Do I Really Need To Lose Weight In Order To Get Pregnant
When you have been struggling with infertility, Dr. Google can be an overwhelming resource. Most women want to know everything that they can do to help improve their chances of conceiving, whether that is through improving their response to IVF medications or improving egg quality and hormone balance to conceive through IUI or natural cycles. If you are currently overweight, part of your treatment recommendations may have been to lose weight. But losing weight is not always easy.
If you have struggled with maintaining a healthy weight you are probably asking:
- Should I lose weight?
- Does this impact my chances of conceiving?
- How much weight should I lose & how do I start?
Diet Plans For Overweight Pregnant Women Everything You Need To Know
Gaining a little weight during pregnancy is normal and, in fact, healthy. But excessive weight gain can be alarming. To avoid or manage such a situation, you could try following some diet plans for overweight pregnant women to help maintain a healthy pregnancy weight.
While preparing a food chart for pregnancy, you should include foods from all the major food groups while controlling your calorie intake. An abnormal weight gain during pregnancy invites complications such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and even depression. These issues can take a toll on both your and the babys health.
In this post, we have provided some healthy food choices to include in your pregnancy diet, including tips to make delicious yet balanced meals.
How To Safely Lose Weight During Pregnancy
There are health and medical reasons to lose weight during pregnancy. One is if you were already overweight or obese before pregnancy and another is if you gained too much weight during pregnancy.
Some weight gain during pregnancy or your own extra weight aside from the babys weight is normal and actually necessary. But too much excess pounds can lead to serious pregnancy complications and put your health and your babys health at risk.
Recommended Reading: How Can I Get Pregnant With Low Sperm Count
Eating For Two How To Maintain A Healthy Weight During Pregnancy
May 1, 2018
During pregnancy, many women relish theopportunity to feed their sweet tooth or enjoy comfort foods that are full ofempty calories. In fact, 47percent of American moms gain too much weight during pregnancy, according to a report from theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention .
Some women think they have to eat for twoduring pregnancy, but overeating can lead to health problems for moms, such asdiabetes and heart health concerns. And excessive weight gain during pregnancymakes it that much harder to lose the weight after birth, leading to anincreased risk of obesity at the beginning of a future pregnancy.
Of course, some weight gain is expected duringpregnancy. However, its important to discuss with your doctor how much weightyou should gain based on your weight before pregnancy and your unique healthcondition.
Key Points About Eating Drinking And Watching Your Weight During Pregnancy/while Hap
Recommended Reading: How Do Girls Get Pregnant
Healthy Snacks In Pregnancy
If you get hungry between meals, try not to eat snacks that are high in fat and/or sugar, such as sweets, biscuits, crisps or chocolate. Instead, choose something healthier, such as:
- small sandwiches or pitta bread with grated cheese, lean ham, mashed tuna, salmon, or sardines, with salad
- salad vegetables, such as carrot, celery or cucumber
- low-fat, lower-sugar fruit yoghurt, plain yoghurt or fromage frais with fruit
- hummus with wholemeal pitta bread or vegetable sticks
- ready-to-eat apricots, figs or prunes
- vegetable and bean soups
- baked beans on toast or a small baked potato
- a small slice of malt loaf, a fruited tea cake or a slice of toasted fruit bread
Find out more about healthy food swaps.
When choosing snacks, you can use food labels to help you. Find out more about food labelling, including how the “green, amber, red” code can help you make healthier choices quickly.
If You Are Able Consider Breastfeeding
While more research is needed to truly determine whether or not breastfeeding has a huge impact on weight loss, because it burns calories, it can often be a solid starting point. Even if you are unable to exclusively breastfeed, pumping may also provide a boost in calorie burning, as the two mechanisms are very similar.
When working to lose weight postpartum, remember to go easy on yourself. The first year with a baby can present a whole host of new challenges, so consider stepping into the weight loss process gradually, and with patience.
You May Also Be Interested In Postpartum Products From Our Featured Partner
Ritual Essential Postnatal Multivitamin
Read Also: What You Feel If You Are Pregnant
What Extra Care Will I Get During My Pregnancy
If you have a BMI over 30 you should be referred to a dietitian for an assessment and advice about healthy eating and exercise.
You will also have:
- extra ultrasound scans to check the babys development
- blood pressure tests at every antenatal appointment
- a gestational diabetes test between 24-28 weeks
- a risk assessment for thrombosis at your first antenatal appointment, which will then be monitored throughout your pregnancy.
You may also need to have injections of low molecular weight heparin to reduce your risk of blood clots.
If you have a BMI over 40 there is a higher risk of complications during labour or birth. These include:
- an emergency caesarean section
- a more difficult operation if you need a caesarean section and a higher risk of complications afterward, for example a wood infection or blood clots
- anaesthetic complications, especially with general anaesthesia
- heavy bleeding after birth or at the time of caesarean section.
