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? 

Day 29-NSV

9.17.18 Day 29

I hate weighing myself. I detest the numbers on the scale, the crazy thoughts that go through my head when I step on it... like "If i take a poop I will weigh less." or "If it is up an ounce I am a complete failure and I am just going to throw in the towel." A weekly weigh-in does not motivate me...it has the opposite effect, it fills me with dread, makes me self conscious, gives me anxiety and rips apart any belief I had in myself. 

How can one device do that? Why do I let it have so much power?

When I start a new weight loss plan, diet, "lifestyle change" I am super jacked up in the beginning. I will weigh myself every day and it has a short term motivating effect...but after a few weeks it turns to dread and i start to jump on the scale a couple times a week and those feelings of remorse, worry, despair start creeping in my head and then I go into this "eff it" phase where I don't want to weigh myself, I start slacking on my documentation of my food, perhaps make more bad decisions until I am not losing anything and I look back and think, "what the hell am i doing to myself?" 

I'm on Day 29. I'm to the point where I don't want to weigh myself. I detest that crappy little scale and I shouldn't be like that. Its not the scales fault. He is just doing his job. This angst and dread is all coming from me because I am placing my success at getting healthy on 3 numbers that pop up on the scale. And that is a bunch of bullshit. 

We have to look at our life and say to ourselves, "I am not defined by a number." If we were then we would have a sign on our back with our weight listed so everyone can see it. Losing weight to fit in a pair of pants is great, but it should not be our goal. Better health, lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, better blood pressure, your joints will feel better, your mobility will increase, your breathing will get better, you may be able to get off your medications...YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE WILL IMPROVE. These are what we should be using to quantify our success...not just the scale.

SPT talks about these types of victories..they are called NSV (non-scale victories) and at first I was like "whatever, i'm all about the digits, yo!" but the real success is being able to walk up a flight of stairs without gasping for air...finding out that you no longer need to take a medication..your blood sugar is within normal range...those are good goals to have. 

So I am only weighing myself once a month. I'm am not going to focus on losing 10 lbs...if I keep following the plan it will happen. For some it may happen very quickly, for some who have PCOS, it may take a little longer, but it will happen. And along the way we will celebrate those NSV because they are worth it!

Day 28

9.16.18 Day 28

Sunday glorious Sunday. The house is quiet because the boys stayed over at Grandpa's and I want to sleep. I'm sunburned and I have a laundry list a mile long of things I need to get done today including, but not limited to, grocery shopping, clean kitchen, laundry, give dog a bath, take a nap, prep food for the week.

My husband and I take advantage of the non-children time and go to breakfast. It is such a nice feeling to be able to go to a restaurant and not have to cut someone elses food for them...or entertain them or tell them to stop touching their brother and if they do it one more time SO HELP ME GOD! 

Breakfast: spinach, mushroom and swiss cheese omelet with american fries (only ate 1/2). 

Then we went and picked up some burger for the week as well as a pork roast for pulled pork one night. We pick up the boys and then I head out to get the rest of the groceries. Yes, we could have gotten them all at the same time, but we at breakfast at Hyvee and as much as I love HyVee, the boys are eating more and I can get more for my money at Aldi and Walmart and this week I needed to hit Sam's Club for laundry supplies since i'm washing at least a load a day. 

When I got home from shopping it was almost 2pm and I remembered as I opened up the fridge to start putting my groceries away that I was going to clean out the fridge and wipe off the shelves. An hour later the fridge is clean, the food is put away and it is nap time.

After nap i threw more clothes in the laundry. The boys have a short week at school (no school on Friday) so that means only 4 days of school uniforms. I recruited my oldest, Henry, to help make dinner. Tacos. I am not eating Tacos though. Instead I had:

Dinner: spinach, black beans, refried beans, taco meat, sour cream, tomatoes and salsa. 

We had 12 taco shells and 2lbs of meat. Between Brian, Henry and Oliver, they ate all the taco shells and I had maybe 2 oz of meat. Now you see why I have to shop at Aldi and Walmart? The boys are 10 and 6! 

