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Here's What I'd Eat If I Were Trying to Get Pregnant with No Period · Nourished Fertility

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  Well, hey y'all.
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  Welcome back to the Nourishing Women Podcast.
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  I'm your host, Victoria Myers Fertility registered dietician, impaired recovery
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  specialist here to help you get your cycle back and get pregnant naturally.
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  And if you're trying to conceive, but your period is missing an action, I
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  want you to know that you are not.
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  Broken, and you're also not alone.
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  Many women experience hypothermic a amenorrhea or ha, where the body
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  suppresses reproductive functions due to stress, undereating and over exercising.
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  The good news here is that with the right nourishment, recovery is
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  absolutely possible in your dream of holding a baby in your arms.
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  Is truly so realistic.
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  So today I'm gonna walk you through exactly how I would personally
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  eat if I was actively trying to get pregnant with no period.
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  This is what I recommend to every single client instead of
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  our Premier period Recovery for Fertility program and it works.
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  So let's jump in.
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  To begin, we are going to eat a substantial breakfast within
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  30 to 60 minutes of waking.
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  Starting your day with a nutrient dense breakfast helps regulate
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  cortisol levels and sets the tone for balanced blood sugar.
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  This one habit alone makes it so much easier to meet your
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  energy needs and shows your body.
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  It is safe to start ovulating again.
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  When I say substantial, I mean substantial too.
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  Like we're not eating just like a bland protein bar for
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  breakfast or just a banana.
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  Okay.
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  Okay.
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  Speaking of breakfast.
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  Eat breakfast before or with coffee.
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  Caffeine on an into stomach, just like, Nope.
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  Spice, cortisol disrupts blood sugar and sends your body the
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  exact opposite message of We're nourished and ready for pregnancy.
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  Eat first.
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  Or at least add fat and collagen to your coffee to soften the blow.
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  We talk all about this, by the way, in the breakfast episode from a few weeks ago.
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  So if you haven't listened yet, go back and cue that up.
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  Next, I want you to plan your meals around carbohydrates.
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  Yes, carbs are queen, especially during period recovery.
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  Your brain needs carbs to feel safe enough to turn back on the
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  HPO, the hypothalamus pituitary ovarian access to turn it back on.
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  And carbs also fuel leptin and insulin.
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  These two hormones help to stimulate Gogo Trappin releasing hormone
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  GNRH, which then leads to F-S-H-L-H.
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  Estrogen levels and then ovulation.
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  If we're planning meals around carbohydrate, which by the way is a
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  temporary timeframe, we do have clients kind of even back out, so to speak,
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  their carb, protein and fat ratio with a little higher emphasis on protein later
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  on once their period is very regulated.
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  Um, or even like during their pregnancy timeline, if, if that's
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  when we're working with them.
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  But I just think it's really, really important to know that like an.
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  Way more carbs than you probably think is what we're looking for
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  for specifically period recovery.
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  We'll go back to a more moderate approach when the time is appropriate.
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  It is not appropriate during period recovery.
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  So specifically, I want you aiming for about two to four servings of carbs
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  per mil, and yes, that is per mil.
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  Think rice, think potatoes, sourdough bread or any bread for that matter,
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  fruit, oats, pasta, beans, and legumes.
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  Uh, starchy vegetables.
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  Remember, it's not forever.
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  It's just a phase that helps your body shift from survival
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  mode to fertility mode.
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  And yes, I am saying this is the temporary timeframe, but even like once your period
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  is regulated, you're, you know, done having babies, all of that good stuff,
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  you still need carbs forever in your diet.
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  We're not gonna go to like a no carb diet.
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  We can say, you know.
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  With our clients, we typically recommend a moderate protein, 30 grams of protein per
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  mil once they have their cycle regulated.
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  But right now, again, it's just not the time to focus on that
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  right now, again, aim for two to four servings of carbs per mil.
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  You can even visually think of that as like a third to a half
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  of your plate carbs at mealtime.
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  Now with those carbs.
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  I'll be honest.
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  We don't want you eating them naked.
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  We don't want you eating them alone.
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  We wanna have a blood sugar balancing trifecta here of carbs, protein, and fat.
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  We pair those carbs we just mentioned with protein and fat so that it
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  keeps energy steady, it reduces crashes, it helps reduce cravings
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  and irritability, and this helps.
