Yeh sure @HoldingOn2Hope no problem - rather than inbox it I might as well put it on here in case of interest to others then. I paid good money for the advice so hopefully it will go further by me passing it on! Haha!
Protein - do you have some sort of protein with every meal? For example if you eat cereal or toast for breakfast the answer is no. We don't get anywhere near enough protein which is not well known. Eggs, fish, some meat, beans, pulses and seeds are all the different forms of good proteins and we need to incorporate something from them into every meal and then also snacks. A minimum of 50g per day - so I now eat porridge with ground flax, chia seeds, fruit and a scoop of protein powder - it keeps me going for hours without feeling hungry or having cravings etc. So that's the main one - protein keeps you feeling full, stops you having sugar crashes and therefore helps in balancing bloody sugars and hormones. A good rule of thumb is to have a higher proportion of protein than carb with every meal.
Carbs: eating good carbs only - so brown rice, quinoa, wholemeal or rice flour pasta, sweet potatoes etc and not white carbs (white bread, white rice, potatoes, pasta) white carbs are all fast release carbohydrate therefore effectively becoming sugar in our systems and contributing to sugar highs and lows - good carbs are slow release so with protein contribute to balanced levels of everyrhing throughout the day.
Sugar - no refined sugar, so pure maple syrup is a good one to use instead of sugar, coconut sugar is another, fruit, things that have natural sugars rather than sweets and chocolate. This is def the hardest part - but once you remove refined sugar after a while (took me about 2 weeks) you stop craving it all together and it gets easier
Fats - good fats like avocados, oily fish, nuts, etc all have good fats and really good for fertility - the worst things are trans fats found in crisps and convenience foods.
Caffeine/alcohol etc minimised if not removed but we all know that one!
Greens - aim for 2 handfuls of leafy greens a day, for iron, folate and other good nutrients. I often have a smoothie with a spoonful of greens powder in or spinach or have a salad with my main meal for example.
That's the very short and general jist of it - it sounds a lot and it is, BUT I started it slowly and incorporated bits at a time (it's easier than you think once you start swapping things in and out) but the main crux of it and how it's works is that human beings were never built to eat the amount of processed foods we have in our current diets, bread, pastas ready meals etc all hugely over processed so our bodies process them in such a way that is detracts from the other things our bodies should do... that's why we have gluten and lactose intolerances, bloating, IBS etc. For example, if you eat cereal for breakfast and then are starving a couple of hours later, your body is at a low, it then over compensates by trying to balance these issues which takes away from other functions it carries out you then eat something quick like a biscuit or chocolate bar and it flies up again ... constantly battling to keep you in check, this takes away from all its other functions - this is why lots of ppl with PCOS fall pregnant naturally after changing their diets, because their hormones, blood sugars etc have been balanced so everything operates as it should .... so you ovulate correctly because your body hasn't had to focus it's attentions elsewhere. You produce the right kinds of cm at the right time, you digest food better so you don't have additonal inflammation causing fertility issues (which is what endometriosis is, nk cells etc ... all related to inflammation) If that all makes sense?
It's really hard to put it all in once single post as I had weeks of consultations about it so there is a little more too it (the following link also may help to break down some of the other bits I've not detailed
www.pinnaclehealth.org/wellness-library/blog-and-healthwise/blog-home/post/fueling-fertility-how-nutrition-can-improve-your-chances
Before I did it it took me over a year to fall pregnant - then when I started it it took me only 3 months, then 5 months after my worst MC. I always also used to have lots of period pain, clotting etc - when Im following it I have literally zero pain, no cramping, nothing and I believe also that because of this it is keeping my endometriosis under control... so any questions just give me a shout but I just wanted to pass it on because I feel really strongly that this is advice we should get from our health professionals before they just blithely pass us off to fertility centres and we undergo, very often, unnecessary and expensive ivf procedures.
Hope this helps and doesn't overwhelm - my consultant told me if you can do it 80:20 that's enough to have it make a difference - and any changes you make will have an effect on the eggs/sperm that we produce in 3 months time xx