Is it possible to lose weight and work on my fertility? —Marie from PA
Hi Marie! Thanks for writing!
Truth be told, it really isn’t possible to work on both of these areas AT THE SAME TIME.
Because of the nature of your question, I’m thinking that you are working to recover your period and in doing so, are frustrated by weight gain in the process. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong! Okay, the basics. Working on your fertility means that you are making your body feel safe enough to have a baby. One of the main reasons we see struggles in fertility is from stress to the body physically, mentally, emotionally, nutritionally, and/or environmentally. In order to lose weight, you put stress on the body physically and or nutritionally (and often with that emotionally and mentally) so that your body can adapt to show you results you can see. Lifting weights stresses the muscles to break down and rebuild. It also stresses your cardiovascular and respiratory systems to meet the needs of the physical demand you are asking of your body. Changing nutrition quality, quantity, or timing stresses the body as it works to discover how and when it should be breaking foods down in order to keep you nourished for survival. So even though your new healthy habits might be beneficial changes for you in the long run, you need to be careful about the changes you make and your consistency. Most importantly, you need to pick a goal. Are you going to work on fertility, or are you going to work on your body composition?
It is possible to work on your body composition after you’ve restored your fertility. This is what I’ve been doing! My approach is slower. I pay more attention to my body than I do to the rules and regulations of a program. I watch my skin (I struggled with hyperpigmentation and acne for years), my muscles (when I’m pushing too hard, I get muscle knots in my back and clench my teeth at night), and my mood (if I’m not enjoying the process, I know it’s doing more harm than good). I keep a tally on if I’ve had enough to drink, sleep, and enjoy OTHER hobbies besides my constant fascination with health. I know now to focus on how much muscle I can build instead of working to fit in the tiniest clothes I can buy.
