Trying to perfect my girl sway

[atomic sagebrush]

Ahhh. Yeah the "hormone-y" type peak OPK was definitely last week about 2-3 days after we BD. This one is totally weird and today it is low again. I know some people surge before their period, and I should get mine Friday or Saturday. Thank you for your knowledge!!!

just to clarify, it wouldn't be 2-3 days after if it was from the secondary estrogen surge. It would be about a week after ovulation, a week before you expect your period, with a day or two leeway particularly on the "week before you expect period." What you're describing does sound an awful lot like that. So the "good" news is it doesn't signify pregnancy and you may end up getting to have another chance at it next month.

[atomic sagebrush]

So I’ve been thinking about the diet and you have a point that maybe I would regret not doing it. Although here is my dilemma… I am 2lbs away from being considered underweight. I was definitely underweight when I started ttc the last two times I got pregnant and ended in losses. I have now gained 4lbs since I got pregnant and now am waiting for my miscarriage to clear and to get my period back to try again. I was this exact weight when I conceived my sons. So is there a way to do the diet without losing weight and just to maintain it? My plan was just to avoid snacking and keep eating the same food I used to eat before. We also eat red meat 2-3 times a week and I feel that after this miscarriage bleeding I should probably be eating the red meat to bring back up my iron levels. What is your take on all of this?


2 DS
Praying for DD

Yes, ABSOLUTELY you can do diet and not lose any weight at all. In fact, we've not seen that weight loss has been very predictive of whose sways work and whose don't. It seems to be the diet itself that sways and not weight loss - and additionally, if you're already at a lower weight, that still sways pink even if you got boys at that weight before. Things can sway and just are not a guarantee...meaning that you can do something that sways pink and still have a boy, because NO sway tactic is a magic bullet that works every time, and because you're doing lots of other things that may sway blue at the same time. So don't overthink that you are at the same weight you got your boys - that's really ok.

I have mentioned "be at a lower weight than when you got boys" simply because people needed a goal to aim at, otherwise they kept losing more and more weight. I came up with that number just to prevent people from continuing to lose weight over my objections, because that's what people used to do before I came up with that. You do not need to actually do that if you are already very thin. Just stay at the same weight.

I want you to start off eating more than you think you need - 1800-2000 cals or even more. Eat 50-60 g protein and fat, not counting protein and fat in fruit and vegetables. Low carb vegetables (the ones that don't taste sweet or salty) are free and unlimited, you don't even count calories in them. High carb veg and fruit, you count only calories.

This seems like a lot of counting but you only need to do it a couple days, a week at most, then you'll get the hang of it and be able to guesstimate how much you've eaten.

Red meat is ok within the limits (in fact I have some people eat it once a week for a variety of reasons) but it's really unreliable when it comes to raising iron. I would advise a 30-60 mg iron pill daily for the next six weeks (if possible, have it with something containing Vitamin C, and NOT tea or coffee) then 3x a week as a maintenance dose. I use this regularly with my pink swayers who need it and we do not believe this to sway strongly blue.

[Dreamingofpink01]

Yes, ABSOLUTELY you can do diet and not lose any weight at all. In fact, we've not seen that weight loss has been very predictive of whose sways work and whose don't. It seems to be the diet itself that sways and not weight loss - and additionally, if you're already at a lower weight, that still sways pink even if you got boys at that weight before. Things can sway and just are not a guarantee...meaning that you can do something that sways pink and still have a boy, because NO sway tactic is a magic bullet that works every time, and because you're doing lots of other things that may sway blue at the same time. So don't overthink that you are at the same weight you got your boys - that's really ok.

I have mentioned "be at a lower weight than when you got boys" simply because people needed a goal to aim at, otherwise they kept losing more and more weight. I came up with that number just to prevent people from continuing to lose weight over my objections, because that's what people used to do before I came up with that. You do not need to actually do that if you are already very thin. Just stay at the same weight.

