Overweight and surprise pregnancy

[anchovies]

I am about 4 stone overweight and was doing weight watchers (had done 2 weeks and lost 7 pounds) and have just found out I'm pregnant. I joined weight watchers as my blood pressure is high and I knew I needed to do something about my weight. I am reasonably active (even at this weight) and I can jog for about 20 mins, do a fair amount of walking and have an allotment which is hard work but am very worried what the excess weight and my high blood pressure will mean for this pregnancy and the baby.

Have continued healthy eating as much as possible but feel quite sick and tired so am struggling with that a bit but need some ideas as to what to aim for. Is it reasonable to try to lose weight in pregnancy? What can I do excercise wise to improve things? I am terrified of booking in with the midwife in this state so could anyone give me some pointers?

Anchovies, of course you must book in with the MW - do you think they haven't had women larger than you to see???

You can lose weight safely during pregnancy - my friend lost 2 stone for instance. I lost 3 stone last year at Slimming World (wasn't pregnant!) and I know that they have a great programme for pregnant ladies. I think that WW have a similar thing but basically SW means that you eat healthily and eat LOADS of the right foods. You get extra allowances for being pregnant too (I did for bfing and had choc every day). I think that you are right to want to lose weight for health reasons, esp with high blood pressure. Walking is great and your allotment too - maybe jogging is too much but fast walking every day would be great start!

Thanks for your replies, am impressed that your friend managed to lose 2 stone laundrylover, I really hope I can do the same. Unfortunately weight watchers don't let you carry on through pregnancy, thanks for the info on slimming world though am going to look into it now. Will keep up some exercise then, it's a shame I feel so rubbish now as I was loving eating so healthily and getting so much exercise! Will be brave and book in with the midwife next week.

Also has anyone ever started their pregnancy with umedicated but high blood pressure? What will they do?

slimming world def have a programme for expectant mums. could be worth checking them out.

i have ebeen overweighj throughout all three of my pregnancies (over 4stone voer in each one). but dont have blood pressure issues. do see your midwife asap as they will keep a regular check on your bp, as should yopur GP.

i did lose weight in pregnancy, but not through dieting, i unfortuntaly suffered from hyperemeis gravidium each time, (i know i havent spelt it right), and it made me very ill and drop weight throughout thye whole nine months.

btw you can get SW on prescription if you have over 3 stone to lose - ask your GP about it.

Good luck and congratulations too btw.

I have lost weight at every weigh in with the midwife so far mainly because of eating more healthy - baby first and all that. Plus for the first 16 weeks, I really did feel unwell. So yes, I do think you can lose weight during pregnancy but only if you do it properly, ie my midwife knows about it and it's in my notes.

congratulations anchovies

I don't think your weight is too much of an issue - 4 stone sounds a lot but it really isn't that much - plenty of people, myself included, had problem free pregnancies and births at that sort of weight.

The blood pressure needs to be kept an eye on though - your midwife would be best placed to advise you, it may just be that you need to have more appointments to monitor it.

Anchovies

I am about 4st overweight too, 38 years old and now 23 weeks. Midwife & docs have all been fine. They assess your BMI rather than weight. Then scans, bloods etc are what they look at. At 12 wk scan (oscar) doc said I would be v low priority for him - not concerned at all even given weight & age.

Not going to kid you - I'm sure pregnancy is more comfortable for lighter girls but nobody has made me feel bad for being overweight. Go see the midwife, everyone is right, they have seen it all before and much more. If they are concerned they will put you under consultant care & you will get nutritional advice.

Don't worry!!

Fio, no, only SW can be given on prescription. It's because it is such a good healthy eating plan I guess (I think WW now have a similar plan?). Not sure how they assess your 3 stone - maybe off those healthy weight charts? Anyway you get 6 weeks on a prescription and if you are the first to do it at a group or practise, your consultant may need to speak to your GP but shouldn't be a problem. Any SW consultant should know the procedure so try them if your GP is a bit vacant!

Anchovies - I guess I was a good 3 stone overweight in my pregnancies and no-one ever mentioned it. As other posters have said I think it is your BP which is more of a worry and so losing weight should help that eh?

I put on a load of weight over xmas and then four days later found out I was pregnant. I asked my midwife and she said as long as you eat healthily and don't go cutting out a load of things you will be fine - ie don't go on the Atkins or cut out every single carb, but if you eat properly you'll do no damage to the baby.