Need HELP with minerals

[daisyfay311]

I am so frustrated regarding keeping the minerals at the right levels. I got the IG boy spreadsheet and all these people are talking about how they stayed within in the IG mineral limits and for the life of me, I don't know how.

So far today, I've had the following foods:

sausage biscuit with strawberry banana juice and handful of raisin/date/pecan cereal

blueberry pomegranate juice with a zero calcium special k bar

grilled mesquite chicken breast with potato chips and lemon tea with Stevia, raisins for dessert

a McDonald's Big Mac (no cheese) and fries with tea

More lemon tea with Stevia

And I'm planning on having some Wheaties with half and half tonight and then some apple juice later on.

So I add all this up and I'm getting around 130% of my potassium (I THINK since so many foods don't have it on the label) and TONS of sodium but I'm still way, way over on calcium and magnesium.

I would like to know what the heck those ladies were eating?!?! And about 80% of them got boys so clearly they did something right but I don't know how I can do this. :(

Also down because MIL has been going on about how she wants us to have another girl and my dad has been saying, oh of course you have to have a boy next time. I wish people would just shut up. :(

[daisyfay311]

ETA: Oh yeah, and have found out about two more people having boys in the last two days. I never thought this would bother me, I always wanted a girl and I am SO GLAD that I got her. But I swear, EVERYBODY we know has/had/is having a boy and I don't want DH to feel left out.

[TTC5]

I had the same troubles so I stopped tracking. I figured if I was increasing sod and pot but limiting my mag and cal I was doing the right thing.

[Flava]

I am so frustrated regarding keeping the minerals at the right levels. I got the IG boy spreadsheet and all these people are talking about how they stayed within in the IG mineral limits and for the life of me, I don't know how.

Well ,let me just say I don't believe they did. They may think they did it ...but like you say it's just not possible to count it all because the foods just don't have it on the label.
So I have no idea how much I eat from all I just do the diet and juices the best I can. (no sups or strong drinks yet for me)
What else can we do really? ( my ph still low) I just don't see how food alone can change it really..:think:maybe drinks but so far not working for me...
SO REALLY if anyone have a great way to count all this food PLEASE post it!!

[begonia]

I had the same troubles so I stopped tracking. I figured if I was increasing sod and pot but limiting my mag and cal I was doing the right thing.
:agree::agree::agree:

I actually saw a recent post on IG where Tamara herself admitted sticking to the magnesium limit of 120-200 was difficult, and that 300 was better than she did most days.

ITA w/TTC5 though. I really don't watch my mag and cal so much as I REALLY focus on high sod/pot.

[atomic sagebrush]

I am so frustrated regarding keeping the minerals at the right levels. I got the IG boy spreadsheet and all these people are talking about how they stayed within in the IG mineral limits and for the life of me, I don't know how.

So far today, I've had the following foods:

sausage biscuit with strawberry banana juice and handful of raisin/date/pecan cereal

blueberry pomegranate juice with a zero calcium special k bar

grilled mesquite chicken breast with potato chips and lemon tea with Stevia, raisins for dessert

a McDonald's Big Mac (no cheese) and fries with tea

More lemon tea with Stevia

And I'm planning on having some Wheaties with half and half tonight and then some apple juice later on.

So I add all this up and I'm getting around 130% of my potassium (I THINK since so many foods don't have it on the label) and TONS of sodium but I'm still way, way over on calcium and magnesium.

I would like to know what the heck those ladies were eating?!?! And about 80% of them got boys so clearly they did something right but I don't know how I can do this. :(

Also down because MIL has been going on about how she wants us to have another girl and my dad has been saying, oh of course you have to have a boy next time. I wish people would just shut up. :(

Ok before I answer your specific Q I just want to float an idea out there for you to keep in the back of your mind...it could very well be the case that the reasons why the French and IG-type diets work is NOT because of the reasons they think it's working, but for other reasons entirely. We do know that these diets do seem to sway for gender, but the idea that it is because of the mineral ratio in the diet, or for some other reason all together, is not at all proven. It may be because of testosterone, CM, or for some other reason entirely that we don't even know about yet. People all around the world who eat drastically different diets, all have fairly equal numbers of both boys and girls and it is unlikely in the extreme that all the women who have boys were eating no calcium (and in fact, some of the countries with the highest dairy intake actually have more boys than countries with the lowest.) I promise you that the vast majority of people who conceive babies are not eating anything like either diet. Most people eat a little of this and a little of that and they are NOT accidentally eating these diets which are next to impossible for us to follow.

Anyway, to answer your question, I think there are a few different possibilites on what is going on with why some people can stick to their mineral ratio.

1)They are fibbing on what they are eating. Maybe not deliberately but I think people overlook a lot of sources of calcium. Even potatoes and bananas have some calcium in them. Magnesium in particular is in just about everything, as is potassium. So it may very well be that they believe with all their hearts that they are staying within the mineral levels but they're really not. It is the increased caloric intake and protein/fat that is doing the swaying and not because they stayed within some mineral ratio.

2)They are eating smaller portions. One easy way to cut down on your mineral intake is to eat less of whatever it is you do eat. I think your diet looks great (and honestly I would have you eat MORE, not less) but I do know that on the French Diet, portions are def. limited to control mineral intake.

3) They are eating different foods than you are. Maybe they are eating unfortified breads/juices that are similar to what you're eating, but slightly different. There is quite a bit of calcium in a bun, for instance (but don't go without the bun, because protein + carbs will keep your blood sugar in a good place for a long time!)

I just want to reassure you that I think your diet is spot on and I wouldn't lose a minute of sleep over the calcium you're eating. If you do want to stick to the mineral goals, that's fine, either eat less or make slightly different choices on what you're eating.

[atomic sagebrush]

I also want to point out that there is zero proof that any of the ladies involved in the studies that are cited, actually followed the mineral ratios either. If anything, there's less likelihood that they did because most of the studies were done long before the advent of FitDay or nutritional labeling on food.

[atomic sagebrush]

:agree::agree::agree:

I actually saw a recent post on IG where Tamara herself admitted sticking to the magnesium limit of 120-200 was difficult, and that 300 was better than she did most days.

ITA w/TTC5 though. I really don't watch my mag and cal so much as I REALLY focus on high sod/pot.

Remember, the Oxford "breakfast cereal" study (which was just generally studying maternal diet before conception and not looking for any link between diet and gender and therefore may be free of some biases that plague these other studies) actually found HIGHER intakes of calcium in moms that went onto conceive boys. The only place where the Oxford study supports the FGD is in terms of sodium - more sodium = more boys in both studies.