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  For someone who's trying to rebuild healthy hormone levels, you know, because
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  we are keeping blood sugar, uh, balanced as well as giving your body all the right
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  nourishment that it needs to turn back on, that ovulation switch in your brain.
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  So of course, carbs are like of such importance, but we also do need protein
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  and fat to make that happen too.
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  Without protein and fat.
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  Not only do we struggle potentially to regulate our blood sugar, but we also
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  struggle just to get adequate intake in.
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  So again, pair them together for that balancing trifecta.
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  Speaking of balancing your blood sugars and just helping you actually
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  meet your energy intake goals.
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  For period recovery,
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  we need to be eating three meals around, three snacks per day, three hours apart.
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  We usually call it with our clients the rule of threes.
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  Three meals, three snacks, three hours apart.
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  Fuel your body consistently throughout the day is how you're going to meet your
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  caloric needs for recovery and signal to your brain that nourishment is coming.
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  Often and abundantly.
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  It also helps with that blood sugar regulation too.
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  So it plays many different important roles.
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  I'd also add to that if you are struggling with your relationship with food, you feel
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  a lot of guilt for eating consistently and regularly throughout the day.
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  This helps to challenge that, and the only way we get to a place where
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  we don't feel so, nervous, anxious, worried about those type of habits
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  with food is to habitually do it.
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  By doing that often or regularly, that helps us normalize that this
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  is just a normal way of eating.
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  Okay, next up, include healthy fats at every meal.
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  Fats are essential for hormone production, especially estrogen.
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  And outside of carbs, fats are actually your most second most
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  important macronutrient for recovery.
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  And again, listen, I love protein.
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  We'll get back to balance.
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  When the time is ripe in recovery, carbs and fat are what?
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  Move the needle.
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  So we're talking about avocado, olive oil, grass fed butter, full
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  fat dairy products like Greek yogurt, nuts and seeds, fatty fish like
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  salmon and yes eggs with the yolk.
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  We want that.
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  Fertility friendly choline.
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  We talked all about that in part two of nutrient dense foods to
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  support your body for fertility.
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  Um, the episode is actually called nutrient dense
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  foods, so go listen to that.
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  If you're curious on the specific vitamins and antioxidants, some more
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  that are fertility friendly.
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  Okay.
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  Up next, speaking of eating nutrient dense foods, we want to, again, maybe we
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  need to go back to part two and listen to that episode, but just as a friendly
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  reminder, we wanna be eating nutrient dense foods, so it's not just about.
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  You know, eating enough, eating carbs from protein and fat.
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  It's not just, you know, eating those macronutrients distributed throughout
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  the day, but it's also eating these nutrient dense foods in a way that
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  supports follicle and egg development.
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  And again, part two like describes in detail what that means.
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  But just for a quick review here, we're thinking things like berries and le
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  leafy greens for antioxidants, flax seeds, walnuts, cod liver oil for omega
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  threes, uh, we're thinking red meat.
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  Bone broth, eating liver, or taking liver supplements.
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  If you're like me, I'm like disgusted by eating liver.
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  Um, remember, these are your nutrient dense MVPs.
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  They're packed, especially the red meat, bone broth and
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  liver that I just mentioned.
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  Iron, zinc vitamin A, collagen B12, like they're so critical for
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  restoring a healthy cycle, getting your body adequate intake, but also
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  supporting early pregnancy through that follicle and ag development.
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  Speaking of, we also wanna focus on mineral rich foods and beverages.
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  Again, part three of my Nourish Your Body Four Fertility Series discusses in
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  detail what that means, but as a reminder.
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  We wanna replenish minerals after years of dieting.
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  Unfortunately, dieting does a number to the body through a lens of stress and,
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  um, survival that the body is under.
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  However, it's also just really hard to get enough minerals in the
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  diet whenever we're focused on, you know, a hundred calorie packs or
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  how can I eat as little as possible.
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  So part of healing your relationship with food is yes, this.
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  This nutrition is really making sure your body gets what it needs, and you
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  do have a higher need for minerals right now so that it can replenish itself.
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  In that episode, part three, I'll also talk about how pregnancy and
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  postpartum is the most nutrient demanding time of a woman's body's life.
