Over Weight Trying to Conceive

some1sospecial

some1sospecial

New member
I am very overweight, Obese actually. I'm 5ft 210lbs, and trying to conceive. Has anyone here been able to conceive and have a healthy pregnancy and child while being obese? I would love any comments, advice, and help you all could offer me.
 
What does your doctor have to say?

I'm sure your odds of conception, as well as having a healthy pregnancy will increase exponentially by losing weight first -what steps are you taking to getting your weight down?

Spend some time reading the stickied threads inboth nutrition and exercise.... you'll get lots of good info to get you started
 
Mal, I had a long sarcastic reply for your lose weight first comment, I mean if it was that simple I would have done that 11 years ago when I first got fat. But I did say I welcomed all comments and advice, so thank you anyway. My dr simply told me to start walking everyday and taking my prenatal vitamins. Which I am doing.


My original question was ...

Has anyone here been able to conceive and have a healthy pregnancy and child while being obese?

Which pretty much means I have given up waiting till I lose weight first because then I will be waiting till I'm to old to bare children.
 
Extremely helpful doctor... :(

Read around the forums -especially in nutrition and exercise - If you're ready to lose the weight -and you've got the right motivation... it's possible to do... Don't give up before you even start...

What does your current food plan look like?

Get yourself an account at and keep track of what you are currently eating... it's helpful to know where your calories are coming from and makes it a lot easier to cut back when you have a starting point.
 
Since you're not wanting to lose weight, I suggest hanging out and asking questions on a TTC/Pregnancy board, rather than on a weight loss board.

I lost most of my excess weight before getting pregnant. Lost ~30 pounds (going from obese to overweight), tried 3 months unsuccessfully (but with good timing), took a break, lost another 15 pounds (down to the very top end of "normal") doing low-carb, got pregnant on the first try when we started up again. But I lost primarily because I was unwilling to start a pregnancy at an all-time-high weight.

I do know plenty of women who got pregnant while obese. Some of them had trouble conceiving, some didn't. Some of them had complicated pregnancies, some didn't.
 
What does your current food plan look like?
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Believe it or not my food plan isnt bad and I walk daily anywhere from a mile and a half to 3 miles a day. I cut out all dark sodas 7 months ago, I eat lots of fruits, and veggies. I dont eat any deep fried foods (going on a month now). But .. and here is the big BUT, my eatting schedule is REALLY bad. Hubby works in the oilfields so he is home at all odd hours so my schedule is pretty much like his and we could find ourselves having dinner anywhere between 12am to 3am. Breakfast isnt till 2pm, lunch around 6pm then dinner around midnight. And I snack, bad. I love Ben & Jerrys icecream about 10pm while playing games online. Soo my weight hasnt gone up in 3 years but it hasnt gone down either.

Thanks Ally and Mal I will go check out the nutrition and pregnancy boards. I am pretty new here so I didnt know there were some. As for why I posted here was because I do want to lose weight, I just didnt want to wait till it was off to start TTC. I figured I could lose before, during and after and be okay. Just wanted to make sure I could still concieve at this weight.
 
not sure if i'm misunderstanding this, but does this mean you cut out like coke and root beer but not like sprite or ginger ale? because they're no better...still packed with sugar and they won't do you any good...i'd suggest cutting all sodas, even diet sodas especially during a pregnancy
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I cut out all sodas except for the occassional sweet tea at a restraunt or something. I cant stand the taste of the clear ones hehe.

would getting a nutritionist during your pregnancy be a possibility?
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I dont think I could afford one but I do plan to eat much healthier, I wanted to know (now) if its okay to diet while pregnant?
 
some1sospecial said:
I wanted to know (now) if its okay to diet while pregnant?
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"Diet" meaning to restrict calories below what you'd need to maintain while not pregnant? No, not without the full approval and supervision of your OB / midwife.

Nothing wrong with eating a healthy balanced diet and getting regular exercise, though.
 
One of my biggest motivators to lose weight is to get pregnant. I just don't want to be very overweight and pregnant, too. I'm nearly 36, so my age already counts against me. I don't want my weight to potentially complicate things further.

That Ben and Jerry's could be why you're not losing weight. I love me some peanut butter cup ice cream. But it is loaded with calories. 1pint of it has over 1000 calories. The ice cream could be what's hindering your weight loss. Have you tracked your calories to see how much you're eating?

I had a friend who was very overweight (still is) who took several years to conceive (age 33), and had gestational diabetes while pregnant. That's quite common in women who are obese while pregnant. Another friend of mine wasn't as heavy, but still pretty big. She also had GD and pre-eclampsia (sp)--which can be very dangerous. It's due to high blood pressure. She didn't have any trouble conceiving, but was in her early 20s at the time.
 
I had a friend who was very overweight (still is) who took several years to conceive (age 33), and had gestational diabetes while pregnant. That's quite common in women who are obese while pregnant.
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Yea that is something I am going to have to look into, well my mom did convince me last night to lose at least 20lbs first. For me I know that the low carb diet does work so I figured I would try that for at least a month and see how that goes. I usually lose about 15 the first 3 weeks on it.

