Healthy Festive Holiday Tips for Fertility

Stay Healthy During the Festivals While Trying to Conceive. The holidays are here! While it’s a fun, festive time of year, it’s also one that is filled with lots of delicious, irresistible foods, drinks, and parties galore! While tempting, it’s important to maintain a normal, healthy lifestyle during the holidays especially if you are trying to get pregnant (guys, this goes for you as well).

Why?

Weight gain can cause abnormalities in hormone levels in both men and women that can have a negative effect on eggs and sperm. Being overweight also puts the cardiovascular system in overdrive, promotes pre-diabetic and diabetic states, and increases cholesterol levels.

So how can you maintain your healthy lifestyle throughout the holiday season? Just follow the tips from the infertility experts at First Step IVF:

• Eat more often. It’s true! By eating smaller, more frequent meals instead of three large meals you’ll stay full throughout the day and will also give your metabolism a boost!

• Choose wisely at the yummy holiday buffet, and go for well-balanced options. This should include lean proteins (white meat chicken and turkey, lean cuts of red meat, nuts, beans, and tofu), healthy fats (nuts, avocado, and olive oil), and lots of fruits and vegetables. Proteins and healthy fats not only provide physical health benefits, but also make up essential hormones that influence brain chemicals to stimulate and create positive moods.

• If you suffer from PCOS, consider a low glycaemic diet. This includes foods such as vegetables, most fruits, oatmeal, peas, carrots, skim milk, and beans. Avoid foods such as white bread, white potatoes, and sugared sodas.

• Eat protein at every meal. Why? Protein helps with blood sugar control, muscle preservation, and fat loss. Aim for 0.36 grams of protein for every pound. For example, a 150-lb person needs 54 grams of protein per day.

• When heading to an event, eat a healthy meal before you go. This will help you avoid all those unhealthy temptations.

• Stop the bad habits! You don’t have to wait until January to make changes in your lifestyle, especially if you want to conceive a child. Of course, this may be hard during the holiday party season, but it’s important to keep drinking to a minimum and stop smoking completely (including both cigarettes and marijuana).

• Make exercise a priority! Try to exercise more frequently; this is important for both men and women. Exercise not only provides physical, mental, and emotional benefits, but it also has been proven to increase sperm production. Our favourite tips is to get up 30 minutes earlier and/or sleep in your workout clothes that way you can get your workout in as soon as you wake up!

• Get enough sleep. A healthy lifestyle also includes a good night’s rest. Lack of sleep can throw off the natural cycles in a woman’s body, including ovulation. Shoot for a minimum of seven hours of sleep each night even if it means leaving the party early.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle isn’t always easy, especially during the festive season. However, it can really have a positive impact on fertility in both men and women. If you and your partner have been having problems conceiving, the team at First Step IVF can help. Call today for more information on our fertility treatment options or to schedule a consultation at our fertility clinic.