I’m trying to fall pregnant. Should I do a 30-day ab challenge? 
The answer is, it depends.
So you’re concerned about your fertility and the 30-day ab challenge sounds like a good idea? If you’ve been trying for some time to fall pregnant and your period went away for a while, then the answer is no – an ab challenge is not a great idea for you. Even if you’re fit and healthy.
Why? Because from a Chinese medical point of view, a woman’s abdomen needs to be soft and supple with some tone in order to support a growing baby, but definitely not buff and hard, which is what a 30-day ab challenge offers.
If you’ve got a period and have had no trouble falling pregnant then it might be okay for you, but even then it might be too much.
Women in their childbearing years aren’t meant to run marathons, be skinny and have tight muscles. We are supposed to be softer and more supple to conceive babies and carry them to term.
We are quite different to our male counterparts. When women push these boundaries when they are young, their period can sometimes disappear. This is a sign that too much energy is going into the sporting activities and there’s not enough left over to make a good lining in the womb.
So sometimes, a good combo of slowing down, reducing exercise, taking a fresh look at your diet and just chilling out more is what your body needs to bring you back to wellness and into the fertility zone. Fertility and the 30-day ab challenge are not great friends, so it’s a case of working out what your priorities are.
With fertility, everything matters. Your diet, what type of exercise you do, what your underlying conditions are, your gut health, your lifestyle choices – they are all relevant.
Chinese medicine is ancient in its philosophy but completely modern and relevant in practice. It never ceases to amaze me how much this is the case with the women I treat here at the Red Tent.
If you have a question about your period, fire away. It doesn’t have to be directly related to fertility – it’s important to be talking about these issues as women. Your period is a window to your inner health – it can tell you a lot about yourself. When you know how to read the language, it’s not so much of a mystery anymore and it becomes a guideline for what to do next.
Discover more about fertility acupuncture …
Do you have a question about fertility or your period? Book online today.