Why Trying to Lose Weight Is Actually Hurting Your Chances of Getting Pregnant

If you’ve been trying to get pregnant for months with no positive test, while also trying to lose weight at the same time… this may be the exact thing slowing down your pregnancy timeline.

That can feel incredibly frustrating to hear, especially when you’ve probably been told over and over that losing weight will help your fertility.

Maybe this sounds familiar:

You’ve started cutting calories.
You’re skipping meals or eating “as little as possible.”
You’re tracking every carb.
You’ve considered taking a GLP-1 medication — or maybe you already are.
You’re doing all of this because you desperately want to get pregnant & start a family.

And honestly? It makes sense why so many women fall into this trap.

Women are constantly being told that smaller bodies are healthier bodies. Add in fertility struggles, and the pressure gets even heavier. Many doctors will tell women that weight loss may improve fertility…but then stop there. No one explains how to approach it safely. No one talks about timing. No one explains what happens when your body feels underfed while also being asked to prepare for pregnancy.

Here’s the truth:

Your body’s number one job is survival. If it does not feel safe and adequately fueled, it will not prioritize reproduction.

The good news is that there’s a better, more supportive way to approach weight loss + fertility.

In this post, I’m going to walk you through why trying to aggressively lose weight while trying to conceive can backfire, what to do instead, and how to support your body in a way that improves your chances of getting pregnant without working against your hormones.

You’ve got this. Let’s dig into the details.

Why This Is Such a Big Mistake When You’re Trying to Conceive

There are situations where weight can impact fertility. That’s true, I’m not denying it. But one of the biggest mistakes I see women make is trying to force weight loss while also asking their body to ovulate consistently, balance hormones, and prepare to grow a baby.

That is a huge demand on your body.

When clients come to me after months of trying to conceive, many of them have been stuck in “diet mode” for years. They’re exhausted, under-eating, stressed about food, and confused about why their cycles are irregular or why pregnancy isn’t happening.

Then we start properly fueling their bodies again — and things begin to shift.

1. Cutting Calories Too Low Makes the Body Feel Unsafe

Your body is incredibly smart.

If calories are consistently too low, your body sees that as a stressor. It starts conserving energy and prioritizing essential survival functions over reproduction.

In other words: if your body thinks resources are scarce, getting pregnant does not feel safe.

This can impact:

Ovulation
Hormone production
Cycle regularity
Egg quality
Period symptoms

One of the first things I often see improve when clients begin eating at maintenance calories is ovulation timing. Their cycles become more predictable. PMS symptoms improve. And in many cases, women who previously had months of negative tests suddenly conceive.

That’s not a coincidence.

The body needs adequate fuel to support healthy hormone function.

2. Restricting Carbs Can Work Against Hormone Health

Another common fertility mistake is becoming afraid of carbs.

Because low-carb diets are so heavily pushed for weight loss, many women trying to conceive start drastically reducing carbohydrates. But carbs are actually your brain’s preferred source of fuel.

When carb intake gets too low, some women notice:

Feeling more “on edge” (from increased stress hormones)
Poor sleep
Low energy
Mood swings
Cycle irregularities

Now, this does not mean you need to eat tons of processed carbs all day long. It means your body benefits from balanced meals that include supportive carbohydrate sources alongside protein, fiber, and healthy fats.

Fertility nutrition should focus on nourishment and stability — not deprivation.

3. The Full Impact of Using GLP-1s While TTC Is Still Unknown

GLP-1 medications are becoming incredibly common for weight loss, so it’s understandable that many women trying to conceive are wondering if they should use them too.

But here’s what’s important to know:

The full impact of GLP-1 use while trying to conceive is not fully understood yet. Because of potential risks to a developing baby, it is widely recommended that women discontinue GLP-1 medications prior to trying to conceive.

This is why timing matters so much.

If significant weight loss is truly needed for health reasons and is thought to be contributing to infertility, or would contribute to negative pregnancy outcomes, then there may be times where focusing solely on weight loss first makes sense — especially if a GLP-1 is part of the plan.

Then, once the body is supported and medications are discontinued appropriately, attention can shift toward conception.

Trying to force both goals at the same time often creates more stress and confusion for the body.

But that does not mean this season has to feel like “doing nothing” for your fertility.

There are actually many things you can do during a weight loss phase that will help set you up for success once you shift into a fertility-focused season.

This can be a valuable time to:

Learn your cycle patterns
Confirm whether and when ovulation is happening
Track basal body temperature (BBT)
Learn what your normal pre-ovulation and post-ovulation temperatures look like
Start recognizing your body’s hormonal patterns and signals
Improve blood sugar balance
Build sustainable nutrition and movement habits

This information can also help uncover potential hormone or ovulation issues sooner rather than later. For example, cycle tracking may reveal irregular ovulation patterns, short luteal phases, or inconsistent temperature shifts that point to areas needing additional support before conception.

The more you understand your body now, the more empowered and prepared you’ll feel when it’s time to shift into actively trying to conceive.

Instead of seeing it as “putting fertility on hold,” I encourage women to think of it as laying the foundation for a healthier, more supported conception journey later.

Because ultimately, the goal is not just getting pregnant as quickly as possible. The goal is supporting your body in a way that helps you ovulate regularly, sustain a healthy pregnancy, and feel well throughout the process.

