The absolutely number one question I get asked is- okay, but WHAT do you eat? I’m committing right now to developing a week or maybe a month of recipes and meal plans, but for now I want to share what just ONE day looks like in the Fertility Diet that helped me get pregnant!.
Concurrent with this post I am launching a new Fertility-Friendly Recipe Series on the Blog featuring the recipes in this post, and that will be in my more extensive meal plans. Meals will be gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and most will comply with Keto, Paleo, and Whole 30 Diets. All are what I consider to be “clean eating recipes.”
Table of Contents
About the Fertility Diet
This daily meal plan meets all the criteria I used to get pregnant with my first miracle baby (read about everything else I did here), adheres to the fertility recommendations of the Harvard Nurses Study (except it eliminates dairy), and meets the new macro nutrient ratios (carbs/protein/fats) that research shows QUADRUPLES the pregnancy rate. Read more about the fertility diet here, and about the research on macro nutrient ratios here. Of course, I’m also a firm believer that every woman should TAILOR the fertility diet to her needs and diagnoses. Click here to get my free e-book on how to do just that- tailor the fertility diet to be perfect for YOU!
Fertility Diet Guidelines
Absolutely no: Caffeine, Alcohol, Sugar, Sweeteners (natural or artificial), high-sugar fruits (like bananas), Soy, White/Simple carbs (pasta, white bread, white rice), Trans Fats. It also includes no raw veggies that are harmful to you or can exacerbate a Chinese Medicine Diagnosis of Cold uterus. It also includes no gluten, although when I got pregnant with my miracle baby I was including some organic whole wheat. As I am trying for number 2 however, I have eliminated it.
Plenty of organic: leafy greens, green & white veggies, organic + free range eggs, legumes, berries, seaweeds, healthy fats (avocado, olives, olive oil, nuts seeds), filtered water.
Limited amounts of organic: whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, millet, etc.), meat, fish, other fruits, orange vegetables (sweet potatoes, carrots, squashes)
Supplement with super foods tailored to your diagnosis. For me that is wheatgrass and spirulina in a Fertility Smoothie.
This meal plan doesn’t include actual vitamins/supplements. Please click here for my overview on supplements! Just remember, nourish first with food, tweak to ideal health with supplements.
A note on meat: So when I got pregnant the first time I was focused on a more macrobiotic approach, and I didn’t limit grains like brown rice or quinoa, and I did limit meat. This was because of research from the Harvard Nurses Study that showed increased ovulatory fertility with less meat in the diet and because research shows red meat is linked to higher rates of endometriosis. Since that time however, I have learned new things:
- All those studies were based on women eating regular non-organic, hormone-laden red meat.
- You really need to keep your carbs under 40% of your total diet to maximize egg and embryo quality, and that is hard to do with unlimited brown rice and quino!
- You really need a lot of protein and fat in your diet.
So, my new meal plans tend to have a bit more meat and bit less whole grains. Also, please note that I have a vast array of seafood-related allergies that prevent me from being able to avoid things like Salmon. If you can enjoy seafood, be sure to include fresh-caught Salmon in your meals (not farm-raised).
My Daily Fertility Meal Plan
I’m assuming this is a to-go day, i.e., a day where you work and you need breakfast and lunch ready to go, and a simple dinner. When I do the longer meal plans I’ll include more exciting meals that take longer to cook (like an omelet and sausage for Sunday breakfast!).
This one meal plan ensures that you hit your 35% protein macronutrient ratio, and keep your carbs under 40%. I’m not going to lie. It is really, really, really hard to keep your protein over 35%. Like, super hard. It is, however, easy to keep your carbs under 40%. As I began tracking my meals I realized that I was eating way more Keto than I imagined. Without effort my days come out around 25% protein, 10% carbs, and 65% fat. Which, actually, is pretty darn good for fertility given what evidence we have. And the research recommending the 35% protein didn’t have a good control to test to see if it was really the higher protein or if the same results would have happened with higher fat.
