Can diet effect luteal phase?

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes I"ve never stuck like a diet like I did to LE Diet!!

Yes, I do think it helps but unfortunately just hasn't been the end all, be all that we'd hoped.

[Kkat4]

Hi Atomic, I have been on the LE diet for over 6 months with no luck unfortunately - including cutting out meat and dairy during this time. I was also on the LE diet about a year ago which resulted in a boy but sadly that ended in miscarriage (I was eating dairy though during that time). It appears I know have a short LP - 9 days for the last 3 cycles.

How does eating dairy / eggs help lengthen LP?

I feel like I have invested so much time and discipline on this diet and I don’t want to start eating dairy if there is another way to lenghthen LP without eating dairy. Apart from the no meat and dairy I eat pretty well and don’t consider myself to be obsessive about counting nutrients as I know that sways opposite. But now I feel my problem is that the short LP is preventing me from getting pregnant at all.

I already have 2 boys ( 3 and 6 yo) and I am 34 years old - my husband is 35.

I can’t wait to hear your advice as I am a long-time lurker on these boards and I am getting impatient to have baby no.3! Thanks very much. Kathleen xx

[Kkat4]

Sorry Atomic I should say the idea for me not eating dairy this time was because after my last pregnancy on the LE diet (and I had quite a lot of dairy most days) which resulted in a boy (but later miscarried) I read that you also cut out dairy as well as meat and that resulted in your girl so I thought I would give it a try. I still do ace eggs on occasion but it’s quite rare - i’ve had eggs 3 times in the last 6 months.

[atomic sagebrush]

The type of fat that is in dairy and eggs is the exact type of fat your body needs to make the hormones you need for your LP to get longer. Dairy is the best of the best way to do that.

That having been said, 9 day LP is not a dealbreaker and as long as you're eating adequate nutrients otherwise, it should fix itself over time. Do you have a ballpark number on fat, protein, and calories? the issue is to be sure you're getting enough, not worrying about getting too much, if that makes sense.

Can you tell me what else you're doing to sway?? Diet alone is not ~usually~ the culprit for people not getting pregnant (especially at first) so if you could give me a brief rundown of anything you're doing (or have done previously) that may have been preventing conception, or reducing your chances, that would help me know what to tweak.

[Kkat4]

Thanks for replying so quickly atomic!! I haven’t really been tracking my fat, protein and calories this time around as the last time I was very regimented and recorded everything I ate which I think contributed to the ‘swaycession’ resulting in another boy. I just stay away from eating meat and anything with dairy in it - which has been hard as cheese, yoghurt & milk chocolate have always been my weakness!! Actually now that I think about it I probably don’t have that many fruit and vegetables like I used to when I had my boys. And I mainly eat food coming from wheat (bread, pasta) and potatoes/tomatoes and lollies as I have a sweet tooth. My BMI is about 18. We have only been having one attempt at + OPK but I may start doing e4d.

I did get a hold of Femara online earlier this year which I took for the first 3 cycles of being on the LE diet but nothing happened.

My cycles have been getting very irregular lately - ranging from 24 days to 30 days and ovulating late - around day 20.

I used lots of things to sway with my boy last year - I.e. baby aspirin, rephresh, one attempt and progressively dropped the first two. I havenÂ’t done anything for the past 6 months other than the LE diet and cutting out meat and dairy. IÂ’m just confused about what to do next...

I should mention that over the past 10 years I have had 4 D&Cs - 2 of which were in the last year so iÂ’m not sure if I have an incompetent uterus / AshermanÂ’s syndrome bit that may be just me doing too much googling!

I had no trouble getting pregnant (literally in the month we first tried with each of my boys) up until the past 6 months... thanks for your help Atomic!

[atomic sagebrush]

Well, the problem with not tracking is that many times, people cut back too far wihtout even realizing they are doing it so I would take an average day and add that up to see where you're coming in. I wonder if you are not eating too little fat, so I would really like you to add up an average day and you may be surprised how little fat you're getting.

18 is below my absolute minimum cutoff. That low weight coupled with a possible lowfat diet and that higher carb intake may be messing up your cycle. That is far, far, far more likely than Asherman's syndrome, which people always worry about but has never been the cause of anyone on this site not conceiving.

I really recommend (and I understand you are likely not going to do any of this, but it's my job to tell you this) upping protein and fat intake to 50-60 g, adding in dairy and eggs, and regaining some weight to get back to 18.5 BMI. I think you need to cut way back on the carbs, particualrly the refined white flour and sugar, and get more of your carb intake from whole grains, fruit, and vegetables (including potatoes) But of course that is your call to make if you prefer not to.

Above all else, do this - it is past time to switch to e4d. Please go to e4d this cycle, no more one attempt. STart e4d in the "every 72 hours" or "Monday/Thursday" pattern (not those days per se but that is how to count the days) whichever description is easier for you to understand, they're the same thing. Start this after AF ends and continue on till you are certain you've ovulated even if this means going all the way through till your next period starts.

[Kkat4]

Thanks so much Atomic!! Sorry 18 BMI was a typo my BMI is 19 - actually 19.6 to be exact. Okay I will start recording how much fat and protein I am eating and increase it! And reduce my carb intake. I should also mention that I do eat fish on occasion (once a month) and have octopus about once a week. I will start eating more eggs too but I may hold off on the dairy another month if thatÂ’s okay and if i still donÂ’t get pregnant this month I will introduce it again. I am so far towards boy territory (all up using a combination of my kids and miscarriages when I found out the gender - I would have 4 boys right now!) so anything to sway more girl I would like to do for a bit longer like sticking with the no dairy.

We will also attempt e4d now - although iÂ’m not sure that is the issue. As I know I ovulated on Sunday a fortnight ago (confirmed by blood test) and we attempted that Friday night before and I still didnÂ’t get pregnant. ThatÂ’s why IÂ’m worried it is a luteal phase issue which is preventing implantation, as my period came 9 days later.

Thanks again Atomic for being so helpful, I really value your advice. I have been a long time lurkee on this site. I will let you know how I go!! Kathleen xx

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh ok, well, BMI 19.6 is still time to stop losing weight and holding steady where you are so no more weight loss.

Fine to wait on the adding dairy. Totally at your discretion.

Even if the e4d has not been the problem in the past, it COULD be the problem in the future, so I would still have you go to that now.

Ovulating on Sunday with attempt on Friday is still a 2 day cutoff and it may just have been that sperm may have missed the egg. 9 day LP should be enough to conceive with. Also, please keep in mind that your LP will not tell you anything about THIS month, it only tells you what happened LAST month, so it may be that this upcoming month your LP would end up being 10-12 days or even 14 and would be totlaly normal even if you didn't do anything any differently.

Happy to help! Good luck and pink dust!