Losing weight before trying to get pregnant!

I am also trying to get out of the obese category before trying for my second baby - my first daughter was stillborn in January and I know it had nothing to do with my obesity, but I know that I want to be as healthy as possible before trying again. Plus I definitely am still grieving so eating well, exercising and self-care are definitely what I need to be focusing on right now (even though I am desperate to be pregnant again, and also have super strong pangs of overwhelming baby-fever).

As for tips, the only thing I can advise is that you start a prenatal vitamin sooner rather than later - you'll want the folate and nutrients in your body before conception happens, so in case you fall pregnant earlier than planned or on the first month of trying, you will be covered.

I have 40lbs to go until I'm out of the obese AND overweight categories and into a 'healthy' BMI range, so that is my goal feel free to add me.

I am sorry for your loss. It's one of the worst things a person can go through. I've been through it with a son.

Helpimfalling, I think you are doing a wonderful thing for you and your future child losing the weight before you conceive.

I'm losing weight and thinking about having another kid when I'm closer to my goal. I had pre eclampsia with my last pregnancy though there's no indication it was weight related, but I need to be I better shape to run after two kids! Good luck to you

I love that you have found a motivator. Be sure to work towards building healthy habits that will remain long after any and all your children are born. on a side note, I have an increase in fertility when my weight is in a healthy range. Each of my pregnancies (3) happened when I was in a healthy weight range after trying throughout my weight loss process.

Good luck!

My husband and I aren't going to start trying for a baby for a couple more years, but that is one of the reasons why I want to get in better shape. I think it'll be easier for me to stay healthy during and after pregnancy if my good habits are already in place by that time. Plus, I'd like to enjoy my awesome new body for a little while before I put a baby in it

I tried for years and years and tears and tears to get pregnant. Yoyo dieting, fertility treatments (twice, two different periods in my life).... Nothing worked. I gave up completely. At 34, the doctor told me I was borderline diabetic. I was 334 pounds at that time. Not wanting to be diabetic motivated me. Im finally doing it, I told myself. Besides---only three months on a diabetic diet to get my A1C levels down... Then I could go back I eating whatever I wanted.

Let me tell you a secret. After three months, it's just a habit. I got soooo much smaller. Left the diabetic threat zone far behind. I decided to keep going. After about a year and a half (little less).... I was down 130 pounds. 200 was the smallest id been since high school. My PCOS resolved itself---weight loss is a miracle for the body. And the doctors said, at 35, that I was just as fertile as any other woman my age. Admittedly, it was a bad time---35 it starts decreasing. I went in fertility treatments again.

It didn't work. So I gave up that dream. Almost a year trying -- enough. I said, I'll be 36 next month and I give up. It is what it is.

We stopped trying. Two months later, the weekend that we were
Married--I got pregnant. This little girl is a miracle. It was hard work losing the weight---but worth it to have her in my life.

Of course -- I let it go while I was pregnant and gained like 55 pounds. So now I'm trying to take that back off . Keep going ladies. It's worth every bit of sweat and stress to have that baby. Congrats in advance. Be proud of yourselves for taking the steps to get healthy so you can have a baby.

Thank you for sharing your story Jeanniebee625. Your an inspiration!!

I think a lot of women think they need to eat for two adults when they get pregnant, which creates a real weight problem after they have the baby. Many develop a eating pattern of way to many calories long after. And we see women, including on this board, who blame their obesity on their children--LOL.

The fact is, you can still count calories while your pregnant, and yes you can still exercise while you're pregnant.

So I am a little confused as to why women are just now wanting to lose weight, because they want to have a baby. Did your doctor tell you to get out of the obese category before having children? If so, why?

Obesity, regardless if you're wanting to have a baby or not, is now the number one health crisis in the nation today, with type 2 diabetes skyrocketing. So even more importantly you want to make certain, that your baby is born into this world with a very healthy active mom to raise him/her. IOW I hope your reasons for losing weight are for the long term, and not just so you can give birth.

Because most women don't put themselves first. I personally put my dogs first, my boyfriend, my family and then myself. Because if it was just me and I died who cares. if it was just me and I was healthy and lived to be 100, it would be a super lonely 100 years. I have a new found purpose in life and I want to have kids now, I want to make an animal sanctuary. I want to live longer and be healthy now because I have a reason. So tenfold if you are wanting a child! We want to be healthy during the pregnancy because WE WANT OUR CHILDREN TO HAVE THEIR BEST CHANCE. If it's losing weight, stop smoking, stop drinking, putting a dollar away a day for their college, no matter what little or big thing it is it's something that mothers and future mothers do. I personally think it's a better reason to lose weight than say, looking good in a bathing suit, or even a wedding dress. and also, weight can have effects on a baby, just as smoking and drinking do. for example, I am 243 pounds right now. I'm 5'9" and my body fat is 46%. Not long ago was I 180 pounds with a 28% BF. and when I was 180, I didn't get sick as much, I wasn't so tired all the time, My body didn't hurt near the end of the day and I could manage stress better because I wasn't in so much pain. and ALL those things have effects on a baby's health and appearance. Did you know when you are conceived your face is perfectly symmetrical with the other side? But mother's illness and stress slowly starts deforming just your appearance. And why even bother to be on community support boards if you don't want to support someone. Go troll somewhere else.

