Welcome to another episode of Food, Freedom, and Fertility. This episode is a special two part release and in episode one Sophia speaks with Caitlin about her recent ectopic pregnancy.  This is the second episode in the two-part series where Sophia talks about the aftermath of finding out her tube will need to be removed from the ectopic pregnancy, how the medicine has impacted her, how the surgery will impact her future fertility and more.  Sophia and Caitlin chat about the importance of being there for one another in good times and bad and how their friendship has evolved over the years.  This episode is one you will want to listen to especially if you have questions or concerns over what an ectopic pregnancy is and what type of care is offered in situations like this. Although this is a tough episode to listen to, Sophia keeps a positive outlook on her situation and walks away so thankful for her life.  Thank you to our Season 4 Sponsors. Be sure to use the code on their site for a Food, Freedom and Fertility discount.   FullWell: FullWell is offering our listeners 20% off your first order by using our code FFF20. Head to their website for more information on their products.    MyFertilityCloud: $25 off first appointment with link: https://bit.ly/Food-Freedom-Fertilitty   Fond: Head to fondbonebroth.com then use the code FFF10 to get 10% off your first order.    You can find us on IG at FoodFreedomFertility

Welcome to another episode of Food, Freedom, and Fertility. This episode is a special two part release and in episode one Sophia speaks with Caitlin about her recent ectopic pregnancy.  This is a glimpse into Sophia's personal life where she gets really personal about her faith, her family, her mental health, physical health and so much more.  In this episode Sophia goes into great details about tracking her cycle, having a false positive pregnancy test, having abnormal bleeding, finding out she is pregnant, navigating pregnancy care in Southern California and eventually learning she is suffering from an ectopic pregnancy.  This episode is extremely emotional and goes over the importance of having a strong community to lean on, trusting your gut, having faith and so much more. We hope you take something away from this episode and stay tuned for part two! Thank you to our Season 4 Sponsors. Be sure to use the code on their site for a Food, Freedom and Fertility discount.   FullWell: FullWell is offering our listeners 20% off your first order by using our code FFF20. Head to their website for more information on their products.    MyFertilityCloud: $25 off first appointment with link: https://bit.ly/Food-Freedom-Fertilitty   Fond: Head to fondbonebroth.com then use the code FFF10 to get 10% off your first order.    You can find us on IG at FoodFreedomFertility

Welcome to another episode of Food, Freedom, and Fertility. Hosts Caitlin and Sophia chat with Dr. Rebecca Dekker from Evidence Based Birth. Evidence Based Birth®  was founded by Rebecca Dekker, a mother of 3 and registered nurse with her PhD, who got fed up with how the system treats birthing families.   As a first-time mom, Dr. Dekker experienced birth trauma when she was separated from her newborn baby for three hours after giving birth. In contrast, she felt awed and empowered by the respectful and evidence based care she received at the home birth of her second child. After several years of writing at Evidence Based Birth® and working as a nursing professor and research scientist, Dr. Dekker found the courage to leave academia and focus on advocating for change full-time.    Today, the Evidence Based Birth® Team has grown to include research scientists, birth workers, and advocates from around the world who are passionate about safe, respectful, evidence-based, and empowering care!    For more information about Dr. Rebecca Dekker or Eveidence Based Birth head to her website!   Thank you to our Season 4 Sponsors. Be sure to use the code on their site for a Food, Freedom and Fertility discount.   FullWell: FullWell is offering our listeners 20% off your first order by using our code FFF20. Head to their website for more information on their products.    MyFertilityCloud: $25 off first appointment with link: https://bit.ly/Food-Freedom-Fertilitty   Fond: Head to fondbonebroth.com then use the code FFF10 to get 10% off your first order.    You can find us on IG at FoodFreedomFertility

