Losing to make a baby!

Hi! That’s me! I am planning to try to conceive my second baby next month. I just reached pre-pregnancy weight (lost the last 25lbs since coming back to MFP in May) and I want to lose another 5 to give myself a little buffer and put myself in the “normal weight” BMI range (I’m currently sitting on 1lb into the “overweight” BMI range).

I gained 40-45(?)lbs with my last pregnancy. I am blessed to have no problems conceiving but I made a promise to myself to lose the baby weight before trying for baby 2. Just the thought of knowing I want to get pregnant again has kept me completely motivated, focused, and successful. It’s the mental space of saying to myself “I HAVE TO lose the weight” instead of “I’d like to...”. My weight loss has been pretty steady, but as I have less weight to lose now, I’m losing less and less (to be expected).

Feel free to add me! I could use more friends with similar goals!

I am! I was borderline obese BMI when I started my weight loss journey in December. I have about 17 lbs left to lose (maybe 27 lbs? still debating my ultimate goal weight). Women gain anywhere from 30 to 50 lbs and I didn't want to start a pregnancy at an obese BMI only to add more weight.

Me too!! ♥♥
I'm at the upper range of a healthy BMI now, but I want to reach a happy mid-range before trying to conceive my first. That way I have a bit of a cushion for gaining without being unhappy with myself. I'm SO terrified of gaining all of my weight back that I've already researched and talked to a doctor about how many extra calories I need on top of maintenance to grow a healthy baby with minimum growing of myself, lol. Of course, there's extra fluid and blood volume, milk supply, AND baby, but that's the only extra I intend to gain.
I kind of honestly hope I'm one of those that gets awful morning sickness instead of insatiable cravings, because I am bound and determined to stick VERY strictly to my calories and macros.
I've got another 7 lbs to go ♥ And then I'm getting my IUD taken out and my hubby and I are going to try to get pregnant.

Count me in! For me this is long-term planning as my fiancé (wedding in 17 days!) and I agreed to not start trying until next year. I'm currently in the obese range and it's been a long term goal for me to be fit and healthy as I transition to motherhood. It's not my only motivation, but definitely a big one, especially for setting a time frame.

The time for motherhood is approaching now, and it's time to seriously get it together. My fiancé is also concerned/invested in this and wants to be healthier. At the end of July, he took me on a sports and wellness holiday in a sports retreat, and got us both InBody body composition testing, and we set goals and agreed to go back in January. My goal is to lose about 18lbs before that, and then continue at that rate until I feel comfortable with my weight. The InBody recommended a weight loss goal of 35lbs, which seems about right. My fiancé also considers my current weight as a reason to postpone trying to have a child, as he is very concerned about risks that obesity brings to both mother and baby during pregnancy.

I'm currently on a stricter diet for my wedding - I found out that the only professional who can credibly recommend wedding dieting, apart from health professionals, is your wedding dress seamstress. I haven't weighed myself since the InBody testing, and will not until my new Fitbit Aria scale arrives from Amazon (my old scale is broken). Hoping for some bigger numbers this month, and after the wedding I'll start eating at a smaller deficit to balance things out and hopefully lose less muscle.

Feel free to add me!

puffbrat wrote: »

brittanystebbins95 wrote: »

Me too!! ♥♥
I'm at the upper range of a healthy BMI now, but I want to reach a happy mid-range before trying to conceive my first. That way I have a bit of a cushion for gaining without being unhappy with myself. I'm SO terrified of gaining all of my weight back that I've already researched and talked to a doctor about how many extra calories I need on top of maintenance to grow a healthy baby with minimum growing of myself, lol. Of course, there's extra fluid and blood volume, milk supply, AND baby, but that's the only extra I intend to gain.
I kind of honestly hope I'm one of those that gets awful morning sickness instead of insatiable cravings, because I am bound and determined to stick VERY strictly to my calories and macros.
I've got another 7 lbs to go ♥ And then I'm getting my IUD taken out and my hubby and I are going to try to get pregnant.

Trust me, you don't hope for that. Being violently ill 24/7 isn't a joke and hoping so for the sake of your weight would make concerned about your mental health. You might want to consider talking with a professional about your anxiety before becoming pregnant. You don't want pregnancy to be a trigger for the development of an eating disorder.

Also - many women, myself included, find that eating frequently is one of the best ways to fight morning sickness. So having it could actually result in exactly the opposite of what you hope.

I agree with the comments on this post. It was very hard for me to read what you had written. I don’t know your story, but I am happy you are pre-emptively speaking to a doctor about this. It is so important to communicate and have the guidance of a doctor now, and throughout your entire pregnancy when it comes to nutrition.

I just want to say for the benefit of anyone reading this thread, it is impossible to predict how much weight will be gained in blood and water volume, or the weight of your child, to even manipulate your weight gain around those numbers. For instance, some women lose 20-25lbs right off the bat once they give birth. I lost maybe 15lbs. There is no telling. Had I only gained 15lbs while pregnant, it would have put my baby at a severe risk, and I would have also put myself at a severe risk.

I don’t think anyone should ever be “VERY” restrictive when it comes to your calories and growing a baby in that you shouldn’t deny yourself food while pregnant when you are feeling hungry. I’m not saying to go the extreme opposite way and throw all caution to the wind, but this isn’t the time to restrict yourself, especially when starting at a perfectly healthy weight. It is completely normal and healthy for someone of a healthy weight to gain 35lbs. You are already in that healthy range.

Morning sickness is definitely not something to hope for and sounds a little bit of a red flag I would discuss with your doctor. I’m trying to be delicate as I don’t know what your situation is. Mild morning sickness on occasion doesn’t harm the baby, but severe sickness can absolutely be dangerous to you and your baby. I pray you will never experience this.

