Hi Gale, and welcome, its good to meet you. I'm pretty new here still myself and have found this place to be a great help and inspiration. As has been said before, congrats on the pregnancy!

congrats Gale :) I'm still struggling with post-pregnancy weight (as well as regular FAT weight lol), plus I'm trying to conceive. I wish you a happy and healthy 9 months :)

Thank you very much peacock. Will let you know how it goes. I am going swimming tonight so that will be good. Has anyone had much experience on exercise bikes? I am thinking of getting a recumberant one with back support, it can take up to 33stones (good) and its supposed to be very effective. Its quite dear at £140 delivered, and I dont think it will make a great addition asthetically to the living room, but I do think it will help. Do you think its just a matter of self discipline? Any experiences or advice welcome!

Thank you all for the congrats on pregnancy. Xena, my last two pregnancies took 1 year to concieve. I wasn't really trying for this baby, I just thought, well if I give up contraception for a few months until I am 39, then I can say I have tried, and I can stop at 39 because I didnt want to risk having a baby in my forties. That was in May. My scan was on Monday just gone and it put me at 11 weeks, which means I must have concieved around 5th June. I didn't even think I would concieve at all, let alone in four weeks. It just shows that the human body can do amazing things. Also I was told after my first daughter that I wouldnt be able to have any more. I have a son age 3 and this pregnancy. I would say keep going and eat healthy (obviously you are), but my one top tip would be Asdas Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. They have lots of nutrients in them especially folic acid. I really think they are the reason I concieved so quickly. Another good tip would be to try some reflexology - there is a good woman in Leeds, depending where abouts you are - her name is Janet Fowell. She lives in Crossgates. If you let me know if you are interested, I will send you her number. I know two people personally who conceived after having reflexology. There that is my best advice! Take care you all!

Hi - congratulations on the baby. :carrot:

I wouldn't think about exercise bikes, etc, until after the baby is born. Perhaps you might want to talk to your GP about exercise - although I think he'd probably recommend swimming - there seems to be LOADS of :preg: ladies at my local swimming pool.

Like Peacock says, we are all dealing with the same problem here - which is the joy of this website - its just that some of us are further along the journey and some of us have a longer one.

I am no exercise expert - more a couch potato but I agree with Sarah Ann about not trying the cycling yet. Swimming is definatley supposed to be ok for preggers peeps- I guess cos it is gentler maybe? I know it is ok to do some exercise - my friend reckoned it helped her no end - esp with the delivery bit at the end.

wow thanks for the tips Gale :) I'm definitely gonna buy some Asda's crunchy nut cornflakes then :)
As for the reflexology, it sounds great but I can't really afford it at the moment :( Having a wee bit of a financial panic this month. When I'm sorted again I'll definitely try it though - I'll ask you for the lady's details in a month or two if I haven't conceived by then. Cheers hun.
(Crossgates is just down the road from me - about 10 or 15 mins in car).

I am 5 ' and when I started I had 79 lbs to lose. It's almost a year later (11 mos to be exact)and I've lost 58 lbs. (5 lbs/mo) I still have 21 to go, but I say SO WHAT?!? Slow progress lasts longer. It can take me another year to lose 21 for all I care. Just keep going. You're doing something amazing for yourself. Don't let the amount of weight you need to lose discourage you. Instead use it as a vehicle to drive you there.

Best of luck.

Well, had an absolutley horrendous 12 days, have now come on and have GAINED way too much weight!!!! Now I gotta start again with more to loose. AARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The fact that you LIKE to cook can be your saving grace. Find new recipes (learn serving sizes) and treat it like a new hobby. Are you journaling your food? There are several cook online food journals. It's important to really visually see what you are doing everyday and keep track. Are you drinking plenty of water? Don't beat yourself up over a few bad days. The important thing is to keep your motivation up and keep yourself moving. Speaking of moving...get a pedometer and make it change numbers!

No such thing as too much to lose. There IS, however, such a thing as "instant gratification" and we all suffer from it.
I shed 50 pounds in 5 months by eating the Fat Flush way. I've shed 57+ pounds and over 25 inches and kept it all off for almost 3 years :carrot: I did it by changing my belief system.
I BELIEVED that I could be slender.
I BELIEVED that I deserved to be healthy.
...and it happened. ;)

Frankly, until your belief system matches your goals, you will ALWAYS find that your willpower is unequal to the task. Until you make a permanent change in your lifestyle (that's diet plus exercise), you will not find permanent weightloss success because it's that OLD LIFESTYLE of yours that helped you become obese.

You DESERVE to be slender and healthy. BELIEVE it, and you will find success. HONEST! :carrot: :D

that seems like very sound advice

I'm sure none of us are thrilled to have so much to lose. :) But it is what it is, and a positive attitude makes ALL the difference. Yes, we have to work at it as there are discouraging moments. But when we see those scales begin to drop woo hoo. :rofl:

As others have said I recommend setting small goals, such as 10 pound mini goals. That way you can see your progress. And set little rewards for yourself along the way.

Aww Fat Faery! A lot of us are in the same boat (could be why it is sinking!).

I haven't been wieghed for a while but am going to morrow to SLimming World and think I may have gained a little (ahem!).

As Misti says - let's all think positive. We haea few (a few!!!) months until Christmas so lets see what we can achieve.

Exactly! And regarding Christmas... as I have told myself all summer when I see people wearing the pretty little summer outfits which I am still way too big for... just wait until NEXT summer!

We will do all we can for Christmas this year... but too there is always NEXT Christmas!! :)