Do I even bother losing weight before baby #2??

karataylor88

I had my son about 10 months ago and put on quite a bit of weight during my pregnancy. Started at 140 and right before he was born hit 195. Right now I am at 175 and having a really difficult time losing any more. I find myself motivated for a week before giving in. My husband and I are talking about another baby soon, but the idea of gaining another 50 pounds on top of 175 is MORTIFYING. Any advice on diet/exercise DURING early pregnancy? I'm just getting frustrated with not being able to find anything that works for me.
Thank you!

FP4HSharon

You definitely should try to get healthier, because you don't know how long it might take you to get pregnant this time, & the healthier you are, the healthier your pregnancy & baby will be. Usually they say that once you find out you're pregnant, that you can continue exercise at whatever level of difficulty you are currently at, but shouldn't try to INCREASE the difficulty/intensity level. There are also some great workout DVDs/books specifically designed to strengthen muscles you'd need for pregnancy/labor/delivery. Might even be good to start them ahead of time. Don't use the 2nd baby attempt to rationalize a delay in getting healthy...I only say that because I know it would be tempting for me. All the best!

szarlotka717

We don't have baby#1 yet, but are considering trying in the next year and ultimately want 2 or 3 kids. Because of increased risk of pregnancy complications when overweight, I'm trying to get closer to the middle of a healthy weight now. I've also upped my exercise now so that I can continue exercising regularly while pregnant (there are a lot of prenatal fitness dvds out there). While pregnant, my plan is to track calories/nutrition with MFP to avoid gaining too much if possible (my mom gained 50 pounds when pregnant with me), which will help in getting back to pre-pregnancy weight faster. I intend to get back to at least the upper bounds of healthy before baby #2 (easier said than done, I know ). I have had high cholesterol and have some risk factors for insulin resistance/diabetes (I have PCOS and a cousin who developed diabetes while pregnant), so trying to be as healthy as I can be pre/during/post-pregnancy is very important to me.

It does really depress me that I am intentionally going to have to lose weight all over again multiple times in the future even if I do absolutely everything right. I'm at a healthier weight than my husband is right now, but I'm really jealous that he can just lose weight once and then try to maintain. Still, I like the new, healthier me (it is awesome fitting back into high school pants and having more endurance while working out), and don't regret any of the calorie tracking and exercise I've done so far (if anything, I'm mad at myself for not starting to exercise earlier). It might be frustrating to have to lose weight again in the future, but I want eating (mostly) healthy and exercising regularly to be a permanent part of my life - not just a short phase when I weigh more than I'd like to.

Long story short - I encourage you to start an exercise routine now and try to get as healthy as possible before conceiving. Most doctors recommend coming in for a pre-conception visit just to see if there are any health issues that should be resolved or monitored. Yeah, the process of losing weight can be frustrating, especially during a plateau, but isn't something that most people tend to regret.

karataylor88

I'm glad you get where I'm coming from. I have a hard enough time losing weight as it is and it seems really disheartening to have to go through it again and again as I have more kids!

walleyclan1

Dieting is going to be safer before you are pregnant. It seems to also be true that the longer the weight is there, the harder to get it off. I still had 7 pounds to lose to get back to pre-preg weight between baby 1 and 2 and here I am 14 months after baby 2 with...you guessed it, 7 pounds left to lose. They are difficult to get off. It should also help you to have an easier and healthier pregnancy if you are a more healthy weight. It will be better to maintain healthy eating and exercise habits during pregnancy rather than try to start them once you are already pregnant. It is much harder to exercise with pregnancy #2 because you have a toddler to entertain.

missarielbaby

I am actually in the same boat as you! I'm like, whats the point if I'm just going to mess my body back up again? .. But I decided I should start now, lose what I gained from the first pregnancy and start from scratch. Right now i'm 149, before i was pregnant about 125-130, the day I gave birth I was 177 and my daughter is now 14 months old. I mean, if I dont diet now and wait, I may be in for a mess. I'm trying to avoid that having to loose twice the baby weight at one time.