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Aiming to lose weight for IVF, what's the best way?
Hi, I am hoping to get an IVF treatment but I need to lose weight first, I'm starting Intermittent fasting and just light treadmill exercise of 30 minutes daily - is this enough? What is a better way?
I would add, at such a young age you have plenty of time to do this correctly, and you need to, in order to be healthy for your child and for the weight to stay off. It would not be wise to get slenderer to get pregnant but with no long-term plan to keep the weight off. Despite mythology in the baby world to the contrary, I gained 15 lbs. when breast-feeding, for example, and I was never overweight before. The body is surprising when pregnant and nursing, so you have to make your new diet and exercise plan a permanent life change. Moms need energy, and need to be healthy to be there long term for their child, and of necessity they have to be ready to run fast at any given moment! lol So whatever you do, choose a plan you can stick with. A nutritionist might help, if you can find a good one.
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I doubt she is saying that she just wants to lose weight immediately to get pregnant but that would be nice. You and I know how it is to really want a child and have barriers. Plenty of overweight women give birth and are terrific moms after but her barrier is the healthcare system she lives in not providing the service of IVF. I invited her to this group for encouragement.
Mom, I was wondering about this post and asked for more info because of that. Are you saying that her healthcare system won't allow this procedure unless you're a particular weight? That's very disturbing if that's the central problem. How many of us wouldn't be here if our Moms had to not give birth because of their weight? Now, I'm no expert in medically-induced pregnancies, and maybe there's a lot to it I have no idea of regarding complications. More info?
In the UK, if your BMI is outside of the parameters they set forth as ideal, they will not extend fertility services (IVF in particular) to a woman. Many women that fall into the category of obese have healthy pregnancies but the UK has taken that position. Until her BMI lowers, she can not receive treatment to have a child. I agree that it is most unfortunate.
Specialmom, I was reacting to the title of the post, saying she needs to lose weight "for IVF." At age 28, she has a bit of time to do a very careful job of weight loss so it sticks for the long term, it's not like she's 39 and had better crash diet if she wants these important medical services before it's "too late" or anything. Long-term thinking is one of the major helps for dieting and exercise.
Annie yes my initial need is to meet the NHS requirement but I do hope to maintain the lifestyle way after that. The health benefits are important for me and my (hopefully) future baby. I'm still 27, so yeah still plenty of time as most of you say :). But aside from that we discovered I have a blockage too so things are getting more and more complicated.
Hi! So glad to see you here!! I have been working on this myself. My first thing I've done is to eliminate two things I know are not good for me. Soda or juice (sugary drinks) and desserts on a daily basis. What can I say, I have a sweet tooth. I have kids. We have sweet treats at my house. So, I gave up those two things. I agree about the fasting. I try to stop eating around 7 pm. If I need 'something' I have a cup of warm tea. Why that kind of fills me up and makes me feel cozy at night, I don't know. But it helps. Then I don't eat again until the next day at least after 7 am. That's 12 hours without eating. I've read this helps. I try to be reasonable about portion size.
What I am doing now is eating very healthy for breakfast, lunch and if I have a nibble for a snack and then eating what I make the rest of the family for dinner. It try to make healthy dinners but do go ahead and eat whatever it is that lands on our dinner table.
Losing weight seems much more about what we eat than how much exercise we do. But exercising at least 30 minutes five times week is good. I am trying to think of adding something 'extra' to up my regular work out. I added hand weights, for example and exercised for 5 more minutes than usual.
How are we going to get through the holidays? lol Eating at this time of year is dangerous. :>))
What I am doing now is eating very healthy for breakfast, lunch and if I have a nibble for a snack and then eating what I make the rest of the family for dinner. It try to make healthy dinners but do go ahead and eat whatever it is that lands on our dinner table.
Losing weight seems much more about what we eat than how much exercise we do. But exercising at least 30 minutes five times week is good. I am trying to think of adding something 'extra' to up my regular work out. I added hand weights, for example and exercised for 5 more minutes than usual.
How are we going to get through the holidays? lol Eating at this time of year is dangerous. :>))
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Every year this comes up, and every year I appear to spread cheer -- people don't gain weight at the holidays. It takes more time than one or two binges to reset your metabolic rate, so if you keep up your regular routine after the holidays there won't be any permanent weight gain. So have fun out there and don't worry over a couple of feast days. Peace, all.
