low carb and quality

[HopeandDreamG]

Dr. Potter,

How does a low carb diet effect quality. If there is a chromosome issue how could a low carb diet change that? Or does the low carb diet help eggs that have normal chromosomes survive to testing more efficiently?

[Dr. Potter]

Dr. Potter,

How does a low carb diet effect quality. If there is a chromosome issue how could a low carb diet change that? Or does the low carb diet help eggs that have normal chromosomes survive to testing more efficiently?
It helps quality by lowering insulin levels. I do not believe that it helps with aneuploidy rates though.

[HopeandDreamG]

I understand it helps by lowering insulin levels. Does the lower insulin level help embryos that are normal be a better quality/grade? And/or does it help normals not arrest prematurely?

[lisvna]

Good question, like to hear more about it!

[HopeandDreamG]

I understand it helps by lowering insulin levels. Does the lower insulin level help embryos that are normal be a better quality/grade? And/or does it help normals not arrest prematurely?


DrP would love or thoughts on this. Is it possible more embryos may make it to day 5 on a low carb diet?
And how many grams of carb is the goal?

[willtherebe4]

Bump for Dr Potter, am interested to know.
Thanks.

[vickyaust]

I did extreme low carb under Dr Potter and got fantastic results. My quality massively improved. I did <20 g a day. Atkins induction. The key is to get your body into Ketosis. You can do urine dip sticks to see if you have ketones.

[Alyssasmom789]

I did extreme low carb under Dr Potter and got fantastic results. My quality massively improved. I did <20 g a day. Atkins induction. The key is to get your body into Ketosis. You can do urine dip sticks to see if you have ketones.

How did you know what to eat???? Any fav breakfasts, lunch or dinners?

[kpmum]

I also did low carb as per Dr Potter and had amazing results- of 11 eggs retrieved- 10 were mature, 9 fertilised and 8 were biopsied. I had 5 normals in the end. I highly recommend it!

[willtherebe4]

I also did low carb as per Dr Potter and had amazing results- of 11 eggs retrieved- 10 were mature, 9 fertilised and 8 were biopsied. I had 5 normals in the end. I highly recommend it!

Kp, could you give an idea of how little carb you had in a day, say for eg what it was & qty Also im wondering how long did you do it prior, what is recommended?

[4BOYS]

Kp, could you give an idea of how little carb you had in a day, say for eg what it was & qty Also im wondering how long did you do it prior, what is recommended?

Id like to know this also , i dont have ANY bread ,rice ,pasta potatoes ,cereal anything considered in the carb family ,but i do still have a hanful of berries and a apple a day, cant live without some fruit hope this is ok

[willtherebe4]

Id like to know this also , i dont have ANY bread ,rice ,pasta potatoes ,cereal anything considered in the carb family ,but i do still have a hanful of berries and a apple a day, cant live without some fruit hope this is ok

Id imagine berries are much better than an apple which is prob too high in sugars (even if they are natural lol).

[nuthinbutpink]

Apples are good because of the fiber. My DD has to do low carb and apples are great.

[chocolate]

Yes Id like to know how long did you do the low carbs for?

[vickyaust]

I saw good results after 3 months. Unfortunately that cycle was a NT though due to gender split. So I stayed on the low carb another 4 months till my successful cycle.

I stayed on <20g carbs a day. Very low. This counter might help.
http://www.atkins.com/Program/Carb-Counter.aspx

[kpmum]

I only did it for 2 months- the last month I was stricter. I avoided white bread, rice and pasta. No potatoes and veges high in carbs- ie corn. No sugar or processed foods like measuli bars. I would eat a low carb protein bar for breakfast, nuts inc almonds and plain Greek yoghurt and frozen berries mid morning. For lunch I would eat 2 boiled eggs with one piece of soy and linseed bread sometimes with a can of tuna. Dinners would consist of meat and veges- if I had stirfrys I'd have it with some brown rice. I made sure I ate plenty of nuts, avocados and sometimes apples when I needed something sweet. I didn't go full strict no carb as my body couldn't do it but basically I avoided high GI foods. I still had one coffee a day and 1-2 glasses of wine a week (no alcohol during stims). This worked for me with quality. DH still drank coffee- 1-2 cups and alcohol- 2-4 drinks a week.

[chocolate]

I haven't made many diet changes for this first cycle, going to go low Carb or no Carb as much as poss. In the last 3 weeks of this cycle and see, then continue it in case I cycle again.
I just know I will find that diet so hard, very hard to eat a food unless I like it. Think I'll be sticking to lots of hummus with cucumber carrots and pepper slices, nuts, and steak or chicken with veg!

[willtherebe4]

Apples are good because of the fiber. My DD has to do low carb and apples are great.


Apples are not bad in a general sense, but not good if you are trying to achieve very low carb. They are almost 20gm carb per serve (the total amount you would stick to for extreme low carb for this purpose). They are a simple carb and therefore have higher sugar level than a complex carb (which would also keep u fuller longer) and therefore would raise insulin levels higher than ideal. Id aim to stick to complex carbs only and maybe have something like an apple as a once off if you were craving something sweet.

[Mollo]

I am just wondering:

Is it really bad to eat carb once a week? I mean, it must be better than dont eating low carb at all?

On saturday we have a familything with eating pizza, sweets and such stuff. I am petite so it is really hard to explain why I am eating low carb:p

[vickyaust]

I am just wondering:

Is it really bad to eat carb once a week? I mean, it must be better than dont eating low carb at all?