I want you to start off eating more than you think you need - 1800-2000 cals or even more. Eat 50-60 g protein and fat, not counting protein and fat in fruit and vegetables. Low carb vegetables (the ones that don't taste sweet or salty) are free and unlimited, you don't even count calories in them. High carb veg and fruit, you count only calories.

This seems like a lot of counting but you only need to do it a couple days, a week at most, then you'll get the hang of it and be able to guesstimate how much you've eaten.

Red meat is ok within the limits (in fact I have some people eat it once a week for a variety of reasons) but it's really unreliable when it comes to raising iron. I would advise a 30-60 mg iron pill daily for the next six weeks (if possible, have it with something containing Vitamin C, and NOT tea or coffee) then 3x a week as a maintenance dose. I use this regularly with my pink swayers who need it and we do not believe this to sway strongly blue.

Wonderful! This all seems very doable because I feel it’s not much change in how I’ve been eating anyway.

As for the red meat.. should I restrict it to only 1x per week?

Thank you so much for all your help. You’re the best!


2 DS
Praying for DD

[atomic sagebrush]

Wonderful! This all seems very doable because I feel it’s not much change in how I’ve been eating anyway.

As for the red meat.. should I restrict it to only 1x per week?

Thank you so much for all your help. You’re the best!


2 DS
Praying for DD

As long as you're in the limits, you don't have to limit red meat. You can, and many people do want to, but truly, it's the limits that matter and not the foods themselves. I do keep it in the mix for those who wish to limit it (as I did any of the "old school" suggestions that were not actively harmful to people) but I personally do not think it's necessary to cut it out totally (and I honestly didn't! I had a hamburger here and there, and often had to eat some when we were visiting my inlaws and stuff like that.)

The downside of meat, though is this (and this is particularly important for you since you are low in weight) - because meat is low in calories and high in protein, it's easy to go over on protein while still have only eaten a few hundred calories. People who rely TOO much on meat often end up on a terrible starvation diet where they're eating chicken breasts, cucumbers, and gummy worms, and then only like 1000 calories a day. It's very limited and unhealthy. So you may find over time that it's best to still include vegetarian protein sources, which are often higher cals per gram of protein you eat, to avoid falling into that pattern where you just can't make it work on protein without being overly restrictive everywhere else.

[Dreamingofpink01]

As long as you're in the limits, you don't have to limit red meat. You can, and many people do want to, but truly, it's the limits that matter and not the foods themselves. I do keep it in the mix for those who wish to limit it (as I did any of the "old school" suggestions that were not actively harmful to people) but I personally do not think it's necessary to cut it out totally (and I honestly didn't! I had a hamburger here and there, and often had to eat some when we were visiting my inlaws and stuff like that.)

The downside of meat, though is this (and this is particularly important for you since you are low in weight) - because meat is low in calories and high in protein, it's easy to go over on protein while still have only eaten a few hundred calories. People who rely TOO much on meat often end up on a terrible starvation diet where they're eating chicken breasts, cucumbers, and gummy worms, and then only like 1000 calories a day. It's very limited and unhealthy. So you may find over time that it's best to still include vegetarian protein sources, which are often higher cals per gram of protein you eat, to avoid falling into that pattern where you just can't make it work on protein without being overly restrictive everywhere else.

Wow good to know! Makes this diet definitely seem more doable. I pretty much was eating like this before but maybe too much meat at times and too many snacks. So if I cut the snacks and cut back on meat I should be in the guidelines. Thanks so much!!


2 DS
Praying for DD

[atomic sagebrush]

It's a lot easier than people think! Good luck and let me know how I can help.

[Dreamingofpink01]

It's a lot easier than people think! Good luck and let me know how I can help.

Hi again, I was researching ways to naturally increase progesterone so I don’t go on to have another miscarriage and one of the things that came up was to avoid over exercising. Do you think there would be a correlation between the hour exercise 6 days a week and possible progesterone issues?
I had spotting for like 3-4 days after my period both times i conceived my losses so I’m just trying to do everything in my power to not let it happen again. Even though my doctor told me it wasn’t anything I did.