What to Do Instead

So if aggressively trying to lose weight while TTC isn’t the answer… what should you do?

The goal is to support your body in a way that improves hormone health, blood sugar balance, and ovulation consistency while reducing unnecessary stress on the system.

Here’s the approach I recommend.

1. Stop Undereating and Find Your Maintenance Calories

This is the very first step I walk clients through inside my Fertility Maximizer program.

Before we can support fertility, we need to understand what your body is currently receiving.

I have clients track their intake for 3–5 days so we can determine their average calorie intake. Then we use a calorie calculator to estimate maintenance needs.

From there, we make small, strategic adjustments to help the body feel nourished and supported — not deprived.

This alone can be a game changer.

So many women are shocked to realize they’ve been chronically under-eating while wondering why their hormones feel chaotic.

2. Focus on Blood Sugar Balance Instead of Restriction

Instead of obsessing over eating less, we shift the focus toward building balanced meals.

This means combining:

Protein
Fiber
Healthy fats
Supportive carbohydrates

Balanced blood sugar helps reduce inflammation and creates a more stable environment for hormone production and balance.

When blood sugar is constantly swinging up and down, the body experiences more stress. Stable blood sugar supports energy, hormones, mood, and overall fertility health.

Over time, frequent blood sugar spikes can contribute to insulin resistance, which happens when the body’s cells stop responding well to insulin. When that happens, the body has to produce more and more insulin to keep blood sugar stable.

And high insulin levels can directly impact ovulation.

This is because insulin doesn’t just affect blood sugar — it also interacts closely with reproductive hormones. Elevated insulin levels can disrupt ovulation signals from the brain and ovaries, making cycles more irregular and ovulation less consistent over time.

That’s why supporting blood sugar balance is about so much more than weight. It’s about creating an environment where your hormones can function the way they’re designed to.

This approach is sustainable, supportive, and far less stressful than crash dieting.

3. Increase Movement in a Supportive Way

You do not need intense workouts that feel like a punishment to support fertility.

In fact, many women are already overstressed and overdoing intense exercise while under-eating.

One of the simplest and most effective habits I encourage is a daily 30-minute walk (bonus points if it’s outside).

Walking supports:

Blood sugar balance
Stress reduction
Circulation
Overall metabolic health

And most importantly, it supports the body without sending additional stress signals.

4. Decide Which Goal Needs to Be the Priority Right Now

This is the tough-love part.

You may be thinking:
“But I still want to lose weight.”

And I hear you.

There is absolutely no judgment if weight loss is important to you. But you do need to be honest about what your body is being asked to do.

Trying to push your body into significant weight loss while also preparing it to create an entirely new human is asking a lot.

Sometimes the healthiest choice is:

Supporting fertility and maintaining weight for now
Or intentionally focusing on weight loss first before TTC

Both are valid. But trying to aggressively chase both goals simultaneously can keep you stuck in the middle — frustrated, exhausted, and still not pregnant.

“But What If My Weight Is Affecting My Fertility?”

This is such a common question, and it’s an important one.

Yes, excess weight can sometimes impact ovulation, insulin resistance, inflammation, and hormone balance.

But it’s also important to understand that there is no magical test that can definitively tell us that being overweight is the reason someone is struggling to get pregnant.

Often, it’s more of an educated assumption, and usually just one piece of a much bigger puzzle.

There are overweight women getting pregnant every single day. And there are women in smaller bodies struggling with infertility too.

Fertility is complex. Hormones, ovulation, inflammation, stress, nutrition, blood sugar balance, thyroid health, male factor fertility, and overall metabolic health can all play a role.

Regardless, starving yourself is not the solution.

A healthier approach looks like:

Supporting blood sugar balance
Nourishing your body consistently
Increasing daily movement
Reducing inflammation
Improving metabolic health gradually

And if a larger amount of weight loss is medically necessary, it may be best to spend a dedicated season focusing on that goal before trying to conceive.

The key is strategy, not unintentionally adding more stress on your body.

What Becomes Possible When You Support Your Body Properly

When your body feels safe, nourished, and supported, amazing things can happen.

Women often experience:

More regular cycles
Improved ovulation
Better energy
Fewer period symptoms
More confidence around food
Steady weight maintenance or gradual weight loss
Improved chances of conception

Instead of constantly fighting your body, you begin working with it.

And that shift matters more than most women realize.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been trying to lose weight while trying to get pregnant, please know that you haven’t totally messed up.

You’ve likely been following advice that sounded logical on the surface. And because our culture places so much pressure on women to be smaller, it’s understandable why so many women believe weight loss should always come first.

But fertility requires safety, nourishment, and balance.

Your body needs adequate fuel and support to prioritize hormone health and reproduction.

That doesn’t mean your health goals don’t matter. It simply means your approach needs to match the season you’re in.

You deserve a plan that supports both your long-term health and your fertility goals in a realistic, sustainable way.

Ready for Support?

If you’re tired of guessing what your body needs and want a safe, strategic approach to addressing weight concerns while also preparing for conception, I’d love to help.

Book a Happy Hormones Clarity Call to discuss working together and creating a plan that supports your hormones, your metabolism, and your fertility goals — without working against your body.