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  1. #1
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    1 month before TTC check-in

    Hi! We are now about 1 month from TTC, and I just wanted to check-in and see what tweaks we should make going forward now that we are closer.

    Today is Aug. 2, 2022 & I have an appointment to have my IUD removed on August 29, 2022. I started the LE diet on June 1, 2022, and my husband began his supplements and altered his diet then too. We have 2 boys and are trying to sway for a girl. Both times before we have gotten pregnant this same time of year (Aug/Sep) and had our babies in Apr/May.

    What I am doing:
    Supplements: 1400mcg Folate, 200 mg CoQ10, Myo-inositol (2000mg AF-O; 1000 mg O-AF).

    Drinks: I do not drink coffee (hate the taste and smell), but I’ve mostly avoided tea. I am drinking Crystal Light (but I dilute it. I use 1 packet to make a 1-gallon pitcher + drink with ice, and 1 packet is supposed to be for 2 quarts/0.5 gallon). I have 2-3 16 oz. Tervis cups of this a day and water. I do not drink much alcohol at all. I’ve had 2 Bold Rock ciders one night since June.

    Food: 1200-1500 calories a day, split into 2 meals (lunch & dinner). I am avoiding red meat and dark white meat. I’m avoiding added sugars except special occasions. So mostly whole grains over white/enriched options; white meat chicken or turkey over dark/red meat, also eating seafood sometimes; whole fat cheese where I can find it, peanut butter, snacks with meals instead of between (like goldfish crackers, Doritos, popcorn with my sandwich or quesadilla at lunch).

    My husband is drinking soy milk with his morning shake, is taking Olive Leaf Extract, Magnesium, Calcium, and he takes Rx Zoloft and occasional edibles before bed. He drinks coffee occasionally, and does not drink alcohol. He has cutout red meat except special occasions (4th of July burgers & a steak on our anniversary).

    Exercise: Neither of us is really exercising much. I know I need to do that. I’ve experimented with the recumbent bike vs. a cardio class vs. walking outside with my 2 year old. They all burn about the same calories, but the classes leave me sore & the outside walking left me blistered, so I probably need to just stick to the recumbent bike (I do a 45-minute cycle class on Fitness + and add a warm up and cool down to get to 60 mins)

    Weight: I would love to weigh 130 - 143 lb. I am 5’4” & 35 years old. I weighed 130 when my husband and I got together in 2013. My prepregnancy weight for my 1st was 168 lb. My prepregnancy weight for my 2nd was 184 lb. I started this diet in the low 180s and am down to 170 lb. (I had gestational diabetes with both pregnancies (family history + overweight), maintained with just diet both times (I had to eat carbs every meal and only go 3-4 hours between meals to maintain my blood sugar levels))

    I am a Stay at Home Mom (but I still have my law license and do some legal work on the side). My life is the lowest stress it’s been probably ever. Both of my boys will be in daycare Tues, Wed, Thu starting in September, so that will free up more time for me to do some hobbies, work more hours, get stuff done that’s hard to do with kids around, etc.

    We have a busy August, and I am a little nervous about maintaining the sway diet this month and don’t want my body to think I’ve stopped the program if I cheat too much. We are flying to the UK for a week to attend a friend’s wedding 8/18-8/25. When we get back, IUD removal then TTC. We are also going to ATL for a concert on 8/10. I stick to the diet pretty well at home (I think, though I could add more veggies more often; I also hardly eat fruit, but stopped drinking fruit juice as a substitute). When I cheat, it’s because we are out of the house at a restaurant or something. I try to watch the calorie intake and plan ahead for a smaller lunch if I know we’ll have dinner out. I’m just a little nervous about a whole week + other random things this month that will make it hard to calorie count and know all the macros.

    Any suggestions on good Alt. LE diet options when eating at a restaurant? I could order veggie sides as my meal, I guess.

    Also, anything else suggested for this last month before we are actively TTC. I know conception may not happen the first month, so this could be going on for a while, but in case we do get pregnant right away, I want our best chances for a girl.

    My thoughts of what I should change are:
    1) ride the bike 1 hour, every day, or as close to it as I can;
    2) add back in the Metamucil 1 tsp before each of my 2 daily meals;
    3) increase vegetable intake;
    4) reduce cheat meals as much as possible

    Anything else you notice I am not doing that I should?
    Thanks in advance!


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    Last edited by dtwiddy13; August 3rd, 2022 at 08:43 AM.

  2. #2
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    Oh gosh, can you bump this for me? It's gotten late and this is longer than I was expecting, so I want to give you your best reply.
    !!! Questions?? Check out the NEW and improved Complete Index !!!

