Diet and cycle...please help

[atomic sagebrush]

Af finally showed up today...52 days! Usually I am 32-36 days. This last cycle I was skipping breakfast till 11:30am. Typical style of eating:Lunch is usually salad and I put cheese, egg, cucumber, etc and no meat/fish or a little, I would snack around 3:30pm on allowed fruit and yogurt or crackers and cheese, and dinner was pasta with vegetables. No snacking. Too low on protein or iron? Calories? I felt full.

I was taking a drink 2-3x a day with fiber and magnesium to help appetite control (helped me lose 5lbs), asprin 3 a week, peppermint tea, and folic.
I have been so discouraged with my cycle being out of wack and now I don't know what to do!
I have a cbfm to help me figure out when to cut off. Doing the opposite of what I did when I conceived my boys which was working out/weights and dtd at ovulation (I know it's not timing but have to try this first). I will be doing more this month as we will try.

I cannot tell either of you if you're too low because no one has posted the amount of cals or protein or fat they're eating. I simply cannot know that from here. The right kinds of foods, but I have no way of knowing without the totals. You guys need to track this stuff not because you are going over, but because many people are going UNDER. The lower levels are more important than the upper ones.

Peppermint tea can and does delay or stop ovualtion. YOu need to be sure you are stopping peppermint tea at CD 14 or positive OPK, whichever comes first.

[atomic sagebrush]

Since everyone mentioned doing the opposite...

Whoever is advising eople to do that,'s because they're don't want to take the time to give you real advice as to what is swaying for most people most of hte time or they don't know. That advice rarely comes from me. I only ever recommend that when two options appear to be absolutely equal in our statistics and you can't make up your mind. Otherwise, PLEASE DO WHAT THE DATA INDICATES IS SWAYING GENDER FOR PEOPLE.

Doing the opposite only helps when what you were doing before was actually swaying blue. It may not have been, it may have been utterly irrelevant or even swaying PINK (example, if you got boys drinking one cup of coffee a day, you actually would be better off drinking MORE coffee, not dropping it all together) and so you simply cannot decide to do everything the opposite and think that's going to get you anything at all. IT is like going on a diet and not losing weight, and then deciding to do the opposite so you're going to eat nothing but birthday cake and expect to lose weight..

It may not seem like it matters, but when you guys do things like timing that do not sway but really cut odds of conception, and you don't get pregnant, ending up with longer on diet, and your cycle goes bonkers, and you end up having to drop sway tactics in order to get pregnant or even relaxing on diet to get your cycle going again, it's a huge disaster that backfires on you and ends up causing opposites. I strongly believe that our stats for pink sways would be at 70% right now if not for this. It is of course always your sway and you should do it the way that you feel comfy with, but just do not feel like you have this mission to hunt down everything in your past life when you conceived your boys in order to "do the opposite". Focus on what is working for people - diet longer than 12 weeks, exercise, and one attempt.

[Pebbles1012]

Oh man! You try to tease out all the research and end up doing the wrong thing. Scary! When I said opposite I know my lifestyle was boy friendly (heavy weight training, diet, breakfast, using pre-seed, and dtd every 2 days including O).
I won't drink peppermint much more this cycle then and will track eating again. I can't do one attempt as dh is 39. But as I understood, every 4 days has also been working?

Is the PCOS diet better for a girl sway (if hormone imbalance may be suspected). More reading ahead for me.

[Pbn3]

Oh man! You try to tease out all the research and end up doing the wrong thing. Scary! When I said opposite I know my lifestyle was boy friendly (heavy weight training, diet, breakfast, using pre-seed, and dtd every 2 days including O).
I won't drink peppermint much more this cycle then and will track eating again. I can't do one attempt as dh is 39. But as I understood, every 4 days has also been working?

Is the PCOS diet better for a girl sway (if hormone imbalance may be suspected). More reading ahead for me.

Hi Pebbles just crashing in here to ask why you cant do one attempt as dh is 39?

[Pebbles1012]

From what I have read, one attempt after age 35 is not advised due to sperm quality. With ds1 we had fertility issues and a sperm analysis so I know I won't take that chance as sperm quality was an issue for us 6 years ago. Although with ds2 we didn't have trouble getting pregnant, dh didn't take the expensive supplements, and ds2 is healthier than ds1.
Any type of cfr wouldn't work at dh's age either

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh man! You try to tease out all the research and end up doing the wrong thing. Scary! When I said opposite I know my lifestyle was boy friendly (heavy weight training, diet, breakfast, using pre-seed, and dtd every 2 days including O).
I won't drink peppermint much more this cycle then and will track eating again. I can't do one attempt as dh is 39. But as I understood, every 4 days has also been working?

Is the PCOS diet better for a girl sway (if hormone imbalance may be suspected). More reading ahead for me.

No need to be scared, I just don't want you to get too hung up on the Do the Opposite idea. Some people take it to the brink of insanity.

You are confused about one attempt, more about this below. But we've got good results so far with every 4 days and no one needs to feel that it's a second choice, it's getting it done as well.

I do not have the data I need to say if PCOS diet will be better for everyone BUT I will say that we have been getting very nice results with it and I do recommend it for anyone who is having issues with egg quality, insulin resistance, or PCO. THe problem is, if you have a long cycle because you cut back too far on diet (and again, without knowing your totals in cals, fat, and protein I cannot confirm or deny this) then switching to the alt diet can make things WORSE.

There are two reasons for long cycles, one is PCO and then other is cutting back too far. The solution for one can aggravate the other so we must take great care to diagnose the real problem and alter things accordingly.

[atomic sagebrush]

From what I have read, one attempt after age 35 is not advised due to sperm quality. With ds1 we had fertility issues and a sperm analysis so I know I won't take that chance as sperm quality was an issue for us 6 years ago. Although with ds2 we didn't have trouble getting pregnant, dh didn't take the expensive supplements, and ds2 is healthier than ds1.
Any type of cfr wouldn't work at dh's age either

You have this wrong hun, it's ABSTAIN that can't be done over 35, not one attempt. You can have your husband do regular release every 2-4 days (on his own or with you, with a condom) and then still do the one attempt. That is fine for men over 35.

Dont' worry about the FR or cFR, not effective and I have all but dropped them for most.

Regular release with one attempt or DTD unprotected every 4 days is best.

[Pebbles1012]

Thank you for clarifying Atomic. To abstain and one attempt do not mean the same thing. I have to see what dh is willing to do. At his age he complains frequency is an issue and to abstain (which he could do) is not an option

[atomic sagebrush]

Then do regular release with one attempt.

[Hitmebabyonemoretime]

I had no idea that FR wasn't a thing so much now. I was all ready to do FR (7-10 days before O) with one attempt BUT this every 4 days might be better since I have no clue when O will be (I haven't got a single pos opk and I d given up testing this month as its day 32) and it's hard to know when to start the FR. (We're attempting May, maybe June). I have to revise my sway though if we do this though. I may have to drop vitex.


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