Losing weight during pregnancy

[hullaballoo19]

Good morning :)
I've recently found out I'm pregnant 🎉 but I'm about 6 stone heavier than my goal weight (my bmi is in the obese category) and I've had a little panic about how I'm now just going to get bigger for the next 8 months!! I know it's generally recommended that you don't diet while pregnant but was wondering if others had successfully and safely managed to do so? Thank you

There's a difference between dieting and eating healthily. At your weight it will be recommended that you don't put on any weight in pregnancy, so will be effectively losing weight.

I lost weight in both pregnancies, partly because I lose my appetite and then when it comes back I purposefully eat very healthily. It's pretty much the only time that I can do it! I ended up lighter after both pregnancies.

I was 6 stone overweight in the months before I conceived. I lost 3 stone and have only just dropped into the "overweight" category.

I will continue eating healthily and walking a fair bit. Weight loss has slowed down but still lost 6lbs and since getting BFP and I'm 10 weeks now.

You might be referred to a dietician or offered membership to a slimming club. You can aim to not put any weight on so end up losing at least the weight of your baby and all the other stuff like placenta.

The healthier you can be - good diet and moderate exercise - the healthier your pregnancy should be and the easier your delivery. Excess weight can be a risk to you and your baby so making healthy choices now and sticking to them is great and will benefit you both.

Best of luck.

Hard core dieting is a no no.

Plans like weight watchers you can set to maintain and then reduce your daily allowance slightly so you will actually lose weight at a slower rate than if you set it to lose weight. I have used these before but they're not the best at encouraging a healthier way of eating long term and are geared at you being reliant on them.

You simply need to make healthy choices in your diet and not increase calories later on to reduce fat stores. Avoid too many highly processed foods, get enough protein and plenty of veg/fruit.

Staying active is vital too.

Just be careful adding in new forms of exercise and use the breathlessness test to ensure intensity is not too high. You should be able to hold a conversation during/after exercise.

I've continued powerlifting at 60-80% of my pre-pregnancy numbers in this pregnancy and I aim to keep going until birth (29+5wk now).

Slimming world is the only diet plan that's 'allowed' whilst pregnant. Your midwife can give you some info at your booking appointment if you want.
I'm 33 weeks pregnant and had a bmi of 43 at booking... I weigh exactly the same now as I did when I booked in - so technically I've lost weight. Midwife has said that's absolutely fine and the suggested weight gain is between 5kg-9kg when you're overweight, they don't like you to put on more than that.
Good luck and congratulations! X