Pre-Pregnancy Fitness & Diet Plan: Optimize Fertility & Health

Question
Hello,
I am an obese woman and my husband and I would like to have another baby. I know that being to thin or to fat can cause problems with fertility as well as pregnancy complications. I have been trying to find a pre-pregnancy diet and work out program that I can do from home and have so far come up empty handed. Do you have any suggestions as to what kind of a diet I should start to help loose weight to increase my chances of getting pregnant as well as a work out program I can start and carry out through pregnancy to increase my chances and hopefully come out healthier in the end? Thank you so much for your time.
-Whitney

Answer
You're wise to want to improve your health before becoming pregnant again. Maternal health and fetal health are one in the same, so doing everything that you can now to improve your health, before you next pregnancy, will give your next child a big advantage in life.

Since you are currently obese and unfit, the short, and not very helpful answer to your question is to eat less and move more. But really, unless you get to the root of why you are obese, and deal with those issues, then any diet and exercise plan will not actually solve your problem.

On the practical side, to improve your health, you'll need to make permanent life style changes. This will not only improve your health, but will also improve the health of your entire family.

As women, we make most of the choices when it comes to what our families eat, so it is our responsibility to lead our families to better health and wellness.

As you learn to make healthier choices for yourself, then you will also become the health leader and positive role model for your children to emulate. As parents, we all know that "do as I say, not as I do" simply doesn't work.

So what kind of lifestyle do you want your children to live? What would that look like? What decisions, both big and small, would you need to make to ensure those goals are met?

Why you answer these questions, then you'll have a basic road map of how you can live a healthier lifestyle.