Thursday, October 04, 2007

in the meanwhile...

I am still waiting for the call about insurance specifics. In the meanwhile I thought I would mention that the new doc spent a long time researching diet and how it affects fertility. He gave me a sheet and went over it in depth. I have since had a few questions that I have emailed him and will update when I get the answers but I thought I would post his plan for anyone interested. I do have permission so long as I change nothing which I have not.


EZ Diet

Diet Modification Plan

by Dr. Ernest J. Zeringue

Bad List:

Sugar (to include hidden sugars e.g. orange juice)
Breads/baked goods and flour
Potatoes
Yogurt
Beer
White Wine
Bananas


So-So List: (serving size = tennis ball)

Pasta
Rice

Good List

Everything else. You can eat any meats, fruits, vegetables, or nuts that aren't listed above. Dairy products are also good. There is no need to limit portion size.

Red wine may be consumed in moderation.

Phase 1
(Restrictive)


Nothing from the Bad List.
1-2 servings/week from So-So list.

As much as you want from the Good List.

Use Phase 1 for 4 weeks.
This should help with the cravings and give you impressive results.

You may be hungry between meals for 1-2 weeks. Eat snacks from the Good List.

Phase 2
(Maintenance)


2-3 servings/week from Bad List.
3-4 servings/week from So-So List.
As much as you want from the Good List.

Cheat Day 1 time/week.

Vacations: Enjoy yourself. You may need to return to the restrictive phase for a few weeks after your vacation.

Exercise:

3x per week 20-30 minutes


**************************************************************************************

He also said the cheat day and the 2-3 from the bad list per week were important so your body didn't assume those items were gone forever and adjust and go into maintenance without them. He said adding them sometimes would keep things working optimum. He also said weight loss was not the goal of this plan but better IGF-1 which affects:

* weight regulation
*eggs and ovulation
*endometrial growth
*cholesterol
*testosterone
*skin
*arteries and hypertension
*mood and energy

7 om's.:

MaMaMia said...

This looks interesting. It reminds me of another diet called the GI Diet.
One question, is the cheat day like, one meal per week, or do you cheat the entire day?
Thanks for sharing this. I might try it!

bleu said...

I believe it is one time as in meal per week. I will ask the doc to make sure though and if it is different than that I will post about it here.

It does seem to be a low GI diet indeed.

MaMaMia said...

Sorry, I thought of another question. Can you use salad dressing? I know that it has sugar in it. . .or do you only use vinegrette dressings?

bleu said...

No problem. I still even have questions for him, such as why dairy is ok but yogurt, even low and non fat kinds, are bad. Even low GI diets suggest lowfat yogurt.

As for dressings I actually wrote him about this last week and got an email back. I will post what he wrote below. I will also add what he wrote about beans since I asked about that as well. I was impressed at him taking the time to answer my email personally and thoughtfully.


"As for “hidden sugars” it’s hard to stick to a specific gram amount since natural sugars such as fructose and maltose don’t raise insulin levels and would be OK… except of course high fructose corn syrup which is fairly toxic to the liver. One good scale is sweetness. If it’s not sweet and doesn’t have flour added. Its likely OK. For the salad dressings you may want to continue to limit the amount so the salad isn’t saturated but still flavored. Overall I haven’t seen salad dressings causing big problems.



Beans are OK also. I don’t advise you go crazy with them but they are something that can be eaten several times a week without much of a problem. The grains will be fine too… as long as they aren’t used to make flour or bread of any sort. Unprocessed grains are basically fiber so it won’t really do much to insulin."

I will be asking him more after this week so I will let you know then.
I am planning on starting the restrictive phase when my AF shows and I begin bcp for the IVF if this cycle did not work.

hth

Anonymous said...

I am really interested in this EZ diet. Can you eat wheat? Like cream of wheat in the morning or shredded wheat? Also what about drinks like soda and coffee and tea? What can you drink?

bleu said...

Cream of Wheat is out, just like oatmeal. You can eat barley or Qinoa. Coffee is not suggested with TTC for sure, but beyond that he said it also is known to give a pretty significant insulin surge so to watch it. Soda and whatnot would be no if containing sugar. As far as artificial sweeteners he is pretty against them, especially any regular use. The diet "in his words" is about what you would eat of you were on a farm and grew your food and had livestock. Eating things in their most natural form whenever possible and going by the rules listed on the diet.

Good luck.

bleu said...

Another thing, if you want to know what to do look up low insulin diet online, not low glycemic that is different, but low insulin because that is basically what this plan is.