Hi Katiegirl

I weighed 74kg when I got pregnant which along with my height of 166cm is considered either overweight or obese (can't remember which) on the BMI scale.

At 34 weeks pregnant I now weigh 76kg which I'm delighted with.

Basically, the extra weight I was carrying was down to big meals out and accompanying alcohol. Neither of which I've done during my pregnancy, I've just eaten sensibly; lots of fresh stuff and no major 'oh, but I'm pregnant' pigouts. I had every intention of uppng my exercise too but I've been told to rest because of back problems! So because my calorie intake has gone down (not through dieting, just by eating sensibly which is what I should have been doing anyway), I've barely put on any weight.

The most sensible thing I've read about weight gain in pregnancy is that if you're skinny/underweight your body will 'need' to put on more than if you're overweight to start with.

I think, for most people (myself included) there's definite reasons why we're overweight. We're consuming too many calories with either the wrong types of food ie. fatty junk, too much food or too much alcohol. Or a combination of all those!

I know a lot of people say don't worry about the weight, you'll lose it all afterwards but really if we're overweight to start with and then put on a lot of pregnancy weight, it's going to be an uphill battle.

So to answer your question - yes it is possible to lose or at least maintain your weight during pregnancy BUT it depends on why that weight's there in the first place. Like I said before, if you go from eating lots of calories to just what you're meant to eat, then chances are you will lose/maintain your weight.

But all the better if you can lose it before because as you know, carrying extra weight can interfere with fertility.

Hope that helps and sorry I couldn't answer your questions re loose skin etc.

Fiona