The Rules
Good-God-A'mighty, could this get more confusing?
Of course, I am trying to behave as though I'm pregnant, in case I am.
No alcohol - check.
No caffiene - check. (Though my RE says a cup or two of coffee are okay.)
No unpasteurized soft cheeses - only a risk when my fancy French friend comes over, so check.
No sushi, no pate', no rare meat - no fucking problem.
Then it starts getting complicated.
I called my RE's nurse today for advice on a couple of things. She checked with the doctor and then left me a voice message with her answers.
I think I'm more confused now than when I started.
Take artificial sweeteners, for example. If there's anything approaching concensus on this, it's that saccharine (Sweet n' Low™ = pink) is a no-no, sucralose (Splenda™ = yellow) is probably okay, and who the fuck knows about aspartame (NutraSweet™ = blue).
My RE's advice on it is "Artifical sweeteners shouldn't be used, so if you're going to use them, do so in moderation."
Well, how the fuck to you define "moderation?"
One glass of aspartame KoolAid a day? All the sucralose I want?
And soy.
Oh my God, what's up with the soy?
My RE said that "Soy shouldn't be used around the time of implantation (which would, of course, be within the next couple of days, if there's anything there to implant), so if you're going to use it, wait a couple of months into pregnancy."
Sounds simple enough, but a quick check of some labels shows that pretty much everything that comes in a package has some sort of soy in it - if not soy protein, then either soy lecithin or soybean oil.
So, do I need to be avoiding everything with those ingredients, or just actual soy protein and things like soy burgers and the such?
I've emailed the nurse back to find out what my doctor says on the matter. I will be following her advice, whatever it is, because Dr. Google and Nurse Interwebs are not helping a bit.
Depending on what I read, soy lecithin will either cause fetal brain damage, or help maintiain a healthy pregnancy and ideal fetal development, or, possibly, when combined with progesterone shots, increase the chance of one or more embryos implanting after IVF.
What the ever-lovin' fuck?
Man, I live on soy protein... Good luck with all that.
ReplyDeleteAnd be sure not to eat any ethanol
ReplyDeleteShrike is so full of advice!
ReplyDeleteMy guess would be until you find out if you are 'official' knocked up just eat meat, veggies and fruit. Can't go wrong with that, can you?
Guess you will be drinking water too- you are just going to be the freaking picture of health!
ever-lovin' fuck~ did you see my post today? Are you daring me??
What is this "meat, veggies and fruit" of which you speak?
ReplyDeleteWhat brand are they?
Seriously, I've not cooked a God damned thing since I went back to work, and I sure don't have the energy to start now.
And we just spent about $150 at the grocery store yesteray on things in boxes. (I know, Willa, I know.)
None of which I can eat until I get some clarification about this lecithin thing.
I'm thinking that it's probably okay because, really, if it weren't wouldn't we be hearing pregnant woman all over the place bitching because they can't eat any damn thing?
And, Toni, I did see your ever-lovin' shit post. I figured you'd like ever-lovin' fuck even better.
I just finished a nice crispy bag of soy protein isolate myself, yum!
ReplyDeletei wish you the best of luck! i am just browsing blogs today and found yours. i will have to come back to visit.
ReplyDeleteBasically just don't eat anything. Or all fruits and veggies...but not too many carrots. They might not be good for you when pregnant (yes, someone told me that as I ate a bunch of carrots at a restaurant when 8 months pregnant).
ReplyDeleteI would lay off of the fake sugars though (but I avoid them normally). I didn't see lunch meat on your list but people say to avoid that also. But...I ate tons of feta when I was pregnant with Julian and she seems fine. Well, except for the constant bad mood. ;-) Man, I can't wait until you test!
LiPA - You're not kidding! Fruits and veggies - oh, except be sure to get in 75 - 90 grams of protein daily!
ReplyDelete(Per my gastric bypass dietician. Protein absorption is a biggie, post-op.)
Also, the catch with the artificial sweeteners is that I'm also not supposed to have much sugar.
Although, in reality, I do. Way more than most gastric bypass patients can handle, actually.
But, usually in the form of "treats," not everyday stuff, like drinks, etc.
That stuff is artificially sweetenered, and I worry that if I go to sugar for that stuff (and you KNOW I won't cut out the treats!) that I'm going to gain a billion pounds.
(That is, a billion more than I'd be gaining anyway.)
On the other hand, that might be balanced out by all the stuff-in-a-box that I might not be able to eat because of the soy. I've already dropped a couple of pounds over the past few days.
(A couple that I shouldn't have had - I'm still a bit over where I like to be. But ready to gain more, if I have a good reason to d so! :-) )
So, it's all very confusing and very catch-22 and doesn't leave a lot of room for very much yummy stuff.
But, of course, it will all the worth it in the long-run. I'm just going to whine about it a lot along the way.
I knew about the lunch meats. I don't eat a lot of those, anyway. My understanding is that they are ok cooked, it's not that they are harmful in and of themselves but, like the unpastuerized soft cheeses, are more likely to carry listeria and get you sick with that, which is very bad.
Except hotdogs which, evidently, will give you cancer and make the baby have three heads.
It's wonder that any of us survived to birth, let alone to adulthood!
No official word back from my RE yet on the lecithin. Surely that's ok? Really, I'm never heard a pregnant woman say she can't eat anything that she doesn't actually cook, so it must be.
But, until I hear back, I'm not taking any chances.
Especially since she said to particularly avoid soy "around implantation," which, if there's actually anything going on in there, would be starting right about now.