Me either...well, at least until I had been seeking fertility treatments for years after having been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).
Let me tell you what I've learned: Women with PCOS create more testosterone in their ovaries than normal (all women produce testosterone, but PCOS women make more than the average woman). When the ovaries are drilled, the Dr. creates very small, microscopic holes all over the ovaries which breaks the thick outer surface of the ovaries and reduces the amount of testosterone produced. This usually causes about 80% of patients to ovulate on their own and about 50% to get pregnant within 1 year. Are there risks? Well, of course there are! It is surgery!! It is done under general anesthesia. A small insertion is made by the belly button and they fill ya up with gas to make room (bet that sucks afterwards!!!) and then they stick a camera and a drill in ya and drill holes into your ovaries!! This can cause scar tissue and it can increase chances of ovarian failure.
all at once everyone.....EWWWWW
I asked Dr. P if he thought this might work for me and he is going to check to see if we have done enough other options and medications for it to work. It will work best if I lose more weight, so I really need to focus on getting these last 20lbs off to hit my goal BMI if I am going to do it. Besides fertility wise, it will just be better for me.
So...
I have created a Facebook group to help motivate myself and my mommy (and non-mommy) friends to exercise and hit our fitness and weightloss goals. I am praying that they hold me accountable and that I can do the same for them!! We already have some great conversations and motivations going on! I know I exercised yesterday just because of this group...because I told them I would. I am excited for this.
Sunday night, I told myself, "Self, enough is enough. You need to work-out!!"
I needed to add a work-out routine to my diet. So, Monday morning when I finally got up, I got my workout clothes on and turned on P90X. I did the Chest/Back workout (LOTS of pushups and pullups!) as well as the Ab workout. Then, I decided it would be a great idea to go outside and rip some bushes out of my yard. Mostly, that entailed me wrapping a chain around the base of the bush, hooking it to the bumper of my truck, and pulling them out...but once they were out, I still had to get the thick roots out and dig a hole to re-locate one of the bushes elsewhere in my yard. Those roots were 2-4" thick and I did MAN labor...no, not manual labor...that was straight up man-labor. I cut them with an axe and shovel (which normally wouldn't be that bad, but my arms were dead). Ugh!
This morning, I did the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred (cause it was only 20 mins and I had to do SOMETHING). Yup, I'm exhausted and my muscles are wanting to run away right now.
This morning, I got a text message from a friend asking if I wanted to go walking on this trail system on base that is sandy and hilly (The All American Trail, for locals). I hadn't showered yet, so what the hell, right? I decided to go. I threw some clothes on (I was in jammies), dressed Victoria, shoveled down a 1/2 cup of applesauce and grabbed a slice of whole grain bread and left. We walked 4 miles in very hot (84 w/no wind, LOTS of sunshine) weather each pushing strollers and with Bailey. It felt awesome sweating and chatting and getting a great workout. I drank 24oz of water on the trail and on the drive home, then re-filled my bottle at home and already finished it off again...great, only 4 more bottles to go today (my eyeballs might float).
When we got home, Bailey drank a ton and laid on the floor panting (wish I could do that sometimes) and I made lunch. We age a low glycemic lunch today (I think) of pasta soup with chicken broth, veggie burgers, and fruit. We also had a small piece each of strawberry-rhubarb cobbler that I made last night.
So, so far, day 1 is going great! We are planning to take Victoria to her first movie ever in a theater, How to Train a Dragon to Fly, and I will abstain from gorging myself on popcorn and sodas. I am not going to NOT eat any, I will just not eat as much as I normally would.
Tonight for dinner, pork chops, veggies, baked beans, and wild rice. I will probably drink some almond milk (I LOVE this stuff!) with it and maybe we'll nibble another small piece of cobbler. :) Yummy!
So, I have discovered something about myself...being Polycystic, I am very likely to be insulin resistant, thus the Glucophage (medicine for diabetics) that I am on (2000mg/day). That being said...what does that mean? It means, basically, that I have a higher chance of becoming diabetic later on in life, that I have higher chances of heart complications, kidney damage, vision loss, and many other problems from insulin resistance and diabetes. Insulin resistance occurs when your body is unable to properly use insulin to regulate glucose levels in the blood. Symptoms?? Acne, weight gain, high blood pressure, sugar cravings (carb cravings), hirutism (facial or other body hair on women), and more. Well, I have SOME of those traits (thank GOD not all!).
So...now what do I do to keep from becoming diabetic, a path I do NOT want to go down. EVER. Well, I lose weight. Simple, right? Well, maybe for you, but for someone with PCOS and insulin resistance, losing weight is not so easy. Really. There's proof. So, you would think that a LOW carb diet would work best, right? WRONG!!
A low fat, low glycemic index diet is the best diet for women with PCOS. What does THIS mean?? Ok...eat carbs...LOTS OF THEM! But, the right kind of carbs! Not white bread, but whole grain bread, not chocolate chip cookies, but oatmeal cookies, not white rice, but brown rice, etc. One of the keys to this "diet" (which I'd rather call "lifestyle") is to eat a balanced diet. Remember the food pyramid that we all saw in grade school? Where grains, legumes, cereal, rice, pasta were on the bottom? It is still relevant. We still need to eat that way. I didn't really explain what the glycemic impact of food was...ok, the glycemic impact of food is how fast the food turns to sugar in the blood. I need to eat LOW glycemic index foods so that they have more fiber and raise the blood sugar slower than that of a high glycemic index food. This will keep me feeling fuller, longer, and by doing that, I will consume less calories in a day and less fat.
The low carb diets that are so popular (Atkins, Zone, South Beach) are loaded with high fat calories. Calories from fatty meats, butters, milk, cheese, etc. These kinds of fats are known to attribute to heart disease, and with PCOS, I already have a higher chance of that...For my heart, I need to avoid foods that are high in saturated and trans fats, like fatty red meats, whole milk dairy, butter, stick margarine, chicken skin, fried foods, etc.) and keep to using things like olive oil, fish, lean meats, veggies,skim milk (I can still drink 1% milk, but I should cook with skim to reduce fat) etc.
Oh...and don't think I'm going to lose weight without exercise. Geez...if you were to ask my husband how to lose weight, he'd simply say "Eat less, move more!". Yup, that is what I need to do...eat less bad foods (more good ones), and move more. Move more in my daily life. Walk Bailey (the dog) more (I'm sure she'd LOVE THAT), play more with Victoria outside, do more housework (can we say Happy House!), ride my bike, park further away at the Wal-Mart, etc.
So, long story shorter...I HAVE to lose weight. I have to do this for my health, to get pregnant, to be happy, to show my daughter a healthy way of life. I have to do this for me. I am hoping that this is the beginning story of a great journey of weight loss.
I have found some inspirational stories about other women with PCOS that have already conquered this journey, and in one of their words: "You may have PCOS...but PCOS does NOT have you!!"
I have created a Facebook group to help motivate myself and my mommy (and non-mommy) friends to exercise and hit our fitness and weightloss goals. I am praying that they hold me accountable and that I can do the same for them!! We already have some great conversations and motivations going on! I know I exercised yesterday just because of this group...because I told them I would. I am excited for this. 
