Losing weight before pregnancy
 

I wasn't exactly sure where to post this but I am working very hard at not only getting healthy but also losing a few pounds before my Husband and I try to conceive. I went on a diet the day I stopped taking my birthcontrol pills. Fitday has been great as far as keeping track of my calories but also in making me more aware of my overall eating habbits; I really like the reports section! :)

I don't have a lot to lose but if I am going to pack on around 25 pounds with pregnancy, I would prefer to start down that road at a lower weight. I plan to continue using fitday when pregnant to not diet but to watch nutrients and make sure I don't over do it on calories.

I am 5'5" and started out at 151 and have already lost 6.4 pounds in about 2 1/2 weeks which is great. I suspect it will slow as much of that was probably water weight. My goal would be to get down to between 135 - 142. In the past anything under 142 was difficult to maintain but I will continue to eat right and see where that takes me.

I am limiting myself to around 1200 calories a day, watching my fat intake, and walking on my treadmill for 40 minutes M-F.

Sounds like you are really making the right moves. All that nocturnal exercise should burn a few pounds too;-)

One thing you might want to consider on the treadmill that will aid fat burning is to walk uphill rather than on the flat. Even if you walk more slowly, an uphill walk will increase your heart rate and help tone your legs. Go as steep as you can!

Good luck!

Thanks jonr71.

I have actually worked up to an incline of 5 on the treadmill. The last few weeks I have added an 1 1/2 hour walk outside on Sunday so I am not ready to increase the incline anymore as, due to that added workout, my legs feel pretty tired towards the end of the week. I don't know if the weather will allow for my outside walk this weekend so maybe I will go for an incline of 5.5 or 6 next week.

Ha ha...Should I log that under "Activities" on Fitday?!?!

Nope, just type in "sex" at the activities prompt and it will give you lots of options...

When you get ready to actually conceive, you may want to increase your calories, 1,200 is pretty low. I actually don't have a period if I'm consistently below 1,500-1,600 calories, but everybody is a little different.

My experience with pregnancy and childbirth was unusual. I didn't lose the weight prior to pregnancy and gained about 45 with each child during the pregnancy. Interestingly at my 6 week post partum, I'd lost all of that plus almost 20 pounds. My body apparently likes being pregnant more than the rest of me (I guess maybe my attitude, or brain or whatever).

In going back over my habits, I actually didn't have my normal cravings while pregnant. I craved fruits and veggies, and cottage cheese (with my 2nd it was a quart of cottage cheese a day--took me almost 2 years to be able to eat it again), instead of snickers bars, buttered popcorn or other sweet or salty things.

I didn't have any health complications due to the weight either.

Good luck with your pre-preggo weight loss though and especially good for you on the exercising part! SO important!

Thanks almeeker. I do get my period with a 1200 calorie diet. I am only at that lower amount to shed some pounds; I am actually between 1200-1400 but try to stay close to the 1200 mark. Once I do get pregnant I plan to increase that amount to a maintenance level. That amount will depend on what my weight is at that time. Then of course add about 300 more during the 3rd trimester.

I joke that I will probably lose weight at first since I will have to give up beer!! LOL!

This would be my first pregnancy so who knows how my plan will really pan out but I want to try and be as healthy as possible.

You may want to talk to your ob/gyn about your diet/workouts, an increase may cause a slowdown in your "cycle" and mess up your conception calculations.

A primal reaction linked back to our days of being nomads, don't want to get "knocked up" while the tribe is moving.

Runner's World addressed this on women endurance athletes.

Hi Anderson02. I saw your posting and I am in the same boat. I am 5'6 and started around 145 and over the course of a year or two have gotten to 135 (down from size 8 to 4!). I have to tell you, I hovered at 141 for a VERY long time until I upped my calories to about 1700 a day. When I plateaued, I was at about 1400 a day, and as it turns out, I think that was too little (I work out about 4-5 days a week for 30 minutes). It is scary to up your calories, but I would suggest that you try it for one week and see what happens. I was SHOCKEd, but delighted :)

Thanks jillrider. I am at 143.4 this morning and a size 8. I was just thinking that it was about time to add back in a few calories to mix things up a bit and get my body use to a few more calories without putting back on what I have lost. I think I should start slow though. Did you increase your calories gradually? If so, do you recall at what rate?

Just make sure to not under eat especially once you become pregnant. My wife didn't lose weight before pregnancy but she did once we had the baby and I did too. I will say a new baby is a good workout. From carrying her to pushing her in strollers to carrying her in a sling; she gave both of us good daily workouts.

anderson02 - reading your post was like reading my mind! i'm doing the exact same thing. my husband and I are going to start trying to conceive in early September (after my 30th birthday). and i want to lose at least 20 pounds before i get pregnant - for the exact same reason as you: if I have to gain weight during pregnancy - i'd rather have a lower "starting" weight.

my goal is to lose 20 lbs in 10 weeks (so, mid-July). this way, i'll have about 2 months to figure out how to maintain that weight. i'm also hoping that my taking control of my eating habits NOW - i'll have more self-control during the pregnancy and only gain the recommended amount, as opposed to using pregnancy to self-indulge and gain way more weight than necessary.

glad to meet someone else w/ the same plan as myself!

