Friday, May 29, 2009

Fiber loading

I promised myself that this cycle I would eat super healthy, of course, but also that I would eat a ton of fiber. Why, you ask? Well, I'll tell you! In the spirit of nothing-is-too-embarrassing-to-reveal ideology of blogging, I have had several ultrasounds over the past year when getting a good peek at my ovaries (especially Ol' Leftie) has been hindered by gas or what the techs call "bowel mass" - lovely!

Ol' Leftie is alot smaller than Young Rightie and tends to hide out. Also, I tend to retain gas on the left side apparently - the things you learn about your body during IF! What would I have done in my life if I never knew that fact? (Live happily ever after, I'm sure). One kind u/s tech told me that FSH medication causes excess gas and constipation -- all the other ones are just happy to make me feel like a smelly, backed-up old man, apparently.

So, I'm going to eat fiber like crazy this cycle, trying to move things along. This morning I had a giant watermelon, raspberry, blackberry and wheatgrass smoothie. Watermelon, for those not aware, is great during the follicular phase of the cycle - it increases blood supply to the ovaries. Raspberries have the most fiber of any fruit I've been able to track down. I was suprised when I learned that, I figured it would be apples with their skin and grainy texture. The wheatgrass is just a superfood in general, and I would try to drink it every day of my life if it wasn't too vile to drink in less than 99:1 dilution.

Adding that smoothie to a lunch of split pea soup and I'm already almost at my daily fiber quota. But, there's more! I'm going to make black bean soup for dinner. Good thing I like legumes. If today's menu doesn't accomplish what it's supposed to, I'm in trouble. I just hope it kicks in before tomorrow's u/s!

1 comment:

  1. I'd be careful about getting too much fiber - anything more than 25-30 grams is usually too much. Excess fiber intake can start robbing your body of important minerals like zinc.
    You could try adding Betaine HCL to your diet - taking it before meals helps your stomach break down fats and acids properly which could help out the gas, etc.

    Can't wait to hear your b/w & u/s results :)

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