Wanting a girl after twin boys

[pinkaftertwinboys]

Hi! I really hope I am posting in the right way, this is my first time using any forum. I have read a lot on here that has already helped so thank you.

I have twin boys. Myself and my husband want one more pregnancy - maybe TTC at some point next year, and we would both love that baby (or babies!) to be a girl. Hyper ovulation is a strong gene in my family, my grandmother and sister have twins, all are fraternal (none identical). We were extremely lucky and conceived in the first cycle when TTC, and even luckier that we got two. We had unprotected sex 13 out of 15 days after my period and conceived our boys.

We are both vegan. I have an under active thyroid and take 50mcg of levothyroxine. I am very overweight and want to lose at least 140lb. I have done this once and will again. I am currently doing OMAD - one meal a day. I fast and have water only for 23 hours, and one hour eating window in the evening. 8 lb down in two weeks and feeling great and happy to carry on.

Can you please guide me in what I should do as well as than that to conceive a girl? What foods are best for me to eat? As I said I’m already vegan, and overweight, probably slightly insulting resistant too. One of the main reasons I am doing OMAD as my weight loss route too - regulate insulin and help repair and damage to my metabolic rate from previous very low calorie diets. I have been having around 1400 - 1500 calories daily, is this ok? Should I have coffee as well as my water when fasting?

Also the last 12 months I have had irregular cycles (21 - 60 days!), is there anything I can have to help that regulate again? Never been the same since giving birth. ANY help and guidance would be much appreciated thank you x

[atomic sagebrush]

hi and welcome!!

I don't recommend one meal a day, prefer you guys have 2 minimum since it may lower your chance of getting pregnant if you don't have enough food coming in. Plus, it can really muck with your metabolism to crash diet that way (though it sounds like you're eating enough calories to circumvent that) But that having been said, since you do have some weight to spare I'll leave it at your discretion provided you are getting at least 1200 calories, 50-60 g protein and fat (that's a lot of food to get in in an hour!)

I want you to have whole grains only, no white grains, and no sugary stuff. Be sure you're getting 50-60 g protein and fat NOT COUNTING the protein in fruit and veg, and not counting ANYTHING in low carb veg, you can have those as free and unlimited.

How long have you been vegan?? is this for the sake of your sway/health or for ethical reasons? Do you eat a lot of soy?

I would suggest taking 2000 mg myoinositol from AF-O and 1000 mg (or every other day) from O-AF, and eat 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (stirred into food or drink) cinnamon, CEYLON only, not cassia, AF-O and 1/8 teaspoon from O-AF - and this will be a very small amount. If you notice increased bleeding or bruising, or heavier periods, wean off the cinnamon.

With both the above, at BFP you can gradually wean off by spacing doses futher and further out till down to one per week, then you can drop them.

I suspect as the weight comes off your cycle will regulate itself, but the myoinositol may also help.

[pinkaftertwinboys]

Thank you very much for your reply. I definitely won’t go any lower than 1200 calories per day. Do you think being overweight it is safe to be 1200 - 1500, even if I extend my raging window to 4 hours. Or stick with 1400 - 1600 calories per day?

I will focus on whole grains absolutely - barley, quinoa, brown rice, bulgar wheat, wheat bran, rye bread, wholewheat bread and wholewheat pasta. I’ll avoid oats. Do you think those foods would be ok for me?

So I need to consume 50-60g protein & 50-60g of fat? I get my fat sources from avocados, olives and olive oil, is that ok or is it too nutrient dense?

I’ve been vegan for over 3 years for ethical reason, big animal lover. I’ve been a healthy weight & an overweight vegan! Too much eating out, white carbs and sugary food meant I put weight back on. I do have soy in my diet, not huge amounts but can increase it if that will help? I have tofu and meat replacements that are soy based, I also have it milk and soy milk. Would it be best to stick to soy milk?

So sorry if this is really obvious but unsure what O-AF and AF-O mean? also what is BFP?

I agree, I feel like my weight is to blame for this recent irregular cycle issue.

[pinkaftertwinboys]

Sorry so I have read up and realise BFP - big fat positive for when we do conceive, and AF - Aunt Flo for period. I hope this is right?

So when you talk about the things to do AF-O and O-AF does that meant when I Sheba my period and when I don’t? So sorry for such basic questions!

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh sorry yes, BFP = big fat positive pregnancy test, AF = period

When I say to take something from AF-O I mean take it from the first day of your period thru ovulation. O-AF is from ovulation through your period beginning.

[atomic sagebrush]

I always like you to eat the MOST you can while still losing weight. If you can lose weight at 1400-1600, that's better, because you're more likley to continue ovulating and it won't mess with your metabolism so much. Plus, it gives you room to maneuver if you plateau. If you're as low as you can go, and then plateau, there's nowhere to cut back, if that makes sense.

Yes those things will be fine as long as you tolerate them ok. If you don't we'll just focus on what you CAN tolerate.

I would actually like you to LIMIT soy to 2-3 days a week. some people think it sways blue (I don't) but others think it may limit to some extent your ability to conceive as easily.

The downside of being vegan is that it can be somewhat carbier (which means you will end up with a harder time losing weight and may have more insulin resistance due to higher carb intake) and higher blood sugar from more carbs and insulin resistance. So if you were doing it for the sway I was going to have you add dairy/eggs back in. But since you're an ethical vegan we'll just roll with it and use the cinnamon and myoinositol to control for that.