Soy

I realized the other day that there is soy in my hippie-dippy, outrageously expensive, organic, "made with whole foods" prenatal vitamins.

And then I noticed soy is also an ingredient in what I believed to be a healthy dark chocolate bar I'd purchased.

And you know ... maybe soy is fine in the form of non-GMO soy lechithin, but I still don't want it in anything I'm eating. I just don't. If that makes me a crunchy hippie or a bandwagoner, so be it.

Are you up on the evils of soy? If you're in this (in)fertility game, you probably already know what I'm talking about. And if you don't, this might be worth a read.

In short, soy is an estrogen mimicker. Estrogen is a hormone that already occurs naturally in your body. You don't need or want more of it because it will jack you up. Especially if you're like me and you've got a few pounds to lose -- excess fat already equals excess estrogen. The last thing you want to do is put more of it in your body.

Here's an interesting post about soy from Naturally Knocked Up; I know she won't touch the stuff with a ten foot pole.

Foods soy is in: Tofu, edamame, soy milk. Fermented soy products like tempeh and soy sauce are supposed to have a decreased estrogen-mimicking effect, but I'm not sure I even want to risk it.

*****

So enough preachiness for today. Nothing much is new over here. I lost one more pound. I'm still guzzling raspberry leaf tea. I've been taking my morning temps; they're rather low and flat-lined so far. And I started The Machine back up. It's telling me ovulation is approaching. I'm waiting for it to confirm that it actually happens. Fingers crossed.

Anovulation

Through a series of observations, like:

1. Ovulation tests
2. Monitoring of cervical mucus
3. Observance of non-pregnant status

... I have determined I am not ovulating.

I've also diagnosed myself with Lotsa Fatitude with Extreme Estrogen, which I believe is causing my anovulation. Making Babies says fat releases lots of estrogen. If there's too much fat on your body, you might as well be taking a birth control pill.

I've given myself til July to rectify the issue. If it's not solved by then, I'll be seeing a doctor again.

Plans are:

1. Walking 5 miles a day
2. Drinking buttloads of raspberry leaf tea
3. Taking buttloads of B vitamins, among other supplements
4. Abdominal massage, as recommended by Making Babies
5. Dust off The Machine (my very fancy ovulation predictor)
6. Track basal temps

I've quit coffee and am slowly cutting out "acidic" foods. I've removed gluten, sugar (although I've flubbed here and there) and most starches from my diet. Next up is dairy, then alcohol (*sob*).

So, two months. We'll see what happens. It's frustrating, and I'm getting anxious, and I don't want to be anxious.