Help, some questions about my pink sway!

Hello everybody,

First of all, excuse me for my probably not perfect English. I'm from the Netherlands :-).
I have two boys and this will be my last chance for a girl. Not because of my age (33, DH 34), but we cannot afford more then 3 kids. We will have our first attempt mid June, so I'm trying to do everything right. I started last week with my diet. I find it quite hard.... There is some conflicting info in the forums. I know some information via Google is not up to date, but I don't know how to do it right...and that stressing me out.

I will stick with the diet and stay within the 1500-1800 cal, 40-50 protein and 40-50 fat. 3-4 cups of coffee daily. I try to eat vegetarian, so far so good ;-).
I'll take folic acid 1600 (already started), Saw Palmetto 320mg (AF-O) and ceritizine 5 days before O-O. I ordered psyllium husk tablets.

DH will take LR, ceritizine 5 days before O-O and cranberry 10000mg.
DH will abstain and we do one attempt at +OPK using Sylk. The boys were both conceived in the second round.

I try to do the exercise by walking with my kids/DH.

Questions:

- Does this look OK? Is it possible to conceive (quickly) with this plan?

- Is cranberry OK for my husband to use or can I better drop that?

- I see that a lot of people don't eat till 11/12.00 pm, but I cannot wait that long. I also do three meals, two is not enough for me. Right now I'm eating at 8.30 am (I get up at 6.30 am), 13.00 lunch and 6 pm dinner. So I stick with the 14 hours of no food. Is this alright or can I better change times to avoid eating in the morning? Is it more about abstaining food or timing of the food? Otherwise I will change my timing.

- I am quite hungry to be honest. What could I add to my diet that is low protein and fat, but is filling for my stomach. I find that if I add something I rapidly go over my protein limits.

- I take magnesium 600mg every day and Imigran when I have a attack for migraine. Is this OK? I know I could better stop, but will it ruin my sway completely?

- How much psyllium husk should I take (tablet form)?

- Is there a higher risk of MC with the LE diet & supplements? (although you stop the supplements on the right time)

Thank you all so much in advance! And good luck everyone!

Hi and welcome! We have a very active group from the Netherlands on here!!

The odds are not high that you'll conceive quickly doing all that stuff. I can tell you what has not worked well for us if you want to, or you can try with this plan for 1-2 months first.

I would actually have him drop the cetirizine and keep the cranberry. Cetirizine may really make his semen very thick and on top of the effect of the cran and LR may end up making it very low chances you'll conceive.

Both 2-3 meals is fine. You are doing great having 14 hours between dinner and breakfast. You do not need to change antyhing with that. It is not the time of day but the number of hours between the two meals. Keep up the good work.

Low carb vegetables (like broccoli, courgette/zucchini, asparagus, etc) are free and unlimited. You can have as much as you want and do not need to count anything in them. Higher carb veg (like potatoes and corn/maize) and fruit, you count only calories in them, they are free for protein and fat. So you can eat those things freely or very nearly so without having to worry at all about protein or fat. Plus they are very filling!!

Why so much magnesium?

Migraine meds probably sway pink.

I would start off with just one dose of fiber per day, only with meals containing fat. If you are not eating fat, you do not need to take the fiber. Do NOT take a massive amount, you don't need it, just a bit with meals that have fat in them.

WE do not know the answer to that question unfortunately. I have a long thread where I investigate all the potential risks of the supplements and stuff here http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gend...carriage.html: The LE Diet, done properly, is based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization and reproductive endocrinologists for a normal, safe food intake prepregnancy. The diet as written does not increase risks of miscarriage (according to the WHO data). Now, some naughty people do starve themselves but that is NOT LE Diet and you should be sure you are eating at the least the minimum recommendation. Do not drop below that!!

Hi and welcome! We have a very active group from the Netherlands on here!!

The odds are not high that you'll conceive quickly doing all that stuff. I can tell you what has not worked well for us if you want to, or you can try with this plan for 1-2 months first.

