Weight and TTC

OK typed a huge complicated post, then edited: welcome to the short version!

I am 1.8m tall, my medically “normal” weight is between 60-81kg, but ideally I should be 65-70kg. I am currently 62kg (BMI 19.1) and have lost 2kg in the last 2 weeks. I’ve been about 64-66 for the last 9 months or so as getting to this weight was one of the pre-requisites of TTCing, though DH pushed the goalposts back after I reached that weight. I was married in September 2004 and came off the Pill in August 2005. When I married, I weighed 60kg and my size 6 wedding dress was very roomy even after a 4-course meal (and very tight this Christmas when I was showing it off to cousins who couldn’t make the day). Once married, I struggled to put on the extra 5kg and that took me 7 months (yes, I do know I’m an evil *****). I’ve kept that on for almost 10 months and then have started losing it again. This is my 5th post-Pill cycle so don’t think the weight fluctuations are due to hormoney things, though I’m meant to be ovulating in a week or so if my cycles are staying at 6 weeks. People are starting to comment about how much I’ve lost.

One small problem is that I feel very fat over 64kg and DH really prefers me to be at this weight (well, I get a lot more complements) even though he encouraged me to keep the weight on when he put back the TTC start date as it’s technically healthier for me. I was only that weight with pregnancy in mind, so am happy at this weight, but want to TTC and don’t want to talk DH round only to wait another 6 months because I’m too thin and need to up the weight. I’ve got a feeling he’s going to stick to his guns though and we’ll wait until September-October 2007.

So, questions:
How underweight is too underweight to have a healthy pregnancy and to ovulate?
Should I just bite the bullet and put the weight on (and how)?
If I talk DH round to TTCing this cycle, is there any chance of getting pg so should I leave it until next?
Should I just leave off any conscious weight changes until next Easter, when I have 6 months-ish to fiddle with my weight before we start to TTC? If so, what do I do if DH decides to go for it this year?

What does everyone think?

Most women who are underweight when they get pregnant gain all the weight they need when they are pregnant - just so long as you don't try and diet when you are pregnant your weight when you concieve isn't really an issue.
If you are too underweight your body can react by ceasing to ovulate which will prevent conception - if you are having regular periods chances are that you are ovulating.
If you want to put on weight going to the gym and doing oodles of wieghts and eating heaps of carbs should bulk you up in no time.

I don't really rate the whole BMI thing. One of the fittest guys I know (martial arts expert/personal trainer) is obese according to the BMI charts when the reality is that he just carries a lot of muscle (which weighs a lot more than fat)

Hi Ryn-Frog,
Just thought I'd let you know that I'm in a simular situation.
I am currently struggling to keep my weight at 49kg (I'm approx 1.7m).
I got married just over 3 yrs ago and was about 45kg then and a small size 6, then whilst married for the first couple of yrs I gained weight and stayed between 54-58kg which was great I couldn't believe that I actually was wearing size 10 sometimes and thought it was great I was even receiving compliments about how good I looked.
Then everything changed and went down hill 7 months ago when I went off the pill and started TTC. I got quite sick and started losing weight I dropped down to 45-46kg and ever since then it's a been so hard for me to gain weight. I've now been 49kg for just on 3 months and I am constantly monitering what I eat and try to eat just a little more, but I think that my stomach has shrunk so much it's going to be a very slow process to building it up again.

I have consulted my Dr about TTC and she has mentioned my weight an number of times and says that although I am under weight she doesn't think that it's a major issue, she did say that it can cause problems with ovulation and also AF but in my case can't exactly say that's whats delaying my AF (I have a 40+ day cycle) because I had a perfectly normal cycle before going on the pill (I was 28days, without fail).

Also a good friend of mine is 10wks preg at the moment and struggles to maintain her weight at 42kg (she's only short though)and conceived in the first month of trying and the only thing her DR is concerned with is if she's carrying twins her body won't be able to cope cause she's so small.

I know what you mean though about HOW do u put weight on, as I said I struggle, and ppl don't understand all they say is ur so lucky that you're skinny, well that's not true cause I have spent the majority of my life trying to gain and it's upsetting.

Take care and I hope that everything works in ur favour. [-o<

Hi girls

I know EXACTLY what you mean! I am 1.7m tall and spent much of the last 15 years at around 46kg. I had a "perfect" pregnancy with DD, and I gained around 10 kilos, which is pretty normal (but still within the normal weight range for a non-pregnant woman of my height!). After she was born, I went back to 46kg. I spoke to many doctors about it and as I was eating quite well and quite active, they just put it down to a really high metabolism (and since then, I've realised that a HUGE part of it was stress which kept the weight off).

A couple of years ago I had the Implanon contraceptive thingy put into my arm, and I gained 12 kilos within 18 months!!! I also got really grumpy, so I had it removed. Since then, I'm sitting on around 55 kilos, but I feel really "podgy" around the middle - I think I just need to do situps or something, but I hate it, as I've never had that before. Although the good thing is that I can now buy size 10 clothing, and there's a lot more of that around compared to size 6 or 8!!!

I'm now 34, so am thinking it's just that I'm getting older, which is why the weight is finally coming on, but I must admit, I can still eat pretty much what I want and my weight doesn't fluctuate.

Now I'm just concerned now that we're TTC, I'll never get the weight off after bubby is born....

I suppose the important thing is to continue to eat healthy and stay reasonably active and REDUCE STRESS!!!

For those of you trying to put on weight, it would definitely be worthwhile chatting to a dietitian about how to do it propertly. It's not just a matter of eating more food or higher fat food.

Carrying abdominal fat around your middle can still increase your risk of heart disease, even if you're not overweight, so whilst your BMI has some value, your body composition (muscle:fat ratio) is also important IYKWIM.