On saturday we have a familything with eating pizza, sweets and such stuff. I am petite so it is really hard to explain why I am eating low carb:p

Dr Potter and Atkins both explained to me that it's the process of getting into ketosis that makes low carb beneficial. This can take several days of low carb to achieve. Thus you need to stick to it strictly. I even did it Christmas Day.

[chocolate]

See I was worried about not eating any carbs, thought it may harm my body or eggs in some way?
So is it ok to not eat any carbs?

For instance so far today I had raw carrots and hummus about 10am, then some cooked roast chicken to snack on about lunch-time .... not hungry yet but will probably have some natural yoghurt with granola later, and then planning on having steak with onions, mushrooms, green beans and a slice of melted cheese on top, wasn't planning on any carbs at all today ...

[Mollo]

See I was worried about not eating any carbs, thought it may harm my body or eggs in some way?
So is it ok to not eat any carbs?

For instance so far today I had raw carrots and hummus about 10am, then some cooked roast chicken to snack on about lunch-time .... not hungry yet but will probably have some natural yoghurt with granola later, and then planning on having steak with onions, mushrooms, green beans and a slice of melted cheese on top, wasn't planning on any carbs at all today ...

Thinking about the same thing! That cant be good for the egg either? No carb? The body neeeds a little carb...

[atomic sagebrush]

I think that for anyone without PCOS, eating some GOOD carbs (fruit, veg, whole grain) is a good thing. If you ever read the original study the % on this are not NO carbs and super high protein, it was anything more than 25% calories from protein and anything less than 40% calories from carbs. There is a lot of wiggle room there. Easy to follow article here:
Can High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet Boost Fertility Treatment? - US News and World Report (http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/05/06/can-high-protein-low-carb-diet-boost-fertility-treatment) And it is not at all clear if it is even the protein - it could have been due to eating more fat or less processed foods or exercising more or some other thing entirely.

There are quite a few studies done in animals that show high protein intake is actually bad for fertility. Unless you have a known medical condition or have gotten inexplicably poor results with your HT rounds I personally believe it's best to include some carbs in your diet. Others won't agree but I did want to mention that it's not accepted canon by everyone. Good luck girls.

[atomic sagebrush]

See I was worried about not eating any carbs, thought it may harm my body or eggs in some way?
So is it ok to not eat any carbs?

For instance so far today I had raw carrots and hummus about 10am, then some cooked roast chicken to snack on about lunch-time .... not hungry yet but will probably have some natural yoghurt with granola later, and then planning on having steak with onions, mushrooms, green beans and a slice of melted cheese on top, wasn't planning on any carbs at all today ...

There will be carbs in your hummus and granola. :)

[HopeandDreamG]

See I was worried about not eating any carbs, thought it may harm my body or eggs in some way?
So is it ok to not eat any carbs?

For instance so far today I had raw carrots and hummus about 10am, then some cooked roast chicken to snack on about lunch-time .... not hungry yet but will probably have some natural yoghurt with granola later, and then planning on having steak with onions, mushrooms, green beans and a slice of melted cheese on top, wasn't planning on any carbs at all today ...

You are eating carbs and probably way over 20. There's carbs in carrots, granola (a lot), and your yogurt. Your eating more carbs then you think. If its not straight protein like a meat or straight fat your eating carbs.

[chocolate]

Ha and there was me thinking I wasn't eating any lol.

I actually would like to include some carbs so not too worried about the amount in the hummus etc. as what Ive eaten today is a huge healthy change from my usual diet. I will read that link, thanks, and look into how much carbs are in what Im eating.

I think Ill also see what this cycle brings in terms of quality, just have a feeling the quality won't be good from having a couple of blighted ovums before and the PCOS on one ovary. But can then look into the best diet for the next cycle if need be.

[vickyaust]

Ha and there was me thinking I wasn't eating any lol.

I actually would like to include some carbs so not too worried about the amount in the hummus etc. as what Ive eaten today is a huge healthy change from my usual diet. I will read that link, thanks, and look into how much carbs are in what Im eating.

I think Ill also see what this cycle brings in terms of quality, just have a feeling the quality won't be good from having a couple of blighted ovums before and the PCOS on one ovary. But can then look into the best diet for the next cycle if need be.

Chocolate if you have PCOS then low carb can make an even bigger difference with your cycle. You might benefit from metformin too.

I wish I had known about low carb before my cycle #1 & 2. My quality was so poor. I wasted a lot of time and money.

[chocolate]

Thanks, yes I did suggest Metformin to the Dr but he said not too .... I am however taking Inositiol so hope that helps, as well as CoQ10, Vitamin D3, Omega 3, Vitamin C, and a good pre-natal.

Also, app, the lady who did my scan, said one ovary looked polycystic (was larger?) and one wasn't (was normal size) which seemed odd to me, but Im hoping that the non Poly cystic ones could produce the better eggs.

If they come back poor then I think I will insist on metformin and def. work hard on the diet

[Dr. Potter]

I understand it helps by lowering insulin levels. Does the lower insulin level help embryos that are normal be a better quality/grade? And/or does it help normals not arrest prematurely?
It helps egg quality and therefore you get better embryos., quality-wise. It may also help with implantation and pregnancy maintenance. In addition to lowering insulin levels, protein provides amino acids needed for the manufacture of proteins so this may have a role in improving outcomes as well but this is speculative.

[Sjaem]

Dr Potter and Atkins both explained to me that it's the process of getting into ketosis that makes low carb beneficial. This can take several days of low carb to achieve. Thus you need to stick to it strictly. I even did it Christmas Day.

Is it just me who should follow low carb or dh as well?