Too big to have baby?

gettingtheresometime

Opening up a potential can of worms here but there's a general consensus that bmi isn't necessarily a good indication of whether you're at your ideal weight - it seems to be more about body fat %ages.

I've never tried insanity (sounds fun not lol - did you enjoy it? ) but from the sounds of it this would be my idea of torture so however effective it might be it would be pointless as I wouldn't keep it up.

Lunar_Eclipse

Having had two pregnancies (at a healthy weight) but also having been subsequently overweight/obese, I think you owe it to everyone, but mainly yourself, to improve your health before trying to get pregnant. I think you know this. A size 16 isn't awful (ie necessarily overweight) but being medically obese is very stressful on a human body.

Make yourself do it; your future reward being desired parenthood.

I would make health improvement your focus for the next 12 months. Get as close to a healthy weight as possible (under 10 stone?) You will feel a million times better.

It honestly isn't difficult. You just have to want to do it. I was very inactive at the beginning of this year, but now walk at least 10k/day and run 40k+ a week, having never managed more than 60 seconds ever. I am a healthy weight again and feel 20 years younger. I really wish I'd done it years ago!

My honest advice is not to plan a pregnancy and parenting in an unhealthy state.

tesuhoha

Dieting doesn't work. My daughter has recovered from an eating disorder and she found this book really helpful out of all the advice she has received. Hope it helps you.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ditching-Diets-lose-weight-maintain/dp/0956105114/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1478724379&sr=8-3&keywords=gillian+riley+eating+less

arbrighton

BrassicWoman wrote: »

More helpfully (because self righteous skinnies always think it is that easy, and if it was we'd all be slender), why not ask the doctor for an opinion and to see a nutritionist for some practical help?

Haha, I recall in another thread that this poster is actually rather overweight themselves and struggling with the basic tenet he describes

arbrighton

gettingtheresometime wrote: »

Opening up a potential can of worms here but there's a general consensus that bmi isn't necessarily a good indication of whether you're at your ideal weight - it seems to be more about body fat %ages.

I've never tried insanity (sounds fun not lol - did you enjoy it? ) but from the sounds of it this would be my idea of torture so however effective it might be it would be pointless as I wouldn't keep it up.

Very true. I'm officially overweight based on BMI but am size 14 and exercised up to 6 days a week until recently, including lifting heavy weights. BMI does not look at muscle vs fat. I admit I eat more treats than I should, and portion sizes should be smaller so there's a fair amount of fat on me but I apparently don't look the weight I am

Gloomendoom

arbrighton wrote: »

Very true. I'm officially overweight based on BMI but am size 14

Quoting a dress size without height is pointless.

Somebody who a size 14 at 4'8" tall would look almost spherical with an off-the-scale bmi whereas somebody who is a size 14 and 6'2" tall would look like a beanpole.

enthusiasticsaver

Sometimes overweight women struggle to conceive due to imbalance of hormones so for that reason alone it would be advisable for you to eat healthier and exercise more.

I was a healthy weight when I had both my daughters but due to a genetic disposition to hypertension I had high blood pressure in pregnancy leading to hospitalisation and having to take medication and an induced labour at 36 weeks. My daughter had her baby a year ago and in spite of being healthy weight(or even underweight) she developed pre eclampsia and also was induced at 36 weeks.

Even if you weren't pregnant hypertension is reduced by losing weight so you could help your own health by adopting a healthier lifestyle.

cyantist

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I asked my sister-in-law, who is a obstetric nurse (I think that is the term), about the eating for two thing and she told me that an expectant mother only needs to eat an extra 200 calories in the last three months of pregnancy.

In terms of calorie count this is true. But for the first 16 weeks of this pregnancy if I wasn't eating almost constantly I was very sick. I ended up putting weight on because I felt I had to be eating all the time but so many foods make me throw up, including most vegetables. So sometimes it's not easy to not put weight on when pregnant and if you're already obese this can make things a lot worse.

Of course it's possible that you'll be so sick you'll lose weight. I lost 2.5 stone in 8 weeks in my first pregnancy but I wouldn't recommend hyperemesis as a weight loss technique.

Being overweight as well as being older can make it harder to conceive, and as someone who has struggled with infertility you really don't want to make it harder for yourself.

ripplyuk

My granny was a size 24 when she started having babies (all NINE of them!) so there's no way excess weight is a good contraceptive.

She's 89 now and still insists she's going to start dieting next week/month etc. :rotfl:

dcoke

OP - i'd definitely recommend you give Slimming world a go. It can seem so overwhelming at first. I remember in my first week thinking surely i couldn't eat all this food? but i lost 3.5lb (which by some standards isn't loads ) but it was so encouraging that i had eaten so much lovely food and was still able to loose! i hate the gym so i have taken up a nightly 1/2 hr walk just to keep active. You can totally do this. I wish you all the best