Paleo-fertility Question I Haven't Been Able To Answer

[Yael Grauer]

As far as fertility for women, it's really more complicated than figuring out days of cycles because women have different cycle lengths, luteal phases, etc. and sometimes delayed ovulation due to stress/travel/etc. There's a great book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility which has more than you would ever want to know. They also sell software which is supposed to predict fertile days if you dutifully track morning temperature, cervical fluid, etc. But it's complicated and you have to wake up at the same time every day.

There's also this really expensive gadget called Ladycomp which they claim works 99.3% of the time, but the data is based on an observational study which isn't as reliable. But anyway it keeps a history of your temperatures (and also a standard compilation of like 700,000 other womens' cycles) to predict ovulation. And there's a BabyComp version for people who are actually trying to get pregnant. It's not cheap though.
http://ladycomp-babycomp.com/show.php/index

[Cal Jones]

Just my own experiences, since I was talking to Sarena about this.
I started Crossfit around March or April of last year. I tried to follow the plan as much as my schedule allowed, but scaled the workouts to my own abilities.

I started feeling ill around June. I began to develop orthostatic hypotension (you stand out and your vision goes for a moment, basically), a feeling of being "out of it" (it was really hard to describe - kind of like being slightly drunk, except without the accompanying euphoria) and occassional palpitations. My periods, which were regular despite not being on the pill, because irregular. I was worried (I had an intensive rollercoaster holiday booked in July that I was really looking forward to) which probably made things worse due to the stress. I had several blood tests but nothing showed up. A urine test showed I had mild cystitis so I went on to antibiotics. I went on holiday and started feeling better quite quickly, despite the long days.

Came back and eased back into training. I wasn't training with quite the same intensity as before but I still did some metcons.

I started coming down with virus after virus - colds, flu, one of those 48 hour vomiting/shivering things, a nasty bout of bronchitis over Christmas, then another cold in February.

Periods were even more irregular - either late, or early, or I'd get a double one (a 5 day period followed by 2-3 days of respite, then another full blown periods). I started putting on weight despite watching my diet. I went back to the doctor and asked for more blood tests, particularly for thyroid and my female hormones. I was 40 (41 now) so concerned I might be in perimenopause.

Hormones came back normal - in fact the only thing that was off was that I had a slightly low white cell count (not surprising given how many viruses I'd had during that six months). I was not perimenopausal or anything else.

I went back to training the way I used to - infrequently, mainly strength training, with plenty of rest between sets. Not only have I not been sick since February but my periods are back to normal again. I have only just read about adrenal fatigue, and it sounds very much as if that was what was happening. I must conclude that metcons, or at least, regular metcons, are not for me.

[Gittit Shwartz]

Similar experience here, Cal, except it wasn't brought about by excess metcon but by high training volume and chronically low calorie intake (with probably some stress thrown in). I didn't get a period at all between March 07 and October 07. I was pretty lean at the time but not lean enough to explain amenorrhea, at least in the beginning. My periods came back after I had gained back about 10 lbs and had a month of lower training volume. Orthostatic hypotension I had for years, on and off, definitely on in the above time period.

[Cal Jones]

I wouldn't say low calories were to blame in my instance. I actually gained weight (then tried IF in a hope to lose it, only making matters far worse). Ultimately I resorted to V-Diet to get the weight off and did well on it (in terms of both losing 9lbs, and feeling fine).
Training seems to be the make or break thing for me. I've put myself through some pretty insane training routines during the past 20 years and inevitably, I either get injured, get sick or burn out and lose motivation. Sometimes all three. I guess my body's just not wired for quick recovery, so I have to respect that.

[Tirzah Harper]

Yael - that fertility book IS pretty good.
When I was charting my temp several years ago, I had a small quiet alarm that I kept under my pillow along with the thermometer. I set the alarm for some weird wee-hour time (maybe 4:30 or 5:00, early enough that I could still go back to sleep) and I'd wake up, pop in the thermometer, write down the time, and fall back asleep.
Otherwise my schedule isn't regular enough (waking at the same time every day) to track my temp properly. I had the same issues when I was taking the Pill for a few months - thirty minutes one way or the other made a HUGE difference.

[Steven Low]

Cal,

What kind of metcons were you doing and on what schedule? Just curious.

[Yael Grauer]

I think it's more a lack of fat thing than a low calorie/excessive training thing.