Nobody get mad - I just want to lovingly offer - please please please do not start a healthy lifestyle 'until you get pregnant.' There is a difference between being overweight and eating a lot of calories to maintain it just because you're pregnant and don't think you should 'diet' anymore, and being overweight and eating what a person of a healthy BMI or body fat % at your height would eat. Eating a appropriate amount is not dieting to me, it's eating what you should be eating and the weight loss comes along with it until you are where you should be. I prefer to see things as eating what you should and exercising vs. overindulging and under-exercising. Don't like the word 'diet.'

My doctors told me I didn't need to add any calories just because I was pregnant. I was a about 10 pounds heavier than I should have been when I got pregnant with #1 and gained less than 30 pounds with my first pregnancy, and was 16 pounds heavier than I should have been when I got pregnant immediately with my second and only gained back to the exact weight I was when I delivered my first. I was not limiting calories or eating super healthy or anything in particular, but I wasn't making pregnancy an excuse to NOT keep a healthy lifestyle because it might hurt the baby to eat a reasonable amount vs. overindulging.

Also, someone told me this and it helped: remember that a pregnancy craving is something unusual, not wanting an extra large Blizzard from DQ - MOST people want to down one of those. So on the days when you're like 'I'm pregnant, I'm going to pig out because I have a craving' remember you're really just pigging out on something you've always wanted to pig out on and now you think you have an excuse. Be accountable.

Good luck to all of you lovely ladies - take care of yourselves, enjoy pregnancy and then love those babies up!!

I totally agree, I've seen people start running more than usual or even start working out during a pregnancy because they don't want to gain any weight or want their pregnancy to look a certain way!! I don't know THAT much about being pregnant because I am not even close to trying, but I know it is okay to go jogging and light weights IF you already do so. and shhhhhh I am totally going to use the "oh I'm pregnant I need some corned beef hash" hahaha

I am not bashing the concerned people on the thread but no one has said they're planning to lose weight just to get pregnant, then binge throughout the pregnancy and eat all the things forever and be fat mothers. It's not really fair to young overweight women who dream of becoming mothers to assume that overweight women are like that. I was 198lbs and only gained 15lbs throughout my pregnancy, compared to a petite, slim woman I knew who gained 60lbs (and developed GD) with her first son and had already gained 15lbs during the first trimester when I knew her.

I'm not saying that obesity = awesome and naturally slim = bad, but this is a fitness website. The overweight people here are bound to be more mindful and focused on goals than the general population who are getting pregnant and using it as an excuse to overeat. The fact that people are posting here months/years in advance of baby-making should be evidence enough of that!

And my Dr's don't say a THING about my weight, even though I always expect them to. My genetic counselor did say that eating well and exercise/activity is important for everyone - but especially for people like me who have blood clotting disorders. Also that I should get up and walk around every hour on long drives/flights.

Last year in June, I probably could have written this myself. I was Obese. I was 5'2 and 211 lbs. I had finally reached my breaking point. I was sick and tired of being fat and I made the decision I needed to lose weight. First for myself, because I needed to work on myself and make myself healthy. I couldn't hike a small incline for 10 minutes without everything hurting and being out of breath. Second, because my weight was getting in the way of my plans for my family. I wanted another child, my daughter was 5 and the age gap was only getting bigger. I wasn't even getting my periods because of my weight, so I couldn't even try to conceive even if my husband had agreed it was time.

So I first focused on myself. I started losing weight steadily. My husband proposed to me the challenge that if I reached 155 lbs (which is overweight for my height, but definitely not obese) then we could start trying for a baby. So I held on to that thread and I never let go. 10 months later, Easter weekend, I reached my TTC goal and weighed in at 155 lbs. It was beyond thrilling. I weighed less than I did in high school, I had energy up the wazoo, I was healthy, I had gotten my periods back and we started TTCing. One month of trying and it happened. I'm now 22 weeks pregnant with my 2nd little girl.

It's definitely helpful to have a goal in mind when losing weight, just don't put a time limit on it. It'll happen when you get there. I also think it's important to focus on YOU. Do it for yourself first, and let the babymaking be the bonus/prize at the end. Once you reach whatever goal you set, it's also important to keep up with the eating habits. I still count calories, but I make sure I get those extra couple hundred calories on top of my maintenance for baby and get some exercise, even if it's lighter exercise than before. I've gained 6 lbs so far for this pregnancy and my doctor is thrilled with my progress.

Good luck on your goals, ladies!