After dinner, I filled up the baby pool and took Lucy outside. Oliver helped brush her and we both gave her a bath. She is not a fan of bath time, but she loves the water so she didn't make a run for it and was actually quite good while we scrubbed her and rinsed her. She wanted to stay out and run around in the backyard so we let her after her bath. Once this midwestern Indian Summer heatwave breaks we will have to get back into our daily walks with Lucy. 

Day 27

9.15.18 Day 27
Breakfast
2 eggs
Sweet potato
Banana

This morning is all about moving...Oliver has swim lessons at 8am and then Henry has Crossfit at 10:15. After picking up Henry we have to run them over to their Grandpa's house where they will be staying overnight while we go golfing in a outing. 

The morning started off good. I took Ollie to swim lessons, came home and made my standard 2 eggs, 1 sweet tater and a piece of fruit. Brian took Henry to Crossfit and then we got the car loaded, bags packed and went to pick him up from class and got them to granpa's for the night. I knew it was going to be a hot day, but was not prepared for how seriously hot it was. Why does September jerk you around like that. One day the kids are wearing jackets to school and the next day they cancelling school because of the heat. WE LIVE IN IOWA. THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING! 

I would like to say I did not drink at all on Saturday. Seriously, no booze or beer for me at all. I stuck with water and it was working for me until we got to our 3rd hole and I started to feel shaky and weak. I thought maybe I needed some food. I ate at 9am and didn't have lunch and it was going on 2pm. So I got a ham sandwhich from the clubhouse and threw away the bun (yep, i went all animal style and just ate the meat and cheese) and i also got more water and a beef jerky (more protein!!). That quelled the shakes but i still felt kind of weird. I golfed a couple more holes and used my little chill pad and was so grateful I remembered to grab it before I left the house! This thing is amazing. I kept drinking my water, but I needed something more, so when the beer girl came buy I got a couple sports drinks and a Nut Roll. I am not a fan of the Nut Roll but I thought it had the most protein and i needed some sugar. The sports drink and Nut Roll helped tremendously! I was back in the swing of things.

How did I golf? Worst golf game of my life. Seriously, I couldn't drive to save my soul. My putts are usually on point and they were all going left of the cup. I was just not on my A-game at all. But it was fun. I could do with the 90 degree heat and no wind, though. 

Lunch: Ham and cheese with no bun, beef jerky

Blood Sugar help: Powerade and a Salty Nut Roll

Dinner: Chicken with corn and coleslaw (i skipped the bun and the mashed potatoes)

Day 26

9.14.18 Day 26

Breakfast
(P)      2 eggs                  
(G)     sweet potatoe               
(Fr)    apple

Lunch
(P)   ham
(V)   carrots, tomatoes
(Fa)  
(Fr)  apple


Dinner
2 pieces of frozen pizza-thin crust.


Day 26 Summary
I seriously need to pull my crap together so I can remember what I eat for dinner when it comes to friday night. I don't typically log on the weekend because...i don't know...i have mom stuff to do and am not afforded the luxury of just surfing the net (do people use that term any more or did I completely just date my self?). 

Friday's are a short work day for me. I am off at 2pm and I love it. It is the one day of the week that I can pick up the boys right when they get done with school so we can do some fun stuff. This week we are taking my youngest son's best friend in "the whole wide world" to our house for craft time. They want to make Shrinky Dinks (hello 70's flashback!) and Perler beads. I like to think of my self as pretty knowledgeable in the world of crafting, but i had to google "Perler beads". Long story short, they are small waxy bead that you put on a peg board and create a design, but you have to be careful because a slight breeze will mess up your design and you will have beads all over the place. Once your design is created you put this parchment type paper on the beads and iron them so they met together. Its cool but my little guy as zero patience.

Moments of truth
I stayed bright and happy until dinner. I took the boys to DQ for a treat before dropping our playmate off at his house and I did not have any DQ! When we got home, Brian made a frozen pizza so i had two pieces of that. 

