Izzy Judd has revealed stopping exercising and eating three solid meals a day was the secret to her conceiving naturally after her IVF battle.
The violinist and author, 39, is married to McFly drummer Harry Judd and the pair now share three children – Lola, Kit and Lockie.
After welcoming Lola via IVF, she conceived Kit naturally a year later while Lockie joined the family in 2021.
But in the past Izzy suffered with disordered eating and a medical condition called hypothalamic amenorrhea, which results in a loss of periods.
She has now revealed that stopping exercise and eating three solid meals a day was the ticket to conceiving Lockie, as her periods restarted just one month later.
Izzy Judd has revealed stopping exercising and eating three solid meals a day was the secret to her conceiving naturally after her IVF battle (pictured after welcoming Lockie in 2021)
The violinist and author, 39, is married to McFly drummer Harry Judd and the pair now share three children – Lola, Kit and Lockie
Speaking on Giovanna Fletcher’s Podcast Happy Mum Happy Baby, Izzy said: ‘The moment I knew something was wrong when it got to Lola’s birthday and I couldn’t eat the cake.
‘I started to change my habits. I followed this plan from the book, and a month later my period starts. It was unbelievable.
‘And about four months later we fell pregnant with Lockie.’
Izzy added that prior to Lockie, she had become ‘very controlling’ with her food and exercise, including checking the menu religiously for meals out and bringing her own food to family gatherings.
She said: ‘I became very controlling over my food and exercise. I was training every day, I was undereating.’
After realising what was wrong, she began to eat more – something that was very ‘hard’, while Harry noted: ‘Your relationship with food was at a low point.’
Izzy and Giovanna – who is married to Harry’s bandmate Tom – are very close friends and intimately discussed the topic of fertility.
Hypothalamic Amenorrhea is a condition which appears in women with eating disorders when periods stop, and the body goes into a ‘survival mode’ – meaning they cannot reproduce during that time.
Izzy spoke up about her battle with disordered eating and her loss of periods
Contributing factors to the condition can include energy imbalance, food restriction, weight loss and exercise – all of which Izzy has touched on.
Izzy continued: ‘I feel he [Lockie] is the result of some really difficult challenge.
‘It’s funny to think obviously I went through IVF with Lola which is obviously challenging, but Lockie’s my reminder and that reason why I won’t slip back because he is the result of me changing my lifestyle.’
Harry said: ‘You have now changed your relationship with food and the way you exercise. And I find it amazing that stopping exercise, eating three solid meals a day, and then literally ovulating the next month.’
Izzy is best known for starring as part of a string quarter for Britain’s Got Talent in 2008.
The former Escala violinist met Harry when she joined McFly’s 2005 concert tour and they married in December 2012 following a seven-month engagement.
You can download Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast every Tuesday at 6am from acast.com
The wife of McFly drummer Harry Judd also revealed that she had suffered with the medical condition hypothalamic amenorrhea