Most important part of the LE diet?

[Mrshill]

Ok so today is my first day of the diet I can stay in the calorie range, its gonna be really hard but I can do no meat I just can't seem to stay in the sodium range. Do you think this will effect my sway?

[hopingforsaskia]

As I understand it, that's an absolutely essential part of the diet... But atomic will most certainly clear that up for you! :happy:

[Mochagirl]

I don't think atomic watched sodium at all when she was on the diet, and she got her girl! She's been saying for a very long time that sodium is the least important part of the sway.

[sweetpea]

I agree - sodium is probably the least important part of a pink sway. As for the most important thing? I'm not really sure, as I know it's very important to stay low on calories, fat, protein, and overall nutrients, but it's also very important to keep blood sugar low. I'm thinking maybe the blood sugar is the most important part, especially in the 2WW because it's been proven that x and y sperm suck up different amounts of glucose. But, I could be wrong about what the most important aspect of the diet is - I'm sure Atomic will weigh in with her thoughts.

[Ribbons]

Sodium does get easier over time... it can take a while to get into the swing of things! I would try to focus on calories, fat, protein intake, and stay away from the meat, and if you go over on your sodium at first, that's okay. I found the diet to be a lot easier when I took "baby steps".

And hi to Fort Worth! I grew up in Grand Prairie / Arlington :)

[sweetpea]

Sodium does get easier over time... it can take a while to get into the swing of things! I would try to focus on calories, fat, protein intake, and stay away from the meat, and if you go over on your sodium at first, that's okay. I found the diet to be a lot easier when I took "baby steps".
I agree with this! :agree: The sodium was really hard for me to stay under at first, but it got way easier with time.

[Mrshill]

Good! Makes me feel better I have also been taking baby steps. I am really trying to just take everything in slowly or I will absolutely stress out about it ha! When I first found this site in November I was reading and researching so much I would dream about swaying ok more like nightmares :)

[Ribbons]

When I first found this site in November I was reading and researching so much I would dream about swaying ok more like nightmares :)

ditto!!

[amari]

I would say sodium is least, most is just staying within the fat, protein and cal guidelines for the day while eating only 2 or 3 meals. GL!!

[nks798]

Sodium does get easier over time... it can take a while to get into the swing of things! I would try to focus on calories, fat, protein intake, and stay away from the meat, and if you go over on your sodium at first, that's okay. I found the diet to be a lot easier when I took "baby steps".

And hi to Fort Worth! I grew up in Grand Prairie / Arlington :)


I agree. It gets a lot easier but it's the last thing I really watch when I cheat.

Oh, Ribbons.. Small world. I'm from Dallas, Texas! Miss it terribly.

[Ribbons]

nks - good to hear from a fellow Texan! I was SOOOO ready to leave when I moved to CA... but I do miss it... ESPECIALLY the thunderstorms, which you for sure get being in GA! I seriously have to listen to recordings of them to sleep! All we get here is annoying sprinkles that they LIKE to call rain... whatever. LOL

[atomic sagebrush]

I do not believe sodium to be make or break. I do keep it in because a)it's relatively easy for people to stick to b) it's good for health anyway and c) the Oxford study did find that moms who went onto conceive boys ingested more sodium, but at the same time moms who went onto conceive boys ate more FOOD all together (in addition to more protein and fat - foods with protein and fat often are higher in sodium) and so may have gotten more sodium as a result. It could be the greater amount of cals, protein, and fat that sways and the sodium is just a coincidence.

I ate tons of sodium when I conceived this little girl! Much more than with my failed sway for DS 4!!

[nks798]

I do not believe sodium to be make or break. I do keep it in because a)it's relatively easy for people to stick to b) it's good for health anyway and c) the Oxford study did find that moms who went onto conceive boys ingested more sodium, but at the same time moms who went onto conceive boys ate more FOOD all together (in addition to more protein and fat - foods with protein and fat often are higher in sodium) and so may have gotten more sodium as a result. It could be the greater amount of cals, protein, and fat that sways and the sodium is just a coincidence.

I ate tons of sodium when I conceived this little girl! Much more than with my failed sway for DS 4!!


so true for me.. I had pre-hypertension with DS.. hah! I ate so badly. there are days I go over the limit though.. but not a lot.. just a little and I don't stress as stress is bad!

Ribbons, we do get lots of rain. I live in a super small town. it's not even a town, it's "unincorporated". my husband and his family all own land there. I work in a bigger town.. but it sucks. total, major culture shock when I moved. I'm getting used to it though.

