Fertility Stress

It is very easy for your fertility journey to leave your brain feeling scrambled. 

Following on from my last post about food and mood and fertility (see Food for Fertile Thoughts), I thought it was important to speak about some of my  top tips for emotionally managing your diet and lifestyle change, when everything can seem overwhelming. 

We read so much  on the internet, or are told  so much by doctors, friends and family, that sometimes it can  be hard to know where to start. 

As you likely  already know, there are many  factors that affect our fertility, some of which are not changeable like age, ovulation disorders and genetic factors, and some of which are changeable, like nutritional status, weight, stress and general health. 

Though at the beginning of  your journey it is tempting to do a mass overhaul and change everything about your lifestyle to improve your fertility, we often find that big changes are not sustainable for an extended length of time. In contrast, you should make several smaller changes which are long lasting. When setting goals it is useful to use the SMART framework. Check that your goal is:

Simple
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-bound 

For example, the goal of ‘eating healthier’ is vague, so how will you ever know if you’ve achieved it?

Instead, the phrasing: ‘I will eat 5 portions of fruit and veg at least 5 days this week’, means that you have a simple goal: to eat more fruit and veg. Your goal is measurable: you can count the portions of fruit and veg. Your goal is achievable: it may not be all of the days in the week, only 5 (or however many is just achievable for you). Your goal is relevant: eating more fruit and veg will likely improve the quality of your diet, including broadening the range of vitamins, minerals and  fibre. Your goal is time bound: it is for this week only - you could carry it on next week,  or change it, but for now you are  focusing only on this week. 

Your goal does not have to be to do with your diet, it could be to increase your exercise (e.g to add 2 x 60 minute gentle walks per week, or 1 extra aerobics class), or your general health (e.g reducing the number  of cigarettes per day) or your mental wellbeing (e.g taking 1 evening for self care, or taking 1 hour for a check in phone call with your best friend). 

Why set SMART goals? 

Using goals in this format, as mundane or overkill as it  may seem,  helps with  our  sense  of satisfaction and achievement. Which in turn improves our motivation and  mood, meaning we are more likely  to make sustainable changes and embark on a spiral of upward trajectory. 

Still not sure where to start? That is okay, it is normal to find goal setting difficult. That is part of our role as Dietitians. So if you want support, or have questions about goal setting or nutrition, get in touch via email, social media, or our contact page.

References:
DOI: 10.31887/DCNS.2018.20.1/klrooney
ISBN: 193400992X
DOI: 10.1177/10534512060410040401
DOI: 10.1177/1559827617729634