Maca Root

[IceQueen86]

From what I was *warned* Maca root can boost fertility- I say warned because I was actually taking it in a pill form from GNC for other reasons but I stopped only because I felt like it was making AF heavy but from what I understand too is that it actually helps with AF by making it lighter and she recommended taking it every other cycle. I just never ttc with it. Im not really ttc either just kind of taking 1 month at a time ; )

How many mg did you take?

 

[AK1981]

AF did show, so I'm going to keep with the Maca for the next cople of weeks and see how it goes.

 

[lolasmith]

haha yeah I know what you mean, it is as difficult, if not more, as trying to stick to a very difficult diet! And most people fail at them!

For exercise, totally use weights. That is pretty much the only exercise I do other than going for walks. I do squats and all that with 3 kilo weights on each hand, had to build up to that though, i love it.

All dried fruits are good apricots (these are about 300 calories a cup) etc, although much of them are mostly high calorie from sugars. All the red meat you can handle will do you well, pasta is good if it is wholegrain- white is just the empty calories which do more harm than good, both for weight loss and weight gain. Potatoes are excellent too-- sweet potatoes even better (way more nutritious).

If you can bare it I say go crazy on nuts, haha, there is about 1000 calories per cup of macadamia, or pecan, if you can work through a cup over the course of a day you will have bumped it right up! Even adding these to your existing meals will be great.

Trick is gain weight by building muscle, gain weight by adding high calorie good fats to high protein foods, and avoid junk food! (even though it makes people gain, this unfortunately doesn't work for people underweight- payback! lol).

Yeah add the maca to the protein powder! with chocolate it tastes fine. It's bitterness is equiv to coffee, it might give a hint of taste but not a lot at all.

You sound like a professional I will do my best to try to eat all that plus i found out that bagels are very good for gaining weight, so i'm gonna bake some today! lol Few years ago i tried junk food diet and didn't even gain 1 pound LMAO! What a waste. Anyways..I'm gonna use 2.5kg on both sides, with these i can feel how it works on my body. You got me all excited here i might even start today
I was browsing around on that website you gave me and i totally love it, the best one i have seen ( for exercise you have to mark down BD too )
I'm glad i met you here, now i can concentrate on gaining weight and don't have to stress about ttc.
Thank you for all the good info!!!! I can feel the energy and excitement rushing through my veins LOL...

Yay good luck!! I hope you have started. I have become absolutely crazy about health since trying to conceive. Honestly I think if I didn't put so much effort into being as healthy as I can be I would be totally depressed about it not having happened yet.

I guess being proactive does that! It is kind of like being really overweight and feeling like crap cause you are, but how excited and empowered you feel if you fix it.

And I love love noticing it being reflected in my cycles, like really strong O's, and lots of EWCM. I am SO GLAD you are excited to get going- it pays off, and will make you feel amazing

Yay Yay xx

 

[IceQueen86]

Yay good luck!! I hope you have started. I have become absolutely crazy about health since trying to conceive. Honestly I think if I didn't put so much effort into being as healthy as I can be I would be totally depressed about it not having happened yet.

I guess being proactive does that! It is kind of like being really overweight and feeling like crap cause you are, but how excited and empowered you feel if you fix it.

And I love love noticing it being reflected in my cycles, like really strong O's, and lots of EWCM. I am SO GLAD you are excited to get going- it pays off, and will make you feel amazing

Yay Yay xx

Thanks! Yes i agree with all that. I feel great after i work out and i already imagine how good i will look after i have worked out for a while. And it's a great stress relief. I started working out yesterday and i already feel better and more positive about everything even tho my legs and butt are super sore Hopefully it's good for my cycles too.
How long have you been ttc?

 

[IceQueen86]

AF did show, so I'm going to keep with the Maca for the next cople of weeks and see how it goes.

Are you gonna increase your dose or keep it the same?

 

[lolasmith]

It is a great feeling. I macca will do wonders for building muscle! Lol that's why my oh is so into taking it every day. So I have had, 7 cycles trying, well this is the seventh. Before that it was about a year ntnp I got 2 bfps but both ended badly. How about u??

 

[lolasmith]

Also ladies my oh is up to three heaped tablespoons a day which would be a very high mg dose he hasn't had any side effects so it may be fine to take lots may just take a few cycles to adjust. I please to anyone who tries doing that get testosterone Checks after awhile because the biophysical structure really does relate to raising those levels and trust me for ttc that is a nightmare

 

[IceQueen86]

It is a great feeling. I macca will do wonders for building muscle! Lol that's why my oh is so into taking it every day. So I have had, 7 cycles trying, well this is the seventh. Before that it was about a year ntnp I got 2 bfps but both ended badly. How about u??

Aww sorry for mc-s I have been trying for 13 months, this is my 14th. It's a long time but i don't feel very bad about it because my cycles were super crazy for a while and i probably didn't even ovulate so i didn't even have a chance to conceive. I will never touch bcp again! Since i have been ttc i have never had a bfp...YET! and since getting pregnant is pure luck then hopefully we will be lucky soon. I have been in the pregnancy waiting list for too long

 

[lolasmith]

It is a great feeling. I macca will do wonders for building muscle! Lol that's why my oh is so into taking it every day. So I have had, 7 cycles trying, well this is the seventh. Before that it was about a year ntnp I got 2 bfps but both ended badly. How about u??