I would actually have him drop the cetirizine and keep the cranberry. Cetirizine may really make his semen very thick and on top of the effect of the cran and LR may end up making it very low chances you'll conceive.

Both 2-3 meals is fine. You are doing great having 14 hours between dinner and breakfast. You do not need to change antyhing with that. It is not the time of day but the number of hours between the two meals. Keep up the good work.

Low carb vegetables (like broccoli, courgette/zucchini, asparagus, etc) are free and unlimited. You can have as much as you want and do not need to count anything in them. Higher carb veg (like potatoes and corn/maize) and fruit, you count only calories in them, they are free for protein and fat. So you can eat those things freely or very nearly so without having to worry at all about protein or fat. Plus they are very filling!!

Why so much magnesium?

Migraine meds probably sway pink.

I would start off with just one dose of fiber per day, only with meals containing fat. If you are not eating fat, you do not need to take the fiber. Do NOT take a massive amount, you don't need it, just a bit with meals that have fat in them.

WE do not know the answer to that question unfortunately. I have a long thread where I investigate all the potential risks of the supplements and stuff here http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gend...carriage.html: The LE Diet, done properly, is based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization and reproductive endocrinologists for a normal, safe food intake prepregnancy. The diet as written does not increase risks of miscarriage (according to the WHO data). Now, some naughty people do starve themselves but that is NOT LE Diet and you should be sure you are eating at the least the minimum recommendation. Do not drop below that!!

Thank you so much for taking the time to give me advice Atomic. Much appreciated! It really takes a lot of doubts away.

I didn't know about a dutch group. I will definitely check it out!

We'll drop the cetirizine for DH. Drop the LR too or no abstain, so FR? Should I still take the cetirizine or not? Are SP and Sylk proven to work in some way? You see, I'm very interested to hear in what order I should drop/change things :-).
I have to say, the diet is harder on me than expected. Didn't know I am so "weak", but with work, kids, social life it appears to be a challenge in combination with my general low bloodsugar. So right now, to be honest, I feel like I don't want to lower my chances too much. Besides that, last time I (easily) conceived without swaying I was 29, so who knows how long it will take? On the other hand, I don't want to regret afterwards. So we'll go for a (semi) strong sway with actual conceiving changes :-). Or should I just take a shot in Mid May? I'm afraid I can guess your answer...;-).

I take 600 mg of magnesium as a migraine prophylactic (prevention of a migraine attack). Last year it appears to really lower my migraine attacks. If it will ruin my sway, I will stop. But then the urgency to conceive comes up again, since I can't take migraine medication in 2WW. How long does it take for magnesium to go out of your system? Could it be an option to stop in the week before O? I took a multivitamin and extra vitamin C (2000mg) for year until last week. When is it gone out my system?

One last question, should I include drinking alcohol? I'm not much of a drinker, but like a bacardi dietcoke occassionaly. And how often/in which weeks should you drink to make it sway slightly? I do drink coffee 3-4 times a day, I can't live without it :-).

In our results, the following things did not appear to be helping: LR, cetirizine, cranberry, abstain, FR, SP, and Sylk. They either got neutral results - same number of people got girls with or without them, or even WORSE than neutral - they got considerably lower than the overall success rates of the site. So if you're ok with it, based on our results it's actually ok to lose all those things. Most people DO want to try them to start with but it's fine not to, if you feel ok with that!

Can you tell me more about your diet? Sometimes people are eating too little and that is why they're miserable. LE Diet is, for most people, pretty easy to stick to so we may be able to change some things around to make it easier.

Don't worry about the magnesium, some people take that much for swaying pink and it's not necessary. Please continue doing what is right for your health.

Did you just stop the multivitamin and C cold turkey?? If so please take them at least a few more times, it's safer to wean off supplements gradually instead of stopping cold turkey. I also want to mention that taking 1000 mg Vit. C, let alone 2000, may cause or contribute to miscarriage so I really do not want you to go back onto that once you're pregnant.

