""OVER WEIGHT? " and " PREGNANT???" what to do?

[Alba333]

Hi Ladies, there is a question I wanted to put out there regarding  being overweight and being pregnant.  I'm not pregnant at the moment, but I am trying to conceive. I thought about waiting till I lost weight before getting pregnant but at 43 years of age I really don't have much time to keep putting off having a baby, besides my son is 3.5 years old and I don't want a very big age difference between siblings. I'm 5'81/2 and about 40 lbs over my ideal weight.  I have tried in the past to lose weight but always yo-yo-ing up and down until the last 6 weeks or so I've really taken things critically seriously. I figure, I may as well lose as much weight as I can before I get pregnant (in a healthy way) that is.  I'm not really sure how long it will take me to get pregnant so I'd better work fast!  Has anyone out there ever been overweight at the same time as they got pregnant?  and was able to lose weight  in a healthy way while pregnant?  I know that if I got pregnant next month for instance my doctor would probably tell me that he only wants me to gain a max. of 15lbs. because of already being overweight.  One of my main concerns is trying not to get Gestational Diabetes again!  Other than that my pregnancy was absolutely uneventful Thank God!  Has anyone been successful at this? If not what were your complications brought on because of your excess weight?  Believe me when I say I have changed the way I eat 1000% yet the weight is coming off soooo sloooowly only 10 lbs. this last month.  I have a problem with eating too many good carbs. (not the processed ones) still they can keep the weight on!  I have even tried to step up my activity level and I think that was even harder than changing how much I eat.  I even went to the Dr. to see if I have a sluggish Thyroid and as far as she could tell it was within normal range.  She did suggest I lower my cholesterol a bit.  I'm trying to do that too.  ugh!!!!!

[JourneyJoJo]

I'm currently 18 weeks pregnant and overweight.  I've never been this heavy in my life, but I was sick for the past year and unable to move much.  I got pregnant as soon as I started to feel better/recover so I didn't have time to lose weight.  I'm 41 and will deliver at 42.  All of my doctors have told me not to diet, just to eat healthy.  I've cut out all refined sugars & flours as well as processed foods and eat a ton of fruits & veg.  I only drink water, but that's because I don't like sugary drinks; I drink enough to keep myself hydrated.

The only concerns are gestational diabetes & pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure), but they are primarily age related.  Oh yeah, and I don't add salt to anything and watch my salt intake in general.

My biggest regret of being so heavy is that I should be showing a lovely baby belly, but instead I just look really fat.  My friend assures me that I look pregnant; how sweet.  My dh didn't say anything until I told him how I thought I grew in the past week; he agreed but being the good dh that he is, didn't say a word more :-)

[BLS1971]

Absolutely, but beware. Water during/after a meal also helps wash the food out of your stomach faster, so it can have the reverse effect. When I had my surgery, I was actually told to stop drinking 10 minutes before eating and not start again until 20 minutes after each meal...to keep my stomach fuller longer. I do notice the difference, even now, when I do this.

At this point, as I am TTC, I have about as much to lose (to get back to my pre-baby weight) as you do, and it's no simple task. I have to do it the old-fashioned way now, just like everyone else. So I'm with you! Keep up the good work!

Bonnie

[Alba333]

Hi Bonnie!  Thanks for the encouragement and to everyone Thank you too.  130lbs.  WoW that's just phenomenal! Well I just weighed myself today after quite a while of not doing so, and I am hanging in there at a steady 10 lbs. only I think I miss wrote on my original post, saying I lost 10 lbs. this last month in actuality it took me about 6 weeks, I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that.  Any how, you are right about the quick loss being dangerous.  I'm not looking to lose more than that a month but at my pace fat chance (no pun intended) of that happening!  I think that about 5 lbs. of that was water weight.  I was drinking about 80 oz. of water a day and that makes quite a difference.  I'm not doing that amount of water now, I just couldn't keep up with it.  Now I'm drinking about half a gallon a day more or less. It does  help to keep you fuller longer.  If you drink  a glass  after you've eaten then you really feel like you over ate even bloated sometimes if the glass is too big.  

[BLS1971]

Hi, Alba

Don't worry so much! First of all, 10 pounds a month is a perfect pace. If you lost weight any faster, your doctor would probably recommend you stop your current plan right away. That being said, I can't imagine it would hurt to keep dieting (healthily..is that a word?) and exercising while TTC. Once you do conceive, though, stop dieting. Just work on maintaining. The baby is going to take what it needs first, and you will be left malnourished if you don't eat properly.

I was VERY overweight and had gastric bypass surgery in 2003 to lose it. I lost 130 pounds, then got pregnant with my son and gained quite a chunk of it back. I am in the obese category now and TTC again, and hope it isn't interfering with my efforts. When pregnant with my son, though, my doctors' biggest concern was that he wouldn't be getting enough nutrition from what I ate. Ironic, huh?

Hang in there. You're doing great and already have gotten 25% of the way to your goal weight! That's something to celebrate!

Bonnie

[Athena_M]

Hi There,

I am overweight and 9 weeks pregnant.  I was overweight last time I was pregnant in 2004.  My weight goes up and down. What's funny is that I am the same weight I was last time I was pregnant.    

You can't diet while pregnant, but you can eat healthy and maybe won't put on so much weight.  

Last time I was pregnant, I was eating so healthy that I had a hard time putting on the weight.  After I gave birth I was so used to eating healthy I turned out 30 pounds thinner than my pre-pregnancy weight.  

You can go on the Diabetic Diet now so that you don't get diabeties when you are pregnant.  I went on the diabetic diet while pregnant because I was scared of getting it.  My doc said just have one sweet treat a week and believe me I spent all week dreaming of my treat for the week.  

I got my cholesterol down eating Cheerios.  They have all kinds of different brands of Cheerios now.  

Wow, you lost 10 pounds in one month!  That is amazing.  


Take care

Athena

[oceanv]

I'm overweight and pregnant. And 39. If you had gd before you're a bit likely to get it again with your second anyway.  Not everyone who gets gd is overweight, it is a risk factor but not the cause.

My complications are not because of my excess weight, they're because of crappy genetics :-O) I've had high bp since age 27 and am being watched now with weekly nst's etc..... just started weekly u/sounds and probably will be induced early because of the gestational diabetes and we think my placenta is degrading.  My endo is concerned about weight (above the 15lbs) my ob says the weight gain that I'm over the 15 is the least of her worries and that I'm edemic..... who knows. I guess I'll find out how much is baby weight and water weight a few days after giving birth.

Good Luck,
J

[Super_sally888]

Hi,

10 lbs is a month is an excellent weight loss!  That is just about the max you should be losing if you are doing it the right way, which it sounds you are.

You are on the right track, I reckon, so don't put off TTC.  Get to work and keep up the good work on the diet.  If you do get pregnant, you can continue to follow the good habits you are consolidating now.

Do keep up the exercise.  This is critical for us 'more mature' ladies, for weight management, health and well-being.

Baby dust wishes.