Time for a NEW LE Diet Support Thread!

Thanks atomic. Sorry I have just seen your reply. Yes, I’m going to drop those things as you’re right they are stopping me getting pregnant. I have only been doing 1 bd each month. Last month I used 1 Sudafed an hour before our attempt and I did use a douche.

Can you tell me why Sudafed stops me from conceiving please as I’ve heard people have used it in their sway.

I am going for just one attempt this month. My husband was doing frequent release (stopping the day before our attempt- so if we had our attempt Friday he would release last on Thursday) he would also have a hot bath before our one attempt.

So do you think he should frequent release or abstain before our one attempt?

With my diet:
Skipping breaksfast

Lunch: white bread and some chicken soft cheese/ jam

Diner: rice or pasta and some chicken. Yogurt. Strawberries or berries

My bmi is around 19, my weight lost has come to a plateau as I’m not a big eater really but I did used to eat lots of breakfast cereals and snack lots during the day. I know that I am ovulating as I’m also using the clearblue ovulation sticks alongside the lh strips. Would you like me to start a new thread atomic? Thanks for helping I appreciate it as this will be our 6 month ttc


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Sudafed has a drying action and that's why people think it works for swaying. So it can accidentally dry up your cervical mucus.

I think your husband should do regular release every 2-4 days this month. Neither abstain nor FR have worked and both cut odds of conception. So I would be inclined to try one attempt with regular release for a month to see if you can get pregnant that way.

Do you have a rough estimate on protein and calories??

Yes I'd appreciate you starting a new thread if you'd be so kind - that way this thread stays full of diet info. :)

I’ve started to plan my pink sway and can’t seem to get how exactly to calculate the protein, fat and carb daily intake and follow the LE diet. Do you have any recommendations, especially with complex cooked meals - do I measure my portion and google all separate ingredients, is there any easier way, an app maybe? Also in the past I have been on some diets that have proven to work for weight loss, however I have two sons and zero girls, so the general dieting doesn’t necessarily sway pink if it is not LE, am I right?
Also is there a thread for general pink swaying support, where all current swayers discuss the process and what are they thinking/doing or are there only separate threads for specific questions? Sorry this does not cover the main topic here, I am a bit lost to the forum. Thanks!

Just estimate your portions and the amounts of stuff in them. It doesn't have to be exact at all, just a ballpark figure.

The apps are very complicated and honestly I think are more trouble than they're even worth.

:agree: Yes the LE Diet is set up to be more pink friendly. Many diets are actually still very high in nutrients, particularly protein, fortified foods, and animal fat.

There usually are support groups going, but for some reason I'm not spotting them right now. Can anyone help me find the current TTC pink support thread??

Thanks, atomic! I really do hope that someone will help me locate the pink support thread :)

Hi, I’ve been going through the old LE diet threads but I want to make sure I’ve got everything right this time :) soooo, I have two meals a day, skipping breakfast, full 16 hours of overnight fasting. I dropped all types of meat, eggs as well (eat them only in baked stuff), counting calories (I aim 1500-1800), protein and fat. Can I have everything within the nutrient limits? I’ve come across many posts where fruits and veggies are avoided and I intend to eat salads (cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage) and roasted/grilled veggies (zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower) often. Do I have to drop them in favour of bread, rice, pasta? How about potatoes? Also buckwheats, millets, quinoa, plain oats, are they too healthy? What’s the deal with chocolate and ice cream, I am a huge fan of both, been trying to lower the intake due to the fats, though... but are they still girl friendly? Is cheese avoided due to fats or is it boy friendly? What fats to choose - butter, olive oil, coconut oil, others? I am very determined to sway as much as possible and am ready to make all the changes. When choosing bread and flour do I pick plain white or is whole grain/rye/spelt also allowed? How about baked full grain rice chips,I love it and have it often but would drop it if necessary. Well, that’s a lot of questions, sorry about that and thanks for your thoughts!
P.s. I am still breastfeeding my 14 month old once a day, got my period last month for the first time if this affects it all.

