Name has been changed to protect patient privacy. Clinical details and images are shared with the patient’s consent.
Some journeys are measured in years, not months.
When a woman has been trying to have a baby for over a decade, the trying itself becomes a way of life. Appointments, scans, injections, waiting, hoping, and starting again. Along the way, the one thing that quietly slips down the list is her own everyday health. Meals get skipped, sleep gets short, and the body that is being asked to do something so important rarely gets the steady care it needs.
This is where Meghna found herself when she reached out to us.
A Long Road Before Fertilia
Meghna is 35 and had been trying to conceive for close to 12 years. She and her husband Praveen had genuinely tried everything that had been offered to them along the way:
- Siddha treatment for a few months early on
- Multiple follicular study cycles
- Four IUI cycles
- And eventually IVF
There was a lot on her medical chart too. She had been diagnosed with PCOS and hypothyroidism, and she had a history of a uterine fibroid that had been managed surgically. On her husband’s side, a semen analysis had shown borderline parameters, so this was, like so many real journeys, a picture with more than one factor in it.
By the time she came to Fertilia, she was carrying the weight of all those years, and also, quite literally, a little extra weight her body had gathered along the way. She weighed 79.5 kg, which at her height put her BMI at around 31.
Why We Chose to Slow Down First
It would have been easy to look at Meghna’s history and immediately start talking about the next attempt. Instead, when she spoke with me, we made a deliberate decision to slow down.
After such a long road, what her body needed most was not another cycle right away. It was a foundation. So we set the goals in a clear order:
- Build a structured, balanced eating pattern, and stop skipping meals, especially dinner
- Achieve gradual, sustainable weight loss through everyday lifestyle change, not crash dieting
- Correct poor sleep and settle into a consistent routine
- Improve her overall metabolic and hormonal health so that her body was genuinely prepared for a healthy future pregnancy
- Support her physical and emotional wellbeing through the process, so she felt steadier in herself
The point was simple. A body that is rested, better nourished, and metabolically healthier is a far stronger place to begin the next chapter from than a body running on skipped dinners and short nights.
The Plan: Balanced Plates, Not Restriction
Meghna already had something that no plan can hand you: motivation and discipline. What her routine lacked was balance. Long gaps between meals, a frequently skipped dinner, and poor sleep were quietly working against everything else she was doing.
So the nutrition plan our team built for her was not about eating less. It was about eating in a structured, balanced way, with simple home-cooked plates she could actually keep up with.
The plates were built around familiar South Indian food: ragi, dal, plenty of vegetables and greens, egg whites for protein, and a proper dinner instead of an empty one. Nothing exotic, nothing she had to hunt for in a supermarket.
For busier days, a warm health-mix porridge gave her something nourishing in minutes, so that “no time to cook” never turned into “skip the meal.” The whole approach was designed to remove the guilt and the all-or-nothing thinking, and to make the healthy choice the easy one.
If you have been on a long fertility road and feel your own health has slipped down the list, Dr. Suganya can help you rebuild it step by step. Talk to Dr. Suganya on WhatsApp →
Movement That Fit Her, Not the Other Way Around
Meghna was already fairly active, so the goal here was not to push intensity. It was to keep her consistent and to protect her recovery. Her plan stayed gentle and sustainable:
- Continuing her daily walking
- Gentle strengthening exercises
- Mobility and flexibility yoga
- And crucially, prioritising sleep and recovery alongside the movement
For a body being prepared for pregnancy, rest is not the opposite of effort. It is part of it.
What Changed
From the very beginning, Meghna followed the plan sincerely. She corrected her meal timings, stopped leaving long gaps, brought dinner back consistently, and stayed regular with her activity.
Over the program, the changes added up:
- Steady, sustainable weight loss, from 79.5 kg down to 72 kg, a loss of 7.5 kg
- Better energy through the day and less fatigue
- Improved, more consistent sleep and a more structured routine
- Better digestion, simply from eating at regular times
- Better hormonal and metabolic balance overall
- And a real lift in her confidence and sense of control
Her weight coming down was not the headline. It was the sign of something bigger: a metabolism finding its rhythm, a routine that finally worked with her life, and a woman who felt like herself again. (If you want to understand why weight loss is never only about the number on the scale, we have written about that here, and about what actually works for PCOS weight loss.)
