the moment. We'd been ttc since January last year and I worried my weight was playing a negative part in our journey so I joined Slimming World in June of last year and shifted around 2 stone... then fell pregnant in January - I'm currently 17 weeks. I still watch what I eat, and try not to go too mental with fatty foods but I listen to what my body tells me I want. Most of the time its fruit which is lucky but that's in part because I changed my eating habits last year and I really enjoy the sugar rush from it!

I would say that being heavier hasn't affected my pregnancy so far, but things are probably more uncomfortable for me that they would be in the average pregnancy - especially now baby is pushing all that flab out! There's no evidence from the midwife etc to say that my baby is affected by my weight at this stage but I'd be lying if I said it didn't worry me constantly.

My advice, for what its worth, is to start both journeys at the same time. I was entirely more driven to lose weight because I KNEW I was preparing my body to carry a baby and it could happen at any time - ideally I would have liked to have shifted more weight but nature took its course and I'm delighted.

You'll find a way that suits, for me, the fear that I may run out of time before I lost all the weight I wanted to was a big driver - but you'll have your own drivers.

Hope that helps.

If you aren't already pregnant then I would recommend trying to lose weight now whilst you are trying to conceive.

For some people it might take 5 days, for others 2 months, for other 18 months and counting. You honestly never know.

I'm in the totally healthy bmi range, as is my partner, we aren't saints, but we are relatively healthy, and I assumed I would get pregnant the first time he touched me without a condom.

It hasn't worked out like that.

You don't have to put off trying to concieve until you've lost the weight, but you don't have to put off losing the weight whilst trying to conceive.

Definitely diet now. I lost 8 and a half stone so that I could be a "healthy" pregnant as it were. Cut out the carbs (as well as the treats) would be my main advice!

Good luck.