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Healthy Body Weight
Since estrogen is produced in fat stores, having excess fat stores can delay ovulation, and make it harder for you to get pregnant. So the closer you are to a healthy body weight, the easier it should be to conceive. On the other hand, sometimes reduced calorie intake can lead to absent or irregular ovulation as well. In addition, if there is a chance that you could get pregnant, you want all your body's stores of nutrients to be at their best--something that might not be the case if your food intake was restricted. So the best possible scenario would be to lose the weight first, and then try to get pregnant. Even a modest weight loss will improve fertility. Worry less about calories and losing weight, and concentrate more on eating the most nutrient rich foods you can. This will make sure that you will be getting all the nutrients you need to support a pregnancy. Diet to Get a Healthy Weight The biggest argument against losing weight first is that 95% of people who diet to lose weight gain it back with interest. It would be worse to gain a large amount of weight while pregnant than it would be to start out large. The other thing is that there is no way to know for sure if you aren't getting pregnant because of your weight or because of something else. If you do opt for losing weight, calculate how long it will take you to reach your goal, and then add a year -- it's a good idea to keep the weight off for a year before getting pregnant. If you decide to move ahead at your current weight, make sure you are eating sensibly and get good medical care. Think about how you would eat if you were pregnant. Not so much in quantity, but in quality. Try changing your eating plan to be as healthy as you'd want it if you were pregnant, whether or not you are trying to lose weight. Overweight women often gain less weight than our leaner counterparts during pregnant and that's fine. The main concern is eating properly - not over-eating, and definitely not dieting. Pregnancy is not the time to try to lose weight. Does weight effect conception rates? What about body fat distribution? Study shows that very lean women and very obese women had lower conception rates. However, body fat distribution was found to have a greater impact. Women with a high waist-hip ratio had greater trouble conceiving.
What are the most common weight-related reasons for infertility? The two most common problems are excess estrogen and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Along with both of these is a greater chance of a luteal phase defect (LPD). Estrogen: the problem is that if you get too much estrogen your body reacts as if it is on birth control. Ovulation may not occur or it may be inadequate. An inadequate ovulation contributes to LPD, mentioned below. PCOS: This is a endocrine disorder with any combination of several symptoms. These symptoms include irregular cycles, cysts in the ovaries, ovulatory pain, anovulation, acne, excess body hair (face, chest, below navel, toes), heavy and painful periods. Diagnosis involves both a physical exam, usually including an ultrasound to check ovaries, and blood work. LPD: The luteal phase in the time between ovulation and menses. The ideal length is 14 days, 12-16 being normal. There are a number of ways to diagnose the problem, including serum progesterone tests 7 days post-ovulation, endometrial biopsies, and the length of the luteal phase can be observed by charting basal body temperatures and/or being aware of when ovulation occurred. LPD can be caused by inadequate ovulation, so improving the quality and perhaps quantity of follicles produced will help straighten things out so that the lining is properly supported. Eating an adequate diet in necessary regardless of what supplements you are taking. The goal should be to lose weight slowly and intelligently using an eating plan that would be good for pregnancy, and actually for the rest of your life! If it isn't a life-plan change, it won't work. Be sure to get plenty of folic acid and calcium. One should start taking pre-natal vitamins, or the equivalent, at least 3 months before trying to get pregnant.
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