You can have 3 meals if that would work better for you. (edited to add - while breastfeeding you should have 3 meals anyway)

You can have EVERYTHING in the limits. There are no forbidden foods.

Since you are breastfeeding you need to go up to 1800-2000 and 50-60 g protein and fat not counting the pro and fat in fruit and veg (including potatoes) and NOTHING in low carb veg as they are free and unlimited.

If you have PCOS, are over 38ish, insulin resistance or history of gestational diabetes, or have more than 30-50 lbs to spare then you need to follow the alternate diet instead. On that diet you eat whole grains, full fat dairy only, no skim, and avoid sugar. But if you don't have those issues you can have white grains, skim dairy (or not if you prefer either way) and sugar including choc and ice cream.

Thank you! I am 35 and don’t have PCOS, not much weight to spare- 3-4 lbs the most, so I’ll just stick to the standard limits. Something else that’s been bothering me- I don’t feel that my eating habits have changed much since I started calculating the protein and fat which leads me to the thought that with both my boys I had been eating roughly within the LE diet limits and had boys nevertheless (both conceived from one attempt only, the first one after tons of cardio). I almost never had breakfast before, as well, and never have been much of a meat eater, anyway. How am I upping my chances for a girl now? Anything special to add to the diet? I will start a new thread for the non-LE questions (or do I continue my old one, I think I started it some months ago..?)

Well, unless you were tracking in the poast, we don't KNOW that you actually were eating the same. Keep in mind that most people don't do any of this stuff and in fact would tell you that they were eating the same, but when I have people track their normal diets they often find that they were eating a lot more than they recalled, or a lot more fortified foods, that kind of thing.

Then in addition to that, even IF you're eating the exact same way, swaying is one of those things where it's possible to do things much the same and get a different result. Just like flipping a coin, only the coin gives you more chance of one thing than another. For all you know, you were coming into TTC last time 60% likely to have a girl and then the cards just didn't go your way.

But at the least you're not eating more BLUE friendly now. Think of it this way - it would be a very big step in the wrong direction to switch from eating a pink friendly diet to some other kind of diet that may even be more blue friendly by "doing the opposite" or whatever, assuming wrongly that the diet was the reason you got your boys when it was other things or even just luck, you know?

If you want, you can try using whole grains if you used mostly white in the past, use full fat dairy only no skim (I think you should do this anyway to keep weight on) and up protein and fat to 50-60 g. But keep sugar. That's the best of both worlds and it may help a little bit if you did indeed get boys from too many refined carbs in the past.

Thank you, there’s always so much sense in your answers:) I think I’ll be including both white and full grain as I tend to prepare healthy meals for the boys. Anyway, I will share some of my recipes with exact calculation these days. One last thing- generally do the sweets and sugar sway or is it irrelevant as long as I stay within the daily limits. In my country there’s an old wives tale that girls are conceived on a “sweet ground” (when mothers eat a lot of sweet stuff). That and what’s your full fat dairy’s fat percentage as in my country it is 3,6 % and I want to make sure I stick to your advices...er that was 2 things, sorry :)

If you have PCOS, insullin resistance, or more than 30-50 lbs to spare, sugar CAN sway blue since your blood sugar rises fast and stays up longer, and also this can raise testosterone. So proceed with caution because too much sugar can sway blue for some people.

But for people who have normal insulin response, you can have sugar. It is not so much that moms who have girls eat a LOT of sweet food (because many of them are light eaters) but often they have a diet that is focused on empty carbs - like sugary cereal with skim milk for breakfast, a candy bar and diet coke for lunch, and pasta for dinner, with cookes for dessert. So even tho they didn't eat but 1500 cals, it was all carby and low protien and fat, if that makes sense.

Whatever qualifies for full fat in your country is fine. :) It varies depending on how the food itself is prepared.

