loosing weight when pg

[RobynLou]

I'm 10 weeks pg and bfing my nearly 3 year old.

My BMI is 38, I tried very hard to loose weight before I got pg, but really struggled and DH was getting tired of me putting off another child until I'd lost the weight when I never seemed to get anywhere with loosing it, I was getting tired of putting off my life until I'd lost weight too, so we just went for it.

Since I got pg I have lost half a stone, through feeling so ill i just haven't been able to eat much. I have very mixed feelings about it - I'm worried I might be harming the baby by loosing weight, but at the same time I wonder if actually I might be doing the baby some good by becoming a healthier weight, I have quite a lot to spare!
there's a part of me thats tempted to see if I can continue to loose a little more weight, to see if I could get down to a BMI of 35, which seems to be the highest BMI midwifes consider to be 'ok'

That would mean loosing a further stone. Is that possible and sensible, or foolish and dangerous for my baby?

I don't think it's sensible TBH. If the weight comes off naturally through eating healthily that's one thing, but you shouldn't have too restricted a diet when pregnant and there are warnings about the chemicals your body produces when it breaks down fat.

However, you could get a referral to a dietician who could help you to put on a minimum amount of weight.

I wasn't thinking of a strict diet, just controlling my portions and cutting out unhealthy treats etc.

I hadn't head about the damaging chemicals being released.

I guess I just feel so stupid and guilty for not managing to loose the weight before, and I wondered what the risks of being over 35BMI versus loosing a little weight were.

do certain things suddenly become a problem once you're over 35BMI or is it one of these things that they have to put a number on but which actually should be different for different people?

I'm reasonably healthy generally, never ill, cycle or walk everywhere etc etc.

the midwife said I couldn't see a dietician until my weight was causing other problems, is it possible to self refer?

I do think I really need to talk to someone about how to control my weight, I put on 4 stone with my DD and it would be disasterous for my health if that happened again.

RobynLou, you are being very sensible - now is the ideal opportunity to establish healthy eating. It is perfectly safe to do so, as long as you stick with a balanced diet and do not restrict your consumption of calories below 2000 a day.

You are spot on that there are increased risks associated with an increased BMI (gestational diabetes and pre eclampsia the most common), and so by just adopting a good balanced diet with the activities you already do will probably mean you will either lose a little weight, or maintain the weight you are through the pregnancy - meaning less to lose at the other end!

Some areas have a specialist midwife to assist/educate women with a raised BMI, if your midwife was unable to refer you, the likelihood is that there arent any services in your area - your best bet is to try your GP as there is a dietician at most surgeries. The new RCOG guidelines regarding obesity (sorry horrible term I know) in pregnancy mean that there will be increased investment in the future, unfortunately at present there is very little support.

Good luck, at least it's summer and salads are more enjoyable!

thankyou. I shall make an appointment with my GP, it's been a bit of a shock to realise that I'm classed as being at risk because of my weight, immediately ruled out of using a birth centre etc.

I've always been a little over weight, then it got out of control during and since I had DD but I've never had any health problems so have never realised that I'm one of those people they're talking about when they talk about obesity.

Know the feeling, I have spent most of my adult life dieting and prior to pregnancy have managed a stable 'normal' weight for 3 years. Note 'prior' to pregnancy - think I'll have to take a leaf out of your book and pull myself together (and take my head out of the fridge!!).

The midwife will reweigh you at 34-36 weeks and it's this BMI measurement that determines whether you can deliver at the MLU or not......you never know!

I do sympathise as I'm overweight and pg myself. I suspect though that unless you're short, you'd have to lose quite a bit of weight to move from a BMI of 38 to under 35.

I'd push for the dietician, roll out the tears with the GP/MW if necessary

for me 15.5 stone=35, I'm currently just over 16.5stone.

so it's a stone. When I worked that out it surprised me as I assumed it would be a lot more than that to go down 3 BMI points.

I'm just going to really focus on eating healthily, not giving in to cakes and chocolate and cheese too often, stay active and see what happens.......

TBH a stone is quite a lot to actually lose from 10 weeks inwards and I don't think its something your MW would be keen to hear. I'd be more concentrating on ensuring you don't gain excess weight via healthy eating.

sure, as I said before, I'm not planning on dieting, just being sensible.

Hi RobynLou
Congratulations on your pregnancy.
I have been in a bit of a similar position to you with a BMI of 38 - I was actually loosing weight really well having finally found the motivation to portion control and eat the right foods before I got pregnant.

I am now 21 weeks pregnant and am not on a diet at all, however I am very aware of the good habits that I picked up prior to becoming pregnant (5 a day, lots of water, keeping treats as treats and not a meal replacement and watching my portions filling up on healthy food) and don't want to loose those good habits just because I am pregnant. At the start of my pregnancy I continued to loose a little weight but this may have been partially down to morning sickness too.

I am now maintaining my weightloss but obviously growing a bump. My GP said that the midwife might nag me about my weight but was more liekly to try to get me to stay the same weight i.e. replacing fat with baby so that once the baby is born thats when you actually see the weightloss.

I think if you eat healthy and concentrate on nourishing yourself and your baby you cant go wrong and if you need any more guidance on what is an isnt the best thing to eat look up the food agency website on portions of fruit, veg, carbs and protein that you need to have each day. It also has good advice for pregnant women on what goods to avoid. It might be supportive if you can do this with the help of your midwife and she might be able to give you some extra advice as you are still breastfeeding.

Hope this helps

well done lizardqueenie, it's great you've managed to maintain your weight. SO encouraging to hear that it can be done

There are many dvds available for pregnant women such as pilates and yoga. You can do the beginners so as to not over exert yourself, and they are designed specifically for pregnant women. After being on the sick for b.p problems, I have put on a stone and hope that this will help