A Weighty Issue - TTC

[Po10472]

In light of a recent post regarding the issue of being overweight and trying to conceive, it makes sense to have a thread where we can share our concerns, swap tips and more importantly support one another before we start trying for a baby. My thoughts are:

* Improve your diet three months to a year before you conceive

* Exercise plan to get fit

* Reach your ideal body weight

* Follow a healthy eating plan

* Take vitamin supplements

* Get lots of folic acid

* Cut back now on alcohol

* What else to avoid?

 

[Lorelei]

Just popping in to wish you luck Po and Merry and anyone else who wants to get healthier to TTC!

 

[Po10472]

Thanks to you Lorelei, this thread wouldn''t be in here, yer a wee STAR!

Looking forward to the next year and hopefully the journey that Merry and I will share together and with our other PS friends who want to join us.

 

[steph72276]

Hi, can I join in our your thread? I just had a miscarriage a week ago. I was 9 weeks and had already gained 10 pounds! I was also up another 10 pounds more than I should have been before I got pregnant. So now, I am trying to lose 20 or so before we try again. Really, I''m just trying to get healthy...back into my exercise routine and eating healthier. Good luck to you guys too.

 

[Po10472]

Hi Steph, welcome.

So sorry to hear your news and I hope you are coping ok. It''s good to see that you are still really positive and it''s also really encouraging that no matter what hurdles you face, you keep going. Well done you and here''s to 2009!!

Thanks for the good luck wishes.

po
x

 

[steph72276]

Date: 1/1/2009 10:32:21 AM
Author: Po10472

Hi Steph, welcome.

So sorry to hear your news and I hope you are coping ok. It''s good to see that you are still really positive and it''s also really encouraging that no matter what hurdles you face, you keep going. Well done you and here''s to 2009!!

Thanks for the good luck wishes.


po

x

Thanks, Po. Here''s hoping that 2009 is our year!

 

[merrymunky]

Hi Po, Steph and Lorelei.

Steph - Of course you can join us. Common purpose! I''m still so sorry to hear your sad news. Let''s hope that the next attempt is more successful - when you decide the time is right to try again.

I''m feeling more positive than I did when I posted the original thread on this subject. The wounds were fresh. Since then I have had time to think and I have talked to my FI and we have had a great day together. I made the effort to go out for a walk with him. We have a lovely park and shoreline just round the corner so we parked up there and wandered forund for an hour. I felt so much better for it. It gave us chance to get silly with each other. We went into the kiddies park and I just had to jump pn the roundabout. He pushed me round on it till I got very dizzy and giddy. He was jumping along these huge rocks that lined the path edge...we had fun needless to say.

I think we sometimes forget what fun we can have together when we are both happy so that''s one issue we hope to resolve along this journey.

I realise he must have sounded like a caveman judging from the reactions of most people in the other thread. He really isn''t. I think it is a case of "Six of one, half a dozen of the other" with the pair of us. We do have some differences to resolve...because we do want the same thing at the end of the day. Like you said Po, we are gong about it in different ways. We need to meet in the middle somewhere.

 

[Maria D]

Hello -- I am not TTC and no longer overweight but I read the thread over in the Family section so I just wanted to pop in and show some support to Po and Merry!

Merry, I don't think your FI sounds like a neanderthal at all. To me it sounds like he knows what he wants -- you and a family -- but he also knows he can't have it the way things are right now. So of course he is frustrated. On top of that he's a man and we all know how great men are about expressing their feelings about frustration, LOL!

I spent most of my adult life overweight until a few years ago. I never thought I could get down to my ideal weight but I did, finally, in my mid-forties -- and I stayed there. The only advice I have is that as long as you think it can't be done, it won't be done. The biggest challenge is your own mindset.

Best of luck to you both, you can do it!

*edited to add -- I see more have joined in so best of luck to all!

 

[marcy]

Good luck to you ladies.

 

[bee*]

Best of luck girls! I saw your posts in the other threads and I know that you guys can do it!