Thanks a lot, atomic! Since I’ve cut the meat and eggs I noticed that I am very low on protein, what would be the safest way to up it as my daily intake doesn’t go over 20-25 g?

Whatever it takes. Put meat and eggs back in if necessary. 20-25 g protein is not at all acceptable. Nuts, legumes, dairy, grains, even a bit of soy 2-3 times a week is fine.

Hi Atomic! I have a couple of questions for you regarding the LE diet. Should I avoid eggs? I know they are very high in nutrients. Also, should I avoid drinking milk or can I at least have a glass of low fat chocolate milk before bed?
I've read that LE diet is low on calories, fat and nutrients. Right? I haven't been able to find in the forum a guide or a list of do's and don'ts on how to do the LE diet.

No, eggs within limits are fine. They are NOT magically pink friendly though. Some people used to believe eggs = girls and had people eat tons of eggs, which is not good either. But a couple eggs a few times a week within limits is a-ok.

Milk is also fine within limits. Again, it's not a free-for-all like some of the sway diets have it, you can't have as much as you can possibly drink, but within the limits it's a good way to get some protein and fat you may need.

Re the low fat chocolate milk - most people can have that within limits. On the alternate diet for those who have PCOS, insulin resistance, more than 30-50 lbs to spare, are over 40, or who have poor egg quality you'll want to avoid sugar and have full fat dairy ONLY, no skim or part skim dairy.

LE Diet is:

1500-1800 cals for most (a large minority goes up to 1800-2000, a small minority goes down to 1200-1500) Low carb veg are free for calories, have as much as you want, no need to count them

40-50 g protein for most (large minority goes up to 50-60 g) and this DOES NOT count the protein and fat in fruit and veg. IN fruit and high carb veg (sweet and starchy) count only calories

30-60 g fat for most (large minority up to 50-60 g) not counting fat in fruit and veg

Those on the alternate diet (that large minority) have 50-60 g protein and fat, use whole grains only, full fat dairy only, and avoid sugar.

Here is the LE Diet: https://www.genderdreaming.com/forum...l-version.html

First LE FAQ: https://www.genderdreaming.com/forum...-diet-faq.html

Second LE FAQ: https://www.genderdreaming.com/forum...s-edition.html

Guide to Cheating on LE Diet: https://genderdreaming.com/forum/gen...tml#post959784

Thank you so much for your thorough response! I greatly appreciate it.

Hey ladies, don't forget about this LE Support thread! I know we have a lot of LE PCOS-type Dieters right now, please chime in and share your menus and meal ideas!

Hi, I’ve been on the LE diet for roughly 11 weeks (veggie) and my ovulation will be within the next several days so I’ve been wondering if I should just wait for the next one. My concerns, apart from not having completed the desired 12+weeks on LE, are:
1. I’m not strictly counting nutrients as I noticed that with two veggie meals a day I can hardly eat more than 1400 kcal, 25-30 grams protein, but I’m fairly certain that whatever I do I haven’t gone under 40 grams of fat a day, more like 50, 55-ish... is that too much?
2. I’ve been having these huge sweet cravings so every day I’ve eaten some chocolate (milk) or a cookie or two, does that lower my pink chances? No PCOS or insulin resistance for me, I’m sill breastfeeding my toddler once a day. I am doing my one hour brisk walking 5 times a week and have been for the last 5 months. Since the beginning of LE I’ve lost 6 kilos (12 lb), my current BMI is 19,7. I’m planning to include some fiber because of the fats and sweets, will that help? Thanks a lot in advance for your thoughts!
And not to seem only demanding help, I’m sharing some of my meals. What I try to eat is more carbs, less protein (of course) so I eat white bread (bake it myself) with some pesto and tomatoes; turmeric rice with lemon and ginger; pasta with fresh cheese/pesto/vegetables; wraps with fresh vegetables and beans; rice with peas and carrots. I bake pastries at home so there are some that include eggs, cheese and yoghurt (typical for my country). Sometimes I bake plain potatoes and sweet potatoes or add spinach/mushrooms to plain white rice. I seem to have forgotten to eat fruits, though, so I’m including those, as well. What I cooked today is some grated cheese, mixed with 3 eggs, some low fat milk, flour and baking powder, we call it oven-baked cheese. Oh, I forgot the soups- whenever I can I cook an extra portion of my toddler’s veggie cream soups and have it with a chunk of bread. Sometimes I eat broccoli with sauce bechamel. I also eat pizza (in my country it isn’t rich of fats, for a pizza the amount of cheese is about 20-30 grams, which is no more than 6-7 grams of fat); then it’s the pizza dough and some tomato sauce, so for a pizza I count no more than 10-15 grams of fat total. Calories and protein seem also ok since it’s one of two daily meals. I also eat rice crackers. And my weak spot- chocolate- milk/white. That’s basically my LE, how does it sound?

