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In 2021, I found out I had endometriosis and a softball sized cyst on one of my ovaries. I had the cyst and ovary removed in October of 2021. I knew I wanted to be a mom, so I looked at my diet to make sure I was nourishing my body for conception. Here are the steps I took to make sure I was eating to nourish and heal my body. 

First – a full blood draw! 

I wanted to make sure I was making informed choices and nourishing my body in the correct ways. So the first thing I did was get a full blood draw to see if there were any deficiencies in my diet. During this step, I was also diagnosed with a thyroid imbalance, Hashimoto’s. This step gave me the information I needed to make informed choices for MY body. It’s important to understand that each of our bodies are individual systems. If you are looking to really eat to nourish your body, make sure you are informed with actual data from your body! 

Please also be aware I made extreme changes because I needed surgery to remove an ovary. I wanted to make sure that I was doing the most I could to ensure I could conceive naturally. Not everyone will need to make these choices! I highly recommend you talk to your pregnancy health provider about the choices that are right for you, your body, and your conception goals. 

Goodbye Gluten and Grains! 

I decided to cut out gluten and grains for an extended period of time during my preconception era. It was definitely tough! I made this choice because of my Hashimoto’s diagnosis. Since Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease, consuming anything that can possibly create an immune reaction, like gluten, can make the condition worse.

I definitely missed bread, but I noticed an improvement of several symptoms including fatigue, bloating, and digestion issues. 

Delicious Dairy

When choosing dairy, I always went with high quality, full fat dairy. There are important fats in dairy and I wanted to make sure that I was getting the highest quality. This meant ditching the low fat yogurt, milk and cottage cheese and choosing the full fat versions. Fat is vital to helping us grow and maintain a pregnancy so of course it’s important pre-conception. This also meant full fat cream in my coffee, and I was not mad about it! 

Speaking of Coffee…

I did not give up caffeine. But I was mindful of my intake. I would pass on that second cup in the morning and didn’t go on so many afternoon coffee runs. Coffee is a stimulant and I wanted to reduce the overall amount of stress on my body. Coffee can definitely help with fatigue and even inflammation, but the stimulating effects can put stress on our bodies, causing our stress hormones to spike. I wanted to be mindful of my intake, while also still enjoying the little pleasure of a cup of coffee! 

I Reduced Sugar

Sugar can cause inflammation, provoke thyroid flares and cause your blood sugar to go crazy. I made the choice to reduce my sugar intake. I definitely noticed a difference, including more energy, less inflammation and irritability. I also had fewer sugar cravings.

I Consumed Collagen Daily

The best way to get a good source of collagen is to eat meat from the bone or to make your own bone broth. Each week I would make a batch of bone broth by putting a whole chicken on to boil for a few hours. I would use the chicken in our meals for the week and I strained out the broth to drink every day. Making your own broth this way allows you to get so many of the benefits of the ligaments and bones from high quality meet. If you don’t like broth by itself you could try broth hot chocolate. Here is a great recipe.

I found a high quality collagen source and added that to my smoothies and sometimes drank it like a protein shake. I really liked the Vital Protein Peptides Powder, because you can buy it at most stores locally.

Did it work?

Yes! In March 2022, I naturally conceived my son and had a healthy pregnancy. I even gave birth on my due date in December 2022! I’ve eased up on some of the changes I made in 2021, in part because my body is in a much different place and I have different nutritional requirements now! I am so grateful for this journey I have been on. I learned so much about my body and how to truly create a healthy environment for conception.

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