I hate to throw a monkey wrench in here, but I have to say as the mother of 3 that there is no predicting how, when, what and where you will be hungry as a pregnant woman. The cravings come on suddenly, and are sometimes for things you normally would never eat, and sometimes even if you eat what you're craving it doesn't go away. All 3 of my pregnancies were vastly different from each other. I didn't gain a ton with any of them, 30 pounds or so each, but I was heavy to start with. But I also had different experiences losing the weight afterward with each of them. If you think cravings are a problem when pregnant, cravings from breast feeding can be much much worse. It gave me cravings for ice cream, chocolate shakes, sugar cookies, kielbasa with lots of mustard, just to name a few. It's all well and good to make a plan and to try and execute it, but you might also want to prepare yourself for the fact that junior won't have the foggiest notion of your plan and will come wired to blow it out of the water for no apparent reason.

Hi Kathryn. :) It is good to see someone that shares my plan. Keep me posted on your progress! I have done really well until last weekend. We had not been out in awhile so I wanted to go and let go of the dieting; I felt like I needed a break from everything. Unfortunately it has taken me a few days to get back on track. I have still been entering every overindulgence in my food log and weight fluctuation in my weight log so I can also identify those trends. I am only 1.8 pounds above my lowest weight since starting this. The only downside is I have lost a week of potential additional loss due to just getting back to my pre-binge days. :o Oh well, it's all part of a bigger picture, right? I am really confident that I am back on track and can stay there today.

i am right there with you all!! i have about 10lbs to go to get to my goal weight before i want to start trying... but i have had 10lbs to go for the past 2 months! i can't seem to get past this weight! i have had a lot of set back days of bingeing (i will stick with my healthy diet perfectly for 5 or 6 days, but by day 7 i'm eating anything and everything in site)... which really disappoints me because i want to get into healthy habits so that they carry over into pregnancy and eventually passed on to my children... but if i can't get myself right, i don't feel like i deserve to have a baby... i definitely need some encouragement right now...

Hi wellmanjs,

First of all, there is no "don't deserve to have a baby"! If you only have ten pounds to go, you are far and away ahead of most people in the country right now...do you realize how many people are obese? If we all waited till we were 100% "well" in all ways, well, the human race would die out! A baby doesn't need a mom who does everything perfectly all the time...including nutrition! As your child grows up, he/she will hopefully see you making good choices most of the time and compensating for mistakes, getting back on the horse. That is far more valuable to a child than someone who insists on getting it right all the time, really it is!

Secondly, if you are bingeing on everything in sight on the 6th or 7th day, maybe the other days are too restrictive? I know in my experience, I was a little more relaxed this time I tried to lose the weight (I ate all the calories I was allotted instead of believing that fewer would help the weight fall off quicker), and this was the time I DID lose the last 10 pounds I thought I never would.

I wish you luck and I completely understand wanting to do everything right. I'm a mom, too. But as long as you are eating healthy and exercising, the baby won't care if you're ten pounds over your goal weight, and I seriously doubt that's enough to pose a health risk ;).

I assume you made the statement about not deserving a baby because you feel it is important to gain control of your own life before taking on the responsibility of caring for another. I think that is okay, just don't be too hard on yourself. ;) Perhaps you are being too restrictive. Or you are viewing this too much as a "diet" and not a lifestyle change. Face it, no one wants to be on a "diet". I say start with small changes and feel good about those small changes; that will in turn lead to bigger ones. Baby steps (no pun intended - well maybe it was!). :D

Here's an example - I wanted to make an actual attainable New Years Resolution a couple of years ago. So I said I would eat more fruits and vegetables. Well I found out I don't like veggies all that much but I really did like fruit. I also decided to refine my goal to eat "more fruits" and set a standard of trying to eat 2 pieces per day. I made that resolution over 2 years ago and maintain it to this day. I am now trying to eat more veggies as well.

Thank you so much for your encouragement, both of your posts made me feel better... but you are right, I do feel like I need to be in complete control of my life before taking on the responsibility of anothers... but I also agree that no one is perfect and that if everyone did that, the human race would die out! ha! congrats, johnson, on keeping your weight even below your goal!! that is quite a feat! you all are an inspiration!

I know how you feel, I just don't want my girls to have body issues like I did in high school. I think it is good to teach them self control but also good to show them that we accept ourselves even if we are still working on that last 10 pounds (which I am)... Good luck wellmanjs!

I am in the same spot...
 

I am in the same spot but much heavier then you. I wish you good luck and its smart that you are thinking ahead for your health and the babys.. I wish you and your husband sooooo much luck and love!
:)

Thanks! I have lost a few pounds but have changed my focus more on learning to eat better. Not only to be prepared for pregnancy but to be in better overall health. I have been experimenting with exercise, diet, etc. to find the right balance. It may take awhile but I think I am on the right path. I am increasing my workouts as my body tells me it's ready for more of a challenge and started adding veggies to my diet as well (I didn't eat really any veggies before).

I wish you luck on your lifestyle changes - both in heath and family. :cool: