Confused about diet

[Pangea]

Hi, I'm not planning on swaying until the end of year but I'm obsessing about it already!

I'm really confused about what diet to do. When I first started researching swaying when I was pregnant with DS2 I decided I was gonna do the FGD, but since discovering this forum I'm reading more about the LE diet and it makes a lot of sense to me, I'm starting to lean towards it.

I'm worried though for two reasons, the first one is that my BMI at the moment is hovering around 18.5 so I don't really have any weight to lose, plus I tend to stop ovulating if my weight gets too low.
The second is the calorie counting. About 10 years ago I had an eating disorder, I think I'm fine now, but I don't really feel comfortable calorie counting and deliberately losing weight again in case I start to get obsessed with it. If my family found out I was calorie counting they'd be so worried and I would be slightly nervous about it too.

And just to confuse matters more, I think I have PCOS. I had a scan recently which showed my ovaries are polycystic, I have long irregular cycles and most brands of opk are always positive, I had to search for a really insensitive brand when I was TTC DS2.

What should I do? I think the FGD would be way easier for me because it doesn't involve calorie counting, but would it be really bad for PCOS and end up swaying blue? I do want to do diet as part of my sway because I feel it's really important, but it's so difficult to know what's the best to do.

[dramabird]

Hi Pangea,

It does sound like you have some things to think about before you start to sway ... so it's great that you're thinking well ahead of when you want to begin.

I know that Atomic Sagebrush (our swaying guru, as it were :)) has cautioned anyone with an eating disorder, to ensure that swaying does not bring them back to a dangerous condition. So I'm sure she'll chime in when she has a moment.

I wonder if there are aspects of the LE diet you could utilize without counting calories. For example, you could switch to vegetarian (and ensure you're not over-indulging on healthier things like olive oil, avocado and nuts). You could make sure you eat only twice or three times a day, with no snacking in between. And you could watch just your PROTEIN levels. Not calories ... skip that part. Just make sure you're not going over 40 grams a day on protein. I would think that just the lower protein, the vegetarian aspects and the non-snacking would all combine to give you a lot of the benefits of the LE diet, without thinking about calories at all (other than making sure you get enough!!).

I also wonder (and someone correct me if this is bad advice, given your history with eating), if you might be able to gain a little bit of weight between now and the start of your sway, just to give you something to lose and bring you back to approximately where you are. Make sure you don't fall pg during the weight gain process, though! I usually have a BMI of around 18.7, but in the months preceding my sway, I gained a few pounds to bring it up to 19.3, just so I had more wiggle room to drop. I'm now at around 17.4 and am eating to maintain, not lose. I'm continuing to ovulate, but that might not be the same for everyone, so only go to the level that you feel comfortable at. And if you feel like trying for either weight gain or weight loss could stir up any eating issues, just don't do it. It's not worth risking your health.

Also, be cautious on the "obsessing" part. Atomic believes that that sort of "I can do this!" intensity can make testosterone levels raise, which would then hurt a pink sway. Again, though, the fact that you're doing this research now, months ahead of your first attempt, is beneficial. If you can figure out in advance what you want to do, then by the time you actually start your sway, you can relax and go into auto-pilot, as it were.

I don't know too much about PCOS, I'm afraid ... but I wonder if you could temp, to get at least a general idea of where your cycles are likely to fall?

Best of luck -- don't hesitate to ask more questions as they come up!

[Pangea]

Thanks. I think cutting out snacking and going down to two or three meals a day is the way to go. I normally just graze all day long, which has probably one of the reasons why I have two boys. I could go vegetarian fairly easily too, I don't really like meat, I only eat it because other people expect me to. I would probably be OK with counting grams of protein.

I thought about trying to gain weight and then lose it again, but I don't think I could. I'd hate to deliberately try to put weight on, it would really stress me out. I don't really want to concentrate on weight at all, I think once I cut out the snacking I'll probably lose weight naturally anyway.

So would that be ok then and sway girl? I'm panicking about it because I don't want to really regret not doing it properly if I end up pregnant with another boy.

The obsessing is a problem, I'm always obsessing about something. Even if I manage to get the whole swaying stuff sorted and stop obsessing about that, I'll start obsessing about something else. I don't know how to stop it!

[atomic sagebrush]

I agree totally that you should not be counting cals, Pangea. I don't want you to experience any triggers and also I do not want you to feel secretive about your diet at all because that also contributes to eating disorders, plus I think that has the potential to raise T levels (every day you manage to sneak thru without anyone noticing, would be a mini-triumph that could raise your T levels.)

What would your family say if you just went vegetarian? Would they get concerned?? My instinct would be for you to simply go lower-carb vegetarian (emphasis on healthy fats/lean protein/fiber-rich fruits and lower-carb veg with small amounts of whole grains, rather than refined grains and lots of higher carb vegetables and soy) and drop any vitamin/mineral supplements (other than folic), plus add in vitex and SP to help lower T aside from diet. Don't count calories, you're thin enough already. I think you should aim for more along the lines of 50-60 g protein and allow yourself to increase protein if you need to. As long as it's not meat, that can only help.

You're right about the FGD - the milk alone will be a killer for PCOS because milk is loaded with lactose (milk sugar) and the carbs in milk cause your blood sugar to spike when you eat it. Cheese, yogurt, and kefir are all ok tho because the carbs are digested and whole cream is ok because it has very few carbs. The good news is, given your body mass, you have much more wiggle room than heavier people with PCOS because your lower body mass indicates your insulin response is probably still ok.

I also don't think you need to lose any more weight than what you're already at.

Nutshell version - great foods for you would be egg whites and whole eggs in moderation, cheese, yogurt, nuts, avocado, low carb veg., fruit, small amounts of whole grains such as brown rice (2-3 servings a day), and small amounts of higher carb, higher protein veg. like beans (1-2 servings a day). Sugar free diet drinks are good too (in moderation, 2-3 servings a day is safe during pg.) You may also skip breakfast if you are able to.

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh and with PCOS I am wary of gaining weight to lose, because you may raise T disproportionately to what others do. I think it would be best to hold steady and alter your foods in regards to protein and not worry about cals so much.

[Pangea]

Thanks so much, this is such a great help. I think my family would be fine with me going vegetarian, I've done it before so they wouldn't be surprised.
I'm breastfeeding so I don't think I can take the SP but I may have weaned by the time I start my sway.

I'm a bit nervous about taking Vitex because I was taking it when I conceived both boys. I know there were probably loads of other things I was doing that swayed boy, it probably wasn't the vitex, but I'm still worried about taking it. Although I'm not even sure if I can get pregnant without it, I finally conceived first month using it each time. Could the increase in fertility sway boy?

Can I have a small amount of home baked salt free bread?

[mindyjean]

Looks like you've received great advice from both dramabird and Atomic. I don't have much to add except to say that I am almost in the exact same boat as you--we sound a LOT alike. My plan is to maintain the weight I am at now until we are ready to sway, and just try to lose 3-4 pounds in the weeks that I sway. I suffered from an eating disorder but have been on the road to recovery for 13 years now, so I , also, don't want anything to mess that up. I wish you the best in your journey!

[atomic sagebrush]

Thanks so much, this is such a great help. I think my family would be fine with me going vegetarian, I've done it before so they wouldn't be surprised.
I'm breastfeeding so I don't think I can take the SP but I may have weaned by the time I start my sway.

I'm a bit nervous about taking Vitex because I was taking it when I conceived both boys. I know there were probably loads of other things I was doing that swayed boy, it probably wasn't the vitex, but I'm still worried about taking it. Although I'm not even sure if I can get pregnant without it, I finally conceived first month using it each time. Could the increase in fertility sway boy?

Can I have a small amount of home baked salt free bread?

Oh yes, if you're BF, then do not use the SP.

I totally understand feeling wary about vitex given your history and that is of course at your discretion. I got one boy and one girl using vitex (but have always had reg. cycles). Vitex doesn't really increase fertility in the way that sways - it doesn't make it any easier for sperm to survive on the way to the egg and in fact for some people, may make it harder for that to happen. To the best of my knowledge, the only boost in fertility you need to worry about for swaying pink, is the kind of boost in fertility that comes from aiding sperm to reach the egg. If something makes you ovulate more regularly (vitex and Clomid) that doesn't seem to equate to more boys.

I wonder if you might be better off taking V for some months before TTC. When I got my boy, I only took it for 2 months and got pg the second month. With my girl, I was taking it for 6 months first. Maybe, again like clomid, it doesn't affect you in a pink way consistently that first month - it may take a few months.

[Pangea]

Thanks Mindy, I'm hoping that I probably will lose a couple of pounds when swaying, but without trying! Good luck to you too!

I think I might start the vitex soon then. I already bought some in case I needed it, I should probably stock up incase they stop selling it here.
I know a girl who has 7 boys, and I know she was taking vitex when she conceived at least 6 of them, to regulate her cycle when she was breastfeeding. But at the same time I know people who conceived girls taking it too. I was taking a prenatal vitamin when ttcing both boys, maca root when ttc ds2 and doing loads of other boy friendly things so the vitex probably has nothing to do with it.