5 Steps to Improve Your Fertility Health So You Can Get Pregnant Fast: The Low-Hanging Fruit You Can't Afford to Miss
Welcome to the Wellness with Vanda Blog! I’m Vanda, founder of The Period Makeover Solution and Fertility Maximizer. In this post, I’m sharing five simple steps you can take right now to improve your fertility health.
When embarking on any type of health journey, people often search for complicated, finessed solutions. However, these five steps are the “low-hanging fruit”—simple, day-to-day habits that have the biggest impact on your hormones and fertility overall. Overlooking these basics means missing big opportunities to make a difference.
I will cover more complicated and detailed optimization strategies in upcoming blog posts & podcast episodes, but these foundational steps must be addressed first.
1. Know Your Cycle
If you are currently trying to conceive or preparing to, you must learn your cycle. You need to know what is normal for your body and what signs you exhibit around the time of ovulation.
- Get Off Birth Control: The first step is getting off birth control three to six months—or longer, if possible—ahead of when you plan to try to conceive. This time allows your body to re-regulate hormones and reestablish communication between your ovaries and brain.
- Determine Your Normal: After years on medicated cycles, you may not know what is normal for your body. Not everyone ovulates on day 14 of their cycle. For example my own normal cycle is 32 to 35 days in length with me usually ovulating around day 18.
- The Importance of Timing: Learning what is normal for you and when your ovulation occurs is vital. Without this knowledge, you won’t know your fertile window, and you won’t be able to time intercourse appropriately to successfully get pregnant.
If you’re new to tracking your own cycle, I have two podcast episodes that will really help you. Episode 87 where I break down the phases of the menstrual cycle and episode 91 where I share tips for accurately tracking your menstrual cycle.
2. Clean Up Your Environment
This step involves reducing your toxin exposure in both your home and your diet.
- Products and Plastics: Look at your household cleaners, makeup, and deodorant. Also, assess how often you use plastic, especially when heating foods. Switch to non-toxic options.
- The Replacement Strategy: Cleaning up your environment is an undertaking. Instead of overhauling everything in a weekend—which can be taxing on your nervous system and wallet—replace items as you run out of them. For example, when your laundry detergent gets low, investigate a less toxic alternative. I also don’t want you to overly stress about choosing the “perfect” swap, focus on choosing a product that is better than what you’re currently using– it all adds up!
- Food Choices: Reduce toxin exposure in your diet by eating more fresh vegetables and less processed food. Refer to the “Dirty Dozen and Clean 15” list, prioritizing purchasing organic options for the Dirty Dozen items.
- Local Sourcing: In the spring and summer, visit your local farmer’s market for fresh fruits and vegetables.
3. Eat for Blood Sugar Balance
It is essential to structure your meals in a way that supports blood sugar balance, because insulin levels, insulin sensitivity, and glucose over time do impact your fertility health.
- The Four Components: When looking at your plate, ensure you have all four components: protein, fiber, fat, and carbs. If one component is missing, add something to help balance the meal. Having all these components leads to a more balanced blood sugar response.
- Movement After Meals: Commit to moving around for about 10 minutes after eating (e.g., a short walk or some squats). This movement gives the consumed carbs an immediate job, preventing them from lingering in your bloodstream and raising your blood sugar too much.
4. Prioritize Your Sleep
Prioritizing sleep is highly important, even though people often “roll their eyes” at the suggestion.
- Quantity and Quality: Aim for seven to eight hours of sleep. Also, consider the quality of your sleep: Do you wake up feeling rested, and are you sleeping through the night?.
- Improve Your Environment: Evaluate your current sleep environment for comfort. Do you need to adjust the temperature, buy different sheets, or get a new pillow?.
- Be Conscious of Habits: Be conscious of habits like the “mindless scroll” on your phone at the end of the day, which can prevent you from getting the sleep you need.
5. Move Your Body Daily
Exercise and moving your body offers numerous benefits beyond weight loss, which is a common motivator for people to adopt a new movement routine. But movement also helps regulate your blood sugar, decreases inflammation, and supports your lymph system and fascia. All of these things have a trickle-down effect on your fertility.
I want you to keep it simple. Avoid intense or strenuous exercise, especially if you are new to a routine, as this can put additional stress on your body. My main recommendation for you is to get a 30-minute walk in, every day, ideally outdoors.
What's Next?
First a quick recap of the five simple steps:
- Know your cycle.
- Clean up your environment.
- Eat for blood sugar balance.
- Prioritize your sleep.
- Move your body daily.
I recently released a free, fertility guide: 3 Mistakes You May Be Making That Make It Harder To Get Pregnant, it’s the perfect addition to these daily habits. Click here to download it for free!
If you’re looking for hands-on support while trying to conceive, from a Functional Medicine Nurse, my Fertility Maximizer program is perfect for you. The program includes a Fertility Nutrition test (HTMA) and a full cycle, at-home hormone tracking device so we can confirm ovulation and ensure you know exactly when your fertile window is—the most important information for successful conception. Click here to learn more about how Fertility Maximizer can support your fertility health now.
Vanda, Functional Medicine Nurse and Hormone Coach for Women
Helping women boost their fertility and have pain-free, predictable periods through my Fertility Maximizer program because I believe women deserve real answers & support!