Eleven weeks is close enough to twelve IMO.

You are way way way way below my recommendations for a nursing mom, which is 1800-2000 cals, 50-60 g protein and fat. Since you've been doing this a while and haven't lost your milk supply I suppose it's fine to continue but that would not have been the type of diet I recommended for you or anyone while nursing, even a toddler.

1)This is actually why you NEED to count nutrients. 25-30 g protein is NOT enough. It is below the minimum for health and you need to increase that right away.

The limit of fat on LE Diet is 30-60 g. 40-50 g fat a day is completely in the wheelhouse of that.

2)As long as you don't have insulin resistance/PCOS you can have chocolate and an occasional cookie within limits.

You are already below my minimum cutoff for weight which is 21. No more weight loss. Please do not add in fiber now. You are already plenty thin and fiber may absorb TOO much fat and make you stop ovulating.

All those are the right kinds of foods (and thanks for sharing!) I'm just worried because I don't want to see you cutting back too far.

Thanks, Atomic, I’ve been struggling with the protein intake and added some low fat dairy and skyr (high protein yogurt-like product, not sure if you have it). I realised I have never had enough protein to begin with... anyway I am uncertain why, but I can’t seem to shake off the feeling that eating sweets has ruined my sway...ugh that sweet tooth I have, I can deprive myself of any type of food, except desserts...maybe it’s the lower calories, I don’t know. I want to eat cakes and chocolate and cookies all the time... Otherwise I’ve been strict regarding the no-snacking, 16-h-fasting, veggie style, two-meals-a-day part.I will do my best to decrease that particular sweet intake and start the attempts next cycle.
Another thing- I want to discuss some general pink sway concerns, where do I do this? I still haven’t found a general pink sway support thread and they are not precisely Le diet linked, therefore this thread is not suitable..

As long as you don't have PCOS or any tendencies that way you can have sweets. I ate a lot of sweets with my sway (within limits) and got a girl. The limits are really what counts. In order to eat more protein you'll likely have to cut back some anyway.

Just start a new thread for your questions by clicking open the TTC a girl forum here: https://www.genderdreaming.com/forum...nceive-a-girl/ you'll see the "start new thread" option then.

I just found some essays here and read that sweets are ok for ttc pink but only if eaten alone... which would mean that out of two meals per day one can be only dessert, without anything else? What I’ve done for the last three months has been two meals per day, no breakfast or snacks at all, but the sweets I’ve had - chocolate or cookies- have always been right after the main meal in order to keep the meal itself “tight” with no snacking afterwards. That’s how I’ve eaten fruits, as well (not many, though). Have I been doing the wrong thing all this time??? I don’t eat meat or eggs or high-protein foods, but there still is some protein in both my daily meals, which in combination with the sweets is not pink friendly??.. Now I am actually worried that my chocolate addiction will ruin my sway as I haven’t come across the correct sugar intake scheme so far :(
Also- I did my annual blood tests and know my blood sugar levels - the result is 4,68 with references 3,3- 5,9, so mine is right in the middle. Does that tell me anything? Thank you for your thoughts!

