If you are preparing to take on life’s greatest adventure, whether on your own or with the assistance of a fertility clinic, there’s a lot you can do to get your body into optimum condition.

The human body has evolved to protect itself from avoidable harm, and often a woman can fail to ovulate simply because to conceive and bear a child in her condition would put her or the baby at risk. Research conducted at Harvard Medical School indicates that nearly 40% of failures to ovulate may result from being either overweight or underweight.

As a rough guideline, to be in your “fertility zone” you should aim to get your BMI and body fat percentage somewhere in the range of 20 to 25.  Being under that range reduces your chance of ovulation and increases the likelihood of a miscarriage. Over that range, your body becomes insensitive to insulin and overproduces the hormone leptin, seriously decreasing your chances of conceiving. Recent studies have also linked BMI to male infertility, indicating that overweight men on average have 10 to 20% lower sperm counts than normal.

To give yourself the best chance possible to conceive, you will need to re-examine both your eating habits and your exercise regime. Shellee is proud to work in cooperation with the HRC Fertility Clinic in Encino, offering clients guidance and support overcoming one of the most common barriers to conception. Shellee can work with you to create a realistic, personalized program focusing on eating patterns, portion control, nutritional content and exercise habits to bring your BMI in line and maximize your body’s potential.