TTC after 35
Options
Newbie - weight question
I am 36 and we are about to start TTC for #1. We got married in May. My question is about weight. I've tried losing weight with no success. In fact, I'm gaining. We all know how much harder it is, especially after 35. I'm 5"4', 170 pounds. Ideally I wanted to lose 30 pounds before we ttc and I don't think that's going to happen. I have not been to the obgyn yet, so I realize I need to discuss this with them.
Were you considered overweight when you started ttc? I'm assuming it makes it harder to conceive being overweight. How important is it from your experience and others, in factoring weight in conceiving when older? TIA!!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Newbie - weight question
There is no scientific proof that being overweight makes it harder to conceive. There are many many women a lot more overweight than you who have gotten pregnant. Check out the boards on I village and you will see there is a board called plus size ttc and plus size mothers.
I am more overweight than you and my doctor told me it would be a good idea to lose weight just so that I will be more comfortable when carrying a baby. He was not concerned about me being able to conceive.
Good Luck.
Well doctor's want your weight as managed as possible to make a pregnancy as easy as possible on your baby and to help make you comfortable. I'm overweight though, but have lost 70lbs. I did it by following a gestational diabetes diet. I need to anyway, but it really does work and it helps you make sure you're not gaining random weight with a pg. Good luck!
We have similar stats! ?DH & I have put on about 25 pounds each since our wedding 2 years ago. ?(Is there any truth to the "fat & happy" saying?)
I talked with my OB about my weight earlier this year, and she wasn't at all concerned that it would affect fertility. ?She encouraged me to go ahead and TTC now, instead of waiting for weight loss. ?
I am trying to lose weight though, to make it easier on my body during and after pregnancy. ? Also, my clothes are too tight and I recently discovered that I can wear my husband's pants. ?Now that's incentive to work out! ?
I was a little heavier than you and I had no trouble TTC. My SIL wears a 3x and also had no trouble. However - I had gestational diabetes and weight is one of the risk factors for that. SIL had high blood pressure before pregnancy and was induced on her due date.?
Some overweight women have irregular cycles due to excess estrogen from fat. In that case it will affect TTC. ?
I was 4 years older than you and more overweight when I conceived my son. It did take us 8 cycles to get pregnant, but I think that had more to do with my age (40) than it did with my weight.
I'm on WW now and am trying to lose some weight since we are trying for #2 soon, but I don't think it will affect my fertility since I have pretty regular cycles.
Tyler Anthony arrived on 9.21.09
The Chronicles of Justin and Tyler
Hi and welcome!
I'm much heavier than you are and we were able to conceive in July (granted that resulted in a m/c but the doctor didn't say or even imply that weight was a reason!).
click the pic (blog)
Hi there - it sounds like a good conversation to have with your doctor. If you're gaining surprisingly rapidly there could be something happening that could also affect your fertility, while that's unusual it wouldn't hurt to bring it up.
I don't know enough to guess whether your weight would be a fertility concern in and of itself, but from everything I've read I would say it could effect your health during pregnancy (diabetes, blood pressure, etc). As somebody who has struggled with weight herself I know how hard it is to take it off, but maybe that could give you extra motivation?
GL!
Hi There!
I am 40 and much heavier than you are. I am not holding off TTC until I drop any weight, but trying to drop as many pounds as I can before I get a BFP. I have been following Weight Watchers for almost 2 months and have lost 16 lbs. I have no health problems from being overweight, like high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol, so I am lucky.
I believe the biggest concern with being overweight is not necessarily the TTC part, but the actually being pregnant part and the health issues that stem from being overweight.
We will be starting IVF in 2009 and there are weight limitations for IVF at the fertility clinic I go to. If you are over a certain BMI, they will not do IVF at all. There is also a BMI range in which you need to get medical clearance from your OB/GYN or GP.
I would say to just eat as healthy as you can and make any changes that you can that will affect your mind / body in a positive way. Little changes make a big difference.
Welcome to the group and good luck!
I found a site that I find very useful to keep track of the foods I eat. I am not trying to lose, however I am onerned that I am getting the right nutrition now that I am pregnant. www.babyfit.com. (go to "my tools" & set yourself up to trak what you eat) You'll be surprised as to how many foods they have in their database, even fastfood with nutrition breakdown. You can even add foods that are not listed & save them, which is especially helpful if you eat something often. If you commit yourself to something like this you will see where you are going wrong, what nutrients you are lacking ect . I hope someone finds this useful.
I'm 5'2" and weighed 167 when we started to TTC#1. I joined sparkpeople.com (like babyfit mentioned above but targeted at weight loss not pregnancy), and lost 24 lbs over 4 months. I was getting on a roll when we got PG with #1 after 12 months (after the first 3 months, we weren't "trying" to time anything because I was traveling a lot for work and we were building a house).
When I got PG with #2, I was focusing again on getting healthy and living a balanced life.
While I'm not sure if weight had anything to do with it per se, I will say that in both cases, I conceived when I was focusing on my own health and well-being and not focusing 100% on TTC.