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  And I mean that, yes, from like a, you need more calories, but
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  I also mean that from like a vitamin and mineral standpoint too.
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  So we wanna be in a state of like a positive with nutrient replenishment
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  before we get pregnant because it's gonna take so much from you.
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  Remember, years of restriction equals depleted mineral stores.
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  We're gonna rebuild them.
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  Through many different ways.
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  Um, yes, that can include supplements, but also the leafy greens I just mentioned,
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  seafood and oysters, red meat and liver.
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  Liver, as I've mentioned before, is just like so potent in so
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  many vitamins and minerals.
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  We also wanna be drinking one to two mineral mocktails per day.
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  Uh, for example, that could be coconut water with a splash
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  of orange juice and lemon.
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  That could be some water mixed with Redmond, sea salt, lime juice, magnesium
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  powder, a splash of grapefruit.
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  There's many, many types of mineral mocktails out there.
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  We are actively working on a mineral mocktail guide too that I can.
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  Let you guys know once it's ready.
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  All right.
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  To keep going, I want you enjoying a nourishing nighttime snack.
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  This is for a variety of reasons to meet our goal of that rule of
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  threes, to meet adequate intake, to get your body ovulating and cycling,
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  therefore, conceiving naturally.
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  This is also about blood sugar support and food freedom healing.
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  I cannot emphasize enough how important it is just to.
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  Normalized normal behaviors around food.
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  So I actually trying things like, you know, dates with peanut
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  butter and chocolate chips inside.
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  Um, a yogurt bowl with honey and berries, simple meals, cookies or chocolate muffins
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  and a banana, or any cookies or muffins.
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  I just mentioned those because are, those are some of my personal favorite.
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  But it could also be, uh, you know, ice cream.
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  No guilt on what you choose.
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  Just enjoying.
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  And finally the, the final recommendation I have written down here for you for
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  what I would do if I was trying to get pregnant with No Period is to
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  challenge food rules by including Fear Foods regularly in the diet.
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  Remember that recovery isn't just physical.
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  This isn't just about nutrient dense foods and eating enough.
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  Overall, it's about making sure that you have a healthy relationship with food.
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  It's mental and emotional, and I find a lot of times for the clients
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  we work with, their goal is just to have a healthy relationship with food
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  for themselves so that they can get their periods back and get pregnant.
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  But it's also this kind of like bigger dream of wanting to be really positive.
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  Role model to the future children that they're working so hard to create.
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  And my goodness, do I relate to that on such a personal level?
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  I think that's one of the things I feel the most proud of myself
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  for choosing recovery for, because I'm just so confident on a daily
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  basis that I'm modeling really healthy behaviors to my kids.
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  That's from, you know, eating ice cream and chip.
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  Sing cookies with my girls, but also we eat a lot of fruits and vegetables
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  and we talk about the difference between different foods with this
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  really healthy, positive mindset.
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  We have a saying in our house that all food is good food, and
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  each food plays a different role.
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  Some food has more nutrition, but some food is more about soul
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  nourishment, and that's important too.
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  I feel so positive that I am like literally modeling that to them,
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  not just in what I'm saying, but in what I'm doing and also modeling
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  healthy behaviors from like.
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  Exercise to walking to be stretched together every night to journaling
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  and reading and going to therapy.
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  Like I think because of recovery, I'm able to do all of that and feel really good
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  about how I am modeling that to my kids.
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  And I share that solely because I know that that's important to you too.
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  So to wrap up, if you still are avoiding foods that you used to restrict, it
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  is time to gently add these back in.
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  Remember, healing your relationship with food is healing your fertility now.
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  Whew.
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  I know that was a lot.
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  I. But every bit of this matters when you're trying
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  to conceive without a period.
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  These aren't just random, healthy tips.
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  This is a strategy, a gentle but powerful protocol to bring your body back online
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  and for ready for support, and making this look so personalized and customized just
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  to, you know, that premier peer recovery.
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  Four fertility where we take all of this and build it specifically for your
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  body, your lifestyle, and your goals.
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  You deserve to feel nourished, supported, and at peace as you prepare to grow
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  your family and meet your dreams of holding that baby in your arms.
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  I hope you enjoy today's episode.
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  We'll be back, as always for another episode next week.
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  Until next time, know that a nourished body is a powerful one.