 

[merrymunky]

Well as I posted in the HLT...I have started to track what I eat again. This week I am just writing everything down but from next week I will be making a food plan for the week in advance, counting the Weight Watchers points.

I haven''t spoken to my FI about the conversations we have. I fear that if I try to discuss it all with him at the moment t would be a bad idea. I know the conversation would just turn ugly. So for now I am going to just make an effort to change my lifestyle. Maybe soon I will address the issue with him. Eventually I will have to because I can''t go on wth the uncertaintly of my future.

 

[Po10472]

hey Merry - I think you are doing the right thing in waiting a wee while.

I recently wrote a list of things that I want to do in my life that are achievable. I know we''d all love to win the lottery but that''s outwith our hands and so I made the decision to be realistic in my goals. I wrote my list thinking of the following - why do I want to achieve this, is it feasible, what steps do I need to take to achieve my goals, do I need someone or something to help me, how will this make me feel etc etc. I then prioritised them as I have a problem with wanting things done now and losing weight I want to lose is a longterm committment, not an overnight success. Looking back at my list, they''re all related to my weight in one way or another so that was a wake up call for me, to achieve what I want I have to face what I fear the most - tackling my weight issues.

Sooooooo, focussing on yourself and losing some weight will make you feel happier about yourself and it will start to clear away the cobwebs of doubt and insecurity that you have about yourself and your FI. Once you''re on the right path you will start to see things differently I''m sure and be more pro-active. You need to prove commitment to you and that you love you first before you can ask someone to commit themselves to you.

I tried a plan called the Elimination plan about 3 years ago and lost 30lbs in 3 months, I felt brilliant and have managed to keep 16lbs off but I started my Masters degree part-time and therefore my focus was elsewhere so I never lost any more weight. However, I discovered a lot about my eating habits and have implemented many of the good points into my daily routine. I am going to start the plan again in a couple of weeks once I''ve submitted my final assisgnment - yay!! and then I can focus 100% on me as I''m going to be my next project. No excuses this time.

It can seem quite extreme and doesn''t work for everyone but I''ve tried hundreds of diets and they all made me put on weight, this is the only one that I like and works for me, it also lets you know what foods your body doesn''t agree with. Who knew that my tipple of choice - Belgian Wheat Beer - was a poison to me, I was totally intolerant to it, it made me really really ill, but it wasn''t until I cut it out of my diet and started to reintroduce it that I realised that. I''ve not had a beer of any description in 3 years!!!

I am going to start with the 30-day plan then start to reintroduce foods into my daily routine by the end of this period I''ll hopefully have kick started my weight loss and be motivated enough to continue. My hubby is going to try the 30-day plan too to spur me along and support me. He only needs to lose a few lbs but the fact that we''re going to do it together is great.

Have a wee look at the plan and if it appeals to you let me know. I know WW does wonders for lots of folks but I found that it got me obsessed with points and I tended to pack my daily allowance with the wrong sort of points, i.e., chocolate and bisuits - a definite no-no for me. I need to eat every 3/4 hours and have protein at each meal, sugar and carbs are my danger zone.

cheers

po

 

[steph72276]

Po, sugar and carbs are my danger zone too. I really lose the weight when I watch my refined carbs and up the protein. How does your elimination diet work?

 

[AmberGretchen]

Just wanted to pop in and wish you ladies - Po, Merry, and Steph, and whoever else decides to join - the best of luck.

I lost about 50 lbs a couple of years ago and have kept it off, so I know how tough it can be. I''ll be rooting for you ladies - I know you all can do it, and the rewards in healthy selves and healthy families will be wonderful!!

 

[merrymunky]

I joined weight watchers online today. Paid for a 3 month subscription. It looks great. I know WW point counting works for me as it has given me success in the past until I fell off the wagon. Meetings are quite hard to fit into my life so the online option seems better...cheaper overall too.