So in general I’d say- try to keep your carbs well under 40% each day, and don’t sweat the rest too much. Make sure you are getting at least 25% protein, or if you feel great eating meat, pump it up to 35%!
This daily plan is super low-carb. Feel free to add in some brown rice if you feel you aren’t full enough. I stay very full on this kind of a diet.
Enjoy! Look for the longer package coming soon!
Sample Daily Meal Plan for Fertility Diet:
MACROS: 12% Carbs, 53% Fat, 35% Protein
Breakfast to-go
1 slice High Fat Fertility bread (the version made with all almond butter)
2 Brazil Nuts (you and hubby should be eating 2 a day each for fertility!)
Morning Snack
Fertility Smoothie tailored to YOUR needs
I make mine at home and bring to work in a mason jar or in Nutribullet cup
For this day’s calculations I used the exact recipe in the fertility smoothie post with steamed kale as the green and blueberries as the berry.
Lunch (eat as soon as you get hungry)
2 hard boiled eggs with some sugar-free mustard (best way to hard boil eggs- put the eggs in the water, heat to boiling, when it boils, turn burner off, set timer for 12 minutes. At 12 minutes, take eggs out and plunge into icy water)
Sauteed Spinach and garlic (sauteed in virgin cold pressed organic coconut oil)
2 Clean Eating Turkey Muffins – at some point I will post my own edited version of this recipe. I do whole eggs, and sometimes substitute blanched almond flour (find an organic option at your local health food store if you can) for the oats. If you are gluten free, remember to get gluten-free oats.
Early Afternoon Snack
Mug of Bone Broth (est. 1.5 cups)
Late Afternoon Snack
Dinner
1 Large Fertility Romaine Salad- I made it just like in the recipe, except I skipped the goji berries, did 7 olives, and no additional nuts or seeds. Top it with chicken made from your weekly InstantPot whole chicken prep!
Full day:
Total Calories: 1,944 Total Carbs: 63 Total Fat: 119 Total Protein: 172
MACROS: 12% Carbs, 53% Fat, 35% Protein
Phew!! That was a lot of work!!
Enjoy, and may the protein-fat-carb ratios be with you!!
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Anna Rapp is a fertility journalist and non-toxic living expert. When Anna Rapp was struggling with infertility and recurrent early miscarriage, she was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve, High FSH, low AMH, low follicle count, endometriosis, and an MTHFR mutation. Despite being told donor eggs were her only solution, Anna used her graduate training in research methods and analysis to read everything she could find on fertility and egg health. Ultimately, she lowered her FSH and got pregnant naturally (twice). She blogs about how she did it and encourages her readers to take charge of their fertility journey and get happy, healthy, and pregnant!
Hi Anna
Loved reading your meal plan. I have created my meal plan as well and have been on a gluten free and dairy free diet since the past two weeks after reading your blog. Since I’m an Indian, my diet plan is slightly different but I’m eating organic and got gluten free flour to make flatbreads. The only dairy product that I’ve included in my diet is ghee. Couldn’t find raspberry leaf anywhere so sticking to raspberry fruit infusion ( I know it doesn’t work in the same way lol ). Keeping my feet warm all day and soaking my feet every night in warm water.
I just want to thank you for writing such amazing blog posts. I feel so good after reading your blog , it’s keeping me motivated and I’m moving forward with a lot of faith. Hoping to conceive soon, baby dust to you as well…
Angel,
I’m so glad to hear you are loving the website! Ghee is fine because it doesn’t have lactose or casein- I just get nervous about all dairy :-). Good job going gluten and dairy free, I have a friend in India who struggled with infertility and it was very hard for her to make those choices because of the diet. Keep feeling good and moving towards your baby!!
