Do I need to lose weight before TTC?

naughtoj

naughtoj

Cathlete
Since my miscarriage Aug. 3 I am very dissapointed to say that I have not dropped ONE SINGLE POUND of the 10lbs I gained in the 12 short weeks of my failed pregnancy. Somebody throw me a bone here---jeez---couldn't one stinking pound have been water weight?!!!x( Appears not so. Now I clock in at 5'1, 151 lbs. I was 141 pre pg. Healthy very fit weight for me is 125-135 but takes WORK to get down there.

Anyhow, I finally got my first period after m/c and hubby and I are seriously talking about TTC. Do I have to diet down first? I am trying to exercise more and eat healthier but the weight is not coming off w/o officially "dieting", which I don't want to do if TTC. Will it be a mistake to just go ahead and get PG again before dieting down? Or will it even matter in the long run?

Opinions? Anyone else gain gobs of weight with a failed pregnancy that just didn't budge afterwards?
 
Any extra weight you can get rid of before conception is only going to make for a healthier pregnancy and a healthier you after the birth. I don't think it's absolutely essential that you be your goal weight, but there's enough research out there that tells us about the dangers of being overweight and pregnant. Also, extra weight can cause endocrine and fertility issues that can make it difficult to conceive. Any extra pounds you have now will be that much harder to get off tacked onto the back of new pregnancy weight.

I'm not sure what you mean that you don't want to "diet" while TTC. 1800 calories is the lowest you can go while pregnant, and that is a lot of food if you eat clean! Don't diet! Just clean up the eating. You would be doing that anyway if you were pregnant, so get a head start.

I also gained about 10 pounds with each of my miscarried pregnancies, all late first trimester. I made it a goal to get rid of those pounds before I tried to conceive again. I'm so glad I did, because I would have had an extra 60 pounds sitting on me if I hadn't by the time it was all said and done. I think you need to do the best you can to get rid of those extra pounds. You will never be sorry you did.
 
I should clarify that I was on complete bed rest for my entire gestation for my two successful pregnancies, and 1800 calories was my recommended intake, and the lowest medically acceptable. Just remember that your body only needs about 500 extra calories a day to grow a healthy baby.
 
I read that you only need 300 extra cals a day when preggo and 500 when bfing. I couldn't believe that your body needs more cals when bf;ing then to make a baby. Not that I followed only eating 300 extra cals, cause I never would have gained 50 lbs if that were the case.

Just try to be as healthy as you can be. It would be great to lose that 10 lbs and I really don't think it will hurt getting pregnant if your dieting. The people who have trouble getting pregnant when dieting are the ones who don't have periods. It also won't hurt you right now if you keep it on, but that 10 could turn in to 20 or 30 lbs that won't budge after giving birth. In my opinion, the longer weight is left on, the longer it is to take off. You just have to decide how badly you want it off.
You say your eating healthy, try writing everything down.I also don't think we need as many cals as we think we do sometimes. For ages, I have been exercising and running thinking I was burning tons of cals, only to buy a Heart Rate Monitor last week and find out that I was only burning 1/2 of what I thought I was! And no doubt during that day, I ate what i thought I burned. No wonder my weight stayed the same for so long!

Have fun trying!;) ;)
 
I wouldn't worry about dieting, just try to eat clean and exercise so that you are in good health.

A very similar thing happened to me. I had a miscarriage back in February and managed to gain 10 pounds during the 10 weeks of pregnancy. I was not having luck getting it all off (I did eventually end up losing about half of it). Now I am 10 weeks pregnant again and this time I have only gained 2 pounds because I am eating much healthier.

Don't starve yourself, just look for places where you can swap a not so healthy choice for a better one.

Good Luck to you!
 
I agree with the others. I wouldn't really 'diet', but just eat clean. It is true, if you eat 1800 calories a day and you are eating clean, those calories will go a long, long way.

Just focus on being as healthy as you can be and things will fall together.

good luck!
 
Thank you guys.

I am not eating healthy right now. Just a whole lot less, due to NOT being pregnant and being depressed because of everything. The appetite change has been like night and day so I just thought something would come off but I am not trying too hard either.
I have been running with a group on Sat. AM for half-marathon training but haven't been keeping up my end of the bargain during the week, for the most part.

I was eating pretty much whatever when I was pregnant, but only eating when I was hungry but that turned out to be every 3 hours! But this time around, when it happens again, I'll lean much more heavily towards salads now that I see the weight will stay forever!

I just have been conflicted on TTC again and didn't want to be actively dieting (1200 cals or less) while TTC, since that is not best for the baby. And hard for me when I think I'll just gain it all back!

Thanks all!:)
 
Hello there,

I agree with the other posts - just try to eat clean and and stay active without going crazy. I feel your pain about not losing the weight after miscarrying though. I had 2 miscarriages prior to this pregnancy (my first child due in Nov.) and with each one I gained about 10-15 pounds. So, at 5' 3", I started ttc at 116lbs., then after mc #1 I weighed 125. Really not overweight at all, but bigger. While ttc, it took me 7 months to lose 5 of those lbs - then I got prego again. I then weighed 135 by the time of mc #2. After that I went on clomid and puffed up to 140 for 8 months before conceiving this baby.

Hang in there - for me, it has all been about staying active and eating well. Even at 140, I looked good (just more booby) b/c a lot of it was muscle under my clomid bloat. So - take care of yourself and try not to feel discouraged by your weight. Best of luck and here's hoping the next little bean sticks!

arancini
 
Just wanted to come back and say that I eat every 3 hours and it has actually done wonders for me. When I first switched from 3 meals a day to 5 or 6 I lost quite a bit of weight.

Now that I am pregnant eating every 3 hours keeps me from feeling so sick to my stomach. Before I was pregnant it helped me each much healthier and make better food choices. I love that I never get ravenously hungry anymore. I think I just feel much better in general. Of course my meals are a lot smaller because there are more of them, but I think that is good too. I hate the feeling of being too full.

You might want to give it a try and see if you like it.

Try not to beat yourself up over anything, you are still recovering. Some days will be better than others
 
i agree with everyone else. I would just eat a healthy diet and keep a regular excercise progam involved. I think that is the best idea and dont be too hard on yourself. Your body has/is going through hormonal and emotional changes and it takes time for those things to come back to normal. Goodluck TTC. I hope this time it works for you.

Melissa
 
So far you have gotten excellent advice. I just want to add my 2 cents worth as a therapist-either sit down with a friend, family member or professional and process your feelings over the miscarriage and allow yourself to grieve. . You probably don't need to diet but do need to find better ways to handle your emotional issues. My guess is that for a while you have used food to cope with the grief.
 
Naughtoj, when you do eat, try to make sure that you are getting a protein, a complex carb, and a small amount of fat at each meal and snack. (If you're having salads, they should contain a variety of vegetables and you could throw some chicken in there if you like!) This will help keep cravings for the "wrong" foods out of the way and will help you eat clean.
 
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