Updated 10-4-22
The primary consideration in how long to be on a sway diet before TTC is how much you weigh to start out with. We cannot make a blanket prescription for either pink or blue because every individual is beginning at a different weight to start out with.
Also, if you are adding exercise, that can also affect how long to do diet beforehand. Pink swayers may need to hurry their sway if they are exercising due to weight loss; blue swayers may be able to buy themselves longer on diet without excess weight gain by exercising.
Pink in italics, Blue in bold
If you want a girl and you have little to no weight to lose (0-5 lbs, up to 10 if you lose weight very easily – keep in mind that BMI 21 is the point to stop deliberate weight loss, BMI 18.5 is the point at which you must not lose any more weight even accidentally), you should be on LE Diet no longer than 6 weeks before TTC. If you’re going to try for a very strict sway, you may even want less time, more like 2-4 weeks, because it will probably take you more than a month to get pregnant. Yes, we have been seeming to see better results with people on diet for longer (12 weeks or more) but if you weigh 85 lbs you CANNOT be on diet for very long and you should not try because you will lose too much weight and stop ovulation. But ONLY do this short a sway time if and only if you are planning a strict sway (with jellies, frequency, timing, etc) If you’re doing a more laid back sway and are focusing on diet, exercise, and one attempt ONLY – please do longer on diet even if you’re thin. Up calories to prevent weight loss but do not try for a laid back sway with 2 weeks on diet, that’s a recipe for another boy.
If you want a girl and have a lot of weight to lose (more than 20 lbs), you should be on diet a full 90 days before beginning to TTC if at all possible, because we’ve been having better success with people doing LE Diet for 12 weeks or longer. Healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs a week and so in 90 days’ time you will have taken off 12-24 lbs, then you can start to TTC and the weight will continue to come off while you go. Most people do not get pregnant the first month of swaying, so you can start off doing a very strict sway, figure on getting a few BFN, and still be losing weight for another month or two or three.
If you want a girl and have a bit of weight to lose (5-20 lbs), you should be on diet for 90 days if at all possible, but remain flexible and be willing to cut that short if the weight flies off. For whatever reason, most of the time people with this amount of weight to drop, lose it very rapidly and you may need to adjust caloric intake upwards and/or TTC sooner than you planned.
If you have 5-20 lbs to spare, you want a girl and want to include the intense exercise option (we have had great results doing cardio exercise 60 min a day, 6-7 days a week) and you have the weight to spare (if you have no weight to spare, you should not do the intense exercise option), you will need to do LE Diet a shorter time before TTC and should also increase calories to the 1800-2000 range. (trying for 90 days with intense exercise and eating 1200-1500 cals a day will cause you to lose way too much weight.)
If you have a lot of weight to spare and want the intense exercise, stick with the normal 1500-1800 cal intake recommendation and try to make the full 90 days even if it means you have to up calories a bit to do so.
If you really want to include exercise even if you do not have much weight to spare, you always have the option of going vegetarian or vegan for several weeks without calorie, fat, or protein restriction, and/or reducing fat and protein to LE Diet levels and stopping multivitamins, but keeping caloric intake high enough so you do not lose any weight, months prior to actively TTC. Then if you can without wasting away to nothing, 2, 4, or 6 weeks before trying to conceive, drop to LE Diet guidelines.
Now it’s your turn, blue swayers! Many people assume that because pink swayers have seen better results on diet for longer, then blue swayers should also aspire to longer periods of time on diet before TTC. This is NOT the case. It is much easier to improve condition and fertility than it is to decline it and thus most blue swayers should aim for 6 weeks max on diet before TTC. Most blue swayers only need to gain 3-5 lbs for their sway, and the longer you are on diet, the higher the odds that you will gain too much weight. There are a couple exceptions to that below.
NO matter your weight going in, ALL blue swayers should lift weights 4-5 times a week. This will ensure you add weight in the form of muscle mass, which will help you burn excess calories. If you are already on the heavy side or do not want to gain much weight, you can also add in cardio exercise (the types that build muscle in the thighs and glutes like stepping, and/or uses light weights to build arm muscles while doing the cardio are best, kickboxing and Taebo are also great) UNDER 45 minutes 3-5 times a week. If you do both weights and cardio in the same day, don’t do them one right after the other. You want to exercise LESS than 45 min. at a time because your body stops burning carbs and starts using your stored fat/muscle as fuel at about that point.
If you want a boy and you are underweight, undernourished (you are a picky eater, vegan, have an illness that inhibits your nutrient absorption, are exercising a lot, or are just coming off a fast for religious purposes), and/or have trouble keeping weight on, you may need to do diet for longer than 6 weeks. You should not gain more than 10-15 lbs regardless.
If you want a boy and were previously doing an In-Gender-style diet and cutting way way back on cal-mag-Vit. D whilst eating a lot of sodium/baking soda/COT/ASG/Ural, and you were on that diet for more than 2 months, you want to give yourself more like 8 or even 12 weeks on the High Everything Diet to undo the damage that was done by the IG-style diet. You should eat the lower caloric intake of 2000-2200 a day and add in cardio to ensure you do not gain too much weight.
If you want a boy and are already carrying some extra weight, you should eat the lower caloric intake 2000-2200 cals a day, and you can even decrease that to 1800-2000 if you need to. You should TTC after only 2-4 weeks on diet (using Preseed, taking vitamin supplements, and having DH release every 2-4 days) and you should let go of tactics that do not sway and inhibit pregnancy, like Shettles timing. You should add in cardio as well if at all possible. If a few lbs. sneak off, that’s ok, it may help your sway by improving your condition overall. Remember, it’s NOT weight gain or loss that sway – it’s improving your overall condition, and if you need to lose a bit of weight, it can help your condition overall, esp. if you’ve gotten girls at a higher weight.
If you want a boy and actually need to lose a significant amount of weight before TTC, please do so in a safe fashion on a diet that contains both protein and carbs in addition to healthy fats and fruit/veg such as South Beach Diet, Protein Power Plan, or the Perfect Health Diet. Be sure you are taking a multivitamin. Then once you have the weight off or at least some of it, you can go onto HE Diet WHILE EXERCISING for a short time. (6 weeks max)
If you really want to start diet sooner rather than later but are worried about excess weight gain, you always have the option of increasing intake of protein and saturated/healthy fat, eating 9-11 fruits and vegetables a day, reducing or eliminating shellfish/organ meats/artificial sweeteners/transfats/high-nitrate cured meats, reducing caffeine and alcohol intake to moderate levels, quitting smoking, and beginning multivitamins and fish oil, but keeping caloric intake low enough so you do not gain any weight, months prior to actively TTC.
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