Welcome to another episode of Food, Freedom, and Fertility. Hosts Caitlin and Sophia give an update about their personal life. Caitlin's father was recently diagnosed with cancer. Caitlin chats about how she is navigating this news and how thankful she is to have friends and family like Sophia who are praying for her dad.  This episode also touches on hot topics like raw milk, the menstrual cycle, women healthcare practices and more. Because this episode was a bit heavy, Caitlin and Sophia are asking you to snap a pic of what you are cheersing to and tag us on instagram to be featured on our account.  Thank you to our Season 4 Sponsors. Be sure to use the code on their site for a Food, Freedom and Fertility discount. FullWell: FullWell is offering our listeners 20% off your first order by using our code FFF20. Head to their website for more information on their products.    MyFertilityCloud: $25 off first appointment with link: https://bit.ly/Food-Freedom-Fertilitty   Fond: Head to fondbonebroth.com then use the code FFF10 to get 10% off your first order.    You can find us on IG at FoodFreedomFertility

Welcome to another episode of Food, Freedom, and Fertility. Hosts Caitlin and Sophia chat about intermittent fasting! This episode is one you will definitely want to listen to if you have heard about intermittent fasting and want to know if this will help you on your fertility journey. Both Caitlin and Sophia share the different types of intermittent fasting, why it can be helpful, how it can be harmful, when sto start and so much more! Be sure to have your notepads ready, as this episode is a goldmine of wisdom that you won't want to miss. Tune in to gain the knowledge and confidence you need to navigate your fertility journey with grace and clarity. Thank you to our Season 4 Sponsors. Be sure to use the code on their site for a Food, Freedom and Fertility discount. FullWell: FullWell is offering our listeners 20% off your first order by using our code FFF20. Head to their website for more information on their products.    MyFertilityCloud: $25 off first appointment with link: https://bit.ly/Food-Freedom-Fertilitty   Fond: Head to fondbonebroth.com then use the code FFF10 to get 10% off your first order.    You can find us on IG at FoodFreedomFertility

Welcome to another episode of Food, Freedom, and Fertility. Host Caitlin and Sophia chat with Phylicia Masonheimer. Phylicia is an author, speaker, and founder of Every Woman a Theologian. She lives on a small farm in northern Michigan with her husband, Josh, and their three children. This episode is one you will definitely want to listen to if you have struggled with your infertility and your faith. Caitlin Sophia and Phylicia dive deep into scripture, infertility struggles, way to support one another and more! For more information, blog post, classes and scripture break downs from Phylicia head to her website. Be sure to have your notepads ready, as this episode is a goldmine of wisdom that you won't want to miss. Tune in to gain the knowledge and confidence you need to navigate your fertility journey with grace and clarity. Thank you to our Season 4 Sponsors. Be sure to use the code on their site for a Food, Freedom and Fertility discount. FullWell: FullWell is offering our listeners 20% off your first order by using our code FFF20. Head to their website for more information on their products.    MyFertilityCloud: $25 off first appointment with link: https://bit.ly/Food-Freedom-Fertilitty   Fond: Head to fondbonebroth.com then use the code FFF10 to get 10% off your first order.    You can find us on IG at FoodFreedomFertility

Welcome to the season 4 season opener of Food, Freedom, and Fertility. Host Caitlin and Sophia start season 4 talking about popular diet trends like the carnivore diet and takinf weight loss medications like Ozempic.  This episode is one you will definitely want to listen to if you have heard about the Carnivore diet and want to learn more, interested in weight loss medications for your trying to conceive journey and more! Be sure to have your notepads ready, as this episode is a goldmine of wisdom that you won't want to miss. Tune in to gain the knowledge and confidence you need to navigate your fertility journey with grace and clarity. Thank you to our Season 4 Sponsors. Be sure to use the code on their site for a Food, Freedom and Fertility discount. FullWell: FullWell is offering our listeners 20% off your first order by using our code FFF20. Head to their website for more information on their products.    MyFertilityCloud: $25 off first appointment with link: https://bit.ly/Food-Freedom-Fertilitty   Fond: Head to fondbonebroth.com then use the code FFF10 to get 10% off your first order.    You can find us on IG at FoodFreedomFertility

