Pursuit of Wellness - Fertility: My Tips & Suggestions To Optimize Chances Of Pregnancy (Solo Episode)

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is the Pursuit of Wellness podcast and I'm your host, Mari Llewellyn. What's up, guys? Welcome back to the Pursuit of Wellness podcast. How are we? Happy Thursday. It's Mari back on the mic for another solo episode. You're probably wondering, where is she? I can't even see her. If if you're watching on video I love solos because I get zero response from anyone and there's no energy for me to feed off of so I'm simply laughing by myself I'm wearing this cute white camo set that dairy boy sent me no ad no no ad placement here they simply sent me the set and I love it. Anyway, guys, happy Thursday. I am doing a deep dive on a topic that I seem to be unable to shut up about, which is fertility. I know I keep talking about this topic. I swear you guys are probably getting so annoyed with me,

Starting point is 00:00:58 but it really is like a big part of my life right now. I spend a lot of time thinking about it. And a lot of you told me that you'd like me to discuss it further and the things I'm personally doing to optimize my chances of getting pregnant. And obviously, I'm not pregnant yet. I don't have kids yet. So please take this with a grain of salt. These are just the things that I've had experts advise me on and things I feel like are working for me. And yeah, I feel like this is a topic that isn't spoken about enough. And I'm not quite sure why, like now that I'm on my personal fertility journey, I'm just realizing how like mysterious it is. You hear pregnancy announcements, you see, I don't know, the after result, like no one ever talks about the in-between period where you're just trying to get pregnant or you're, you know, maybe having

Starting point is 00:01:50 questions about fertility or struggling with fertility. So I wanted to talk about it. I want to talk about what I'm doing and kind of break the stigma here. So if there's anything that I don't mention, please DM me, comment on the Pursuit of Wellness podcast Instagram page. I'd love to hear more advice on fertility and things that have worked for you guys. So without further ado, let's hop into these tips. Okay, the first tip that I wrote down is you and your partner should get lab work done, meaning blood tests, sperm analysis, genetic testing. Now I know that this isn't available to everyone and it can be a little bit difficult to find this. However, it is becoming more and more accessible. So whether you want to order lab work online, go to your doctor, whatever it may be,

Starting point is 00:02:38 I think it's worth checking out your hormones, checking out your AMH levels, seeing what's going on. So for example, after doing my lab work with Emily, which was originally for my skin, I found that I had, you know, some hormonal imbalances, some candida, some high levels of mycotoxins, and those are all things you want to work on for fertility. The cool thing about fertility is if you are working on your overall health and hormones, you are in turn benefiting your fertility. I think there's this misconception that everything's separate, but the truth is whatever you're doing for your skin or hormones is in turn going to help fertility. So keep that in mind. So all the things I'm working on with my health practitioner, Emily, you know, all the supplements,

Starting point is 00:03:30 the lifestyle changes, the liver cleansing, everything is helping me with my fertility. In terms of the sperm test, I think a lot of us assume that it's all on the woman and the woman is the one that has the problem and the one that needs to get the testing done. And the man is kind of the constant, but I really would recommend having your man get sperm tested. And I know it can be a difficult conversation, but before you enter this highly emotional, difficult journey, I think it's worth just checking out, you know, what's going on with your guy's swimmers. Like, are they swimming? Are they there? Are they present? Because there's also a lot of things he can do to improve chances as well. And yeah, sperm health is really, really important. You don't want to like be clueless going into it and wonder why it's not happening. If there could be a simple solution or things that your man can

Starting point is 00:04:18 do to improve his sperm. And also statistically, men are producing less and less testosterone just due to environmental toxins and things we're exposed to now. So some of the things Greg stopped doing were saunaing. Greg was addicted to the sauna. He was in it every day. Initially, he added an ice pack in his underwear to keep his testicles cool, which sounds silly, but it really is a huge part of protecting your sperm is not overheating them. Now he has fully stopped going in the sauna, which I feel bad about, but it is very, you know, beneficial for the sperm. He doesn't go in hot tubs. He's taking the right supplements like CoQ10. L-carnitine is another one. I can honestly bring Greg on the show down the line and he can talk about this himself. He's also using red light, as am I, for blood circulation, inflammation on the testicle and

Starting point is 00:05:13 uterus areas, and also avoiding weed and alcohol. So your man can do things as well. In terms of genetic testing, this was a really interesting part of our journey. At the very beginning of our fertility journeys and just checking out how things were going, Dr. Gadeer came on the show and recommended that we do genetic testing. So basically what that is, is both partners will go get genetic tested to see if there's any recessive genes in either individual that could overlap and create, you know, a problem. So for example, I got genetic tested and had a recessive gene for albinoism. If Greg also had that gene, there could be a situation where that would pop up. So it's good to just have the knowledge and go into it knowing what each person has in their genetics. We didn't have a problem there, but I do think it's like a

Starting point is 00:06:06 really eye-opening test that you might want to look into. So that's what I recommend in terms of testing. See where you're at, see where your hormones are at, and then you'll have a base to work from. From there, you know, I have PCOS technically, so I know that I need to be treating my lifestyle differently than someone who doesn't. And that goes for fertility as well. My second tip with nutrition. So I talk a lot about nutrition and I really think it's such an important piece of fertility and overall health. I think eating high protein and being strong and healthy is super important. I recommend eating a gram of protein per lean body mass. So I eat a decent amount of protein every day, like probably 160 grams of protein per day.