I''ve had a good look round the site this afternoon and will start using the online trackers on Monday.

 

[Po10472]

Date: 1/3/2009 2:24:32 PM
Author: merrymunky
I joined weight watchers online today. Paid for a 3 month subscription. It looks great. I know WW point counting works for me as it has given me success in the past until I fell off the wagon. Meetings are quite hard to fit into my life so the online option seems better...cheaper overall too.

I''ve had a good look round the site this afternoon and will start using the online trackers on Monday.

Merry, that''s great, you''ve made the first step, well done you!!!

 

[Po10472]

Date: 1/3/2009 9:01:07 AM
Author: steph72276
Po, sugar and carbs are my danger zone too. I really lose the weight when I watch my refined carbs and up the protein. How does your elimination diet work?

The aim of the elimination diet is to re-establish the vitality of your internal environment, properly nourish your cells and allow the nutritional and
biochemical status quo to be re-established...............em......basically a healthy eating plan whereby the main premis is to kick-start it with a 30-day elimination programme where you excude the following:
1. All Caffeine containing products – Coffee, Tea, Hot chocolate fizzy drinks
2. Sugar – Including sucrose, glucose or fructose, honey, maple syrup, corn syrup
3. Processed Food – The list is almost endless but pretty much anything tinned, baked or pre-packed or if it has numbers or unpronounceable words on the packet
4. Wheat Products – Bread, biscuits, cakes, pies and breakfast cereals
5. Dairy – Milk and cheese (only in part one of programme)
6. Alcohol – All of it, even your ‘diet vodka’
This means that you eat fresh produce, vegetables, salads, chicken, fish etc only and drink decaf teas/cofees and water, lots of it, at least 3 litres a day. Also, you must eat at every 3/4 hours to stablise your sugar levels as this has an impact on your weight gain and try to eat a protein at every meal. So if you''re having some fruit, have a handful of nuts etc.

After the initial 30 days you start to introduce items and see how your body reacts i.e., does it make you feel bloated, have you put on weight, do you retain water, the effects it has on your skin, has your sleeping changed etc.

I must admit that the first week is hell, you have an upset stomach and cravings and a sore head but I tell you, once you''ve got over this you feel amazing, I mean really amazing. I thought I was a sugar-junkie, I''m not, I''m a tea junkie. I have realised that a cup of tea is my addiction, tea is all that is comforting to me, my major no-no, is the lovely choccie biscuit that goes with. Soooooo, cutting out this for a month, has a huge impact on me physically, mentally and emotionally. I sleep better and think better without all the toxins in my body.

Here''s a link to the site of the Elimination plan for you to have a look at. I like it, it works for me, but this is after years of trying different diets and plans so its worth a try if you are looking for a lifestyle change longterm and not a quick fix.

 

[Haven]

Hi, ladies! I want to join in, too.

DH and I will start TTC in a year or so, so we recently started trying to eat healthier and cook more so I can lose weight, and so we can start of modeling good habits to our future children.

I''m 5''9.5" and 164 lbs right now. I think I should be about 145, ideally, so I have 20 lbs to lose before we TTC.

I''ve learned that I don''t do well in the long-term with major diet overhauls, so we''re actually eating a modified version of a bodybuilder''s diet--lean chicken, turkey, egg whites, rice, potatoes, lots of veggies, and a few fruits. The food is all delicious, so it''s easy, and we eat more lean fats than a bodybuilder would. I cut out all soda again, but I do drink coffee on workdays--can''t teach those high school kids without caffeine in my system.

Anyway, I just wanted to offer my support and pledge my membership! I think this is a great thread, it always seems easier to accomplish goals when you have a like-minded team behind you.

 

[merrymunky]

Haven - Welcome. I am glad this thread is slowly bringing in people who want to lose weight in order to TTC.

I have a very long way to go. I think I will need to lose at least 100lbs before I am healthy enough to carry a child.