Nothing wrong with eating a healthy balanced diet and getting regular exercise, though.
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I have actually started eatting alot of raw veggies and fruits when I get my sweet tooth at night. Thank You :) I've also decided to finally kick my midnight Ben and Jerrys habit. I am trying to make me wanting to conceive a big reason for losing some weight, I just felt really turned off by the fact that I have so much to lose to be at a healthy weight and didnt want to have to wait till I did to start trying. So instead I am starting with a lower goal of losing at least 10% of my body weight.
 
There is a thread somewhere on here from a girl who got pregnant while overweight (I don't remember how much) but she actually lost weight while pregnant under a specific diet plan from her doctor.

If I find it I'll repost with her link and story.
 
I took several classes on health during pregnancy and it was stressed that dieting during pregnancy is not a good idea. eating well and exercise are great but no one should try to lose weight during a pregnancy. I would not trust a doctor who suggested that it was an okay thing to do. if you want to know if you can get pregnant while obese, sure, yeah, a lot of women do. I personally know a few who have done it. is it healthy for you and the baby? no, it isn't. this is one of the reasons i'm trying so hard to get fit. i want to be in super excellent shape when i get pregnant. being obese and pregnant is very risky. if you could give yourself just one more year to get in shape...you could be out of that risky zone. I don't want this to sound mean or hateful..but if you have found it so hard to lose weight before the baby, are you sure you'll be able to lose it after? Life is going to be completely different once that baby arrives and losing weight is going to be three times more difficult. I just wanted to throw that out there as something to think about.
 
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Fyi I have lost 8lbs since last posting. I've also spoken to my doctor and she said the way I was doing it was fine and I could continue to do it through the pregnancy. I've cut out all deep fried foods, sodas, sweets, caffeine, salt, and about 50% carbs. I've been eatting lots of fruits, veggies, and salads. My dr was actually very impressed with all my #'s. Blood pressure is down, cholestorol is good, no longer anemic, etc.
 
HI! I just wanted to let you know that your weight does not have to be an issue for getting pregnant. I am 32 years old and have had two sons 14 months apart over the last 2 years. I weighed between 277lb and I hit my all time high with my 1st son of 330. I am now very disciplined to get the weight off and weigh less then when I concieved my first son. Everyone is different but I had two healthy boys and two good pregnancys and I did not have to try very hard to get pregnant. I will say I wanted to be lighter with the second one after seeing how tired and sore I was with my first but it did not work out that way. My goal is to be at a healthy weight for my 3rd child in a few years. I am 5' 5" so being 277lb is very obese. I wish you all the luck in the world and I think it is good that you have already dropped some weight!
 
some1sospecial said:
I am very overweight, Obese actually. I'm 5ft 210lbs, and trying to conceive. Has anyone here been able to conceive and have a healthy pregnancy and child while being obese? I would love any comments, advice, and help you all could offer me.
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First of all let me say that I think 210 isnt such a bad number! Dont be so hard on yourself! But as always it would help to be at your ideal weight before taking on the woes of pregnancy. That being said I myself conceived and carried my first child at the grand old weight of 380 pounds! I heard my whole pregnancy how ignorant I was for getting pregnant at my size. But I had been on birth control, which they figured failed due to my size. They had me on a normal dose. But I will tell you that my daughters pregnancy and this pregnancy I am on now have been SO much nicer and easier on my body having lost over 200 pounds. NIGHT and DAY type differences. Good luck! :)
 
My aunt actually was obese a bit, and over 35 when she conceived her third child. She was convinced she had cancer, then found out she was pregnant LOL. She actually did lose a bit of weight during the pregnancy I believe. Her baby had a few health problems, but I doubt that's because of her obesity. Now her daughter is 3 years old, vibrant, sweet and very intelligent and healthy.

However, that's all I can offer. I haven't been pregnant, or tried to get pregnant or anything, so.
 
I was over 200 lbs with three of my children, they were all healthy full term babies. I had no trouble getting pregnant, the last 3 were right after another, lol.

BUT, my first two pregnancies were so much eaiser! Being pregnant is hard enough, but add the weight and ugg. You can do it, of course and I would go through it all over again. But if I had lost even 20lbs before hand, that would have made a huge difference. By my 5th child end of pregnancy weight was 290. You allso don't know how much your body will put on during your pregnancy... Some would say you are in control of that, to a point that is true, the rest is all genetics... Every pregnancy I gained at least 50lbs, and some were in the 70's. Yeah you loose at least 20lbs right after having a baby but the rest stays on you.

Everybody is different, for that matter every pregnancy is different! Your ability to get pregnant will be different from me or anyone else, also your pregnancy and how much you gain with it. Will your child be healthy because mine were? It's all anyones guess...

The only thing I think we all can say is, it's best to loose some weight before hand. For your comfort and health, if possible. Good luck!!!!!! Being a mom is great, I wish you much sucsess!!!
 
Wanted to add "dieting" during pregnancy is a big NO NO! The baby will get what it needs regardless if you are restricting yourself. Which means things like your teeth can get weaker, if you are not nurishing yourself. Don't eat for two, (adults, lol) but make sure you are getting enough calories. You can find out how many calories your body needs at . If you cut out all that sweet stuff, you will probably drop in weight just from doing that. But make sure you are definatly getting enough in you, healthy things though!
 
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