WE honestly don't know about how often to drink alcohol. I suspect that it's individual - for someone that rarely drinks, drinking occasionally may sway pink, for someone who occasionally drinks, drinking 1 a day may sway pink, etc. I would be careful though as alcohol can make for some wicked migraines!

I'll stop SP right now, since I didn't got my period yesterday (It ALWAYS starts day 28 for years). We'll do the cranberry en LR for one cycle and maybe stop afterwards. Is their an actual chance to conceive with those supplements?

Could we do one shot at mid May or will all of it be for nothing? Since I don't see much difference in the percentages between 1-4 weeks on diet (mid May for me) and 4-8 weeks on diet (mid June).

I have to say, I think I had to get used to the diet. Right now I'm feeling better. I'm used to eating (smaller) 4-6 times a day and lots of protein and whole grain products, since I have low blood sugar. In the morning I drink a smoothie (frozen strawberry's, apple/pear, skim yogurt, shredded coconut and linseed), for lunch it's 1x wholegrain bread with strawberry's and 3x matze's with hummus. Dinner is very different; curry with vegetables/coconut milk/chickenpeas, risotto with spinach/sundried tomatoes/30+ cheese, noodles with vegetables/soy sauce/falafel, brocolli/sweet potatoes soup with whole grain bread. I've been around 1500-1600 cal a day and some days exceed protein a bit, but compensate it the next day. Should I change stuff? I am overweight (BMI 29).

I know about alcohol and migraine, that's why I rarely drink. Beer/wine is inherent to an migraine attack. But bacardi/gin is ok, so I will add 2/3x a week bacardi dietcokes at dinnertime.

I did stop cold turkey with the multivitamin en C....I will take some pills to wean off gradually. How long does it take for vitamins to get out of your blood system?

Yes, people do conceive with hubbies on LR and cranberry. Lowers odds, but still possible!

Well, I have been monitoring the stats for a long time and actually, even if it's not obvious this month or year, we have had DRASTICALLY poor results with 1-4 weeks on diet. I do not and NEVER will recommend that because we had such bad results with that in the past.

Try to end up eventually only eating 4 times a day instead of 6. I think 6 is too much.

Drop linseed right away. some think it may sway blue but worse than that it may be actively harmful to a pregnancy and developing baby. Do NOT use it during pregnancy in anything more than occasional dietary amounts. I know it's quite popular in some countries but has been linked to premature birth and possible developmental delays. It also may cause or contribute to miscarriage in as many as 1/3 of people of Western European descent because it messes with your body's ability to properly use estrogen.

Overall your diet is looking very good, you're doing the type of foods I would recommend for your BMI (more fruits and veg and wholegrains!!) How many grams of fat?? At your BMI I think you'll be best off dropping skim dairy and going to exclusively full fat dairy. skim dairy can really muck with people's blood sugar and raise it in a way tht may be more blue friendly.

Oh gee I actually wonder if some of your feeling poorly may have been from dropping the vitamins too fast. I've made myself kind of sick doing that sometimes (and I should know better LOL) Most of the nutrients are water soluble and will leave your body quickly, a few take longer but that is just another reason why you may want to hold off till June instead. :)

Thanks again so much! Now I'm totally convinced, we'll wait one more month!

I had no idea about the linseed. Actually, I used to add oats in the smoothie, but stopped because I read oats increases testosteron. I really need something "filling" in my smoothie to make it till lunchtime (stick to 3 meals!).

How can skim dairy increase blood sugar? I'm afraid I will exceed fat levels.

So, to summ up, only diet (minimum 6 weeks), exercise, one attempt and J&D really sway?

J&D, is that also peeing after 5 minutes or is this too much?

I read that 6/7x 60 min is best, but 4x is better than none. So I'll really try to stick to that!