Starting point is 00:06:53 And focusing on that in my meal, also getting really healthy fats in is so crucial. More fiber is something I'm focusing on right now. This is something I struggle with, which is why I love taking bloom greens. It really helps me get in all my fruits and veggies in a day in one scoop. Also incorporating Brussels sprouts, carrots, veggies, just getting those in because it's so beneficial for the microbiome and in turn is helpful for our hormones, which is something that I don't think I fully realized until recently. And it's something that I'm definitely emphasizing more and just having more variety of fiber in my diet. Also getting enough calories. I think this is important because, you know, I've been on a weight loss journey. I've taken fitness very seriously for a long time. And I've definitely gone through periods of time where I don't think

Starting point is 00:07:42 I was eating enough to be optimally fertile. If we're in restrictive phase, if we're super, super lean, six pack abs, that isn't necessarily a safe environment to support a pregnancy. So eating enough carbs and getting enough calories is important for getting pregnant. So I've been told. So I'm definitely like not holding back as much when it comes to carbs. Lately, I'm eating a lot of potatoes and making sure I get my calories in because you want your body to feel safe and relaxed and not that it's we talk a lot about nutrition on the pursuit of wellness and you guys know i really prioritize my ingredients but we want things to be yummy and fun too and that's where magic spoon comes in they make it so much easier and more delicious than ever i know we all love cereal it feels like such a big part

Starting point is 00:08:45 of my childhood, but I want to make sure I'm getting in those good ingredients. And I love the fact that the variety pack has four flavors, cocoa, fruity, frosted, and peanut butter. And they have zero grams of sugar, 13 to 14 grams of protein, and four to five grams of net carbs, and only 140 calories per serving, which means it's high protein, has zero grams of sugar. It's keto friendly, gluten free, friendly, grain free and soy free. It is absolutely delicious. I love the cocoa. I kind of use it as like a post dinner snack. It's so delicious and satisfies all my cravings. We always keep it in the house. Greg loves it too. And i always offer it to

Starting point is 00:09:25 guests when they come over you guys can go to magicspoon.com slash pursuit to grab a variety pack and try it today be sure to use our promo code pursuit p-u-r-s-u-i-t at checkout to save five dollars off your order and magic spoon is so confident in their product is backed with 100 happiness guarantee so if you don't like it for any reason, they'll refund your money. No questions asked. Remember, start the new year off right with a delicious bowl of high-protein cereal at magicspoon.com slash pursuit and use code pursuit to save $5 off. Thank you, Magic Spoon, for sponsoring this episode.

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Starting point is 00:11:30 drinking king coffee right now um less sugar and alcohol that's important for me especially with pcos and high testosterone and no weed or other drugs so yeah I'm having an occasional drink. Like I had a tequila soda last night or tequila seltzer. That's probably like the cleanest drink you could order. Nothing with sugar, not even really wine lately. But I probably have like one drink every three weeks. So really limited there. But on the other hand, I hear all the time people getting pregnant while they've had 10 drinks and they're drunk and they're out with their husband and something happens and da da da. Like, it's funny, this whole process. I'm trying, you know, I'm giving you guys tips here, what I think would be the most optimal, but at the same time, obsessing and being too connected to the

Starting point is 00:12:22 regimen could take away from the actual goal. At the end of the day, relaxing and having fun is important too. So just keep that in mind. My third tip is toxins. So toxins is a topic we talk about a lot on the podcast. I feel like everyone's kind of tired of hearing about it. I get it. But I do think avoiding toxic products is really helpful for fertility. Things like candles, perfume, air fresheners, toxic cleaning products, like being exposed to these things every day, they are endocrine disruptors and will ultimately affect fertility. They will affect hormones. I've also heard to be careful around certain essential oils. Lavender oil and tea tree oil can affect hormones. And if kids are exposed to it too early, it can actually create earlier menstrual cycles. It can create breast