    If you appreciate my help with your sway plan, please consider a donation:

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  4. #3
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    Bump


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  5. #4
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    1 month before TTC check-in

    Not sure I’m doing this right. Trying to bump it back into your unread list so you will have a reminder to respond. I know you’re busy, but you always say to remind you

    [mention]atomic sagebrush [/mention]

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    Last edited by dtwiddy13; August 4th, 2022 at 10:10 PM.

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  7. #5
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    [mention]atomic sagebrush [/mention] I’m trying to bump this for you


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  8. #6
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    Oh gosh, thanks for your patience and the bump, I opened this up twice to answer and got interrupted and then it didn't show up to me any more.

    Two things jump out at me - the foods like Goldfish and Doritos - even though these aren't sweet, they're still refined carbs, and the lack of exercise. You are among the people for whom even moderate exercise can help, so you will really benefit from doing exercise even if you aren't getting up to the full amount. I would absolutely start doing some exercise now, there's time before your sway to get the benefits even if it isn't the full on 60 6-7.

    I have the full "Guide to Cheating" here that has a lot of great tips in it on how to manage on vacations. https://genderdreaming.com/forum/gen...tml#post959784 The short version is, many people find, when they're away from home or it's a special occasion, that it's actually FAR easier than they think to stay good on diet. Everything feels like a treat, so things like vegetarian entrees, salads, fruit on buffets for breakfast - all of those things can be really helpful. One of my tips (and this is good any time, not just on LE) is to order an appetizer or soup or salad, and then a dessert (you'll limit this somewhat on the alt. diet but there are fruity desserts out there, or you can split one with a friend/hubby). OR you can get a dinner but then save half for another time, or split it. I do not think you should just order some side dishes! That would make you unhappy/deprived feeling, and it would call attention to yourself. I promise there are lots of other things you can order, in most restaurants, that will be both yummy and no one will blink an eye at! And if you're in one of those rare instances like a steakhouse where you really just have to eat differently than anticipated, that's ok! just roll with it, it's fine, a meal off the diet now and then is not a dealbreaker in any way.

    Yep if your stomach is doing ok you can add the fiber back in also esp. while eating out (tho do be aware when you're on a trip, the fiber can upset your digestion which may not be what you want to experience when on vacation - might want to start it a couple weeks in advance to give yourself time to adjust if needed.)

    Other than that, there are honestly very few things to do at the last minute. We find that diet, exercise, lifestyle changes all take time so we really don't do much in the way of last minute changes. You got this, stay the course!
    !!! Questions?? Check out the NEW and improved Complete Index !!!

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  10. #7
    Swaying Advice Coach
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    Yes it is always best to remind me! Thank you!
    !!! Questions?? Check out the NEW and improved Complete Index !!!

    If you appreciate my help with your sway plan, please consider a donation:

    https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=C92U9TVWTRTDQ

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  12. #8
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    Thank you so much! I just went down a rabbit hole reading your link and then other links to other links to other links. I started getting stressed and confused, so I stopped and came back here. I’m not sure if I’m insulin resistant or not, but you’ve told me to eat whole grains and avoid added sugars, so I’ve done that.

    I am eating cheese like on baked potatoes or in quesadillas or burrito bowls. I look at the ingredients to see if it’s made with “part skim” milk or not. If it says part skim, I try to avoid it. The only shredded cheese I’ve found that is labeled affirmatively as being made with whole milk is mozzarella, which is good on some things, but usually I want a Mexican or taco mix. I bought smoked Gouda and ate that with wheat Triscuits.

    I am closer to the 1200 side of the calories (not under) and end up being under 50g of fat and/or protein more often than in the range or over.

    I just broke through and got under 170 lb. It’s a very slow loss. I’m sure exercising would increase this loss pace some.

    I was being good about not stressing and now I’m suspecting the more I read the more stressed I’ll get. I have a pretty immature palate, like a kid. I like your suggestions of eating smaller portions like with appetizers or salads/soups instead of big entrees.

    I think if I get into the minutia of which vegetables are good and which aren’t, I’m going to go crazy. I eat frozen veggies like peas, broccoli, corn, Lima beans, green beans, rice or mashed cauliflower, and a medley of corn, carrots, peas, and green beans. If any of these are too sweet of vegetables, I don’t think I can get that specific because I’ll end up eating just peanut butter sandwiches and Ramen before I’ll eat zucchini or beets or something I don’t like.

    I don’t like most fruits, so I don’t really know how to address that. I’ve never been a fruit eater ever in my life. Occasionally, I enjoy mandarins, apples, bananas, and very few else often enough for it not to go bad.

