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Old 02-08-2005, 09:11 AM   #1  
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Default Anyone else trying to lose before they conceive?

Hi there!

Just wondering if anyone else was trying to lose weight before they start trying to conceive. I am...I'm 10 lbs down...and have lots more to go to get to my goal weight! I don't plan on waiting until I hit my goal to start trying for a baby....but I think that anything I can lose before I get pregnant can only mean a happier and healthier pregnancy for me!

Anyone else doing this? If so....how are you doing? Do youhave a timeline for when you want to start?

Thanks!
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Old 02-08-2005, 09:20 AM   #2  
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Hi! I'm also trying to lose weight before I conceive. My son is about a year old, and I haven't decided if we'll start trying to conceive in June or September. In any event, I was 239 when I got pregnant with my son, got up to 278, was back down to 246 by 6 weeks post-partum (breastfeeding--a wonderful weight loss tool!), but then found myself at 260 right before Christmas. I'd like to get down to 210 before I start trying to conceive our next child, but, like you, won't wait if I'm not there by this summer (I'll be 35 by then, so I don't want to wait too long!).
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Old 02-08-2005, 09:23 AM   #3  
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I am trying to lose wait for conception as well. I would like to wait til i am close to my goal weight ... around 200lbs then try .... we aren't in a big big rush right now ...... but we do want kids soon!
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Old 02-08-2005, 10:07 AM   #4  
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I am in the same boat, sorta. I want to be healthy for me first, but if and when we do conceive, I want to be in the best shape I can be. And like Orange, I would like to get down to 200 before starting. I would like to do more research on the subject because I am very leery to get pregnant at this weight/age. My husband wants children, and I am in the mind set I could take them or leave them....but that's probably another thread!
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Old 02-08-2005, 10:42 AM   #5  
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GypsyDancer--did you have a hard time being pregnant at that weight? The thing I am most worried about concerning weight and pregnancy is gestational diabetes. Currently, I'm pretty lucky because I don't really have any weight related health issues...but am afraid that I would have a good chance of developing gestational diabetes if I were to get pregnant at my current weight.
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Old 02-08-2005, 11:04 AM   #6  
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LuvHamsters, I got pregnant the first month I started charting my temperature. We stopped using birth control 7 months before that, but I confess I surreptitiously relied on the "rhythm method" many of those 7 months because I didn't feel quite ready. And I did lose about 20 pounds just before conceiving. I, too, was worried about gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, but fortunately didn't have any trouble with either. I had a very easy pregnancy. Here's a WONDERFUL website that has all kinds of info on pregnancy in larger women:

http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/

I think the key is finding a care provider who doesn't automatically assume that because you're obese, your pregnancy is high-risk. I used a certified nurse midwife, who was incredible, and never made an issue of my weight.

Last edited by Gypsydancer; 02-08-2005 at 12:12 PM.
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Old 02-08-2005, 11:11 AM   #7  
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I'm not losing to conceive per se, since we are still about 4 years away from another pregnancy and I will be at goal by then. I didn't worry about my weight and got pg with my daugther at 292. I didn't have any health problems with her until the end. My blood pressure started to rise a bit but I did not have GD with her. I got pg again when she was 4 months old and I did have GD with my son, but I think part of the problem was I didn't wait the year my body needed to heal from the first PG. I was breastfeeding at the time and had just gotten off the pill when we conceived him.

Just so you know, you can get GD at any weight. On one of my parenting boards, a woman who started out at 125 was diagnosed with it.
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Old 02-08-2005, 11:54 AM   #8  
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I'm planning on starting my family as soon as I married next Spring......can't wait! Hopefully I'll be near or at my goal weight by then and I'll be healthy and fit enough to run after my sprogs, as we plan on having a few in quick succession!

Love Amanda x
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Old 02-08-2005, 12:06 PM   #9  
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I am getting married in June, and we plan to start trying right away. I am actually on my first cycle off the pill presently. I was 256 when I got pregnant with my daughter, and went up to 273 (gain 17lbs). I would like to be under 200 when I get pregnant again, for several reasons. The biggest being health, but also because when I was pregnant with my daughter, I couldnt wear any nice maternity clothes because I was so big. And darnit, I want to wear cute maternity clothes this time!
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Old 02-08-2005, 01:12 PM   #10  
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I'm in a similar but slightly different boat. I have a wonderful boyfriend, but we are not even engaged yet (will be together 1 year next month). My thing is that I KNOW I want to have children, and I don't want to ever put me or my child at risk for ANYTHING that I can prevent. Yes, you can get GD even if you are not overweight, but obesity certainly increases your chances. Therefore, I decided to try losing the weight now so that when I decide I am ready for children, I don't have to worry quite as much or wait longer to try losing the weight first.