[zanacal]

I do not believe sodium to be make or break. I do keep it in because a)it's relatively easy for people to stick to b) it's good for health anyway and c) the Oxford study did find that moms who went onto conceive boys ingested more sodium, but at the same time moms who went onto conceive boys ate more FOOD all together (in addition to more protein and fat - foods with protein and fat often are higher in sodium) and so may have gotten more sodium as a result. It could be the greater amount of cals, protein, and fat that sways and the sodium is just a coincidence.

I ate tons of sodium when I conceived this little girl! Much more than with my failed sway for DS 4!!

Atomic, I think eating a low sodium diet made me a lot thinner and lighter than I've been in the past. As soon as I stopped the LE diet I looked half a stone heavier before I'd even put on any weight because I was immediately more bloated. Do you think it has any impact from that perspectie?

[Mochagirl]

I agree - when I started the LE diet with very restricted sodium my belly became flat and I lost a lot of weight immediately. Both times I got pregnant my belly got bloated and I piled on pounds within days of eating normally again.

[Ribbons]

I've read that a low-sodium diet suppresses the appetite.

nks, I live in an unincorporated town too :) Felton, in the Santa Cruz mountains, and I so know what you mean by culture shock, I got both small-town shock AND south-to-Cali shock at the same time! But I love it here.

Felton, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felton,_California)

[KnockYourBallsOff]

The sodium restriciton does get easier! I don't even like salty things now...I'd gotten so used to it! And oh wow...the weight gain after getting a BFP! Just a little over 6 weeks and I'm HUGE compared to when I was on teh LE diet. I was 121 lbs when I conceived and now am already 130! Yowza!

I think the most important part is overall staying within levels with sodium being least important and one a few meals a day. I wasn't the best on that towards my attempt :( The snacking killed me. I stayed within levels though. If this is a boy, that will be my regret,

[atomic sagebrush]

Atomic, I think eating a low sodium diet made me a lot thinner and lighter than I've been in the past. As soon as I stopped the LE diet I looked half a stone heavier before I'd even put on any weight because I was immediately more bloated. Do you think it has any impact from that perspectie?

I don't think water weight sways, only weight from muscle (raises T) and fat (raises E). But that doesn't mean there isn't info out there that I'm not aware of!!

[Ribbons]

atomic, you've probably answered this in great depth on another thread but how does estrogen sway exactly? I am concerned with all that wine I was drinking for awhile (and still do, on occasion, just not as often)... and I do eat a LOT of those tofu-based shirataki noodles...

[atomic sagebrush]

Ok just to clarify one thing - shirataki noodles DON'T have tofu. There are noodles from the same company that DO have tofu in them but the regular shiratakis are pure fiber and have no cals, protein, fat. The tofu noodles do have cals and protein.

I really need to do an in depth essay on this but it's quite complex so I've been postponing. I suspect that the main, possibly the only way estrogen really sways is by producing excess CM and other fluids just before O. I think that's all it even does for us, so if we use antihistamines or our CM is drier from diet, estrogen in and of itself is not a super huge factor as long as you've controlled for CM. All women need estrogen in a good amount to conceive and since heavier women and African Americans (who tend to have high estrogen) do seem to have more daughters, as do anorexics, vegetarians, and older moms (who generally also have lower estrogen), and Clomid (estrogen blocker but then you have an estrogen surge after you stop taking it) seems to also = more girls, I don't think it's quite as cut and dried as some of the theories make it appear. My gut tells me that if your CM is dry and/or hostile, that's mostly/entirely what is doing the swaying. Just because estrogen = CM, if you have less CM for any reason, regardless of your estrogen level, you're more likely to conceive a girl.

I thought your previous alcohol intake was fine. I do not believe alcohol sways blue except as a part of an otherwise fertility friendly diet.

Plus, tofu has something in it called "phytoestrogens" and while IG makes the claim that phytoestrogens are just as good as the real thing and so by eating phytoestrogen you raise your estrogen level, that's not really what the facts seem to indicate. Phytoestrogen can interfere with your body's production and use of real estrogen by partly bonding to estrogen receptors and blocking real estrogen (phytoestrogens are not good at doing what real estrogens do) , and can send a signal to your body that it doesn't NEED to make estrogen. So you end up making less estrogen and the phytoestrogen is interfering in the function of what estrogen you do make.

Basically - you may not even need to worry about estrogen to begin with, and soy products may effectively lower estrogen even if some people claim otherwise.

[Ribbons]

Got it! Yes, I eat the tofu ones (they are the only ones that my grocery store carries) and they do have cals/protein, but it's only 20 cals per serving (and 1g of protein) so that works for me. I won't worry about those anymore.

Thanks atomic!