Please tell me that making the effort to lose weight before getting pregnant will be worth it

[working9while5]

And won't just result in me putting on twice as much in pregnancy, as my colleague suggested today?

I am 5ft 8 and 12st 6, was 12st 10 before last pg and had a difficult birth and a lot of subsequent back trouble etc. I don't think losing weight will be a panacea for all ills, but I would like to be 10 and a half to 11 stone before having my next one.

Pep talks, please? It is worth it, right? My colleague asked would I worry that doing ww before pregnancy might increase my risk of miscarriage!!

Re: putting on twice as much, depends what you eat when pregnant, yes would put on more if you let yourself go during pregnancy as combo of just coming of diet and being pregnant sounds like recipe for big weight gain.

But, losing weight should reduce health risks not increase them - TBH I struggled to get pregnant with DD due to PCOS and lost a stone when following low GI diet. I did gain most of it by 20 weeks, and I was the same weight at 6 months post partum as I was with DS1 even though I started his pregnancy weighing a stone more.

Not very encouraging! I was pretty good in my last pregnancy for most of it, but nine months is a long time, isn't it? I had gained only 2st by 36 weeks but put on 10lbs before giving birth at 40 + 13. Most of it in the time I was overdue, and he was 8lbs 14..

Do you think it's not possible to lose weight before getting pregnant and keep weight gain manageable?

Yes of course it is - if you're already into a habit of healthy eating when you get pregnant then surely it'll be easier to carry on with this. I found I was much more conscious of eating healthily when pregnant as I wanted to make sure I was eating nutritionally. And if you don't lose any weight beforehand, then you'll just have even more to lose after the birth, best to get a head start I'd say

I stuck to low GI diet whole way though DD's pregnancy as they said due to PCOS I was high risk for GD. Put on loads as I ate too much when breastfeeding. With DS1 was a bit more careful when BFing.

What are you saying foreveronadiet, not sure - that it is worth trying or not? It sounds like you are saying that you followed the diet and it just didn't work at all, and you regained all your weight and added a lot more despite your best efforts? Are you saying the diet was responsible for this? Just not really sure what you are telling me here!

i started replacing my food choices with healthier/lower fat options and drinking more water at the start of the year.. 4 weeks later i'd lost over a stone.. 2 weeks later i was pg

i'd say do it just dont 'restrict' what you eat, replace it with a healthier option so if you do fall pg you arent endangering yourself/the pregnancy.

good luck :)

What I am saying is its only worth it if you are prepared to be careful during pregnancy and afterwards, otherwise might not be worth the effort.

Also depends why you are doing it - if its to save you losing weight afterwards not worth it. If its to reduce risk factors during pregnancy or like to to help you get pregnant then its worth it.

Also don't do weightwatchers, if you want to diet in the run up of pregnancy you need to make sure every calorie counts nutrition wise. Choose a diet high in lean protein, fruit and veg, whole grains, low fat dairy. Don't eat processed food, sugar or refined carbs. I think the point about weightwatchers is that its a bit east on a diet to eat low pointed food with little nutrition, although a bit far fetched perhaps about miscarriage.

As I said I lost a stone before I got pregnant with DD (a by-product of the low GI diet I was doing to kickstart my cycles). It took until 20 weeks to put it back on. I was careful the whole pregnancy but ate too much cake when breastfeeding. 6 months post partum I weighed the same (DD vs DS1) even though started DS1's pregnancy weighing a stone more. With DS2 I thought sod it no point in being careful ate what I wanted and ended up a stone more than I had done post partum the previous 2 times.

You can do a low GL diet that's compatible with ww now though, I find it very different since the ProPlus plan.. fair enough, you could still while away your days eating empty calories but I've been at this game long enough not to think that's a very idea. Today I've had wheatgerm muffins with berries and full fat yogurt, lamb tagine with lots of veggies and a quinoa side, berries, nuts and seeds to snack on and a salmon fillet with a brightly coloured salad.

I thought that part of the reason that they wanted you to be a normal weight before pregnancy was to prevent obesity as well as for the health of the baby/labour etc? I've read your story about your experience a few times but not sure I understand - with your first pregnancy, you were careful during pregnancy but ate a lot after. With your second you were heavier starting off but were more careful with what you ate after so were the same weight six months on. With your third you weren't really careful at all and gained an additional stone... so basically you have to be sensible about how you eat before, during and after pregnancy or you will gain weight. I guess this is true all the time though, no? If you are one of those that puts weight on, and you take your eye off the ball, you will gain weight. We would probably none of us be on a diet if we'd learned that lesson .

However, it sounds to me that what you originally said that coming off a diet in pregnancy would be a recipe for great weight gain isn't necessarily true.. you didn't really put on weight in your first pregnancy, you did (like so many of us do) when you were tied up with something a lot more important than calorie counting, becoming a parent! The second time, you actually gained a stone less as they say most people do because they are more used to it. You were probably knackered for your third!

OP - I have just started Slimming World and plan to have DC3 next year. I am 5ft2 and 12.3 stone and I basically want to be healthy before getting pregnant again. If/when I get pregnant, I want to continue to eat healthy throughout the pregnancy and then go back on slimming world when baby is about 8 weeks.

As long as you are planning to eat healthy during pregnancy then I think it's worth it.

In my first pregnancy I was v careful whole way through as dr told me I was high risk for GD due to PCOS. I then (after the birth) took eye of the ball and ate too much afterwards and ended up being 11 5 (started at 9 5).

With DS1's pregnancy started off over 10 stone but also ended up 11 5 at 6 months post partum.

As I said, depends why you want to lose the weight, if its to reduce pregnancy risks AND you are prepared to be careful in pregnancy then worth it. If its got to do with weight afterwards then not worth bothering.

I lost over 3.5St before getting pg the first time and it was very much worth it.

I ended up with pre-eclampsia and they said that if I had still had the extra weight I, and the baby, would have been in a much worse condition. As it was it was manageable thankfully, I was lucky. Though in the same situation as a very overweight person I might not have been so lucky.

I didn't put much on in pregnancy, no more than in any average pregnancy, even though I was on WW when I got pg and came off the diet as soon as I knew I was pg.

If you have the willpower to go for it and try to lose weight then go for it.

Sorry to hear you had PE, GoodrickeCBlock.. it is good to know that you didn't just put on loads coming off ww, too!