How important is my weight?

[campn]

I haven't posted on here in forever!

Anyway, I've a 23 months old beautiful boy! I've been really considering TTC for baby#2, but the main thing upsetting me is my weight.

I was 117 lbs (I'm 5 feet) when I got pregnant with my first, I gained 18 lbs and after I gave birth I went down to 110 lbs (due to breastfeeding, healthy eating and very light walking)

However I started to backslide and I weaned my son when he is 18 months old, so I wasn't burning as much calories, and we relocated to another state and lived in a hotel eating fast food for TWO months! I got up to 127 lbs!

I've been trying so hard to lose weight since March and it is coming off extremely slowly, I walk for 90 minutes 4-5x a week, I run, I eat 1200 calories daily, I tried eating only paleo (no carbs, sugar or grains) and I got down to 122 lbs. It is so frustrating to try so hard and get so little success, makes you lose your motivation.

Is this a healthy weight for a 5 feet woman to get pregnant? I want to gain at least 25 lbs next pregnancy cause I want a healthy baby, but my husband says I'm almost overweight cause my BMI is 24. Listening to him say this is so depressing.

Would you wait and try to diet harder and workout more to get down a few more pounds? I am at loss.

 

[Symphony7]

120 lbs is a completely healthy BMI for a 5 ft woman. You may find as you age your body changes and you are not going to be as fit or toned or thin as you used to be. Certainly keep working out and eating healthy but don't hinge all of your plans on a few pounds.

I used to be 130 lbs at 5'4". I am not 146 lbs and I don't like the extra pounds but you know what, I'm healthy and not overweight and fit...I'm just not 18 anymore.

 

[apreslaube]

An "overweight" BMI doesn't really affect pregnancy or the baby. It's when you hit the "obese" category that you have problems. For a height of 5 foot, that would be about 150 pounds.

 

[apreslaube]

I am 5'4. I am working on losing weight so I can at least be in the "overweight" category when we get pregnant. It's super hard (for everyone) but or me especially as I was recently diagnosed with a thyroid disorder. Now that I know what to eat and how to exercise according to the disorder, I have lost 10 pounds in about a month and a half. Also, is your husband saying that to be horrible, or are you asking him for an honest opinion? A random thing like that said to me by my husband wouldn't fly.

 

[NovemberSnow]

You're fine - with a BMI of 24 you're still in the 'normal' category, which is ideal.

 

[staralfur]

That sounds like a completely healthy weight for your height. Also keep in mind that while BMI is a nice reference point, it's not really inclusive of a lot of factors that determine if your body weight is appropriate.

But you're far from being obese and I bet your doctor would have absolutely zero concerns about your weight.

 

[campn]

Thank you all SO much, it really helps to read all the encouraging posts! I've been really down because of my weight, my husband is just very blunt and he saw that my BMI in some doctor's paperwork was 24 and he made that stupid comment (while we were about to get some food, so imagine hearing that, I got a salad!)

 

[misspriss]

Wow, that isn't very good of your husband at all.

I'm also 5'0", I was 155 when I got pregnant with DS and I got pre-eclampsia, so it's very important to me to weight a more healthy weight before I TTC for #2. I'm down to 139 now, and I'm really trying to be down to 135 or below. I'd love 125. Don't be so down on yourself about being in the 120's! You are doing great!

 

[campn]

Men say the dumbest things, it's a miracle we don't kick them down there more often, well, not while we are trying to conceive anyway! Maybe that is why we live longer, we learn to survive by out smarting them!

 

[loeylo]

You have a similar bmi to me (I am 24 point something) and I understand your concerns about losing weight - I also put on weight when we were living off takeaways and ready meals for months on end as we were renovating our house and didn't have a kitchen.
I have lost about a stone since Christmas time, through regular exercise and eating better. I still have a good bit more to lose to feel comfortable in my weight again, but the most important thing is that the scales are moving in the right direction, and that you don't get too caught up in it. You are a healthy weight and you probably only have about half a stone to lose before you are under weight!