I have problems with back ache, which is so severe that even walking for a few minutes outside kills my back. It gets to the point that I just can''t put one foot in front of the other. I am fine on a treadmill as I have something to hold on to when it gets tough. I am making the effort to go for walks though.

I made my FI drive us down to the local park/shoreline, which is only about 10 minue walk at the very most from my house, but I told him I need to doit slowly. In a few weeks when my back improves through exercise (which it will once I get back to the gym) I promised him we could walk it from the flat instead. I think we will try the walks 2 or 3 times a week in the evenings or at weekends.

I just really hope that once I become more active, that my periods will kick start again. If they don''t then I iwll be going back to the doctors for proper investigation. A scan last in 2007 ruled out polycystic ovaries and I was told that being so overweight can bring periods to a halt. Last year I made a good start at the gym and was going 4-5 times a week. A few months in and I suddenly got a huge period...nothing since though as I got lazy again. So maybe this theory is correct.

 

[steph72276]

Wow, it does sound hard...especially the caffine part! Let us know how you''re doing on it.

 

[steph72276]

Date: 1/3/2009 3:43:59 PM
Author: Haven
Hi, ladies! I want to join in, too.


DH and I will start TTC in a year or so, so we recently started trying to eat healthier and cook more so I can lose weight, and so we can start of modeling good habits to our future children.


I''m 5''9.5'' and 164 lbs right now. I think I should be about 145, ideally, so I have 20 lbs to lose before we TTC.


I''ve learned that I don''t do well in the long-term with major diet overhauls, so we''re actually eating a modified version of a bodybuilder''s diet--lean chicken, turkey, egg whites, rice, potatoes, lots of veggies, and a few fruits. The food is all delicious, so it''s easy, and we eat more lean fats than a bodybuilder would. I cut out all soda again, but I do drink coffee on workdays--can''t teach those high school kids without caffeine in my system.


Anyway, I just wanted to offer my support and pledge my membership! I think this is a great thread, it always seems easier to accomplish goals when you have a like-minded team behind you.

Yea for joining! I don''t think that sounds heavy at all for how tall you are though. I am 5''6 and weigh about the same and want to get back down to 145 also. I''m with you...can''t give up my coffee unless I am pregnant!

 

[steph72276]

Date: 1/3/2009 3:56:06 PM
Author: merrymunky
Haven - Welcome. I am glad this thread is slowly bringing in people who want to lose weight in order to TTC.


I have a very long way to go. I think I will need to lose at least 100lbs before I am healthy enough to carry a child.


I have problems with back ache, which is so severe that even walking for a few minutes outside kills my back. It gets to the point that I just can''t put one foot in front of the other. I am fine on a treadmill as I have something to hold on to when it gets tough. I am making the effort to go for walks though.


I made my FI drive us down to the local park/shoreline, which is only about 10 minue walk at the very most from my house, but I told him I need to doit slowly. In a few weeks when my back improves through exercise (which it will once I get back to the gym) I promised him we could walk it from the flat instead. I think we will try the walks 2 or 3 times a week in the evenings or at weekends.


I just really hope that once I become more active, that my periods will kick start again. If they don''t then I iwll be going back to the doctors for proper investigation. A scan last in 2007 ruled out polycystic ovaries and I was told that being so overweight can bring periods to a halt. Last year I made a good start at the gym and was going 4-5 times a week. A few months in and I suddenly got a huge period...nothing since though as I got lazy again. So maybe this theory is correct.

It''s okay. You can do it. When I had my son, I had 70 lbs to lose (55 from the pregnancy and 15 from before) and it felt like a huge number for me. I tried to break it down into 5 pound increments so it didn''t seem so overwhelming.

 

[merrymunky]

Steph - It just sounds SO much though. Especially when you think 1lb average weight loss a week. That's 100 weeks...almost 2 years. By which time I will be 31!

Crikey!

 

[steph72276]

Yeah, but some weeks especially in the beginning, you will probably lose more so it probably won''t take as long as you think!