    I don’t think I have a firm grasp on how to base the meals, so I stocked up on whole grains and stare at my pantry until I find one that seems appetizing and go from there, so the grain is the base, whether it’s a sandwich on wheat bread, a brown rice based dish, seldom pasta because that takes too long, corn tostadas usually with cheese, matzo or whole grain English muffins with peanut butter. So then I will microwave like 2 cups of frozen vegetables if I’m really on top of it. Then I have like no protein. If I do add grilled chicken, it usually skyrockets my protein. If I’m doing a burrito bowl, I add black beans, but haven’t made it a habit to eat them otherwise. Sorry I’m babbling, but I feel like I thought I was doing right starting with grains and then read that I should start with fruit and veg, but that’s super hard for me since I don’t like fruit and the veg are like no calories anyway and are just a side, not really a base for me.

    I have a feeling you’re going to tell me it’s more important to just chill than to overthink this, and I totally was before I started looking on here lol. I just hope that some weight loss, skipping breakfast, the supplements, and totally changing the way I used to eat (which was definitely all day snacking, tons of sodium, red meat, sweet tea, & other boy sway tendencies) will be enough. Vegetarian options are usually full of veggies I don’t like, so sides of veggies I do like is more appealing to me & I tell everyone Im doing a girl sway diet, so I don’t care about trying to hide that. I would love pasta dishes and dishes with shrimp, so if that is fine, then I will gladly order that while in England.
    168 was my prepregnancy weight with my DS1, so I’m almost lower than that.

    Sorry so long again


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  13. #9
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    There are two kinds of mozzarella. One is made with part skim and one is made with whole milk. So that's why that info is easy to spot on mozzarella. This has nothing to do with swaying and has to do with the way the cheese melts, one is less greasy for pizza and the other is more like for eating fresh, if that makes sense.

    As long as the cheese isn't marketed as low fat you can have it even if it says part skim on the label. It's really the skim yogurt and skim milk and skim milk ice cream stuff that you have to watch out for. Practically all cheeses that are not described as specifically low fat are fine.

    I agree that the more you read, the more confused, stressed, and control freakish you get. The detail oriented feelings where you start worrying about details that are not important is by far worse for a sway than if you were eating straight off the boy menu! I can almost but not quite pick out the people whose sways will produce opposites because they are absolutely obsessed over nothingburgers, asking these super involved questions about things that just absolutely CANNOT matter and even when I tell them, begging and pleading with them that they're straight up ruining their sways, they'll still come back at me demanding these indepth analyses between cinnamon and blueberry bagels (and this is not a joke, this has happened). Avoid at all costs.

    There ARE no vegetables that are "good" or "bad". Put that idea out of your mind completely. The only thing to remember is that with the "sweet" or starchy veg, you count calories but not pro and fat (of course with limas and peas you should count protein as they do have some). So since some of those are higher cal, I'd have you count the calories in the mixtures and the protein whenever you're having limas/peas and it's all good. They're not limited by anything except the calories in them, and you'd have to eat a LOT of them before you exceed the cal limits.

    If you don't like fruit, don't eat it. No reason to eat it if you hate it and can get by without it. Totally fine.

    If carbs work better for you than fruit/veg, that's fine.

    When it comes to chicken, you can always have half of the serving you thought you might want. Seafood is ok too and then there's things like bacon, hot dogs, bologna, turkey lunch meat, that sort of thing. Those are obvi not health foods, but if you just cannot eat stuff that is better ways to get protein in, they often have high calories without much protein.

    Pasta and shrimp are absolutely fine! perfect choices and then you can decide to have half of the meal if it's too much. That will work!

    It is absolutely important to chillax and I do think you've started overthinking it. Keep focusing on what you're doing differently, because it's a LOT different than how you were eating! Keep up the great work, you got this!

    And congrats on getting below 170, you're doing awesome!
    !!! Questions?? Check out the NEW and improved Complete Index !!!

    If you appreciate my help with your sway plan, please consider a donation:

    https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=C92U9TVWTRTDQ

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  15. #10
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    Thanks so much. That info about the cheeses is especially helpful. Everything you just said put me at ease and I’m going to do what I’d decided I was going to do anyway and just eat within the limits with the best decisions I can make.

    I worked out this morning, had a whole grain English muffin with peanut butter for breakfast (bc I actually got up early enough to workout and was hungry, so I ate), a bowl of brown rice, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, and Whole milk mozzarella for lunch, and we are at a steakhouse right now bc we just dropped off the kids at my inlaws’ before we fly out of town tomorrow for one night away for a concert, and I’m eating whole grain bread, and getting a loaded baked potato and broccoli for dinner because I was legit craving a baked potato, so I suggested we come here to a steakhouse lol.

    I’ve read enough about your Rx of the chill pill to know that’s important, so I will go back to being less stressed haha!

    Thank you!!!


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