Anna
You are doing amazing work! Thanks for sharing your wonderful posts. Hope this diet helps. My husband and I had been trying for 2 years. We both were checked out to make sure there were no major issues with either of us regarding why we hadnt gotten pregnant yet. We read that a lot of people have success on the 2nd round of Clomid! I am now 11 weeks pregnant and would definitely recommend Clomid for anyone who hasnt gotten pregnant after at least a year of trying and is unsure why. I am not sure if I just wasnt ovulating or what, but Clomid worked for me!! Dont be scared to ask your doctor about it! My insurance didn’t cover Clomid. But I got it (thanks google) 😊. My friend gave me the code ‘Get4preg’ ❤️ and she said ‘just Google it’. Goof luck to all!
That’s awesome you were able to get pregnant on Clomid! I did the same thing to conceive my first child since I was having anovulatory periods which I suspect you were too.
I was convinced I’d have to use Clomid to conceive every time, until I did a major stress revamp of my life and removed all stresses. For me these included finishing my degree (school is such a major stressor!), sleeping a lot (9+ hrs a night), stopping all forms of exercise, and eating a lot more. Only after doing these things was I able to conceive 100% naturally twice!
This may help you if you wish to have more children in the future. One side note, my issue is a thyroid issue (sub-clinical hypothyroidism) and stress causes my body to turn off my fertility. Good Luck, and congrats on your pregnancy!
…eating a lot more AND being less restricting with my diet.
I’m a Type A personality and when I read everywhere to go low-carb, organic, SUPER restrictive, I did it all the way. Unfortunately this type of lifestyle was more stressful to me in particular and exacerbated my issues. It definitely works for some, so I’m not discounting that, but just keep in mind everyone is very different. Low carb didn’t work for me because of my thyroid issues (again, sub-clinical so a doctor wouldn’t say I have hypothyroidism. I just realized my levels were not ideal for my body after extensive testing).
Hey Anna… I think I am obsessed with your site! I was wondering if anything on your meal plan was ‘time sensitive’? For example, is the infusion just as effective in the morning with my breakfast? (I am missing my hot tea in the morning!)
And please excuse me if I missed it somewhere… but do some of the greens in the smoothie count for some of your daily greens? I’m hooked up with spirulina, chlorella and wheatgrass.
Thank you, beautiful!
Arianna,
I’m so glad you found the site!! No, the meal plan is not sensitive! I drink the infusion cold, but you could totally drink it warm (probably better for you!) in the morning. When I need a hot beverage I do Dandy Blend with coconut cream – yum!!. YES– your spirulina/chlorella/wheatgrass count as a daily green for sure. So does the nettles in your infusion if you are doing a true infusion and not just a tea!
Baby dust!!
Anna
Hi Anna,
I absolutely love love your website. Thank you for all the wonderful information you always provide.
Just a quick question.. A friend of mine who is a dr told me that greens with high amounts of Chlorophyll are not recommended for folks with autoimmune diseases. Any thoughts on that please?. It looks like you had Spirulina, your diagnosis was endometriosis and it benefited you right? I have endometriosis and Hanshimoto.
Hi Anna,
I’m so glad I found your site. I’m currently in the process of balancing my hormones, and I was told by my ND to avoid eggs and dairy. I totally understand dairy, but I’m not sure about eggs. For me, it’s hard to get in enough protein if I’m not having them in the morning. Have you come across anything in your research regarding eggs and negative impacts on female hormones? I’m also referring to pasture-raised eggs, not conventional ones.
Taylor, somehow I missed this comment from last year! So sorry! For most women, organic pasture eggs are going to be a huge boost for fertility. But some women have a sensitivity to eggs that decreases their fertility via inflammation (this is not hugely common as it is for dairy and common). I’ve seen some websites lump eggs in with conventional dairy as if the hormones that cows are fed would somehow be in chicken eggs. I don’t get that, but there could be something more subtle I’m missing. Best wishes, I hope you are pregnant by now!!
Great Post !
Thank you!! Be well!
Hi Anna,
Thanks for sharing your experience and the diet that worked for you!
My period stopped coming after I stopped taking birth control bills. 1.5 years of missing period! I tried western medicine but didn’t work.
