hey all,

I know that being a healthy weight is important when ttc so before that I need to loose about 14 pounds.

do any of you ladies have any good diet plans? or any advise in general about preparing the body before we ttc

I am! I was overweight before getting pregnant with my first and even though I had no symptoms, it was tough on my body. I had back pain, leg pain, could not walk long enough to do anything productive. So this time, if my boyfriend can say yes to ttc for our second, I will be more prepared.

I have lost all the baby weight since giving birth last April and 15 pounds more. It's slow but steady. I am doing water aerobics with baby in a floating thing two times a week and try to not overeat. I don't restrict myself to anything but in small portions.

The advice I can give you is don't do anything too drastic. Think about it as a lifestyle change, something that you will still do when pregnant and after. Park your car far away when going somewhere, take the stairs, anything to make you move more. The key is to stay positive and not beat yourself if you ate something a little bit more than you should have.

After a couple of weeks, you'll get more energy and you will feel great!

I followed the slimfast plan when I needed to use some of the weight I gained on my birth control pill. It was 3 small snacks around 100 calories, 2 meal bars/shakes which are around 200 calories, and 1 500 calorie meal. Now I didn't go and buy all the shakes and meal bars, but I used the calorie amounts as a guide to how much I should be eating. I found that having several small meals like this really kept me full throughout the day so I wasn't starving, and therefore overeating, at dinner time.

I also think making sure you have adequate exercise throughout the day is good. I think it's recommended you get at least 30 minutes. I used the wii fit and I took walks with my OH and dog.

Thanks girls, I started eating breakfast and lunch and decided not to eat after one o clock but im finding that very difficult.

I seen so many posts where women have advised having frozen meals for when a baby comes along so i guess it would be difficult to follow a healthy plan at that stage anyway, but hey weight loss is the plus side to breast feeding

oh and when i went to weight watchers before, the instructor told me be careful cause she seen so many women get pregnant once they lost weight. I didnt realize that it would boost your fertility, yet another reason to stay determined

I'm not a big fan of diets in the classical sense, but when I do want to lose a bit of weight, I find that eating more protein (eggs/egg whites for breakfast and whatever vegetable or meat proteins you like at other meals), eating more frequently (5 small meals instead of 3 big ones, so never more than 3 hours without eating during most of the day), and making at least a third to half of every meal fruits and veggies is the best way to go. I think all those special diets are too expensive, but eggs, fruit and veggies are pretty cheap and they keep you full, plus help top up your nutrient levels for TTC.

Being a healthy weight is good, but losing weight isn't great for your fertility (as in strict diets while you are TTC). I've read a few of Zita West's books about fertility though and she recommends eating a heavily alkaline diet when TTC. That's obviously not about losing weight, but about increasing your chances of conception. If you google, alkaline diet or alkaline foods or even acid reflux diet (which it also helps with), you'll get a sense of what kinds of foods are better.

I'm currently loosing weight ready for TTC. I have joined a site called Nutracheck, you have to pay for it but it isn't expensive and it is really working for me. I have now lost over a stone in 5 weeks. Have a look it gives you a 5 day free trial.

I think most people mean making and preparing lots of meals before hand and freezing them as opposed to processed frozen meals. Its a good idea to do it and be prepared. The last thing you feel like doing with a newborn is cook good nutritious meals.

I'm trying to lose weight too (I need to drop a couple of stone to get down to my ideal weight) but am trying to be very sensible about it

I have tried crash diets in the past but I have realised that to get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy it's important to have all the right nutrients stored in your body so I'm just trying to eat smaller portions of the right things including 5 a day, enough calcium, fibre etc and not too much sugar, caffeine, salt or alcohol. I've also stopped skipping meals to keep my metabolism and energy levels healthy and I'm going to the gym four times a week

I'm determined to get there!

I'm on the Atkins diet! there is alot of scaremongering around it, but done sensibly its great and the results are too

My meal plan today is

Breakfast - Slimfast (i cant do solid food early morning )
Lunch - Chicken & ham salad
Tea - Pork chops, veg and a yummy large mushroom

xx

I am doing weight watchers along with exercising a few times a week. I have put on a stone since getting married and want to get back to how I was before and not feel uncomfortable in some of my clothes. I am not big but feel better and IMO look better when that bit lighter so joined WW because I have no willpower so need something with structure! I can still have take aways or go out for meals but just have to plan my food carefully but I don't feel that I am on a diet or missing out because nothing is strictly off limits, you just have to be careful when planning meals and watch portion sizes.

It doesn't restrict any food groups or require calorie counting because everything is worked out on a points system. The plan is also doable while pregnant and/or breast feeding but it is modified to suit your needs. It is working for me and the weight is coming off slowly but consistently which will be better in the long run. I should meet my target before ttc so wouldn't need to carry on while pregnant but I will maintain the exercise.

I don't think 'diets' as such are good for you or baby if you are restricting food groups or limiting your calorie intake. At the same time, binging on rubbish because you are 'eating for two' isn't healthy either. Exercise and healthy diet (with the odd treat) are the best way in my opinion x