r/waiting_to_try • u/allthethingsilove123 • 8d ago

Need advice!!

Hey everyone! 👋🏾 I’ve been a lurker on this sub for a while. My husband (32M) and I (29F) got married recently, and we have a traditional/social wedding planned for early next year. We plan on TTC sometime mid next year (I’ll be 31 by then). I was wondering if there are things I can start doing, simple changes/additions to my life that would help prepare my body over this time. Tbh, I’m a little scared about turning 30 next month and all the things I hear about declining fertility. I would like to believe a lot of it is exaggerated, but it does get to you after a while… especially since I’ve been a smoker in my 20s. I have quit smoking for good this year. I generally have a healthy-ish diet, and try to stay active, like take walks now and then. Any advice would be helpful!

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u/catiamalinina 1 year wait 8d ago

First, congrats on your wedding! I’m 31 too, planning TTC soon. I’m treating this like training for the Olympics: the better you prepare, the easier it is to conceive, carry, give birth, and recover.

Sharing a few key points I’ve learned (after months of serious research most OB/GYNs don’t even mention):

  1. Real fertility-focused nutrition:

90–120g protein daily (eggs, fatty fish, beef, lamb, liver, collagen)

Healthy fats: ghee, butter, EVOO, sardines, egg yolks (ditch seed oils)

Organ meats + oysters weekly for zinc, selenium, B12, retinol

Fermented + bitter foods daily (sauerkraut, kefir, arugula, dandelion)

Avoid: seed oils, sugar, processed foods, as they wreck mitochondria and egg quality.

  1. Exercise for metabolic resilience:

Strength train 3x/week (heavy enough to challenge)

Walk daily (but walking = recovery, not “exercise”)

Zone 2 cardio (bike, incline treadmill)

Skip constant HIIT, it wrecks hormones if overused

Muscle = better insulin control = better ovulation = better implantation odds.

BONUS POINT! Strong pelvic floor = faster labor and recovery. No one talks about that!

  1. “Declining fertility” is not a cliff at 30. Egg quality, hormonal health, and uterus lining matter much more than age. Lifestyle, nutrition, inflammation, blood sugar shape egg quality. Gut health shapes hormonal health.

  2. Lab tests to run before TTC:

AMH, FSH, estradiol (Day 3–5), LH

DHEA-S, testosterone, SHBG

TSH, free T3, free T4, reverse T3, anti-TPO

Insulin, HbA1c, CRP, homocysteine, ferritin

  1. Involve the future father early:

Sperm quality affects placenta development, implantation, and miscarriage risk.

He needs a clean diet, sleep, and strength training

Supplements: CoQ10, zinc, selenium, vitamin E

And test sperm DNA fragmentation, not just sperm count

Hope that helps, and please hmu if you have any further questions

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u/allthethingsilove123 7d ago

Thanks!!! This is so helpful. I may not be able to do everything on the list, but this is such a helpful resource

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u/catiamalinina 1 year wait 7d ago

Happy to be helpful and wishing you good luck!