Aww sorry for mc-s I have been trying for 13 months, this is my 14th. It's a long time but i don't feel very bad about it because my cycles were super crazy for a while and i probably didn't even ovulate so i didn't even have a chance to conceive. I will never touch bcp again! Since i have been ttc i have never had a bfp...YET! and since getting pregnant is pure luck then hopefully we will be lucky soon. I have been in the pregnancy waiting list for too long

I do think it is really normally to go that long, I mean the average time for a completely healthy couple is a year- I always count by ovulations tried because I just don't think it should count unless you definitely dtd while fertile! I use to not ovulate quite often, I mean at one point I went three months before I finally O'd- it would be silly to count that as three months of trying. Are you on any meds or anything for ttc?

and I totally agree bc is crazy

 

[AK1981]

I'm keeping with the same mg's, but only for this cycle as next cycle I'll be doing my first round of Clomid + Estrace.

 

[IceQueen86]

I do think it is really normally to go that long, I mean the average time for a completely healthy couple is a year- I always count by ovulations tried because I just don't think it should count unless you definitely dtd while fertile! I use to not ovulate quite often, I mean at one point I went three months before I finally O'd- it would be silly to count that as three months of trying. Are you on any meds or anything for ttc?

and I totally agree bc is crazy

Ok so i decided to count the cycles i have ovulated. I started trying last year 1st of january started charting temps in may (don't know if i ovulated from jan to may) and from may to now i have maybe ovulated 5 times but definitely 4 times. Well now i feel even better because looks like i have had a chance only 4-5 times, that's better than having a chance for 14 times and it still haven't happen. I guess my body is finally starting to heal.

I'm taking baby aspirin (had to be good for blood circulation and implantation), prenatals, took soy isoflavones (for earlier O), fish oil and planning to add Maca.

What about you?

 

[IceQueen86]

I'm keeping with the same mg's, but only for this cycle as next cycle I'll be doing my first round of Clomid + Estrace.

What is Estrace?

 

[lolasmith]

Yeah see 5 cycles isn't bad odds at all!!

I always supplement with a b complex, and I take spirulina. Those are the only two in pill form.

I try to take things in food form, like the chia seed in place of fish oils etc etc.

I was wondering about what to take to improve lining in the second half of the cycle??? Is that when you take asprin? I think I really need to work on the lining thing- I just have no idea what is ok to take after o. Any advice??

 

[RobertRedford]

I thought about taking it, but consulted with my close friend before I took it, She is a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist. I too consulted with her before taking Soy Iso's and she said that they are good, but to take them in limitation. For those of you taking Soy Iso's and/or Maca, keep in mind that both are intended for use by old, weak people.


For maca, She said that the side effects and potential for negative effects are far larger than the very slight chance that it may help. She said that it is a very strong herb, and can be over powering, that women often have really bad negative effects including heart palpitations and blood pressure issues. She highly suggested treating with an acupuncturist, or similar, if you intend on taking supplements of this sort. The dosage makes a great deal of difference. She said that both soy and maca had high contradictions with many drugs, food, etc.

Goodluck to all who are taking them!

 

[lolasmith]

I thought about taking it, but consulted with my close friend before I took it, She is a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist. I too consulted with her before taking Soy Iso's and she said that they are good, but to take them in limitation. For those of you taking Soy Iso's and/or Maca, keep in mind that both are intended for use by old, weak people.


For maca, She said that the side effects and potential for negative effects are far larger than the very slight chance that it may help. She said that it is a very strong herb, and can be over powering, that women often have really bad negative effects including heart palpitations and blood pressure issues. She highly suggested treating with an acupuncturist, or similar, if you intend on taking supplements of this sort. The dosage makes a great deal of difference. She said that both soy and maca had high contradictions with many drugs, food, etc.

Goodluck to all who are taking them!

Thank you for pointing that out- taking these things at a theraputic dose is not the best idea without guidance.

 

[IceQueen86]

Yeah see 5 cycles isn't bad odds at all!!

I always supplement with a b complex, and I take spirulina. Those are the only two in pill form.

I try to take things in food form, like the chia seed in place of fish oils etc etc.

I was wondering about what to take to improve lining in the second half of the cycle??? Is that when you take asprin? I think I really need to work on the lining thing- I just have no idea what is ok to take after o. Any advice??

What's spirulina and what does it do?

Women take baby/ low dose aspirin to thicken their uterine lining and that somehow helps with implantation. A lot of women take it all month long 81mg a day and some women take it only after ovulation. It can delay your O for few days and it might not... women are different. Other things i have read about it is that it can help with ovulation since it will help with blood circulation in your body and in reproductive organs. I know 2 women here who took it all month long and got their bfp's the second cycle on it.
One more thing i remember women take is Red Raspberry Leaf tea take until ovulation.

 

[lolasmith]

Oh yay, I will look into that, I am cautiously suspicious the my lining isn't as it should be. Af seems too light.
Spirulina is just a supplement that is high in antioxidants and good for immunity and so on, I've kind just always taken it.

 

[AK1981]

Estrace is simply estrogen, it helps thicken the lining and improve CM quality, which Clomid can affect. Many doctors prescribe it in conjunction with clomid. (I'll be doing Clomid days 2-6, and then Estrace days 7-19 or until O if that's sooner - for me it usually isn't.)

You can Google it, there's lots of info on Clomid and Estrace working well together. Because of my unicornuate uterus, I have to make sure that my lining is not affected negatively by the Clomid.

 

[IceQueen86]

Just ordered my Maca today, so excited!

 

[ecarroll2]

Hey ladies, great thread! I got my gelatinised maca root 500mg capsules today (=2500mg maca) and took 1 capsule this morning Plans are to take it until ovulation.
Also starting to take bee pollen and bee propolis again,and ordering royal jelly.
Tried taking pregnacare prenatals but got some terrible side-effects (abdominal swelling and pain, nausea, dizziness,shaking,headaches....) so have now decided to get all my nutrients from food...
Lolasmith, you sound soooo knowledgeable when it comes to supplements and super foods.Do you think that maca + a combination of royal jelly, propolis, pollen, and honey would cover my needs? X