Please do what I am telling you NOW. Some of the stuff is quite old and I can't go back and edit everything.

You can have protein, fat, and carbs (including sweets as long as you are not on the alternate diet, as I already mentioned) at any meal. Don't worry about any of that. Just have sweets WITH a meal instead of between meals. I do not want you munching on candy all day. As long as you aren't on the alternate diet, you can have sweets with a meal. Do not worry about eating them on their own.

You did everything just fine. Keep up the good work.

When we talk about "lower blood sugar" we don't mean a measurable number on a test. Your body does not "like" having high or low blood sugar and so it immediately takes steps to correct it. When we talk about lower blood sugar we mean just that we have "forced" our body to burn stores of fat to raise our blood sugar into normal range. But the blood sugar when it's measured will still be normal.

Many thanks, Atomic, you may have heard that a thousand times already, but you are the ultimate guru! Not just for your swaying knowledge, but for all your support!

Happy to help however I can!

And here I am with my never ending questions :) When would be the best moment to cheat on the LE diet during my cycle? I believe it is good for us to have a day or two in a month to not count cal/fat/number of meals, it would take our mind off the fixation on keeping a strict regime...but during which part of the cycle it would affect the overall diet less? Is it some days after ovulation, during the actual period? I am craving a good piece of cake and intend to indulge myself but am wondering when :)

The guide to cheating on diet for both pink and blue swayers is here: https://genderdreaming.com/forum/gen...blue-pink.html

I would say just before your period arrives and during the early days of your period is the best time to cheat. For those who have a very long period, they should try to avoid cheating later on into that time period if at all possible, though I don't think that it honestly matters if you overeat even right before ovulation.

Above all else, cheat when it is NECESSARY. Mentally, spirituallly, physically, or when circumstances put you in a position where you need to cheat on diet. My fear, regarding set days to cheat, is that you end up cheating "because you decided these were the days" then ending up with cravings one day you give into, and then other days you have to eat a lot because it was a holiday or you're at a get-together, and then that quickly devolves into a LOT of cheating. I would prefer you guys stick with just cheating when it's necessary for whatever reason rather than assigning a particular day.

Hi, again, is there anything specific regarding eating the following foods while on LE, should we avoid them due to some undesired effect or are they ok within the LE limits:
- fresh dates (5-6 a week)
- prunes or any other dried fruits like figs
- peanut butter - about 3-4 teaspoons a week
- Skyr (a Scandinavian style dairy product, low fat, high protein - about 11 grams per 100 grams). I eat it when I have barely had any protein intake
- honey
Thanks a lot!

All foods are allowed on the LE Diet.

If you guys are on the alternate diet you should go easy on things like honey and dried fruit as they're quite sugary. (but 5-6 dates a week is no biggie for most people even with PCOS)

The skim dairy is also best avoided by anyone who is on the alt. diet but others can have it.

I will share here my new discovery which will be my LE BFF :) I bought an air fryer and it is sooo good. I cooked 4 large portions of french fries with only a tablespoon of oil, they were the same as the real fried ones. I also made donuts which were the best- filled them with custard or low fat ricotta with blueberry jam. I calculated about 5 grams of fat per each! Vegetables are also great! I’m going to use this appliance daily, it will be so easy now. This is not to deprive myself of fats, but to be able to have more of what I usually like but be careful about- cheese, ice cream or chocolate, other things as well. If I prepare the meals in the air fryer I’ll be able to eat a bit more of the fatty stuff within the cal limits :)

Are you on the alternate diet or standard?

I am on the standard LE, is there anything specific I need to consider when using the Air-Fryer?

No, I think it's fine for your sway!