Starting point is 00:13:16 development in young boys. I've heard about this on Andrew Huberman's podcast. So now I'm aware of that. I'm being really conscious around the essential oils as well. I'm not sure how true that is. Look it up yourself, but just something that I've heard through Andrew Huberman, which I feel like is a credible source. Number four, supplements. Okay. I get a lot of questions about my supplements because you guys see my trays. I take a lot of supplements. Most of them are herbal. So it's not like I'm on like a crazy amount of like harsh supplements. They are all herbs, which have assisted me a ton in improving my lab work, improving my skin. This is bio-individual depending on what your body needs. So obviously no one has the same situation. I had candida, mycotoxins, liver overload so that's why I take the things that I take

Starting point is 00:14:06 but I wrote down some of my favorite top supplement choices that I think everyone would benefit from two packets of myo and isotol a day it's really good for PCOS it's great for egg health I've seen a lot of women say that they start taking it and they end up getting pregnant. So two packs a day. And Chase Tree, also known as Vitex and vitamin C is great for ovulation and progesterone development. You need to have a certain amount of progesterone in order to ovulate and also maintain a pregnancy. So two beneficial supplements there. I'm on bioidentical progesterone because my levels were so, so low. So that's been helping me a lot with my mood and ovulation as well. And then I also wrote down the phospholipids by Body Bio. You guys may have seen Emily talking about this. It is like a thick kind

Starting point is 00:14:58 of oil and it supports healthy fetal growth and it's the building block for our cell membranes. So it really protects our cells from incoming invaders, toxins, whatever it may be. So that is a really important supplement for mums and babies as well. My fifth and final tip, make your body feel safe. I feel like this almost is more important than everything else. And it's one that, you know, it has been a big learning lesson for me. I'm someone who tends to be a little bit more controlling, obsessive, and I've learned that I really just need to let things go and let them happen when they're supposed to and kind of put it in the universe's hands, if that makes sense. Overall, really focusing on stress levels. I'm definitely having slower mornings and incorporating more

Starting point is 00:15:46 self-care, slower moments. You know, I'm doing my red light therapy for inflammation. The sauna has been really beneficial for me. I feel bad again that Greg can't do it, but I can. Horseback riding has been such a blessing for me when it comes to happiness and staying calm and regulating my stress. Meditation, breath work, getting good sleep. Sleep is so freaking important. Even while I'm traveling, you know, I'm in LA right now. Sleep is a priority. I'm in bed by 8.30, if not earlier. You know, I'm wearing my red light glasses. I'm doing things during the day, cutting off my caffeine at a certain time to make sure I'm getting that good sleep, that good HRV, so my I could do and wish I could show up for. But I know my intuition knows that it's going to be too much and that it's going to stress me out. And it

Starting point is 00:16:50 doesn't align with my goal right now. My goal right now is to get pregnant and anything I can do to help myself feel safer and in a more healthy mindset, then I will do that. So it does require setting boundaries and saying no, even when you don't want to. So that is all my advice when it comes to trying to conceive. I hope these tips were helpful. I know I'm talking a lot about fertility right now. I hope it's not annoying. I know it only applies to some of you. But what I would say is when I was younger, I kind of knew I wanted to have kids, but I never really thought about it.

Starting point is 00:17:29 But I think it is smart to start thinking about fertility, even when you're young. And even if you have sort of a second thought that maybe you want to have kids one day, anything you can do now to sort out your hormones and maybe get off the birth control and figure out a more natural route is only going to benefit you when you do really want to have kids. Because I never thought that I would want to have kids as badly as I do right now. It's

Starting point is 00:17:55 difficult to imagine when you're younger. But anyway, being fertile is one of the biggest indicators of being a healthy person. So I really think fertility is important for everyone. Even if you don't want to have kids, I hope maybe this was beneficial in some way. I love you guys so much. Just a reminder, if you could do me a big favor and just hit that subscribe or follow button, it really, really, really helps me continue to grow the show and get the message out there and keep doing you know what I love and chatting with you guys it's brought me so much purpose I really appreciate it and if you could leave a review I love you guys so much and I'll see you on the next episode bye thanks for joining

Starting point is 00:18:36 us on the pursuit of wellness podcast to support this show please rate and review and share with your loved ones if you want to be reminded of new episodes, click the subscribe button on your preferred podcast or video player. You can sign up for my newsletter to receive my favorites at marilowelland.com. It will be linked in the show notes. This is a Wellness Out Loud production produced by Drake Peterson, Fiona Attucks, and Kelly Kyle. This show is edited by Mike Fry,

Starting point is 00:19:02 and our video is recorded by Luis Vargas. You can also watch the full video of each episode on our YouTube channel at Mari Fitness. Love you, Power Girls and Power Boys. See you next time. The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual medical and mental health advice and does not constitute a provider patient relationship. As always, talk to your doctor or

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Pursuit of Wellness - Fertility: My Tips & Suggestions To Optimize Chances Of Pregnancy (Solo Episode)

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