Day 36 PCOS

9.24.18 Day 36

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was in my early 30's. I was always a bigger girl and when I was in high school I started to get some facial hair that was annoying as heck. It was one hair on my chin that curled so I had to pluck it. So embarrassing. As I go older I developed more facial hair and my periods were never regular..which for me was fine because who wants to deal with that every month, you know! But then I got a new doctor who was amazing and she ran some tests and said I had PCOS and when i looked at the symptoms, I could check off each of them:

• Irregular periods-infrequent, irregular or prolonged menstrual cycle. 
• Execessive levels of male hormones which result in physical signs like excess facial and body hair. 
• Apple shaped body-because of the higher levels of male hormones, women with PCOS tend to carry their weight in their weight in their abdomen, like men. So instead of having a pear shaped body, we get to look like an apple with legs. 
• Infertility-not a symptom but women with PCOS have a higher chance of having issues with infertility due to the cysts on their ovaries. 
• Insulin Resistance. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas which allows the body cells to use sugar as its primary source of energy. Women with PCOS tend to have insulin resistance whereby the cells do not respond to insulin and it results in high glucose levels. 

According to the National Institutes of Health, up to 20%  of women in the U.S. have PCOS. In addition to creating issues with our ovaries, the higher levels of androgens also adds up the odds of weight gain around the waist (apple shaped bodes) which THEN launches us in to a vicious cycle because abdominal fat decreases the bodies responsiveness to insulin which makes you more likely to gain even more weight.

So basically not only am I a hairy women with acne who had (I had a hysterectomy in 2015..no uterus no periods) terrible periods but now you are telling me that I also am a walking apple and prone to Type 2 diabetes who has a harder time losing weight...the one thing that will alleviate these issues? 

Awesome. 

So what's a girl to do? Carbs are not our friends. Yes, we need them for energy, but unlike my husband who is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, I simply cannot eat excess carbs. On BLE, STP has set up the weightloss portion of the plan to restrict your grains to breakfast and even though potatoes are a no-no for us PCOS gals, sweet potatoes are actually a yes-yes! Sweet taters are higher in fiber and lower in sugar (crazy, right? since they are SWEET!).

Processed foods suck, so you shouldn't eat them even if you don't have PCOS. you don't know whats in it and it makes you feel like crap. Just say no. 

You can google "what to eat with PCOS", but I will tell you this-BLE has it figured out for you. STP did the hardwork for us. Lentils, avocados, sweet potatoes-all good BLE approved foods. Veggies and protein-solid solid choices for everyone. There is some debate over corn, peas and carrots, but when I spoke with my nutritionist she said the amount of sugar in those veggies is minimal...with that being said don't go crazy and eat a carrot, peas and corn salad. Moderation people. Moderation. 

In all fairness, I am not as hairy as I act like I am, but I do have some facial hair that I get rid of every day. I am big in the mid-section. I struggle to lose weight, am on medication for Type 2 diabetes (metformin-standard medication issued to women with PCOS and recently I added Januvia to help lower my blood glucose number), and struggled with infertility. I don't have thin hair on my head (quite the opposite, actually) nor do i have acne. I don't have hirsutism. Like I said I was diagnosed with this in my early 30's. I'm turning 47 in a few weeks and I am finally taking this seriously and eliminating the carbs. What the frick took me so long?