Like many other women, you may have been trying to lose those last 5-10 pounds before getting pregnant. You may have upped your exercise, cut out dairy, eliminated sugar or have been tracking what you eat each day.

Another popular diet is to eliminate all carbs and up the protein intake. If this is the diet you are currently using, you may want to reduce your protein servings and add a few healthy carbohydrates back into your daily eating plan. Many doctors believe that this type of diet actually will hinder the TTC (trying to conceive) process.

To begin with, healthy carbs are packed with folic acid, which are essential to a healthy pregnancy. In addition, many doctors will tell you that more than 100 grams of protein will also hinder your fertility levels. If you have been adding soy proteins such as the grab and go protein bars or the soy protein shakes to your diet, these can cause a problem as well. Many recent studies have linked soy to fertility struggles.

There is one food group that you should be adding to your diet however. Many studies have shown that in increase of dairy products such as whole milk, cheese or ice cream can actually boost fertility!

Other fertility friendly foods that you may want to add to your meals are:

• Yams- Stimulate ovulation
• Nuts and seeds- High in Omega 3s
• Oysters- High levels of zinc, which strengthens your menstrual cycle and egg quality
• Berries- Great source of antioxidants, which help maintain healthy eggs

As with most things in life, it looks like a well balanced diet that includes an extra glass of whole milk is what is best suited for TTC.

Happy eating and baby making!!