In this week’s episode of Food, Freedom and Fertility Sophia and Caitlin are back at with You are Pregnant, Now What: Birth Education Courses. Last week they guided you through the first steps of pregnancy and what things you should focus on but this week they break down the different types of birthing classes. Most people are familiar with or have seen in movies Lamaze classes… but in this podcast episode you will learn what to consider when considering what style of birth, you want. By knowing what kind of birth, you would like will help you choose your birthing classes. Hospitals all provide a basic class but those are designed to help you have a hospital birth and teaches you to be a good patient and explains hospital procedure. In addition to the hospital classes Sophia and Caitlin suggest looking into different midwife groups, doula collectives or birth centers for additional classes. They don’t suggest skipping the hospital class if you plan on having a hospital birth but additional classes will gift you with more knowledge for your labor and delivery. Sophia and Caitlin will also break down the different methods of birthing such as the Bradley Method, Hypno Birthing, Gentle Birthing, Christian Hypno Birthing, Birthing from Within, Pain Free Birth with Karen Welton (use code TTC for 10% off). Also, if you are 100% planning on a hosptial birth, Mommy Labor Nurse is a wonderful resource, you can find her on Instagram at mommy.labornurse. We hope this episode helps you choose a birthing class that is best suited for you, your partner and your new baby.   Pain Free Birth 10% off with code TTC Mommy Labor Nurse  

PCOS is treatable! Here’s how to start:   Personal Baseline: What do your labs say? What symptoms are you dealing with? Have you had any imaging done? These are all the first things to start looking at when it comes to PCOS. It’s important to note that while Caitlin and Sophia love working with women with PCOS, and we have many years of experience, we are dietitians, not doctors. We don’t diagnose!   So what to do with nutrition:   Balance blood sugar Make sure that there is a higher quality and quantity of protein at each meal and snack “Quality” means it’s not inflammatory and provides more protein than it does any other macronutrient. Examples: meat, cheese, nuts, and seeds Most women with PCOS tolerate high protein dairy products like greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and cheese! SOME women do have fewer symptoms when they eliminate gluten and dairy, but it’s not the magic answer to PCOS management that it’s often believed to be Not everyone needs to be dairy free! Veggies, fruits, nuts, and seeds are your best sources of fiber! Pro tip: artichoke hearts have a ton of fiber! Fiber is great at filling your plate and filling your belly! You’ll find that you get to eat a lot of food while managing your PCOS Eating real food, vs. a protein bar or shake will keep you full for longer. It will help you slow down and feel full, versus slamming down a protein bar in under a minute To succeed, you have to eat enough to feel full! Fiber and protein are keys in making that happen FIBER! Starting your day with nutrients and blood sugar balancing protein! Even though it might seem like a lot of calories to have 3 egg scrambled with spinach and feta, a slice of toast with nut butter, and with a cup of coffee; you will feel full for so long and it will keep your blood sugar steady for hours! Swapping sweet for savory when possible. Eating sweet makes you crave sweet! It’s not your fault, its PCOS! Eating the right fuel first thing in the morning will keep your cravings at bay. Breakfast Try cronometer.com! Plug in what you’re eating and let’s look at your vitamin/mineral/fiber intake in a day! Sometimes you can be eating “healthy” but missing key pieces for PCOS fertility Take a peek at your protein/carb ratio! Typical American diets can have way more carb to protein than is helpful for PCOS fertility Check out your current nutrition status Keto, Atkins, and other super restrictive diets are not needed to boost fertility with PCOS Food is slow medicine; sometimes it takes several months of eating right to balance your cycles and get pregnant! You need to do something that can be sustained long term, not another crash-diet plan. Sustainability Supplements Remember to check with your doc!! Some of these supplements can interact with medications or are contraindicated for certain medical issues. Is there insulin resistance present? How about high testosterone? Or high stress? How’s the thyroid? That’s where we start to dig into what supplements can help. We recommend myo-inositol and not d-chiro. PCOS ovaries can make too much d-chiro, so we are careful not to exacerbate that Inositols Helps improve insulin sensitivity and can boost egg quality, plus helps you make great cervical mucus NAC Another powerful blood-sugar/insulin supportive supplement Berberine Wherever you live in the world, most of us are vitamin D deficient. As levels of vitamin D rise, insulin resistance lowers! It’s also important for maintaining a healthy pregnancy! Vitamin D Support egg quality and improve insulin resistance Zinc Common mineral of deficiency in PCOS, helps with gut health, insulin resistance, and ovulation Magnesium You don’t want to wait until you’re pregnant! Start on a quality prenatal ASAP! (And stay tuned for our episode on prenatals dropping soon!) Prenatal We’re here for the omega-3’s! Omega-3’s are essential fatty acids that are vital for reducing inflammation and supports your body in building new tissues. Eggs, endometrial lining, and babies are all new tissues your body grows! DHA/EPA are the omegas you want! Don’t be seduced by algae oils! They don’t have the same DHA/EPA ratios as fish-based supplements Fish oil Movement and Exercise Sleeping 6-7 hours vs. 4-5 hours is a game changer for PCOS Blackout curtains or a sleep mask can help you stay asleep longer. Here is a link to Sophia’s fave sleep mask Meditation apps and sleep stories can help you quiet your thoughts and get into a deeper sleep Blue-light blocking glasses can help if you’re using screens prior to bedtime Sleep environment is key Sleep and stress management Many times women with PCOS have been told to lose weight in order to get pregnant, that they’re total exercise junkies! All that effort can be misplaced when it’s cranking up your stress hormones and stressing your immune system If you’re dreading your workout and coming up with every excuse not to go, find something else! Keep your own body in mind - if you’re 280 pounds, putting weights on your back and trying to squat is only going to put more strain on your body. Bodyweight exercises can be a lot more helpful! Cardio isn’t always the answer. Strength training and resistance workouts can do wonders for building muscles and changing insulin Find something that you like Stretching and breathing can lower your stress and help your body relax. Quality ovulation is dependent on your body feeling safe enough to become pregnant. Lowering stress hormones can be a big key in this Yoga Exercise Check out Caitlin's program: Find Fertility with the PCOS+ Method. 

