hunger or low blood sugar?

[zanacal]

Oh gawd, I think about food all day long - as soon as one meal is finished I'm planning the next one!

[atomic sagebrush]

It really is isn't it Lola! I'm afraid I put on around 4 stone with each of my pregnancies (that's about 56lb!). But - as you know, I'm always eating and I don't even attempt to control it when pregnant, despite my best intentions!

Is it crucial to eat both carbs and protein the whole time? I can see that your main meals should be made that way, but perhaps it can be relaxed for your snacks (or grazing!) at other times. You could pack away a LOT of nutrient full fruit by grazing on it all day - perhaps keep a fruit salad mixed together in the fridge to pick at (with a variety of fruits and some orange juice) or make a jelly (jello!) with fruit inside it to munch on every time you open the fridge. I also like to eat cereal bars and crisps (chips) for snacks - are those allowed? Perhaps a dark chocolate coated cereal bar with oats and nuts in or some really salty crisps.

Before I got pregnant with each of my boys I had lost weight very healthily with Slimming World (although each time I knew we were ttc I stopped the plan so was probably putting on weight at the point we conceived!). On that weight loss programme you can eat unlimited fruit, veg, beans, rice, pasta, quorn, meat and fish as well as 1 portion of milk or cheese (for calcium) and 1 portion of wholemeal bread or cereal (for fibre) each day. On top of this you can have around 300 cals each day for treats. The only rule at mealtimes is that 1/3 of your plate should be filled with veg/salad leaving 2/3 for the other unlimited foods I mentioned. So you see that's a lot of food you can eat each day on this diet and a lot of it is (I believe) boy friendly - but I lost a lot of weight each time I did it. I know you don't want to lose weight when ttc a boy but surely something like this would be healthy enough and you could relax the 1/3 rule and eat more of the calcium and/or fibre and treats to limit how much weight you put on. I may be way off with this suggestion but thought I'd put it out there

It is crucial to eat carbs plus protein whenever anyone is going for a long time (like 2 hours) between eating. So for meals and snacks, I really want people to at least try to eat carbs and protein. But for a person who is eating 3 meals and 3 snacks and still getting hungry, if they want to graze between meals and snacks on pure carb fruits or vegetables, that is just fine as long as you're eating all the time.

What you DON'T want to do is, eat the dreaded Rice Krispies with non-dairy creamer for breakfast, wait 4 hours during which your blood sugar will totally crash, follow that up with a lunch of ramen, and then wait another 4 hours for dinner because that's not going to help you sway blue.

But that having been said, if you have eaten your three meals and your three snacks and you're still getting hungry, if you want to have an orange or a banana, you DON'T need to eat protein with that. It's ok if you will be eating again soon. OR if you are finding it too much and you want to replace a snack with some grazing on fresh fruit or drinking some juice, that's fine but just don't go for a super long time before eating again. Either be thinking of having a snack or meal within an hour or two, or else keep grazing off and on until your next meal/snack rolls around.

The goal is keeping your blood sugar from crashing. The carbs plus protein is just a means to that end. If you find it's easier to keep your blood sugar up by eating carrots and oranges or drinking juice every 30 minutes, that's equally good.

[zanacal]

Oh yes, I would probably have gone no more than 2 hours between meals (if that!).

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh gawd, I think about food all day long - as soon as one meal is finished I'm planning the next one!

ME TOO. I have a shelf full of cookbooks and I read them for fun. Grocery shopping is one of my favorite things to do!!!

I mentioned this on a thread in the girl board, but for you blue swayers, I want to point out that it may be helping to raise your T levels by making all these meal plans and having to go out and get the ingredients and stuff. It's like a little triumph every time you make a tasty meal!!!

