Weigh loss and TTC

If your doctor told you losing weight would improve your fertility, and you went home — discouraged — and started googling all of the weight loss tips available online… please stop! 

Body weight is a poor indicator of health and your fertility!

What does “healthy weight” even mean!? 

Our medical system uses Body Max Index or BMI to determine “healthy weight” but this formula is so outdated and doesn’t take into account muscle mass or frame size which can vary vastly among individuals.

You know what can give you way more insights when assessing your health & fertility than the number on the scale?

🩸 cycle signs

🤢 gut health 

☣️ liver function

🔥 inflammatory markers

⚖️ hormone balance 

🥕 nutrient status

Your cycle can tell you a great deal about how healthy you are and if your fertility is in good shape! 

(one of the many reasons why hormonal birth control can do more harm than good, but that’s a topic for another email!)

Consistent ovulation is a great indicator of health and fertility, no matter what number you see on the scale. 

Consistently ovulating between cycle days 10 and 23 is a sign of balanced hormones (it shouldn’t vary more than 8 days cycle to cycle). 

Nutrition, gut health & hormone balance are crucial for consistent ovulation….not weight!

The length of your luteal phase (the time from ovulation to your period) is also a better indicator of fertility health than weight. 

Progesterone is queen during the luteal phase! 

To produce adequate amounts of progesterone we need to nourish our maturing follicle for the 100 days prior to ovulation, support sleep quality and manage our stress…

And guest what? Weight loss is not one of the goals here either.

Despite the good quality research showing that weight loss does not improve birth outcomes in couples undergoing ART like IVF or IUI, there is still a lot of focus on the number on the scale in conventional medicine.

So please stop beating yourself up and trying to lose weight, especially if you’re doing IVF!

Those added hormones are not exactly conducive to weight loss. 

And most importantly you don’t need to lose weight to have a healthy baby! 

To tell you the truth, most women I work with should gain weight to make sure their fertility and health — and not their abs  — are in good shape… 

Society has conditioned us to be so obsessed with our weight and which size we wear, that hearing this might come as a shock.

So let’s spell it out, loud and clear! 

You might need to gain weight to support fertility

Your metabolism can shift, consistency in eating is important to encourage this shift. This may mean you gain some weight but if you are consistent we see the shift of your body finding what I call its “happy weight” — weight that doesn’t give you symptoms of under-nourishing your body, weight that supports your body in feeling safe, weight that supports your fertility for a healthy baby.

If gaining weight is scary, it’s okay to seek support as your body finds its happy weight.

Forget about achieving a certain number on the scale. 

Better yet, ditch the scale all together.

If your priority is a healthy body for a healthy baby, you have to start putting more weight — pun intended — on your symptoms rather than what you weigh.

Health isn’t a number or a size. 

Health is how your body is able to produce energy to support your everyday activities — everything from work and relationships to digestion, thyroid health and mental focus — and adapt to stress while still having enough resources leftover to support egg quality & overall fertility.

Your cells can’t efficiently produce energy to carry out all of the things if you aren’t eating enough. 

So if you’ve been told you are overweight, please do not start any drastic diets! Your body needs to feel safe to reproduce and you need enough nutrients to nourish top quality eggs! 

And if you have been undereating for years — so you could proudly fit in those jeans you had in high school — it’s going to take time for your body to feel safe using more food.

It is normal for women to become more womanly when they are nourishing their bodies. 

Everyone is different and it can depend on where you are starting or how long you have been under eating but I typically see women gain 5-10 lbs while they are going through their healing journey before they see a shift in metabolism that helps them find their happy weight.

This is average, I’ve seen more and I’ve seen less. 

If you see a few more inches on your hips, a few more inches on your thighs, and even some rolls on your stomach, know it’s perfectly normal and healthy!

Taking a functional and integrative approach to fertility means we throw the scale out the window and look at overall health! 

Be grateful for your well-nourished body! It will be the home of your future baby!