I'm only 22, and I always thought I only wanted 2 children, but then I went home for Thanksgiving and was around my HUGE extended family (my aunt has 6 kids, 5 are married with their own kids, and of the kids' kids just had a baby, and that's just from one aunt!). Being around that many people in a completely loving and functional family environment jump-started my biological clock, and now I think I want at least 4 kids, so I don't want to wait any longer than I have to!
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Old 02-08-2005, 01:35 PM   #11  
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Jillybean, I really think that nutrition and genetics have more to do with developing gestational diabetes than weight. Check out the link to the plus size pregnancy page in my above post. My point is I wouldn't let weight be the reason I put off getting pregnant. That said, it sounds like you have lots of time, even if you're having 4 children, to be at optimal health and your target weight before you conceive. I've found that the real negative effect of weight on having babies is that the extra weight drains your energy after baby is born. One of my main motivations for losing weight is so I have energy to play with my little one.
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Old 02-08-2005, 02:02 PM   #12  
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I didn't mean to offend anyone--I know that plenty of overweight women have healthy pregnancies with absolutely no complications, which is awesome (as that website you posted can clearly show). I happen to have Murphy in charge of my physical health (you name a strange condition, and chances are I've had it), so I don't want to take ANY chances. Jeez, when it comes that time for me and I find out something crazy like eating too many cucumbers may cause a freckle on my baby's nose, you bet I won't be eating any cucumbers for 9 months because, knowing me, I'll lick a cucumber once and my baby's face will be one giant freckle!

That's actually part of what has made it so hard for me to lose weight. It seems every time I start doing well, something crazy happens. When I was in high school, I was losing weight pretty steadily one sumer, and then I ended up in the hospital for emergency surgery for a 10-inch ovarian cyst! I had 20-something staples on my abdomen and was in the hospital for almost a week. That definitely killed my diet and exercise plan, as I wasn't even allowed to participate in gym class for the first 2 months back at school.


Another summer (more recently) I was doing really well and was doing at least 45 minutes of intense cardio workouts at least 5 days a week, and I came down with Pityriasis Rosea (I think that's how it's spelled). Yeah, no one knows what causes it or why people get it, but it's a rash that covers your abdomen, back, upper thighs, and upper arms and often makes a Christmas tree shape on your back. How weirdly random is that! So I go to the doctor, and he tells me (even though I am obese) to STOP exercising because that will make the rash worse, and that it could last for only about 2 weeks or could last up to 2 years! Luckily, it only lasted about 3 months, but it definitely got me out of my routine.

So, to make a long story even longer, I have had plenty of experiences where I get random ailments whether I am at risk or not. I may still develop GD if I am at my goal weight and eating healthy and exercising regularly, or I may have other complications. I am just not willing to take even the slightest chance if it's something (like obesity) that I have some control over. I didn't, in any way, mean that everyone should lose weight before becoming pregnant, just that with my freakish medical history, I know I should
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Old 02-09-2005, 08:07 AM   #13  
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No offense taken! And you're right that we should try to be in the best health possible before we conceive (I lost 20 pounds before conceiving my son--not a lot, but I was healthier for it). My point was that we shouldn't buy into the idea some care providers hold that obesity automatically means a pregnancy full of complications. AND I also firmly believe that proper nutrition and exercise are MUCH more important factors in determining whether the pregnancy will develop complications than weight.
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Old 02-09-2005, 08:22 AM   #14  
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LOL I managed to lose 40 pounds before the big pregnancy surprise came. I wasn't trying but God had other plans. My OB/GYN isn't really concerned about my weight other than she doesn't want me to gain more than 10-15 pounds, and she stated that exercise should lower my risk of developing gestational diabetes.
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Old 02-09-2005, 08:30 AM   #15  
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Yeah, I hate it when doctors automatically assume that your health problems are weight-related or that if you're overweight, your automatically unhealthy. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with some funky knee thing that I forget the name of (my kneecaps are not held as tightly as they should be and are shifting outward, causing strain on the ligaments or tendons or whatever it is that holds them in place). The doctor said it wasn't very common and that it was especially uncommon in younger patients. He automatically attributed my bad knees to my wieght. Granted, being overweight does put extra strain on these joints, but might it have had something to do with the fact that I was crouching/crawling/diving in the dirt for 12 years playing softball, many of which I held the position of CATCHER?! I definitely know a few people who are of normal weight who have bad knees from playing catcher for years (or even short stop--lots of bending and diving there, too).

I also once had a gyn pretty much yell at me for being overweight. Being yelled at like a child does not motivate me to lose the weight, it just makes me want to cry (and then maybe indulge in some comfort food)! It especially bothered me because she was quite obviously overweight herself. Needless to say, I never went back to her.

My most recent gyn was at least a little friendlier about it. When the nurse took my blood pressure, she sounded somewhat-shocked that it was NOT high (was actually very good, at the lower end of normal). During my exam (which is not really my favorite time to be "chatty"), the doctor casually asked, "So, why don't you belong to Weight Watchers?" I told her I would go if she paid for it
My own apartment for the first time + my own utility bills for the first time + my own car insurance for the first time + my own medical expenses for the first time + my own food for the first time + student loan payments = no money for Weight Watchers (and barely enough to do much else--good thing I have a boyfriend to pay for movies and dinner out once a week )!
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