[atomic sagebrush]

you know when i first read about the boy diet i kept thinking "but i DO eat like hat!" well i guess i dont. i always thought of myself as ameat LOVER and i am..but only for dinner. i can eat 12-16oz steaks. but i couldnt eat like that ALL day (for bkfst, lunch). im usually a lighter eater in am then get heavier and heavier by dinner. i ALWAYS ate cereal for breakfast but i guess the time DOES make a diff, even before TTC DD1 i guess i'd eat about 45min-2 hrs after waking (forced myself to eat before work, if i worked or had to be somewhere early). also my p's who are indian, they typically in india eat carbs and protein (lots of rice/bread lost of meat!) for bkfst too and id always shun them bc it was SOO heavy. but if my mom made a huge brkfst id eat it but after being up for at LEAST 2hrs. im finding it hard already (its only been 2 days) to keep up with the cooking of meat ahead of time (turkey bacon, beef jerky's are too expensive for the amount you should eat for meals so i reserve them for snacks), bc it takes more time away from my kids, and im having a hard time adding protein (meat) to my before bed snack. and ive alread had trouble sleeping after stuffing myself before bed, tummy aches and nightmares!

i think ill just be more gradual about it. i think thats key. but it really is hard to find protein to add to the carbs. carbs (fruits and vegies) i could snack on all day...its hard to add the protein to get up to about 100g a day!!!

so i guess THIS is the big change we should make in order to make boys. i mean ppl say if you have the same gender twice youre more likley to have the 3rd the same gender. my husb says he agrees with this esply with all this GD research ive been doing on here with you guys. he says it makes sense if you dont change youre dite youre more likely to conceive the same gender...i kinda believe it too i guess..

and nuts....you guys arent worried about magnesium????? im having trouble with oatmeal!! and water. and i cannot tolerate warm plump raisin in it YUCK! so far ive just been eating my special K with minimal 1% milk.

Well, I'm sure you've noticed at this point LOL that I don't exactly agree with the mineral stuff. Nuts are like almost a perfect boy food because they have protein, carbs, and healthy fats all in one usually salty package.

I kinda wonder if the reason why some find it so hard to do (because it seems easy to me) is that you guys are following the mineral stuff and in my mind, I'm not. I think, eat a banana and a handful of almonds, or some full-fat yogurt and some berries, a half a peanut butter sandwich, a bowl of cereal, or a couple of cheese sticks and some Wheat Thins, or cherry tomatoes and a deviled egg and all those things seem so light and so easy to me but none of them would be "allowed" on the other diets. I believe with all my heart that those things are all totally boy-friendly but I can see that if you're sticking to a French style or IG diet that those options are not on the table for you.

I suppose this is more evidence that the diets just can't be mixed. So if you're going to follow the mineral recommendations, maybe you should relax on some of the "high everything" tips because otherwise you end up too restricted.

[DoulaMama]

How much weight did you gain in your pregnancies, DM? I am at 35lbs over now!!!! Hoping if I get pg again to be able to not gain the usual 40lbs I did with my girls. Sorry to change subject here....

The breakfast thing seems to be a big difference in us girl moms, I am noticing this more and more when I look at our old eating habits!

Well, I gained 55 lbs with my first!!! I was 220 when I had him! Totally unnecessary to gain that much but I just ate constantly because that was the only way to keep the nausea at bay for the first 20 weeks.
With #2 and #3 I gained 21 and 19 lbs. I lost it much easier after as well. When you have extra on you you can gain less I find. Good Luck Lola!!! Your attempt is approaching fast, hey?!

Me too. I eat all day long and I HATE being hungry so I often eat before I ever even get hungry. What I find is that my first stage of hunger is thinking about food...I do that before I ever get hungry and that's generally when I eat so I can stave off the hunger pangs.

Yup- this was me! I never got hungry...unless we were out and about and then I wouldn't wait to get home to eat...I would pick up something yummy like banana bread with a full fat latte! HAHAHA!

Oh gawd, I think about food all day long - as soon as one meal is finished I'm planning the next one!

Yup...this is me too. I have battled weight issues all of my adult life and been at least 20 lbs heavy since I was 19. The more I think about this the more I realize that I should really get down to my smallest adult weight before TTC. Sigh~

[Flava]

It's all about optimizing your chances, Flava. So no, you don't have to eat carbs and protein every time you eat. That's just a goal. If you can't meet that goal every time you eat, it's ok because even if you fall short of the goal you are still going in the general direction of more boy friendly. All the boy moms had plenty of days where they ate just carbs at one meal or skipped lunch or whatever and they still had boys. It's just that since this is swaying, I figure people want to aim for the goal and fall short, KWIM??? It shouldn't be so hard and I feel really bad.