Because of these risks your obstetrician and/or midwife will talk to you about the safest way and place for you to give birth and your options may be limited. You should also be referred to an anaesthetist to talk about pain relief during labour.
Being classed as obese does not always mean you will need a caesarean section but you may be more likely to have one. Find out more about c-section advice for overweight women.
Challenge: Eat When Hungry And Stop When Satisfied
If the hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution
Mindful eating will help you to end triggers and habits that cause you to overeat. Lets say you get home from work and you are STARVING. You cant possibly wait until your salmon and broccoli are ready and so you eat half a block of cheese and a box of crackers before you even wash the broccoli. After finishing dinner you feel bloated and stuffed. If this sounds familiar, its time to reprogram your brain and recognize that we are no longer living in the stone age when we didnt know when our next meal would happen.
Here are two ways to practice mindful eating:
- First, recognize that hunger is not an emergency. Next time your brain says, Im hungry! Must eat now! take 3-5 deep breaths, drink some water and gently remind yourself that this is not an emergency and that you will have your meal soon.
- Second, to stop eating when you are full, put your food or fork down in between bites and talk to yourself. Ask yourself, am I still hungry?. If you are not, stop eating and put the food away.
Also Check: Can You Donate Plasma While Pregnant
You May Like: What To Eat And Drink When Pregnant
Drink Plenty Of Water
Water is important for anyone who is trying to lose weight. Drinking enough water will keep you hydrated, satiate cravings, and boost your metabolism. Water is particularly important for breastfeeding moms, since your body will spend extra water producing milk.
Drinking 1 to 2 liters a day is a good baseline, but you should also use the color of your urine to guide you. If youre properly hydrated, your urine be light yellow and youll need to urinate every 3 to 4 hours.
If You’re Overweight Or Obese
That being said, obesity increases a womans risk of having a miscarriage, stillbirth, and various pregnancy-related health complications like preeclampsia, says Cackovic.
But even if your BMI is above the normal range for women, actively trying to lose weight during pregnancyespecially by following a restrictive diet for weight loss sakereally isnt smart, Cackovic says. That’s because when your body goes into starvation mode, it creates carbon fragments from your liver called ketones, which supply you with energy when youre not taking in enough calories. But those ketones, which have been linked with brain damage in babies, can cross the placental barrier and reach the fetus.
“We do limit obese women’s weight gain, but theres never really an instance where we recommend weight loss,” says Sherry Ross, M.D., an ob-gyn and women’s health expert at Providence Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica, California.
However, people who are obese may end up losing some weight during pregnancy by following a healthier, more nutrient-rich diet, she says. “Obese women who are eating much more healthy in general during their pregnancy may have a hard time gaining weight,” says Ross.
Read Also: Can You Get Pregnant When Your Fertile Window Is Active
Determining Your Pregnancy Weight
At the start of your pregnancy, calculate your body mass index to help determinewhether you are at a healthy weight. You might be surprised at what you learn. Forexample, an active woman who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 155 pounds isconsidered overweight based solely on BMI. Of course, there mightbe an unusual case of someone who is exceptionally fit and muscular who couldfall into this category. But for most patients, this designation is accurate.
Which Side Of Uterus Is Baby Girl
According to the theory, the placement of your developing placenta which must be determined in a very precise way can reveal your baby’s sex. If your placenta is forming on the right side of your uterus, the baby is most likely a boy, the theory claims. If it’s forming on the left side, it’s probably a girl.
Also Check: How Many Weeks Do I Have Left Of Pregnancy
If Youre Overweight Or Obese
That being said, obesity increases a womans risk of having a miscarriage, stillbirth, and various pregnancy-related health complications like preeclampsia, says Cackovic.
But even if your BMI is above the normal range for women, actively trying to lose weight during pregnancyespecially by following a restrictive diet for weight loss sakereally isnt smart, Cackovic says. Thats because when your body goes into starvation mode, it creates carbon fragments from your liver called ketones, which supply you with energy when youre not taking in enough calories. But those ketones, which have been linked with brain damage in babies, can cross the placental barrier and reach the fetus.
We do limit obese womens weight gain, but theres never really an instance where we recommend weight loss, says Sherry Ross, M.D., an ob-gyn and womens health expert at Providence Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica, California.
However, people who are obese may end up losing some weight during pregnancy by following a healthier, more nutrient-rich diet, she says. Obese women who are eating much more healthy in general during their pregnancy may have a hard time gaining weight, says Ross.
You May Like: Is It Safe To Take Tums While Pregnant
Check Those Iron Levels
Its time to start pumping iron. The supplement kind, that is. Consuming iron supplements and non-heme iron, which comes from plant-based foods, may decrease the risk of ovulatory infertility.
