Attempting to lose weight before pregnancy is basically a good idea and many gynaecologists encourage overweight women to lose some weight before they try to fall pregnant. However, this is not the time to use diet pills and potions, and unbalanced or starvation diets.
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If you think about this situation logically, you will realise that diet pills, including so-called ‘safe and natural’ herbal preparations, all contain various chemical compounds which either mimic epinephrine (adrenaline) to suppress appetite, or cause your body to excrete food and/or water at an accelerated rate to cause ‘pseudo-weight loss’.
Changes in weight due to laxatives or diuretics are ‘pseudo’ because they represent water losses, rather than fat loss.
When you are trying to fall pregnant you need to be in the peak of health, not dehydrated, suffering from diarrhoea which causes losses of vital nutrients, or taking chemicals which can potentially harm your baby.
To lose weight before falling pregnant the safest option is to stick to a balanced, low-fat, high-fibre diet and to do plenty of exercise. This will not only help to build-up maternal stores of important nutrients such as calcium, iron and folic acid, but also improve metabolism and stimulate blood flow.
If you are bursting with health, vitality and fitness, you will probably be more relaxed and more likely to fall pregnant. - (Dr I. van Heerden, registered dietician)
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