How much fat are you eating, though?

Skim dairy has way, way more carbs than full fat dairy. And there seems to be something in milk sugar that is particularly harsh on your blood sugar response. Skim milk is actually worse for blood sugar than white bread!

That is what seems to be - diet (plus fiber, coffee, alcohol) one attempt or every 4 days, exercise, Clomid/Femara if you can get it, and for DH, jogging/biking, smoking, and possibly OLE sway. the rest of the stuff doesn't seem to be working. Interestingly, our results have gone up since we started ditching the other stuff and just doing those things!!! J and D does seem to possibly add something if you can conceive that way. J and D after 5 minutes is how most do it anywya.

4x a week on the exercise still seems to be working.

Last week it was around 40-45 mg of fat a day.
Does this mean you also need to eat 48+cheese (full fat) instead of 30+ (diet cheese)? I do find it difficult to increase my omega 6 fats, with more than halvarine/margarine, sunflower oil (cooking).

This morning I saw that I actually gained 1 kg of weight since I started two weeks ago.... I do have to say that I currently have my period, but still. I've made so many changes and really stick around 1500 cal, fat and protein levels. Is my body in shock?? With my BMI I think I should at max be around 1500 cal, right?
I am quite hungry when going to sleep at 11 pm... (last ate at 6 pm).

I want to stick very strictly to the diet, but I do have some social events including lunch/dinner planned in the upcoming month. Does a cheat ruin your sway? Is it more important to stick to 3x a day or total cal/protein/fat/no meat intake? Just to make the best choices during those times.

Does actively walking with my kids (pushing the pram) for one hour also count as exercise? I'm not a gym member right now.

Would you recommend one attempt or every 4 days? When we start in June, I would like to conceive quickly, not due to our age (just turned 33 en DH just turned 34), but the age gap between the kids (my identical twinboys will turn 3 in October). On the other hand, I did easily conceive last time (29 years old) and I don't want to lower my "girl" chances. How long does it take to conceive on average with only one attempt (at +OPK) in your experience? And if you compare this to every 4 days?

Hi is there a thread that tells you what the letters stand for please? [emoji85]


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abbreviations here, most of them anyway. if you don't see the one you're looking for, ask! http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gend...anslation.html

Yes, I want you to use full fat instead of diet cheese. Gaining weight is even more evidence that you need to ditch the skim and go to full fat. I know it is counterintuitive but skim dairy may make your body hang onto weight.

I'd probably also switch to whole grains and also get more carbs from fruit and vegetables instead of white refined grains. Up protein and fat to 50-60 g each. Doing these changes will help turn that weight gain around. Sometimes people will gain weight and that is a sign we're getting too many empty carbs and need to up protein and fat, and switch from empty carbs to better carbs.

You can eat 1500-1800 cals a day. You do not need to limit yourself based on your BMI. Important thing is making the changes that I have outlined above.

Yes, walking with the kids counts as exercise. No need for a gym membership.

I can't compare one attempt to e4d. Most people start off on one attempt and then after a few months go onto e4d so it is not something I can simply compare.

RE social events - cheating for things like this is not only allowed but encouraged. It DOES NOT ruin your sway.

Most important is the limits. Always the limits. But in times of cheating it is ok to exceed limits for a meal or a day.

It takes an average of 3 months for people to fall pregnant with swaying. This is the same amount of time it takes the average couple without swaying! I would not start off with e4d personally at 33/34. It's up to you, though.

This is the post I was replying to above - I didn't realize it was on a new page

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lotte84

Last week it was around 40-45 mg of fat a day.
Does this mean you also need to eat 48+cheese (full fat) instead of 30+ (diet cheese)? I do find it difficult to increase my omega 6 fats, with more than halvarine/margarine, sunflower oil (cooking).