I started acupuncture in Oct 2017, period came in Nov 2017! My Chinese Medicine Diagnosis is also cold uterus and weak ‘qi.’ He actually recommended me to eat more red meat to help with my blood flow and he said it’s ok for me to eat soy. I had another period in Jan 2018 (longer cycle – acupuncturist said it is normal as it usually takes three cycles to adjust).
I had a positive pregnancy test in March 2018 then went to OBGYN to get an ultrasound and HCG check. Unfortunately it did’t stay with me (~4 weeks pregnancy). Now I continue getting acupuncture and try to follow ‘fertility diet.’
I am eating a lot more nuts and fat. I’d add raw walnut in my morning smoothie, then snack on raw cashews and raw pistachio. Did you notice any weight gain or body fat % increase by following fertility diet?
Hello Wendy!! I am so sorry for your loss! I hope you are being careful to heal yourself emotionally!! Even four weeks is a loss that you’ll need healing from for sure. Your acupuncturist sounds great- tailoring the diet to your needs is the most important thing after all.
The first time I did the diet successfully I lost about 10 pounds, but I wasn’t doing as much meat and fat (but plenty of nuts and seeds). The second time I did it successfully I maintained weight even though I expected to lose weight- I think this was probably because of the high protein/high fat diet. But I was luckily in a good BMI range, so this was fine!
I hope you are experiencing good results!!
Baby dust!
Thank you so much for this blog. Just discovered you today.
I also suffer with Endometriosis (stage 4).
I’m thinking of undergoing my 5th IVF treatment. But before doing so I want to undergo a strict diet. More strict than I ever have in the past. This site will be very helpful in assisting my journey. Definitely no more coffee & dairy for me from now on.
And by the way, thanks for clearing the confusion between eggs and dairy. Eggs are from chickens not cows!!!! Makes total sense. Haha!
Hi Venus! So glad you found me!! Best wishes on preparing for a new IVF!! Have you read It All Starts with the Egg? If not, read it for sure!! https://amzn.to/2uaaPpc
Hi Anna,
Thanks so much for this post! When you were bringing sauteed spinach in your lunches to work….were you then eating it cold?
Hi Taylor!
You are welcome! No, I’m a bit of an odd one out in the wellness blogger world- I use microwaves! I’ve just never seen any research convincing enough to stop me from the convenience of heating it up. I also tried to avoid eating cold food. I know some of my readers who don’t want to use a microwave at work buy a mini crock-pot and heat their lunch up in it every day! I haven’t done the research on if the lining of these things is safe, so use at your own discretion- https://amzn.to/2pTMjcB
Anna
Hi Anna,
Have you posted your blog, the fertility friendly daily eating plan recipes (with the macros ratios)? sorry I cant locate it, if you have. Could you pls provide details on where to get it ?
Hi Anna. I just want to thank you so much for your inspiring story. After getting my FSH tested at 18.5 I was seriously devastated & depressed. I’m 32, going on 33 this feb 28th. Husband and I have been trying to conceive for over a year and there has been quite a bit of medical drama on my side. Like you, I have endo and unfortunately it took over my right ovary & tube both had to be removed. I learned all this going through a miscarriage, which doctors think it stemmed from this. We all have a story don’t we? But really I wanted to thank you for your inspiring message. I was so depressed and defeated before i found your site. It completely changed my attitude. I have ordered just about everything you have recommended, with your discounts (thank you) and really getting a serious plan of my fertility journey March 1st. Please send a prayer for our future babe, my husband & I! Sorry for the novel but you are beautiful inside & out! Appreciate you 🙏
Hello! This post was very helpful. I am a pescatarian, and am finding it fairly difficult to get my protein up while keeping my carbs low. Eggs & fish for every meal gets old quick!
When you discuss carb intake, are you considering total or net carbs? For example, lentils are a big part of my diet, but it’s easy to quickly hit a carb allowance with too much. Is there any consideration given to fiber content of higher-carb foods (e.g net carbs) or do you simply consider total carb intake?
For any other vegetarians who are reading this: I found hemp hearts to be a great high protein/low carb may to boost daily protein intake!
I want a twin boy and girl😊
Amen!