Overweight during pregnancy

[SimonaStefanova89]

Hello
I am currently 10 weeks pregnant with my second child. On my first antennal app, I was advised I am in high risk of developing gestational diabetes due to BMI 33. After my first pregnancy I gained a lot of weight...when I was pregnant with DD1 I was 20kg less. Now, this is obviously an issue which I stupidly didn't consider until I was told so.
The midwife didn't spent much time explaining to me what the risks are, she only told me, I need to go on a diet... After I went home and started reading online, I got totally scared and depressed.
For a week, I've been on low- card diet and I have totally forgotten about any sugary things but to be honest...I am hungry for a week now.
It is very tricky, as the baby needs everything in order to have a healthy weight but in other hand, I need to be on a diet in order to prevent developing diabetes.
In two words, I am very confused.
Can anyone who has been in similar situation, help me and explain what should I do...
Thank you in advance.
Regards
Simona

Hey why dont you give slimming world a try? Its brilliant to help loose weight and very good for when your pregnant too. You still eat a fair amount but its all better choices and your not starving yourself. I started it before i got pregnant and lost over a stone and was eating more than i was before i had started it. X

I was considered at risk due to my ethnicity and pcos. While yes you should absolutely prevent weight gain during pregnancy, you should not go on a low carb diet until you have been diagnosed. Doing so could harm the baby. Go to the NHS choices website - they have some sensible generic diet advise for people who shouldn’t be losing or gaining weight. You need to work on maintaining your weight at it’s current level - in time that means you personally lose weight while the baby’s weight fills up the gap.

Thank you for your replies. Appreciated.

Slimming world is recommend by royal collage of midwifes. I stayed on it during DS2 pregnancy. I gained 2.5 stone during that pregnancy and lost 1stone of it as soon as he was born

This pregnancy I had a high BMI (higher than yours) and my midwife didn't say anything about dieting. I didn't do sw this time because I just had too much on my plate but I would really advise it if you feel like you need a "diet"

I was on a strict diet during the second half of my pregnancy as I did have GD, although I had a BMI of 24. (It’s only a UK thing to only screen overweight people for it, where I live everyone is screened and the two other people I know who had it had BMIs of 18 and 19. Being overweight only slightly increases your chances of getting it.)
Have you been given the actual GD diet to follow? If not, try it because with the frequent eating, you don’t get hungry. I lost weight while pregnant even while eating chocolate every day (chocolate containing nuts, which spikes your blood sugar much less).
Once you’re in the second trimester the hunger of the first trimester subsides, so that will make it easier to stick to.
It’s worth trying because it’s a pain in the bum to inject insulin.

I have a higher BMI than yours OP, wasn't planning for this baby and started a diet and gym just before I found out. Gave up on both as I couldn't cope due to sickness.

I still kept some rules from my diet, like eating starchy food instead of white breads, pasta, rice, and starchy breakfast and healthy snacks. For the first trimestre I haven't gain anything, which is good.

I was overweight with number 2 & 3 and didn't have any issues related to this on my pregnancy.

Don't panic, just try to be mindful of eating healthy and it's not the end of the world if you allow yourself something sweet once in a while.

You can of course try, as pp said, slimming world. I thought about it but I find for me will be too complicated and sometimes more expensive than what I will spend on what we normally eat.
But it might be the thing for you.

honestly, I'm not a midwife but I feel like your midwife was not very helpful and didn't give you good advice. My BMI is almost the same as yours (32.5) but I've been told my pregnancy is low risk. I'm generally healthy, eat well & get some exercise every day which I think is much more important than any numbers on a scale or a BMI chart.

You shouldn't be dieting while pregnant as you're totally right, the baby's nutritional needs have to be met. It's irresponsible of your midwife to just say "go on a diet" and not give you more detailed advice.

Do you know if there's a midwife or a team where you live who specialise in supporting pregnant women with high BMI? I had one appointment with the "obesity midwife" (ugh) and found her very understanding and helpful. She said she wasnt worried about me at all and I should just keep eating a balanced diet, try to only eat sweet things occasionally, exercise regularly (even if all I've got the energy for is a 20 minute walk that's better than nothing). Maybe you could call your hospital or midwife team and see if you can book an appointment with someone who specialises in GD and will be able to give you better advice?

I also think your midwife has been a bit crap here. My BMI at booking was 38 (so much higher than yours!) and I wasn't told anything at all about losing weight, although was told it made it a consultant led pregnancy.

I saw the consultant a few weeks later who also didn't say anything about dieting. He did say that they would not be concerned if I didn't gain any weight (which I suppose is the same as losing if you think about it).

I've had HG so lost a lot and have only this week (week 30) actually got back to my pre pregnancy weight.

Personally I would ignore your midwife for now and eat a healthy balanced diet. Make an appointment with your GP and go and ask for their advice of dieting (fairly sure that SW need a doctors note anyway but others may know better) during pregnancy.

If you want to loose weight while pregnant make sure you do it in a healthy way, you're right baby needs you to eat enough. Slimming world is safe during pregnancy if you want to give it a go. I had a much higher BMI than you when I fell pregnant and the only difference this has made to my pregnancy in my opinion is that my wee boy is quite big. I'm 38 weeks now and I haven't developed any of the things I was warned about, I've been tested for GD several times, results always good and no signs of preeclampsia either.
Try not to let the worry get to you if you can, plenty of overweight women have perfectly health pregnancies and babies.

I can't thank you enough all for spending the time to reply.
Definitely, the midwife should have been more thorough, I am booking an appointment with my GP tomorrow.
All your advises have been very helpful!
Hopefully, everything will go smoothly.
xx

I'm in a similar position to you and aiming to manage my weight during pregnancy. I'm 20 weeks and have gained 5lb in the past 16 weeks which i'm ok with. I'm not following any particular plan but trying to make good choices and weighing at least once per week. It's my second pregnancy and while I didn't pile the weight on with DS, I've done a rubbish job at losing it in the interim.