Am I over doing the HE diet?

[TTCaPRINCE]

So I officially started the HE diet the 1st of May. I started out 136.4 lbs and I am 5'8. Now I weigh 139.6 and May isn't even over. I haven't been working out at all (Which I plan on starting back up on Monday) and I feel like crap about myself. I have never been a breakfast eater and now I am eating within an hour of waking. I am trying to eat every 2-3 hours but I often forget so I just eat as soon as I feel hungry. Which is really every 3-4 hours. When before the diet I would go all day without being hunry until around 5 pm and then I would be starving so I would eat a huge dinner and a bed time snack. I am just concerned I am over doing it and eating too much. I am horrible with portion control. I feel like I have put on too much weight for just starting this diet. And I am now concerned that by the time July 28th rolls around (my predicted ovulation) I am going to be almost 10 lbs heavier. And I REALLY don't want to start out a pregnancy that way. I feel like all I am doing now is eating constantly. I already saw in a thread that Atomic said over salting things is a myth and not to do it (which I have been doing so I am going to stop!) and I have been putting butter on everything. I have been eating eggs almost everyday and my DH is saying I am going to get high cholestrol and keel over! I guess what I am asking is am I going over board here? Or am I supposed to be putting weight on like this? Should I scale back and maybe diet a little to get back down to 136 and then during the month of July just start eating a whole lot? Or is there a way for me to continue this diet but modify it so I can drop a few pounds or mantain so I don't go above 140? Sorry if this is too much information for all at once but I am going crazy over here. Will I wreck my boy sway if I get crazy into fitness again? Or is a lot of Cardio ok as long as I am going strength and toning as well? Like is it OK if I loose some weight or will that wreck my sway too?

[Adia]

Have you read the essay "Eat smarter, not harder for TTC Blue" It should be in the TTC blue library. It really helped me get perspective on what is important when doing the HE.

FWIW, I have gained 15lbs over 8months. It just goes against my body type and I can't handle eating high fat and high protein and not gain weight. I feel crappy about my body too and I've run out of things to wear but I am going to keep trying for a few more months.

Good luck girlie!!

[Cinss]

I was gaining weight too when i started on the HE diet, so 8 months into my ttc journey i decided to start losing some of it. I started doing 45min walks, exercise dvds and weight lifting. I cut out all drinks except for water and green tea. Stuck to low GI carbs like sweet potato and oats, lots of fruit and veggies, small portions of meat. Breakfast was my biggest meal of the day, lunch would be medium sized and a smallish dinner, then only green tea after dinner. I lost 6kg right before my BFP (i think that is around 12lbs) and we got our boy, i believe because i was still eating regularly but it was all very healthy nutritious food.

[atomic sagebrush]

Just for anyone else reading this, there is no need to start HE diet any sooner than 6 weeks before TTC. Starting HE Diet at the first of May for an end of July attempt is not necessary.

It's best to exercise while swaying blue for this very reason. Cardio up to 45 min. 4-5 times a day is fine. The weightlifting is mandatory and should be done 4-5 times a week in ADDITION to the cardio but pref. at a different time of day.

Gaining 3-5 lbs up to 10-15 is fine. Gaining 30 is not, and it's best to stretch that gain out like Adia, over many months, instead of doing it in one month.

Eggs and butter every day are actually good for TTC a boy - the cholesterol is what your body uses to make the hormones that you need to conceive a boy. What I would drop if I were you, is bread, rice, pasta type of things. Get protein + carbs from meat + fruit and veg. You don't need the bread.

Don't lose weight, jsut try to hold steady where you're at.

The "Eat Smarter not harder" thread is in Dream Members and it's also included in the 21 Day Diet plan.

[Plantain]

How much weight training do we need to do? I hate exercizing :-( If I do like 15 minutes of pilates (where my muscles really are sore the next day!) will that make a difference?

[dloui128]

How much weight training do we need to do? I hate exercizing :-( If I do like 15 minutes of pilates (where my muscles really are sore the next day!) will that make a difference?

I did 3 days a week 30 minutes each time

[atomic sagebrush]

How much weight training do we need to do? I hate exercizing :-( If I do like 15 minutes of pilates (where my muscles really are sore the next day!) will that make a difference?

Any is better than none, too much is also not good so 15 min. is better than overdoing it, that's for sure.

[TTCaPRINCE]

Just for anyone else reading this, there is no need to start HE diet any sooner than 6 weeks before TTC. Starting HE Diet at the first of May for an end of July attempt is not necessary.

It's best to exercise while swaying blue for this very reason. Cardio up to 45 min. 4-5 times a day is fine. The weightlifting is mandatory and should be done 4-5 times a week in ADDITION to the cardio but pref. at a different time of day.

Gaining 3-5 lbs up to 10-15 is fine. Gaining 30 is not, and it's best to stretch that gain out like Adia, over many months, instead of doing it in one month.

Eggs and butter every day are actually good for TTC a boy - the cholesterol is what your body uses to make the hormones that you need to conceive a boy. What I would drop if I were you, is bread, rice, pasta type of things. Get protein + carbs from meat + fruit and veg. You don't need the bread.

Don't lose weight, jsut try to hold steady where you're at.

The "Eat Smarter not harder" thread is in Dream Members and it's also included in the 21 Day Diet plan.


Atomic I cut back A LOT! I am actually trying to loose weight right now. I have 2 1/2 weeks before my 6 week mark starts. So I am actually hoping that loosing weight and then starting on the HE diet again will benefit me with my body thinking times are really good because I had just gone through a stage of loosing weight and then I will be putting a little on. I also started working out again. I am doing 30 min of cardio 3x a week with 15 min of strength. And I am doing 15 min of strength 5x a week. Thanks for getting back to me. This whole paying attention to eating all the time was a new thing for me which is why I think I over did it. The only things I think I will have an issue with is doing the strength at a different time of day on the 3 days a week I do cardio. Once I get going I like to finish and then be done for the day so hopefully that wont be an issue.