This episode of food freedom and fertility is the 3rd installment of TCC friendly swaps! This week we jump into snack and fridge swaps and while we have some good ideas we want the listeners to know that you will need to expand your horizons for snacks because there isn’t always a 1 for 1 swap, but to remember it’s all about balance. It is ok to remember that if you love a snack… make room for it but also keep in mind how much you indulge on this treat. If it something you have daily make sure to see if you can make a more fertility friendly choice. If you need a little snack inspiration  you can try organic grapes and sharp cheddar, berries, fruit with sunflower or other nut butter, you can also create your own trail mix with dark chocolate almonds and other nuts. Being prepared always help you make the best choices so having something prepared is always the goal however sometimes you just need that quick grab and go option and there are healthy items such as Beanie Bops that come in a variety of different flavored and spiced beans or a grass fed, low sugar jerky and the new wisps crackers are a great alternative to a chip! Having something you’ve thought about ahead of time and just having it ready It is also ok to indulge every so often during a period or other situation but remember to make sure you are making choices that fill your cup vs fill a void. When looking in your fridge condiments take up a lot of space and there is plenty of room to make better choices in this area. If you love a sweet salad, instead of choosing a creamy sweet dressing opt to use oil and or vinegar as the dressing but add fruit to your salad for the sweet craving. If you need more flavor options Primal Kitchen offers a healthy and clean option with a line full of different flavors. Eggs are a great snack option and the best version of an egg would be a pasteurized egg so that the chickens are getting all of those rich and healthy vitamins from the earth. Also remember to store those veggies and fruits where you can see them so you don’t waste them! The best place for a fruit or veggie is front and center!   Freezer foods that Sophia and Caitlin keep stocked are frozen meets, organic berries, liver cubes (to drop into sauces) frozen soups, frozen veggies and a favorite Costco Bare Chicken nuggets which are a great Chick-Fil-A dupe! A tip for listeners is instead of focusing on a meal plan thing about your week more broadly and estimate for your life! Some days are busier than others, some days you feel more creative, and some days you just don’t want to cook at all! That’s why host, Sophia suggests to plan your week as follows: 2-3 days of the week with have NO ENERGY quick fix meals available. Such as a rotisseries chicken and bag salad. 2-3 nights that are your all-Star night menu nights, which is a night you are ready to roll out  your best recipes! 2-3 nights for a normal day and that is where you make a meal you’ve made a dozen times and your family likes it. Usually requires medium effort.   1 Night where you try something new! 1 Left over night 1 Take out night Remember that you don’t have to be perfect and it is a process so allow yourself the grace to start transforming your healthy, fertility friendly lifestyle!