A recent 2019 study concluded that heme iron had no effect on fertility and non-heme only had some benefit for women who already had iron deficiency.
More evidence is needed to confirm whether iron supplements should be recommended to all women, especially if iron levels are already healthy. But making sure your iron levels are solid with your doctor is a good step.
Non-heme iron sources are more difficult for your body to absorb, so try taking them with foods or drinks high in vitamin C to increase absorption.
Alcohol consumption can negatively affect fertility. However, its unclear how much alcohol is needed to cause this effect.
One 2016 study found that having more than
involving 7,393 women found that a high alcohol intake was associated with more infertility examinations.
However, the evidence on moderate alcohol consumption is mixed. One older study found no link between moderate consumption and infertility, while other studies report that moderate intake can affect fertility.
Ultimately, avoiding excessive consumption of alcohol is recommended. Talk to you doctor about your own intake to ensure the best outcome for you.
Examples include:
Also Check: Can Pregnant Women Drink Boost
Effects Of Weight Loss On The Mother
Losing too much weight can prove counter-effective and can have a negative impact on the well-being of you and your child. Unhealthy weight loss, which mainly occurs due to morning sickness or loss of appetite can start in the first trimester of pregnancy and may last up until the end of the first trimester. Weight loss during pregnancy is not always healthy as it might affect the health of the pregnant woman and her baby. Mentioned below are some complications of weight loss during pregnancy:
- The baby may be born underweight because of lack of nutrition.
- There is an increased chance of a miscarriage in the first trimester due to anorexia.
- Lower levels of amniotic fluid.
- The baby will have a poor cognitive function.
- You might feel tired all the time and will be prone to infections.
You May Like: Early Pregnancy Implantation Rash
Break Up The Exercise
Exercising at least one hour a day is an ideal plan for weight loss. However, most people dont have this much time, and breaking up the workout is just fine. Working out for 30 minutes on weight training exercises in the morning and then walking with your partner for 30 minutes after dinner works just as well.
Recommended Reading: How To Treat Restless Leg Syndrome While Pregnant
Create A Plan For Gradual Weight Loss During Pregnancy
Even before theyre born, your future baby relies on you in numerous ways. Your body nourishes and carries them for about 40 weeks, helping them grow and develop. Having excess weight can cause problems during pregnancy because it can get in the way of these processes.
Having obesity while pregnant may lead to:
Despite such dangers, your best approach to weight loss is through a consistent, yet gradual plan with a focus on healthier lifestyle changes. Gradual weight loss is best for your body and the fetus.
If your doctor recommends that you lose weight, heres how to do so safely during pregnancy.
Complications Of Being Overweight During Pregnancy
Preeclampsia This condition is becoming more common, increasing 25% over the last two decades. Preeclampsia symptoms usually occur after the 20th week of pregnancy up until your due date and can up until six weeks postpartum.
Preeclampsia can range from an elevation in blood pressure up to maternal seizures called eclampsia.
Gestational diabetes If the body is not able to make and use all the insulin it needs for pregnancy, glucose cannot leave the blood and provide energy. As glucose builds up, the result is gestational diabetes.
Pregnant patients with gestational diabetes are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes later in life, and high blood sugar can cause rapid fetus growth and delivery complications.
Read Also: What Bras To Wear While Pregnant
Why Should I Exercise During Pregnancy
Staying active during pregnancy will help you to slow weight gain and have a healthier pregnancy and delivery. Exercise is safe for most pregnant women. Talk to your health care provider to find out what type of physical activity is safe for you.
- Benefits of exercise during pregnancy
- Slows weight gain
Did You Know? Women who exercise during pregnancy may have shorter labors and easier deliveries.
Establish Your Current Caloric Intake
Some women already have the right composition of food, but they eat too many calories. If you are maintaining your weight well, try establishing a current caloric intake. This will give you a number to start with when subtracting for weight loss.
The most prescribed way to lose weight is to eat less than you are currently eating. There are many ways to cut calories, including replacing foods. Starting with your current caloric intake, subtract 1000 calories from that total. This is the number of calories you will need to consume every day to lose 2 pounds a week. For example, if you are currently consuming 2,500 calories a day, the goal is 1,500 calories a day.
Also Check: Lasik While Pregnant
Recommended Reading: How To Save Sperm To Get Pregnant
How To Lose Weight Safely While Pregnant And When Would Your Doctor Recommend It
In an ideal world, every facet of your pregnancy plan runs smoothly, and youre at your ideal weight prior to becoming pregnant. However, for a lot of women, this isn’t always possible. While getting pregnant is exciting, it can easily become a weight dilemma for overweight women. This is because gaining weight is inevitable during pregnancy.
Have you considered clinical trials for Weight management?
We make it easy for you to participate in a clinical trial for Weight management, and get access to the latest treatments not yet widely available – and be a part of finding a cure.