 

[merrymunky]

Very true. Fingers crossed eh?

Actually, the first time I did Weight Watchers, I lost 7.5 lbs in the first week alone. I was so shocked!

 

[Po10472]

YAY!! to everyone who has joined and also to those wishing us luck.

Merry - deep breath, you have to think small and count the lbs you lose, not those you have yet to lose otherwise you''ll be stuck in the stalls and not be able to start running. Focus on how you feel not what the scale says. I''ve spent too long in that mindset and it doesn''t work so like me, you need to take a different approach. Slow and steady wins the race.

Haven - totally agree with the diet overhaul - making slight adjustments become lifetime habits and it took me 33 years to realise that and the last 3 years to do something about it. I''m now ready to really commit to the big adjustment to get what I want and this time I''m excited about it rather than scared,

I think what you and your DH are doing is the right way, you''re looking at it from a health perspective and a longterm goal and you''ll be at your target sooner than you think. fab!

Oh and to get us all motivated the new series of The Biggest Loser starts on the 6th Jan. I''m in the UK so don''t know what channel that''s on, but I love this show cos I want to adopt Jillian & Bob.

 

[Haven]

Thanks for the warm welcome, ladies!

Merry--I know it sounds like a lot, but two years of weight loss is nothing compared to a lifetime of being overweight. I am here to cheer you on, girl!

I lost about 30 pounds over several years, and I just did it very slowly and set small goals along the way. I had little celebrations and rewarded myself for making it to each goal, and since I wasn''t trying to overhaul my lifestyle it happened slowly but easily. (My favorite reward was a pb and banana protein shake at my old gym''s cafe if I met my workout buddy at the gym every day before work for a week. Yummy and healthy.)

Steph--You''re right, I''m not particularly heavy at the moment, but I''m not fit at all. I was always a natural athlete, so I had a lot of muscle until the last few years when it all disappeared and fat replaced it. It''s funny, because even when I was 20 lbs lighter I didn''t really look much smaller, I was just really toned. I was a muscular 145 at my very healthiest, and I would LOVE to be back there again. Whatever happens, I definitely have at least 10 pounds of fat that I need to shed before we TTC.

It''s interesting how different everyone''s body types are. I have a sister who is 5''4", and she weighs about the same as me right now, but she definitely doesn''t look relatively heavier than me. She''s built so differently, though, and we carry the weight differently.

I''m going to take a "before" picture and put it in my agenda so I can see it every day. That will be good motivation!

Anyway, I am so excited to be on board with you guys! Po, honey, thanks for starting this thread!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

I''m tip-toeing my way in here as it''s so surreal for me to admit that we''re going to begin TTC in March! I''ve been the most casual member of the TTC thread in the FAMILY/HOME forum, as we really hadn''t set a date. My GP doc had always told me that I should drop about 25 pounds, and my GYNO in particular advised me to get in tip-top health to better my chances of of concieving at my "mature" age (i''m 37)

DH and I seriously began talking about TTC this past summer so I took a looong hard look at myself and came the the conclusion that I didn''t want to carry a child at that weight/health level. So I began a kick-butt weight loss plan on Oct 6th. I signed on to a local bootcamp class and it''s the best thing i have done for myself! I discovered a newfound love of exercising- something i never thought i''d achieve.

My first mini-goal was to lose 10% of my starting weight, so around 16 pounds. I hit that goal last week! I may be up a couple of pounds due to the Holidays, we''ll see at my next weigh in.

I''ve got another 10-12 pounds to go and would like to hit that by March 1st, when we start TTC-ing.

Although I''m doing this for myself, I do think that having a healthy body is the best gift I can give my future child!

Here''s to a happy and healthy year for us and our families

 

[merrymunky]

I am watching a programme on obese women and big babies. It just confirms all the more that I need to get my weight right down before I TTC.

If I ever give up, can you all just remind me about this post??

Some of the things I am seeing are shocking.

 

[Lorelei]

WTG Ladies!!!