Well I will start with I've been wanting to write this for awhile now, because I hear cysters and husbands of cysters saying "I can't loose weight, I'm sick of the symptoms, I don't know what to do, medications aren't working or causing too many side affects, etc etc etc. I felt all of those same things.
My background and Dx.... I have had PCOS based on symptoms from my very early teens. I never had a regular cycle, never. I always wanted to know what was wrong with me, the excess hair, dark skin patches on my neck, etc. My aunt even always told me that my neck was dirty! I was like, really? That just didn't make sense, my hygiene has always been really good. None of it made sense to me. Until, I stumbled upon a post on another website and this gal was talking about her symptoms and it matched me to a "T". I mean every single thing, still to this day I wish I could kiss her, but I have no contact with her, don't know her. She saved me greatly!!!!!! That's why awareness is so important! That all happened Sept. of 07.
Anyway I went to the doctor, and it was very simple for them to Dx me. All of my levels were way out of wack, I was insulin resistant, and had every symptom under the sun, as I mentioned. I was 268 lbs! I was sick and tired of it and ready for a change, something changed within me from that day on. I have never been the same since.
I immediately decided to be proactive and research the crap out of this condition, I wasn't settling for it anymore. I was just happy as hell to finally know what was wrong, which in return didn't make to sad to know I had PCOS, just thankful that I FINALLY know!! So the research started that day (why wait), I started reading about a lot of different things, medications, lifestyle changes and I knew right off the bat that if there was a way to stay off medication, I was going to do it. I have never believed in the method of, here's whats wrong with you.. take this medication. It just seems ridiculous to me, there are some events that take place in life where meds are needed and then I am thankful for them. But I think they are handed out way to easily.
I started with taking everything bad out of my pantry, fridge, freezer and gave it to people with children, that needed it. Then, and this is the most important part... replacing it with good choices! If you don't have something good to eat you'll eat something bad. It's all about being prepared. Knowing what to eat did not come to me overnight, it was a process. The first expirence grocery shopping was like a 3 hour trip, because I was reading labels and seeing the grocery store in a 'new light'.
I was at a place in my life where I realized I want to be a mommy someday. At the time (and not now either, I am not married) I was not trying to get pregant. But I sure as hell wasn't going to try and figure that out when I was trying to get pregnant. So my drive then and still is, being healthy overall, having a regular cycle with ovulation, fighting PCOS, eliminating symptoms, be able to get pregnant, avoiding diabetes and heart conditions, etc. There was no time to feel sorry for myself, it was time to get busy. Nothing was going to stop me.
There was a point in my life that I thought, what will I do when I get so big that I don't fit in any "cute" clothes, as in Lane Bryant only goes up to a certain size (I think 26/28). I was a size 24, at 23 years old.. it wasn't looking good! I was worried, to say the least. I didn't feel good, my energy levels were terrible, etc.
So my next step was reading about a Low-Glycemic lifestyle. I will be the first to admit, I was nervous about making such a big change in just one day. Giving up so much yummy food, etc. But what I realized was instead of giving up food, I was replacing it with something healthier (like I said above, you have to replace it with a healthy choice.) For every bad choice, there is a healthier option. White pasta vs. wheat pasta, white rice vs. brown rice, for just a couple simple examples. I always thought, ewww.. gross! But if you knew what has to happen to make that rice and pasta white, you'd be SHOCKED! And, guess what.. I liked it much better than what I was doing before, I still do. I LOVE it and people love my cooking. It's now a lifestyle for me, without even thinking about it. All of those "white simple carbs" turn into sugar so much faster, making it terrible for women with PCOS. I felt tired all of the time because of it. Eating what they call 'complex carbs', makes you fuller for longer and doesn't have the effect like white simple carbs do on our bodies, esp. when we are insulin resistant like I was.
Now my Lipid Profile, Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, Androgen/Testosterone levels, Complete Blood Count, etc.. I am also ovulating every month now as well, and have a completely normal cycle. The doctors are completely shocked, compared to all of my "before" labs not to mention all my symptoms are gone. I acutally have an offer to teach a Low-Glycemic Class at my GYN office. I am pretty passionate about it and am seriously concerning the option of teaching.
So I write this because of what I said when I first starting writing. I use to feel so lost, what can I do to help this situation get better, is it going to be this way forever, etc. I really feel like going into the threads and answering all of the questions, and I by no means know everything about PCOS. What I do know is I've lost 85 lbs (and counting, still have 35 or so more to go) You can do it too!
I do realize that there may come a time where certain things aren't working and medication is neccesary. I get that, but what if you could get off and stay off medication and not be on it for life, your symptoms are gone, you have more energy, feel empowered because YOU took control of your health and PCOS, normal cycles and ovulation, no more dark skin patches, etc.??
I recommend researching Low-Glycemic as a lifestyle change. But he's a very quick outline of Low-GI:
Very lean meats
- 5% fat lean ground beef
- chicken
- turkey
- ground turkey
Dairy
- Low fat/no fat sour cream, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese
Grains
- Whole grain pasta
- brown rice
- Whole GRAIN (not wheat) bread
Lots of fruits and veggies!
This is great for the whole family unlike what most people would think, and trust me.. it's very tasty food! I know we hear this all of the time, but this is not a diet it's a lifestyle change. It will only work if you look at it as a lifestyle change. That way if you want to "jump off the boat" for one night and go have a nice dinner out with your spouse, you don't have to feel guilty about it. Jump back on board tomorrow, then you don't feel so guilty. If your doing it forever, one night won't make or break you! Make good choices 95% of the time, and you'll do great!!
You can still eat things like lasagna, tacos, enchiladas, etc. Just replace the white lasagna noodles with whole wheat, get a low sugar sauce, low fat shredded cheese, add in veggies that you like, etc. For the tacos use whole grain tortilla shells (there are some great ones out there) extra lean ground beef, low sodium taco seasoning, low fat cheese and sour cream, then add in your veggies. I have so many more ideas and I am running out of time.. but I'll continue to answer any questions you all may have. Seriously interested people I may even open up my recipe blog to you
I know this will be asked.. so I am now a size 14 (from a size 24) I am 183 lbs right now, with about 35 or so to loose yet. I am kind of playing it by how I am feeling in my clothes, feel about myself at that size, etc. More than I am concerned about a particular weight. The last 30 are coming off s-l-o-w-l-y so I am hiking up my exercising at the moment! I am trying to be no smaller than a size 10, I like my curves
Best of luck to you cysters! I don't know how to post pictures other than to put an album in my profile. There are some before and after pictures in there.