As far as cravings, to give you some comfort, I didn’t have any cravings my entire pregnancy, and I know other women who didn’t either. I ate nutritiously and I was always in a state of feeling satiated by my choices. A lot of times when women are restricting themselves or not getting something they (and the baby) need, they will have cravings. Not all women, just some women. Pregnancy is individual to each person, and with each baby.

If you’re healthy, pregnancy is a time to eat intuitively for the health and sake of yourself and your baby. A loose log of your food intake to give yourself a general ballpark is great, but restricting yourself to a special number every day regardless of if you’re hungry is not optimal. You are pregnant for 10 months and they are the most important 10 months to the most important person in your life.

Be well ladies. I wish you all healthy and happy pregnancies. You are all already moms in my book ❤️

brittanystebbins95 wrote: »

Me too!! ♥♥
I'm at the upper range of a healthy BMI now, but I want to reach a happy mid-range before trying to conceive my first. That way I have a bit of a cushion for gaining without being unhappy with myself. I'm SO terrified of gaining all of my weight back that I've already researched and talked to a doctor about how many extra calories I need on top of maintenance to grow a healthy baby with minimum growing of myself, lol. Of course, there's extra fluid and blood volume, milk supply, AND baby, but that's the only extra I intend to gain.
I kind of honestly hope I'm one of those that gets awful morning sickness instead of insatiable cravings, because I am bound and determined to stick VERY strictly to my calories and macros.
I've got another 7 lbs to go ♥ And then I'm getting my IUD taken out and my hubby and I are going to try to get pregnant.

I'm going to have to agree that reading this made me cringe. What a strange thing to wish for.
I had an easy pregnancy and a huge appetite and gained 28 kg in pregnancy. Yes, I was obese when I gave birth, but I was healthy, happy and full of energy and and so was my baby.
My friend, who is naturally slim, was violently sick her whole pregnancy, couldn't gain any weight and had her lovely body back immediately after birth. She was also exhausted, depressed and had no emotional strength left to look after her baby. Her baby was severely underweight and still is sickly, weak and frequently hospitalised now at age 3. Is that what you want?
Get some advice/help before you embark on motherhood so you are emotionally ready to look after a baby.

mchanlon24 wrote: »

@brittanystebbins95 I know I got the joke. A friend of mine started eating for two in the first trimester. Now she still looks pregnant 2 years after baby has been born and keeps moaning that the weight won't go....

Oh, no, dear! You're fine ♥ Some other people didn't have very nice things to say. Although I could just be worked up over nothing. Its easy to misconstrue things when you can't hear someone's tone of voice or read facial expressions. I just took some other replies as an attack, that's all.

brittanystebbins95 wrote: »

mchanlon24 wrote: »

@brittanystebbins95 I know I got the joke. A friend of mine started eating for two in the first trimester. Now she still looks pregnant 2 years after baby has been born and keeps moaning that the weight won't go....

Oh, no, dear! You're fine ♥ Some other people didn't have very nice things to say. Although I could just be worked up over nothing. Its easy to misconstrue things when you can't hear someone's tone of voice or read facial expressions. I just took some other replies as an attack, that's all.

I'm sorry wasn't meant as an attack at all. I probably misread your comment (no non verbal cues and all that as you say) and I'm probably biased because I have too many friends/relatives dieting in extreme ways, fads etc. I get a little too passionate sometimes, got to reign it in a little.
Good luck on your journey, all the best.

brittanystebbins95 wrote: »

My mental health is just fine. Thanks. Remind me to NOT spend any time on forums, because the only thing I seem to get out of it is being chastised for NOT wanting to gain 50+ lbs and let myself go because I get pregant and am "eating for two."

Your body needs no extra calories other than maintenance during the first trimester. An extra 100-200 during the second, and an extra 300 during the third.

Obviously I spoke with exaggeration. It was meant to be humorous. I only meant that I hope I'm not one of those that laughs, grabs an entire pack of oreos, and justifies it because I'm "eating for two."

Forgive me for wanting to maintain my body. People take things WAY too literally.

Sorry for trying to express concern. It was not obvious to me that was a joke, it isn't funny, and there are many women who legitimately develop eating disorders during and immediately after pregnancy because of concern about their weight. As a woman who hated pregnancy, seriously stuggled with it, and gained 60lbs. I am not amused by your attempts at demeaning those who gain during pregnancy or turn a serious condition like morning sickness into light hearted joke about weight management. I fully support women making an effort to eat well during pregnancy and only gain a healthy amount of weight as determined in a discussion with health professionals.

brittanystebbins95 wrote: »

My mental health is just fine. Thanks. Remind me to NOT spend any time on forums, because the only thing I seem to get out of it is being chastised for NOT wanting to gain 50+ lbs and let myself go because I get pregant and am "eating for two."

Your body needs no extra calories other than maintenance during the first trimester. An extra 100-200 during the second, and an extra 300 during the third.

Obviously I spoke with exaggeration. It was meant to be humorous. I only meant that I hope I'm not one of those that laughs, grabs an entire pack of oreos, and justifies it because I'm "eating for two."

Forgive me for wanting to maintain my body. People take things WAY too literally.

0 for 1st trimester
300 for 2nd trimester
450 for 3rd trimester actually.

But thats on average recommendation. I was eating 2800 calories a day (700-800 extra a day from my norm) in my last trimester with my first but my body was on hyderdrive or something and I didnt gain quickly. I gained 22 lbs total that pregnancy, my medical goal to gain wouod have been 25 to 35. Sometimes you have to go by results not calories. My next pregnancy i could not eat that much at all. I ate more around the recommended amounts and gained 25 lbs.

I'm also looking to lose some more weight before getting pregnant. I struggle a lot with losing weight and keeping it off, but I am doing my best. Anyone else in the same boat feel free to add me!