But by the same token, not eating for 12 hours each day won't change anything, either. More "experts" recommend small meals through the day than recommend having an empty stomach for long periods of time in a day. And a warning to anyone with stomach problems, you don't want to stuff yourself and you also don't want an empty stomach for too long. A normal period of sleep is plenty of time not to eat. Most of our weight problems are caused by a lack of activity (this doesn't mean exercise, it means activity) and eating things that aren't food. I'm getting near to 67 years old, and I have to tell you, when I look at photos of me in school when I was a kid not one person was overweight. Now kids are routinely overweight, something that used to only happen commonly to wealthy adults. That's because life changed during the time I grew up -- we gained access to things no other generation in history ever had to deal with, meaning medications, hydrogenated vegetable oil, easy access to copious amounts of sugar and meat, and food that isn't food when people started eating packaged food. There have always been overweight people, but never so many. China, where historically only the very rich got fat (and remember, affluent people used to get fat on purpose -- it showed they were rich and they didn't think it was unhealthy), now has a deteriorating health situation and obesity problem it never had with the masses because they are getting richer and can afford to eat a lot more meat. Now, I grew up in a culture in the US where meat was everywhere, and as people got older, they gained weight. It was especially hard on mothers, who stayed home to care for the children but had so many new labor saving devices they didn't actually do all that much movement to get their work done. And they started getting fat. So Mom above is right, eating is more important than exercise, but not more important than moving. We're not going to leave our sedentary lifestyles and go back to hunting and gathering, so that makes exercise important, but studies show people who eat less animal food other than fish, who walk or bike for transportation, are the least obese and healthiest people. They don't fast. They don't eliminate "carbs." They move, they eat a varied diet, and they don't eat a lot of fatty meat. Again, peace, all, and happy holidays -- pig out, then go back to normal and you'll all be fine unless normal for you isn't fine.
To the poster, send me a message if you want to chat. I have spoken to my doctor and motivated women can make weight loss happen. :>)
Hello specialmom yup and I think I give up right now! Really I am so bad at disciplining myself from eating - I have a see food diet - I see food I eat! So the holidays is a bust for me when it comes to trying to lose weight. So I will start next year hahaha! Paxiled I consulted my OB and she said it is okay to fast during sleep time - I will try 12 hours first as specialmom did then slowly move up to 14 and 16 hours. But I will still eat three square meals a day - but limiting portions this time and yes limiting sweets and bad fats. The exercise part is a challenge to me. So i'll start with the 30 minute brisk walk then try my best to move up from there.
special mom thanks for your support! As for the holidays,well... I think I give up on this one hahahah! I have problems disciplining myself when it comes to food - I am on a see food diet , I see food I eat! So best to enjoy this Christmas! But I will start next year! (sounds cliche I know!) - actually I thought I posted this message already but couldn't see it so I posted it again hehe
You don't say how much weight you need to lose or whether you have a time limitation for some reason. As for exercise, any increase in the amount of exercise you do will be of benefit. How much benefit is an individual thing. If you just need to lose a couple of pounds, doing very little is enough. If you need to lose a lot of weight, it will take time to do it healthfully and will need to include a healthy diet as well as increasing your output of energy to burn off fat. Intermittent fasting, as anything else, works for some and not for others, and is healthy for some and not for others. It depends on how much fasting you're going to do. Remember, when you fast, you have fewer nutrients, and to increase exercise, you need more fuel. Because of what you're losing the weight to do, you want to do something that is a permanent and healthy change so the weight stays off and you stay healthy. Exercise is a great thing, but sometimes we forget that it's not exercise that we need to do but move. Our lives have become very sedentary, so we're no longer walking everywhere and carrying things all day and doing hard laborious tasks, which is what all animals including humans are programmed to do. What you want is to not be sedentary -- move. But again, the more you work your body the more fuel it will need. When you fast, at some point your body gets used to that your new normal and your metabolism slows down and you stop losing weight. If you permanently alter your diet and energy output, your body will respond but it will take time to do that. So again, it all depends on where you're starting from and where you want to get and how fast you want to get there and whether or not you intend to stay there. Peace.
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You are so right! I unfortunately live a very sedentary life - my work is mostly me on a desk. And I do not exercise (my bad). Sorry for delayed response - but yes I need to lose weight to qualify for NHS funding in IVF. Requirement is BMI range 19-30, I'm afraid my BMI is 32, I would need to lose roughly some 5 kilos or 10- 12 pounds.
That's not a lot. You can do that, and having a child is a pretty good motivator. But do it slowly so it stays off. Fad diets are very hard to maintain. I would personally say that if it were me, and it's not, I wouldn't do it by fasting. I'd just live the life you already live and like but make the food choice and exercise choices you need to make to make it a new permanent way of life, which intermittent fasting isn't likely to be. And remember, if you eat the same number of meals, they are just going to be more compressed in time and therefore harder to burn off if you fast longer. People who fast do it for lots of really good reasons -- spiritual, cleansing, etc. But if your intention is to still eat the same remember, you'll be doing it in a shorter time period, and you don't want to go to bed with a full stomach. Anyway, that's just my take. I used to manage health food stores, and so I knew a lot of people who did pretty much everything, and some fasted say one day a month. A whole day. I'm not sure what a few hours a day more than when you sleep really gets you except hungry and grouchy. But if it works for you, more power to you. But mostly I just want to say, don't rush it, don't make yourself miserable or anxious about it, that isn't a huge amount to lose so do it slowly and safely and mainly by increasing movement and eating closer to how you should. I hope you get the results you want on both the baby and the weight accounts. Peace.
Thank you! Yes I'll keep your suggestions in mind :)
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