2 DS
Praying for DD

[atomic sagebrush]

People do not have miscarriages from "low progesterone" as long as your LP is longer than 7 days (and a shorter LP than that, without breastfeeding, is VERRY unlikely as long as you're not an anorexic.) This is an old, debunked misunderstanding about how losses happen. What really happens is that your body detects something about the developing pregnancy that isn't right, and it gradually lowers progesterone to end the pregnancy. But the low progesterone is the result of the pregnancy not being right, not the cause of it.

Spotting at the end of the cycle is a) extremely normal and something many people experience just as a matter of course b) still would give you plenty of time to conceive with and c) is likely not caused by progesterone and instead, estrogen anyway. This is because seven days after ovulation has happened, the corpus luteum (the temporary organ your body grows to make progesterone if you are pregnant) starts to break down. This happens in every cycle, whether or not you're pregnant. Your body releases a burst of estrogen that maintains the lining for another week, to give your body time to receive a signal to start making more progesterone and so by the time you get a BFP you will be making plenty of both estrogen and progesterone.

To sum up, when you have spotting before your period arrives, that does not mean you cannot get successfully pregnant, and it also probably means you need more ESTROGEN. The good news is that since estrogen and progesterone are made from the same stuff, by eating enough fat you will ensure your body has enough raw materials to make them both with. So please add in the serving of full fat dairy every day, 4-6 eggs a week, and a serving of salmon if you like it, red meat if you don't, to ensure you are getting those raw materials.

So, to answer your question, yes, one of the side effects of exercising too much can be wonky cycles and lower estrogen. But the thing is, that's also the type of hormonal changes that are likely swaying. The key is this - you need to EAT ENOUGH - particularly enough fat and calories, and not lose weight below the cutoff for the LE Diet. BMI 21 is where you should stop losing weight, and do not go below the BMI of 18.5 under any circumstances. Weight loss, diet, and exercise work in tandem, one of them alone does not cause a cycle disruption for 99.9% of people (and when it does, it's nearly always too much weight loss).

If need be, to prevent weight loss, you can cut back exercise by a day or even two days a week (tho I think 6-7 days is best for your sway) But if you're straight up thinking that exercise caused your miscarriage (which I completely understand that it's hard not to go over everything looking for causes) it did not. "Low progesterone" was not what caused your spotting or your miscarriage. Hope this helps!

[Dreamingofpink01]

Thank you that is helpful.
I think that’s where I think that by eating so much food I’m going to start swaying boy. I’ve cut out snacking which has cut out lots of my calories so trying to make up for those calories during meals seems unnatural. And that’s where it all gets touchy because my bmi is 18.5 so I don’t have a lot of play with my diet and exercise.
My spotting was happening after my period so instead of my normal 7 day period I’d have it for like 11 days where it was just light spotting at the end. Not sure if that makes a difference.


2 DS
Praying for DD

[atomic sagebrush]

Try to think of swaying not as a light switch (where you go from being girl friendly to boy friendly all of a sudden at once, like flipping a switch) and more of a radio dial, where you have to turn the dial a long way to get from "pink zone" to "blue zone". If you need to, add in a 4th or even 5th meal to get more cals in. That will still be a very different eating pattern than the all-day munching most of us boy moms do.

Oh gosh so sorry I misread that because I was thinking of things in terms of low progesterone (which only happens in the second half o the cycle, before the period comes)! Spotting after your period can be normal (even more normal than spotting before is) but 11 days of bleeding is something no one wants. Let's have you add in 30-60 mg iron daily for 6 weeks daily and then go to 3x a week maintenance dose. And also up the fat intake as well by adding the dairy, eggs, meat like i mentioned. Rest assured, spotting AFTER a period has absolutely nothing to do with progesterone as your progesterone is extremely low at that point.

Also, we do still see good results with even 4 days of exercise, so if you'd like to cut back on that a month or two feel free. But I would try to make small changes over time, so instead of say, upping cals, adding meals, and cutting back exercise all at once, try one or two of them, then if the problem continues, another one or two adjustments, that kind of thing. (but no matter what add that iron in)