So I got approval from my doctor to start on Atkins and started two weeks ago. So far it hasn't been too bad, just a little difficult at times.
Yesterday was Easter, so I cheated a little on my foods because the only option for me was to eat raw veggies and deviled eggs... They were only appetizers and honestly there weren't enough for me to make a meal and allow everyone else to snack. I got to my grandparents' house and asked what we were having so I could map out my meal plan. I ended up at about 50 carbs for the day instead of my 20-25 range BUT I still did great (seeing as how the recommended range is 250-300)!! I have lost a total of 5 pounds so far, no doubt due to my lack of exercise because of my hectic schedule and preparing for my finals/graduation. Once this week is done, I can safely schedule time at LEAST 3 times per week at the Y again and get to working on exercise AND diet. I think my doctor will be pleased with my progress so far.
A MAJOR accomplishment for me was when I put on this dress I have and wore it for Easter. It is an old, 50's style dress that looks like it came directly from the Kentucky Derby hahah but I LOVE it! It is a nice, bright blue with a slim fitting, pencil look all the way down, cap sleeves and a high but wide neckline. I purchased it and was able to (barely) wear it to church once in January... It took a lot of work on my hubby's part to get it zipped but we got it and I walked around all stiff lol Well I put it on yesterday and while it is still slim fitting and my boobs were smashed together a bit, it zipped up with no problems! I was so excited to feel that I had a little extra room, it didn't dig when I set down and it zipped up quickly with no issues! I know the scale says I haven't made much progress but that dress shows me I have!
Something I don't think anyone who doesn't have PCOS will ever understand are the little victories. For us, getting an unassisted period is an accomplishment. Ovulating is an accomplishment. Losing two pounds is an accomplishment. Not having to shave as often because our hormones are starting to balance or they finally found a medicine that works, is an accomplishment. Even getting pregnant (and carrying full term without miscarriage) is a HUGE accomplishment. I think people forget that or don't care to see it. PCOS is a struggle and it is not easy, even if it does not show on the outside that something is wrong, doesn't mean there isn't. There are not only the physical aspects of PCOS but also the emotional aspects. I couldn't tell you how many times I have gotten jealous and sometimes angry when I hear someone I know is pregnant. It is unnecessary but it happens. I get so angry at myself for knowing that I can't just go and get pregnant whenever I want, that it is going to take some work, pills or even expensive procedures. I know that when they have healthy, happy babies, I could miscarry or have a child with health issues. I get jealous because they can do what I can't and it kills me inside because I know that the hubby and I want our own child. It kills me that many of my medical procedures to have a child may not be covered by insurance but all of theirs are. It hurts to know that there is a possibility of it never happening. It is not something I have done to get in this little boat I am in, I am relatively healthy (aside from the weight gin I've experienced lately), I didn't drink or smoke myself silly or even do insane amounts of drugs. I have taken care of myself yet I got this. I like to look on the bright side though. Even if I can't have children of my own, I have been blessed with being able to raise two wonderful sister-in-laws. There is always adoption or surrogacy. God made me this way for a reason and so far has blessed me with a doctor who has the knowledge on how to make everything better or fix it. I know my case is different in some ways than others but I am making strides towards success and leveled out hormones.
I am hoping on my testosterone to go down during the next appointment and for my doctor to say, "Let's give this baby thing a try!". I have to wait a little bit until the hubby knows if he is able to enlist in the Air Force. If so, we'll wait until he enlists and is done with his technical training to try because we can only have so many dependents to start with and we're at the limit to enlist. After that, it's free range on how many and when we have them. I would like to have a decent sized family because we love kids but I will happy just to be blessed with at least one. Wish me luck!
Monday, April 21, 2014
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Diet and Weight Struggles
For those of you who are new to this blog, I started it because I have been diagnosed with PCOS. If you are wondering why they is, click on the link at the top of this to find out information about it.
Those of you who didn't know me prior to the onset of my symptoms, may be shocked to find out that I used be a normal weight, pretty fit and muscular person and when my symptoms started popping up, my weight started packing on and before I knew it, in a matter of a year, I gained approximately 20-25 pounds. I didn't realize it until I went to my yearly exam with my doctor and she was like "Uhm we need to do something about this!". I still wasn't diagnosed with PCOS at that point. I had other health problems (digestive problems and had my gallbladder removed) so I attributed it to that and just kept my fat/greasy levels down on all of my foods so that I could keep my digestive symptoms and pain down. I like to attribute the weight gain (it happened around the time) to the fact that my husband and I suddenly got custody of my husband's twin sisters (story here if you're interested in reading and want to understand what I'm talking about) and the stress we had to deal with. It is not their fault but it certainly didn't help that life got crazy, schedule got busy and probably eating too much because of stress.