Does anyone have any helpful hints on staying LE while on vacation? I’m fearful I might overdo it with all the fresh island fruit and primarily eating out.
I’m thinking keeping with only coffee until 1:00 ( that should be easy enough).
Maybe sticking to salads while eating out??
I’m sure I could opt to box half of my take out meals.
Let me know if there are good ideas for LE things to pack in my suitcase. ( I usually do trail mix but probably won’t get around to it this time.)

Most people find it's quite easy to stick to LE principles when on vacation because everything feels like a treat.

There's nothing wrong with eating fruit. Fruit is completely allowed on LE Diet.

When you eat out, yes, have fish or salad or even something like chicken pasta that type of thing.

But I would say just have FUN! you don't have to be completely deprived the whole time. If you have skipped breakfast you'll be ahead of the curve and can likely have a fine lunch and dinner and still be within the limits of the day, or very close.

Hi everyone! I’ve been reading threats for more than 6 months now and I’m so excited to finally, probably, try to sway pink [emoji177]on May. I just don’t know what to buy in the grocery store to sway pick. Any girl mommas can share their groceries?

Also, I tried to go on the LE diet, or what I understand of it.. and it was super hard for me, so hard that I think I gained back the pounds that I lost.

My name is Gaby, I’m 5’3 and weight 138(never lost my baby weight) 24.4 BMI and I have a 9.5 month old baby boy whom I’m still breastfeeding on demand, however got my cycle back when he turned 8 months.

I was vegan when I conceived him (had been vegan for 2 years then)* I’m not vegan anymore, craved like crazy meat after 2 weeks of breastfeeding* but I was always snaking, very stressed and eating my feelings. Then I tried to be healthy and go on a diet with tons of kale, nuts, broccoli, tofu, Brussels but most importantly... Kellogg’s fortified breakfast cereal every morning with ripped vanilla pea milk. I got pregnant a month after my change and after losing 10 pounds... however, I had gained in only 2 months 25 pounds because of overeating.

I had moved 3 times that year 2019, and I was so depressed and unhappy.

I had lost my cycle for 72 days
Then 46 days
Then 32 days
And I got pregnant in a cycle that was 28 days

I feel like It’s imposible for me to lose the weight... do I still have a chance for a girl even with a BMI 24.4?


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Tell me more about what you THINK the LE diet even is.

Many times people think they're doing the LE Diet when they're basically starving themselves. This should be an easy diet to stick to and if it isn't we work on it until it IS easy for you to stick to. But any info you can give about how much and what you were eating will help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by atomic sagebrush

Tell me more about what you THINK the LE diet even is.

Many times people think they're doing the LE Diet when they're basically starving themselves. This should be an easy diet to stick to and if it isn't we work on it until it IS easy for you to stick to. But any info you can give about how much and what you were eating will help.

---

I’ve been drinking coffee in the mornings. It’s really hard for me to get to noon without eating. An example would be:

Today,
I ate half an everything bagel with cheddar jalapeño, normal sharp cheddar and Canadian bacon at 11am right after my coffee ( coffee with a little sugar and almond milk)

I ate like at 3 pm tater tots (like 3/4 of a cup) with Parmesan cheese and bbq sauce

Tried really hard to not binge eat.

Then ate dinner at around 8:30pm. It was a chicken lasagna with sauce made of onions, green pepper, whole-milk and corn starch to thicken it, with bits of bacon. I also drank like 10 oz of whole milk with the meal and a cup of orange juice. I was really hungry.

I am trying not to eat in between meals and trying not to overeat.

I actually weighted myself and I Am 134 now. I still am EBF my 9.5 month old al well.

Changes I’ve made is to eat more dairy, and to drink again coffee.

I know my food options may be too boy friendly :s what are your thoughts? Thank you so much for responding!


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Can you add that up in terms of protein, fat, and calories?? It doesn't need to be exact.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by atomic sagebrush

Can you add that up in terms of protein, fat, and calories?? It doesn't need to be exact.

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It’s around 1890 calories but 100 grams of protein and 75 grams of fat [emoji2298]


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