In Her Own Words
Partway through, Meghna sent the team this message:
“Since joining this program, I have started following a healthy diet and doing different exercises and yoga regularly. I can see noticeable improvements in both my weight loss and inch loss. The exercise sessions and the constant motivation and support from the team have been very helpful throughout this journey. Thank you for encouraging me and helping me stay positive.”
That last line matters as much as the weight. After a very long road, feeling positive and supported is its own kind of progress.
Dr. Suganya’s Note
“Meghna came to us after many years of trying, and my first priority was not to rush her, but to rebuild her health. She was disciplined and committed from day one, and we kept the plan realistic so she could actually sustain it. Her weight, her routine, her sleep, and her metabolic health all improved together, and that combination is exactly what gives the body a stronger foundation for what comes next. I am proud of how she showed up for herself.” (Meghna was supported through the program by our nutrition and wellness team.)
Recovery Is Also Preparation
Meghna’s story is a reminder that after a long fertility journey, the most useful thing is not always another treatment cycle. Sometimes it is stepping back to rebuild the basics: balanced food, real dinners, proper sleep, gentle movement, and a body that is cared for rather than pushed.
That is true whether you are preparing for a natural attempt, an IUI, or IVF. A healthier, better-rested, metabolically steadier body is a better place to begin from, and the work is never wasted.
You can read more journeys like hers on our stories page. And if irregular cycles are part of your picture too, our guide on irregular periods and what they mean is a good place to start.
Every woman deserves a plan built for her body and her life, not a generic diet chart. Dr. Suganya and the Fertilia team work with you one-on-one, fully online, wherever you are in India. Start a conversation with Dr. Suganya on WhatsApp →
Frequently Asked Questions
Why focus on weight and metabolic health before trying again?
After a long fertility journey, the body benefits from a stronger foundation. Better nutrition, consistent sleep, and gradual weight loss improve insulin sensitivity, hormonal balance, and overall metabolic health, all of which support the next step, whether that is a natural attempt, IUI, or IVF. In Meghna’s case, rebuilding these basics first was the priority rather than rushing into another cycle.
How much weight did Meghna lose, and how?
She went from 79.5 kg to 72 kg, a loss of 7.5 kg, through gradual and sustainable lifestyle change rather than crash dieting. The plan corrected long meal gaps and skipped dinners, added balanced home-cooked plates with adequate protein, and kept her movement gentle and consistent alongside good sleep.
Do PCOS and hypothyroidism make weight loss harder?
They can. Both conditions can affect metabolism and make weight easier to gain and harder to lose. That is exactly why the approach has to be structured and sustainable rather than extreme. With regular meals, balanced plates, steady movement, and proper thyroid management under her doctor, steady progress is very achievable, as Meghna’s journey shows. Our insulin resistance guide explains the mechanism in more detail.
Does losing weight improve fertility?
For many women carrying excess weight, yes. Excess weight, especially around the abdomen, worsens insulin resistance, which can disturb ovulation and cycle regularity. Evidence-based guidance, including the 2023 International Evidence-Based PCOS Guideline (Teede et al., 2023), notes that even a modest 5 to 10 percent reduction in body weight can meaningfully improve insulin sensitivity and cycle regularity. Meghna’s 7.5 kg is close to a 10 percent reduction.
Do you work with couples who have already done IUI or IVF?
Yes, often. Many women reach us after years of treatment, sometimes with a male-factor component as well, as in Meghna’s case. Our role is not to replace fertility treatment but to strengthen the foundation around it: nutrition, weight, metabolic health, sleep, and wellbeing. All consultations happen online via video call, so the program fits around your life anywhere in India.
Every story we share is real, verified, and published with the patient’s consent. Names and identifying details are changed to protect privacy.