This morning I saw that I actually gained 1 kg of weight since I started two weeks ago.... I do have to say that I currently have my period, but still. I've made so many changes and really stick around 1500 cal, fat and protein levels. Is my body in shock?? With my BMI I think I should at max be around 1500 cal, right?
I am quite hungry when going to sleep at 11 pm... (last ate at 6 pm).

I want to stick very strictly to the diet, but I do have some social events including lunch/dinner planned in the upcoming month. Does a cheat ruin your sway? Is it more important to stick to 3x a day or total cal/protein/fat/no meat intake? Just to make the best choices during those times.

Does actively walking with my kids (pushing the pram) for one hour also count as exercise? I'm not a gym member right now.

Would you recommend one attempt or every 4 days? When we start in June, I would like to conceive quickly, not due to our age (just turned 33 en DH just turned 34), but the age gap between the kids (my identical twinboys will turn 3 in October). On the other hand, I did easily conceive last time (29 years old) and I don't want to lower my "girl" chances. How long does it take to conceive on average with only one attempt (at +OPK) in your experience? And if you compare this to every 4 days?

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Thanks again so much!! So nice to see that you make the time to help with questions you probably answered a thousand times!

I will make the diet changes and start with one attempt at + OPK (with abstain for 7-10 days I guess). One last question if I may, does the choice for abstain/FR/do nothing particularly matter for conceiving or girl chances?

Now, I stop thinking and considering and just go. Better for girls right :-).

Hopefully I'll have good (pink) news soon!

p.s. The weight gain was probably due to my period. This morning I was minus 2 kg. Yeah!

Our results don't seem to indicate that there is any difference between them. Neither one really seems to be doing much.

So DH doesn't have to FR of abstain before our one attempt? He can release whenever he wants for the same sway girl chances before one attempt?

No, he doesn't have to. It is up to you. The results have not indicated that either of those things actually help. BUT try to keep in mind that our results are NOT a study. All our respondents are doing tons of things to sway. It ~may~ be that if we tested 1000 couples they would make some difference, but that's just not showing up for us in our results so it makes more sense to me to focus on quick time to conception with one attempt by dropping the things that are not actively helping.

I totally understand! It's good to know that there's no need to pressure my DH :-).
Thanks again!

Hi Atomic, so far I'm doing great on the diet. Already lost 3 kg and brisk walking 6 days a week!

An additional question came up...when should you take the psyllium husk tablets? I read contradicting stuff here and on the internet. Should it be taken 1 hour before a meal, just before a meal or after the meal for the purpose of girl swaying? I do know we only have to take it with fatty meals. Thanks so much in advance!

Anywhere from 30 minutes before to right before you eat.

Hi Atomic,

Our first TTC cycle wasn't successfull. Still a little bit dissapointed since I was pregnant immediately last time. But now I will be 11,5wk on diet, so it's not that bad. Up to the next month.

A question though, I had a cycle of 25 days instead of 28 days. I never had a cycle of just 25 days... Always 27 or 28.

Is a cycle of 25 days enough to conceive? And could the short cycle be a result of the diet/exercising? Is it bad?

I briskwalk 6/7 x pw 60 min, diet is vegetarian, 16 hour fasting and 3 meals a day, fiber before food that contains fat, cals between 1350 and 1650, fat and proteine up to 50/55, fullfat yoghurt and coconut milk, 14 days up to O one alcoholic drink, I lost about 9 kg (BMI was 29 when I started, so happy about the weightloss).

Anything I should do differently?

Thanks so much in advance!

Yes, the diet and exercise moved your cycle up a bit. It is not bad and in fact it is completely normal to see changes in cycle. Keep up the good work - I'd have you stick above 1500 cals from here on in to keep the weight from dropping too much too fast.

Thanks Atomic! I will up my calories to at least 1500 a day.