[atomic sagebrush]

I would not have you lose and regain weight, I would just hold steady where you are at and increase exercise.

[Five Beautiful Girls]

atomic, Hi i have a question about exercise, you say to do carido at a different time, I normally jog 6km in the morning then about 2 hours later go & do weights at the gym , do you think the two hours gap is good enough?

[TTCaPRINCE]

I would not have you lose and regain weight, I would just hold steady where you are at and increase exercise.

My husband and I actually just came to this conclusion today. He is really set on me having a little bit more "weight on me" for some reason so I have just been upping my cardio and bit. I have been super bloated for some reason though so it is not really helping me gage where my weight really is. From what I can tell I am at 140 or 139 ish.

[TTCaPRINCE]

atomic, Hi i have a question about exercise, you say to do carido at a different time, I normally jog 6km in the morning then about 2 hours later go & do weights at the gym , do you think the two hours gap is good enough?

Personally I would think 2 hours is good but I would wait to see what Atomic says.

[dloui128]

atomic, Hi i have a question about exercise, you say to do carido at a different time, I normally jog 6km in the morning then about 2 hours later go & do weights at the gym , do you think the two hours gap is good enough?

Hopefully Atomic will answer this question since I am not really sure, I never did cardio, I only did weights

[ELP]

5BG, out of interest have you always done that amount of cardio?? Like dloui I only done weights and for me it was littlle bits around the house rather than a set schedule, every little helps:) Personally I would maybe swithch your run to every other day it will only be short term so aim to beef up for a while:)

[atomic sagebrush]

How LONG in terms of time do you spend jogging?

2 hours, I think that's pushing it quite a bit. I would rather see you do cardio 3 days a week and weights 4 days a week or separate the two by 12 hours or so. But if you're only jogging for like 20-30 minutes then it's ok.

[TTCaPRINCE]

How LONG in terms of time do you spend jogging?

2 hours, I think that's pushing it quite a bit. I would rather see you do cardio 3 days a week and weights 4 days a week or separate the two by 12 hours or so. But if you're only jogging for like 20-30 minutes then it's ok.



I personally spend 30 min on the elliptical and burn anywhere from 150-275 Calories depending on the intensity level. And then I normally do some strength right afterwards. Is that not a good plan? And I had been doing this 4x a week. Any suggestions for me?

[ELP]

I would think that the elliptical is quite good, especially if you set it up to a quite hard resistance as this will involve more muscle building, the lighter faster setting would be more cardio I think? I know the pink ladies are having excellent success using high cardio in their sways, so go for the heavy option:agree:

[atomic sagebrush]

I personally spend 30 min on the elliptical and burn anywhere from 150-275 Calories depending on the intensity level. And then I normally do some strength right afterwards. Is that not a good plan? And I had been doing this 4x a week. Any suggestions for me?

How LONG are you doing the weight training afterwards?? After 45 minutes or so, your body runs out of carbs and has to use stored fat and muscle as fuel.

It may be ok to do that 4 days a week provided that you are not overworking your leg muscles - the elliptical will really work your legs quite a bit as it is. I would also eat a larabar or something similar in between when you stop the elliptical and start the weights, to be sure you have fuel for the workout. I would NOT want you to do that any more than 4 days a week.

[TTCaPRINCE]

How LONG are you doing the weight training afterwards?? After 45 minutes or so, your body runs out of carbs and has to use stored fat and muscle as fuel.

It may be ok to do that 4 days a week provided that you are not overworking your leg muscles - the elliptical will really work your legs quite a bit as it is. I would also eat a larabar or something similar in between when you stop the elliptical and start the weights, to be sure you have fuel for the workout. I would NOT want you to do that any more than 4 days a week.

I normally do the strength RIGHT afterwards and it only takes about 10-15 min so a total of a 45 min workout. So should I up my intensity on the elliptical so that I am not doing so much cardio? Like should I try not to get my heart rate really high? I am nervous I am going to end up doing too much cardio when I am on there and swaying pink! :( I can throw a handle of nuts or a banana or something in between the cardio and strength for sure.

[TTCaPRINCE]

I would think that the elliptical is quite good, especially if you set it up to a quite hard resistance as this will involve more muscle building, the lighter faster setting would be more cardio I think? I know the pink ladies are having excellent success using high cardio in their sways, so go for the heavy option:agree:

EEEKK! I don't want to accidentally sway pink! :( Should I go slow on a high intensity?

[atomic sagebrush]

I normally do the strength RIGHT afterwards and it only takes about 10-15 min so a total of a 45 min workout. So should I up my intensity on the elliptical so that I am not doing so much cardio? Like should I try not to get my heart rate really high? I am nervous I am going to end up doing too much cardio when I am on there and swaying pink! :( I can throw a handle of nuts or a banana or something in between the cardio and strength for sure.

no, as long as it's around 45 min or so, you should be fine, esp. if you have a snack between the two. I do not think there's any thing "magic" about cardio vs. weights, it's about moderate exercise vs. overtraining.

[atomic sagebrush]

EEEKK! I don't want to accidentally sway pink! :( Should I go slow on a high intensity?

Moderate cardio does not sway pink, it's only lots of cardio and even then, you also have to be doing a lower protein, lower cal, lowfat diet and losing weight. It's not just exercise, it's exercise + diet + weight loss + the amount of rest you are getting