Get Pregnant Faster: Your 7-Step Plan part 1

Your 7-Step Plan

Ready to be pregnant now? You'll want to put some planning behind your baby-making. Follow these tips to help you conceive more quickly.

Step 1: Go Off Your Birth Control—Ahead of Time

Have you been popping those little white pills since high school? Take a pass on your prescription a few months before you plan to start trying, says Christopher Williams, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist in private practice in Charlottesville, Virginia, and author of The Fastest Way to Get Pregnant Naturally. That goes for other forms of hormonal birth control too. (You should stop getting Depo-Provera, injectable shots of progesterone about nine months before you want to try getting pregnant.)

"After you've been using birth control for awhile, it may take your body a few cycles to start ovulating regularly and be primed for pregnancy," Dr. Williams says. Plus, this gives you time to track your cycle to figure out exactly when you ovulate (step #2), which is key for timing your babymaking.

Just remember: Once you stop using birth control, you can get pregnant at any time!

Step 2: Figure Out Your Fertile Days

No matter how often you and your partner get horizontal, if you skip the key days out of the month when your egg is raring to go, you won't get pregnant. "The biggest mistake my patients make is not knowing exactly when they ovulate," says Dr. Williams.

Today, most doctors recommend using ovulation predictor kits (OPKs) for a more accurate measure of ovulation. Though you can still use basal body temperature (BBT) charting, OPKs give you advance warning that your egg is about to be released, so you can plan accordingly. OPKs work by detecting a surge in luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine, which occurs about 36 to 48 hours before you ovulate.

There are two basic types of OPKs available: Those you use only around the week before you ovulate (these are better for women with very regular cycles, since you need a rough idea of when you ovulate to know when to start using the kit) and those you use every day of the month (a better choice for women with less regular cycles; they're also a bit pricier).

For the most approximate way to determine when you ovulate, subtract 14 from the length of your cycle.

Step 3: Have Sex Before You Ovulate

Those hardy sperm can stick around in your uterus and fallopian tubes for two to three days, but your egg only lasts for 12 to 24 hours after it's released. So having sex before you ovulate boosts the chances that there'll be sperm around to greet your egg as soon as it debuts.

For a typical 28-day cycle (where you ovulate on day 14), here's what you'll do:

* Start having sex a few times a week as soon as your period ends. Getting busy that often ensures you won't miss your most fertile time, especially if your cycle length varies from month to month.

* Make a point to have sex every other day starting around day 10.

* When you have a positive result on your OPK (around day 12), have sex that day and the next two days—these are your primo days out of the month to conceive.

LEER MAS

Step Plan to Reverse Diabetes

Incorporate These Foods to Treat Diabetes

To reverse or prevent type 2 diabetes, add the following foods into your diet:

• Foods high in fiber: Research shows that 90 percent of the U.S. population doesn’t consume enough fiber on a daily basis. High-fiber foods help slow down glucose absorption, regulate your blood sugar levels and support detoxification. Aim to eat at least 30 grams of fiber per day, which can come from vegetables (like Brussels sprouts, peas and artichokes), avocados, berries, nuts and seeds, especially chia seeds and flaxseeds.

• Foods high in chromium: Chromium is a nutrient that’s involved in normal carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Foods high in chromium can improve the glucose tolerance factor in your body and naturally balance out blood glucose levels. It plays a role in insulin pathways, helping bring glucose into our cells so it can be used for bodily energy. Broccoli has the highest amounts of chromium, but you can also find it in raw cheese, green beans, brewer’s yeast and grass-fed beef.

• Magnesium-rich foods: Magnesium can help regulate blood sugar levels because it plays a role in glucose metabolism. Research shows that diabetes is frequently associated with magnesium deficiency. Eating magnesium-rich foods, like spinach, chard, pumpkin seeds, almonds, yogurt and black beans, can improve type 2 diabetes symptoms.

• Healthy fats: Medium-chained fatty acids found in coconut and red palm oil can help balance blood sugar levels, and they serve as the preferred fuel source for your body rather than sugar. Using coconut milk, ghee and grass-fed butter can also help balance out your blood sugar levels, so include these foods into your meals and smoothies.

• Clean protein: Eating protein foods has a minimal effect on your blood glucose levels, and it can slow down the absorption of sugar. Some of the best sources of clean protein include wild-caught fish, which contains omega-3 fats that reduce inflammation, grass-fed beef, organic chicken, lentils, eggs and bone broth.

• Foods with a low glycemic load: The glycemic index of a food tells you about the blood glucose-raising potential of the food. Foods that have a high glycemic index are converted into sugar after being eaten more quickly than low glycemic foods. If you are fighting diabetes, stick to low glycemic foods like non-starchy vegetables, stone fruits and berries, nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut, organic meat, eggs, wild-caught fish, and raw pastured dairy.

LEER MAS