After I was diagnosed with PCOS I learned that part of the issue with me never being able to become "skinny" was because of the hormone imbalance that I was dealing with. How are you suppose to be able to lose weight when you have excess glucose in your body, which promotes more insulin to be released into your body. It's a never ending battle.
Today I am not at my heaviest weight, I have gone from a women's 24 to a women's 18. Not bad in just over a year. I am continuing everyday the battle that I have had my entire life. But now I have a way to fight back, I have the knowledge that I need to lose the weight and get to where I want to be, A healthier happier me. This is me now:
I look at this picture and I can pick out everything that I feel is wrong with me. Most people look at it and tell me that it is a beautiful picture of me and they can see how much weight I have lost. I dont see it yet, but I am hoping one day I can look at it and go "wow look at me, look at how far I have come."
The question becomes "what is it that is keeping me from losing the weight?" "what is going on inside my body that is making me gain weight and not be able to take it off?", " What are some of the side affects of being over weight?".
Here is the answers that I have been given. To start out I am going to answer the question of "What is going on inside my body that is making me gain weight and not be able to take it off?"
When the diagnoses of PCOS was first brought to me, I was scared. The doctor told me that there was a good chance that I was going to gain more weight and was going to have to watch my diet and work really hard at keeping the weight off. I was athletic in school playing volleyball and swimming, so I thought ok I can do this. Then the doctor goes on to tell me that my diet is going to be restricted and that I cant eat any of the foods that I normally eat and I have to cut out carbs and sugar. Ok you are talking to some one who was drinking 3 or 4 Pepsi's a day and eating whenever I had the chance because I was always on the go. After all that he goes on to tell me that I am at a higher risk for cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Whoa wait a minute, this really isnt good. Diabetes runs in my family, heart disease runs in my family and so does cancer. Now I am really freaked out. The only thing I could spit out was "Why?". Here is the answer's that I got from my doctor as well as websites that I have done a lot of research on:
Woman with PCOS have Insulin Resistance.
- when you have insulin resistance it allows glucose to flow freely through your blood system.
- When you have free flowing glucose in your blood stream it triggers the pancreas to release insulin into the system until all the glucose is absorbed by the cells.
- With the free floating glucose in your system what isnt absorbed by the insulin is then transferred to the liver and is processed into excess body fat.
- Insulin resistance promotes fat storage in your body, due to the fact that the glucose is not able to get into the cells and be used for energy.
Woman with PCOS also have high levels of Male hormones
- high levels of male hormones trigger the body to gain and hold on to weight
- most woman gain weight around their abdominal area due to the high level of male hormones.
- Tummy fat is the most dangerous kind of fat.
Ok now that I had the why answered the next question was, what all can happen to me? I felt like I was sitting there getting information that was going to end my world right there. I felt lost and had no hope that I was going to be able to follow my dreams.So the doctor gave me what I asked for. A list of the major issues that I could/would deal with.
Possible health concerns with PCOS
-Can cause Infertility
- Weight gain (already had this)
- Obesity (was on my way there)
- Type 2 diabetes
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Sleep apnea
- Heart disease
So most the stuff on the list were already things that we had talked about, but hearing them again was heart braking. Now I have all the information, what do I do with it? How do I help myself get better and lose the weight and keep it off. The main thing that the doctor stressed was my diet.
Food and PCOS
- low carb
- high fiber
- low sugar
- load up on fruits and veggies
- eat 4 to 6 small meals a day instead of 3 big ones to help maintain the insulin levels in my system.
That to me didnt sound to bad. I could cut out the carbs and lower my sugar intake and start eating more during the day. I left the doctors office thinking I was going to be ok and that I would figure out how to make it all work.
About 4 months later I realized that I had gained about 30lbs and it seemed like it came on out of nowhere. I took a look at what I was eating and realized that I had not listened to anything that the doctor had told me. I was still eating only once a day and was still drinking soda. The meals that I was consuming where whatever fast food place was close by. Duh! This isnt going to help me lose the weight.
To make a long story short here is what I do today to make sure that my insulin levels are lower and that I am able to lose the weight and keep it off.
Before breakfast I take my Polyplus pills ( these are part of the PCOS system that I am on)
I do a 30 minute walk/run on my treadmill
For breakfast I have a protein shake so I am getting 48 grams of protein with my shake and have a small bowl of frozen fruit. With breakfast I take my rejuvaplus pills and my insulx pills (also part of the PCOS system).
About 2 hours after breakfast I will eat a small bowl of fruit again and take my Glucx pills (PCOS system)
For lunch I have another protein shake and a salad. I take the rejuvaplus and insulx again.
About another two hours after lunch I eat some nuts or fruit again taking the polyplus pills again.
Then for dinner I will do a small piece of meat, salad and some type of vegetable. I make sure that all my portions are small and I do not eat seconds.
Before bed I will have a piece of fruit to kick the sweet cravings I always get before bed and will take the glucx to end my day.
This is what has been working for me. I change up the salad, add different things to it everyday so that I dont get sick of it.
I hope that this will help give you ideas and information that you may have needed. I am always here if you have questions,comments, or concerns.
You can find more information at
http://pcos.insulitelabs.com
http://women.webmd.com/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos-and-weight-gain
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