But you can still conceive with a shorter cycle of 25 days? Is the luteal phase long enough to get pregnant? Upside, more chances :-).

oh yes you absolutely can. Anything longer than 21 days is considered normal and I have maybe 10% of swayers for whom a very short cycle 21-25 days is totally normal (and weirdly they sometimes find their cycle gets LONGER with swaying LOL)

First of all you don't even know your luteal phase was short. You very well may have ovulated sooner than CD 14, so like CD 11 or so. Then the 14 day LP is tacked onto that - AF arrives CD 25 with normal LP. OR, you could have had a short LP, O on CD 14 with 11 day LP instead, and we have people on here all the time conceiving with that length LP. I don't worry about 11 day LP at all. Or it could have been a little of each - slightly early O, slightly short LP, and any LP 12 days or longer is normal!! It's all good, don't worry.

Thanks again so much! It's absolutely amazing that you really make the time to explain and calm us down. I really experience that I don't worry anymore about stuff that I've asked. So thank you!

You're welcome! Happy to help!

I'm back again...stressing out and just don't know what I should do.

Last (our first TTC) cycle we did one attempt, but I didn't get a pos OPK. Maybe I started testing too late (CD12), since I had a cycle of 25 days (instead of 27/28/29). We did one attempt at CD 15. This cycle I started testing right after AF, but still no pos OPK (CD11)... It makes me so insecure that I absolutely have no idea if and when I will get a pos OPK. The last days I'm testing twice a day (I have CB digital and regular strips). Last time I got pregnant I had very clear and predictable OPK results. I didn't experience any stress. I know I shouldn't be stressed, but I can't help myself right now....

Could it be that the diet and exercise affect OPK results and that they are less reliable? Or is it just that it messes with my cycle so I have no clue when I will O?

Should I switch to E4D? I'm just thinking if I should keep on testing hoping for a pos OPK (and otherwise miss this cycle) or just do one attempt and another one in four days. I do have EWCM since two days. I did get pregnant the first month last time, but I was 29 back then. We're 33/34 now.

And is E4D like; saturday (attempt), sunday, monday, tuesday (attempt) of saturday (attempt) and the next attempt on wednesday?

Thanks again so much. Sorry for my questions, again....

If you are this level of stressed about it, then yes, please switch to every 4 days.

Ladies, please try to keep in mind that it takes fully fertile couples doing nothing to sway who are actively trying to conceive an average of 3-6 months to get pregnant. If you've gotten pregnant the first cycle out in the past, you were lucky, and it's no guarantee that it will be that way other times you TTC. I just hate to see you guys let down so far from one BFN, it's to be expected especially with swaying!

I'm not completely folllowing your example of days but yes you'd attempt Sat (1) not sun (2) not mon (3) and then yes attempt Tues (4th day). This is how people do e4d to boost chances of conception. BUT if you prefer, since you're doing this more because the OPK are stressing you out and not because you've been TTC a really long time, you can stretch this one more day to Wed. (5th day). This may be better chances of pink but lower chances of concepiton. Totally up to you.

Thank you Atomic.

It's really not the dissapointment or expectation of a immediate BFN. I just find myself so insecure with the all of the sudden irregular cycles and negative OPK's. I don't mind trying longer, but I do want to have at least a chance every month. I already calmed down, I will continue testing this month and next month switch to E4D.

I just hope I didn't miss the O. I do have EWCM for a couple of days, but still no positive OPK. I test in the morning with CB digital and around 16pm with cheap strips. Could the diet/alcohol and exercise be the cause of this? I've read some negative things about the combination alcohol and OPK's.

What I would do is have attempt, and then keep testing. if you get a positive wihtin the next 2 days, stick with the attempt you've already had. If it's more like 3-4 days, have another attempt. If you can't make up your mind, flip a coin and do what the coin says.

That's the best advice I could get, thanks so much! I didn't think about this option. It feels like I still have a chance this month while keeping, sort of, the one attempt :-).

Update, I'm pregnant! :-). We don't know the gender yet.

Thank you so much for your help Atomic!

Huge congrats Lotte!