This year, Empowered Mama Fitness is teaming up with local professionals to bring you a webinar series dedicated to helping you on your journey through motherhood.

The first stop in our journey is conception and we acknowledge that it is not easy for everyone to become a mother. We see you, and we are here to support you.

That’s why, in January, I asked Colleen from Heal 180 to join us to talk about preparing our bodies for conception. We began with some meditation, movement and positive affirmations in an effort to set a positive mindset and learn a few ways to promote blood flow to the pelvis and uterus.

Colleen then walked us through nutrition, supplementation and removing common toxins to help regulate our hormones.

Nutrition

First, we focus on nutrition. More than anything, eating is important! This is not the time to be on a diet, skip meals or intermittently fast. If the body doesn’t feel safe, it won’t conceive. The body needs to be thriving instead of surviving.

Eat protein at every meal, embrace carbs and invest in high-quality meats. Also add fertility-boosting foods into your diet: bone broth, brazil nuts, citrus fruits, full fat dairy, eggs and oysters (which are ‘the fertility food’). Carrots are also great as the fiber in them helps to get excess estrogen out. Colleen has a great recipe for carrot salad and other fertility-boosting food and drinks on her Instagram (@Heal.180).

Supplements

Feeding your body proper nutrition is key, but it doesn’t always provide your body with all of the nutrients it needs. Because our food supply is pretty lacking in nutrients, supplementation is necessary. When possible, choose whole food supplements over synthetics.

Vitamins B, C, E, Copper, Iron, CoQ10, Magnesium, Selenium and Folate (not Folic Acid) are important for both men and women’s fertility.

Toxins

Be cautious of the stress you (and your body) are under. You may know stress related to work, finances, fertility, relationships, but some of the others that we want to focus on are things like intermittent fasting (which stresses your body out and raises cortisol), food intolerances, imbalanced blood sugar (from skipping meals), medications and birth control, dehydration, large amounts of caffeine, and poor sleep. Plastics, overexercising, artificial light (blue light stresses out the thyroid), and social media can also be stressors.

Our body products also contain chemicals that are endocrine disruptors and estrogen mimickers. Utilize apps like Clearya, Think Dirty and EWG to find clean alternatives to hair products, lotion, makeup and more. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do a clean sweep of all of your products at once; instead slowly replace your current items when they run out.

You can do this, and we are here to help! Feel free to check out the entire webinar on YouTube and follow @empoweredmamafitness and @Heal.180 on Instagram for additional fertility-boosting tips!

About the speakers:

Kelly Vida is a fitness instructor who puts her heart and soul into expanding women's knowledge on prenatal exercise. Her mission is to provide yoga, personal training, and educational resources designed to empower mamas and their partners both pre- and postnatally.

Colleen Clesen is an ovarian cancer survivor, Mercier Therapy Practitioner and licensed Women's Health Nutritionist who focuses on helping women heal their bodies, balance hormones and strengthen their fertility. She brings educational aspects of healing and preparing the body for pregnancy and postpartum.