Only peanuts makes me sick (oh and walnuts if I eat it alone)if I eat mixed nuts it's ok. So I eat some every day. Also Im not a big fan of peanut butter either. I think the hardest part about this eating is that we don't know WHAT TO eat!? I always think when I pick up anything at all if this good for us? is this 2 goes together ? ect. ect. is just making me crazy by now and ohhh where is Sept?? So I told DH I don't want to be more fat Im going to eat more veggie and fruit from now on and that's it.

[LolaInLove]

Thanks for the encouragement, Atomic! Overall, I will say that I have changed my body, eating habits, and diet completely since the last 2 kids were conceived, so hoping it is enough to do the trick.

DM, thanks for that info! I am waiting for AF to start, and then we'll try this cycle. I got the thumbs up to go ahead from my doctor. I'm excited, a little nervous to try Clomid, but hoping it helps me pop out a good egg (or two!). But really hope it is one, obviously. If I do get pg, I am going to try a mostly vegetarian diet during pregnancy, and am going to try to really be vigilant about my diet, but I am like you....if m/s strikes, I just gotta eat what I can put down the hatch! Hope you are doing well, too!

[gizmo77]

Well, I'm sure you've noticed at this point LOL that I don't exactly agree with the mineral stuff. Nuts are like almost a perfect boy food because they have protein, carbs, and healthy fats all in one usually salty package.

I kinda wonder if the reason why some find it so hard to do (because it seems easy to me) is that you guys are following the mineral stuff and in my mind, I'm not. I think, eat a banana and a handful of almonds, or some full-fat yogurt and some berries, a half a peanut butter sandwich, a bowl of cereal, or a couple of cheese sticks and some Wheat Thins, or cherry tomatoes and a deviled egg and all those things seem so light and so easy to me but none of them would be "allowed" on the other diets. I believe with all my heart that those things are all totally boy-friendly but I can see that if you're sticking to a French style or IG diet that those options are not on the table for you.

I suppose this is more evidence that the diets just can't be mixed. So if you're going to follow the mineral recommendations, maybe you should relax on some of the "high everything" tips because otherwise you end up too restricted.

okay atomic. so what youre saying is you dont necessarily agree with the IG diet (restricted minerals) and that your high everything diet works better. but do you think that potassium and sodium are an exception and those should be higher than normal on the high everything diet?

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes, I do believe my high-everything diet is better than the IG diet, obviously or else I wouldn't have even tried to make it . I think they've traded too much in an attempt to make a diet that is so low in calcium, that it goes too far and if a person is very strict on it for many months, could end up swaying pink. Thankfully, calcium is something your body stores so most people's bodies simply rob their bones to make up the calcium deficits. Plus, I think the high everything diet is better for raising testosterone/estrogen and MUCH better at keeping blood sugar high. My biggest pet peeve with the IG boy diet is the blood sugar stuff (i.e. the Rice Krispie rant) and then too much emphasis on highly processed foods that are not good for fertility overall.

I think that more nutrients across the boards including potassium and sodium, sway blue. If you're doing the high-everything diet right, your sodium and potassium should be higher as a matter of course because you're eating more foods that contain them and more calories as well. HOnestly, I am not sold on the idea that sky-high sodium is good for anyone's fertility and I don't want anyone taking potassium supps because I don't think they're safe, but other than that I am on board with more sod and pot for blue. The issue I have with the minerals is cutting out cal-mag-Vit. D and B6 for blue because I don't think the facts bear it out.

Point being, in the HIgh-Everything diet, almonds are not only allowed but encouraged and so that's a great easy snack because they are protein, carbs, and healthy fats all in one. BUt in the French and IG diets, almonds are a huge no-no because of the calcium. So if you're going for minerals, it may very well be that you can't include almonds (or cheese or peanut butter or yogurt or eggs or all the other things that I mentioned above)...maybe the diets just cannot be mixed because the end result is so restrictive...if you're going for minerals, you are kinda limited to meat and potatoes or meat and tomatoes at every meal and snack and who can eat that 6 times a day?? I don't blame anyone for being frustrated with it.