3 Tips for Preconception Nutrition
Did you know that it takes at least 3 months for nutrition changes to take full effect in optimizing your fertility?
This fact might surprise you. Many people don’t think about nutrition until they are already pregnant or having trouble conceiving and are looking into root causes of their infertility.
While it is important to implement sustainable self care habits and give your body time to build up nutrient stores before pregnancy, PLEASE do not let anyone gatekeep a pregnancy from you! This includes feeling like you have to have the “perfect” diet or “lose X lbs” before getting pregnant. We want to focus on ADDING to your life in a way that’s flexible, not rigid. On top of that, as more people decide to have children later in life, it’s ok if time is of the essence and you need to get going with conceiving ASAP. You can still implement nutrition changes now!
1. Start taking a prenatal vitamin
Even if you’re still on birth control, it’s a good idea to start taking your prenatal vitamin now so you can up your intake of B vitamins and other micronutrients. B vitamins, especially folate, are actually most critical in the very first few weeks of pregnancy when a lot of people don’t even know they are pregnant.
Unfortunately, not all prenatal vitamins are created equal, and the FDA does not regulate the supplement industry. On top of this, everyone’s needs are slightly different based on their medical history and eating preferences. I help my clients make sure their prenatal vitamin is meeting their personal nutrient needs, but my most basic recommendations for a prenatal vitamin are:
Ensure your prenatal is 3rd party tested for quality and safety. Look for certification from an agency like USP, NSF, or Consumer Labs.
All prenatal vitamins should contain folate. Check also for vitamin B12, choline, and vitamin D at minimum.
I walk my clients through what amounts of certain nutrients to look for in a prenatal as well as provide product recommendations based on their needs, too.
2. Stop dieting and work on improving your relationship with food
Pregnancy is a critical time period where everyone is paying attention to you and your weight and your body - it can be really overwhelming. The preconception period is a really good time to look inward and think about which aspects of your relationship with food and body could be improved before the chaos begins. Intuitive Eating and body acceptance are important for your mental and physical health, but they’re also really important so that you can help your child have a healthy relationship with food as they grow up. You can stop the intergenerational cycle of disordered eating right now.
We know that intuitive eating has benefits for pregnancy, and for fertility too. I support my clients in moving away from the diet mentality so they fully nourish their bodies for fertility and pregnancy.
3. Choose 1-3 flexible nutrition changes
Everybody’s needs will differ as far as nutrition goes, but choosing 1-3 simple, sustainable changes to make at a time is the best way to go about improving your diet. No need to overwhelm yourself with a diet overhaul! Think about what small changes might improve your well-being without making you feel deprived - food stress is not healthy. Here’s a few ideas of what you could add in (not take away!) to your diet:
A variety of fruits and veggies (each one provides different nutrients, keep it interesting!)
More fish (provides DHA for your baby’s brain and other omega-3s for your heart health)
Cook in a cast iron skillet (fortifies your food with iron sans toxins, read more in this post)
In the end, the changes you make will be personal. More fruits and veggies might not be the right choice for some people, or somebody else might be vegetarian or allergic to fish, etc. I help my clients set achievable goals in improving their preconception health according to evidence-based nutrition science for fertility.
Are you looking for support in navigating supplements, intuitive eating, and sustainable nutrition changes for your preconception health? My program Fully Nourished Pregnancy is for you! Click here for more information and to enroll today!
Looking for a high level of individualized support? I also offer 1:1 nutrition coaching for individuals and couples trying to conceive and struggling with issues like disordered eating or PCOS. Click here to learn more and apply to work with me 1:1!