8 Snickers are Less than 2000 Calories: For the Nutrient Deficient: Woman Up

Maybe you manage to exercise, manage your weight, manage your stress, avoid poisonous substances, but you subsist on a diet of soda and candy bars with the occasional pizza thrown in.  Unlikely- but possible. For you, this section alone is applicable.  For most of us, inadequate nutrition is a problem that piles into the car along with some or all of the other environmental factors in this fun ride along the infertility highway.

Your smart body knows what nutrients it needs to be successful at building an entire other human being, so if it isn’t getting them on a regular basis, it might just be sending a 'cease and desist' order to the procreation factory. Making sure you have a balanced diet is very, very important for women who are planning on making babies. Following a well-planned, not-crazy, diet that stays within recommended parameters (less than 2000/day) is the first step. Yes, it’s hard-but how bad do you want a baby? It’s not enough to just eat less than 2000 calories per day if some days you starve and other days you binge, that creates artificial nutrient deficiencies. In addition, if all you eat is a cheeseburger, 4 diet sodas and 1 candy bar in a day, you might be under 2000 calories, but you have also managed to miss most of the essential vitamins that are the building blocks of life. Woman Up and put some green things on your plate.

In addition, every woman trying to get pregnant should be on pre-natal vitamins. I personally also take calcium, since the cheap wal-mart prenatals I take don’t quite hit my doctors recommended calcium (I’m not going to worry about branding for my prenatals until I’m pregnant, maybe not then, still need to research that). Although low on calcium, Walmart's $8 dollar a bottle brand are fine in everything else, and you can believe I triple checked the folic acid levels. I also take fish oil capsules, since Omega threes are super good for you and I don’t eat enough salmon etc. to get sufficient levels thru diet.

If standard prenatal vitamins make you nauseous, talk to your OBGYN about potential alternatives.  Some days mine make me feel sick, some days they don't. I get around it by using 1 a day doses, and taking them right before bed. Since I sleep like the dead, mild nausea isn't really a factor. Regardless, being on pre-natal vitamins for at least 2 mths before you get pregnant is a really good idea. Maybe you hate remembering to take pills, but Woman Up and do it for your baby.

*Remember- this series of entries is about environmental factors for infertility. Your level of nutrition may not have anything to do with your infertility, and eating right could still not affect it. But you will feel happier!