Day 24

9.12.18 Day (24)
Weight: 236
Short Weight loss goal: 5lb
Long Weight loss goal: 180lbs
Am Blood Sugar:
Pm Blood Sugar:
Daily goal for (date):

Breakfast
(P)  Ricotta Cheese, milk                    
(G)  Shredded wheat                   
(Fr)  Mango and Peach

Lunch
(P)   chicken, turkey
(V)   carrots, cucumbers, peppers
(Fa)  dressing
(Fr)  banana


Dinner
(P)   ground beef in marinara sauce
(V)   carrots, peppers, cucumbers
(S)   spaghetti squash
(Ft)  


Day 24 Summary

Have we talked about Ricotta Cheese yet? Where the flip has this been my whole life? I can't believe I never knew you could use this stuff for other than lasagna! Holy geez, it is delicious. I put a little bit on my shredded wheat for protein and when you pair it was fruit it creates this amazing concoction that is so tasty. It isn't like "cheese" as in mozzarella or cheddar, but it isn't cottage cheese either. It is simple, almost sweet flavor that adds a creamy texture to your shredded wheat (which is completely the opposite of creamy). If you have never tried it-get some! Now! 

This is me, but with pistachios, not cake.

Moments of truth
Yesterday was "pig out on pistachios" day. I didn't realize it was a thing until I was knee deep in pistachio shells. If they still dyed them red like back in the day, I would have looked like I murdered something/someone. Here is what I learned from my pistachio overdose.

1. It is true, too much of a good thing can be bad for you. 

I was bloated, had that gross sour stomach meat burp again this morning and the nausea was back. So much so that I even took my anti-nausea medication to work with me. 

2. Nuts give me heartburn. 

Who knew, right?! I guess if you eat a metric ton of anything it will give you heartburn.

3. The mere thought of a pistachio makes my dry heave.

This is very similar to the dreaded "Raspberry Incident of 1998". Remember 

Bath and Body Works Sun-Ripened Raspberry scented EVERYTHING from the 90s? That was my jam! I loved that scent! I would layer that up so that when I walked by I smelled like a field of raspberries and you could feel the sun radiate off of me and I'm pretty sure angels would sing. No lie. Loved it. Well, I had surgery in 1998 and my mom came to the hospital with a gift basket filled with my favorite BBW products all of which were Sun-Ripened Raspberry. I remember lying in my hospital bed and marveling at all the 90's awesomeness this basket contained and without notice-BOOM! Projectile vomit across the room. 

I looked at my mom and she looked at the gift basket which was now covered in vomit and said "Wow. Not the reaction I was hoping for." I replied, "What can I say, when I go, I go big." She quickly took said vomit covered basket from the room and we never talked about it again. I don't know what she did with all the stuff. It was covered in that crinkly plastic wrap, so she probably cleaned it off and re-gifted it to my sister-in-law. She (mom) wasn't a fan (of my sister in law).

So yeah, pistachios are the new Sun-Ripened Raspberry.

4. I'm pretty sure I lost a few pounds because of the massive pistachio induced diarrhea. Sorry, I know TMI, but seriously I practically worked in the bathroom for a half a day because I had to go to the bathroom so much. 

Day 23

9.11.18 Day 23
Weight: Didn't weigh in 
Short Weight loss goal: 5lb
Long Weight loss goal: 180lbs
Am Blood Sugar:
Pm Blood Sugar:
Daily goal for (date): not eat like crap

Breakfast
(P)     2 egggs                   
(G)    sweet potato                 
(Fr)   mango

Lunch
(P)   2 oz hummus, 2 oz turkey deli meat
(V)   carrots, peppers, cucumbers
(Fa)  
(Fr)  apple


Dinner
(P)   bacon and pistachios (good combo, right?!)
(V)   Spinach, carrots, tomatoes, cukes
(S)   see above...made a big salad for dinner
(Ft)  salad dressing


Day 23 Summary
Not a terrible day, but I could do better (see my Moments of Truth section below). 

Moments of truth
I like pistachios as a protein. There is something oddly satisfying about cracking it open and getting that delicious green nut. I had to watch an online training fpr work so I was watching the video and WENT TO TOWN on my stash of pistachios. Like way over consumed them. I just kept thinking "Its protein! its good for me!"


Fast forward to 8pm and my tongue hurts (too much salt) and I feel kind of bloated.