Due to my digestive issues, I had to cut meat out of my diet altogether. I couldn't do fast food most of the time. I was really restricted until my doctor put me on Metformin. (I know the side effect is bowel issues but it had the opposite effect, it fixed all of my food intolerance problems) As with all diet changes and being on medication, I did get approval from my doctor to change my diet. He actually said a reduction in carbs tends to help women with PCOS who have a hard time losing weight, to lose weight... Great news for me and hopefully some of you too!!
I have decided that I am done starting and stopping a diet because my husband won't eat this or eat that. This time he's totally on board with our new plan and it is something that my doctor recommends anyways: reducing my crabs. We have chosen to abandon our vegetarian diet for Atkins. So far it has been very easy and not taken too much of a toll on my energy or anything. So far I've had to force myself to remember to make time to eat breakfast because I hardly ever eat breakfast during the week. I will eat a snack between breakfast and lunch, so far it has been celery one day and pepperoni slices w/ cream cheese today. I will eat a lunch, so far both days it has been salad with cheese and ham cubes on it. My second snack will consist of sugar free Jell-O with a dollop of homemade whipped cream (whip up whipping cream and some Stevia). Dinner has been a salad with boiled eggs, ham cubes and cheese with about 3 crab legs. Tomorrow I'll be able to cook some dinner and I'm thinking of making this delicious sounding Mexican Lasagna. Apparently you steam cabbage with a little butter and cook ground beef with some garlic, cumin, chili powder and other spices you like, drain both (not together). Put the cabbage on the bottom of a 9x13 pan and top with ground beef. Put a little salsa on top of the meet, some sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. Serve it up with a salad or some mashed cauliflower... YUMM!!!!
I have used the Atkins web app to track my progress (none has been made yet since I started on Tuesday) but I can put my food in the log and add my weight/measurements and makes changes to track my progress in the long run compared to my goal. I am just hoping I make some progress. I don't know about you but one thing that keeps me from moving forward with diets a lot of times is when I see zero progress after I've worked hard or dieted well. Nothing kills my motivation faster than seeing no results from my hard work. Right when I started to gain a little weight, I remember we were going to then gym 4-5 times a week for approximately 2-3+hours each time (depending on our schedule), eating a 90% raw, vegetarian diet but I was only gaining weight and my pants only kept getting tighter.... The exact opposite of what I was busting my butt to happen!!!
I will keep my weight loss journey updated as it goes along. I am hoping to motivate someone to make some changes to improve their health or lose the weight they want by doing this. I know this won't be an immediate results deal and will be work but I am willing to do it! These few pounds could be the difference between my happiness, my health and my future offspring coming to life!
Wish me luck!
Those of you who didn't know me prior to the onset of my symptoms, may be shocked to find out that I used be a normal weight, pretty fit and muscular person and when my symptoms started popping up, my weight started packing on and before I knew it, in a matter of a year, I gained approximately 20-25 pounds. I didn't realize it until I went to my yearly exam with my doctor and she was like "Uhm we need to do something about this!". I still wasn't diagnosed with PCOS at that point. I had other health problems (digestive problems and had my gallbladder removed) so I attributed it to that and just kept my fat/greasy levels down on all of my foods so that I could keep my digestive symptoms and pain down. I like to attribute the weight gain (it happened around the time) to the fact that my husband and I suddenly got custody of my husband's twin sisters (story here if you're interested in reading and want to understand what I'm talking about) and the stress we had to deal with. It is not their fault but it certainly didn't help that life got crazy, schedule got busy and probably eating too much because of stress.
Due to my digestive issues, I had to cut meat out of my diet altogether. I couldn't do fast food most of the time. I was really restricted until my doctor put me on Metformin. (I know the side effect is bowel issues but it had the opposite effect, it fixed all of my food intolerance problems) As with all diet changes and being on medication, I did get approval from my doctor to change my diet. He actually said a reduction in carbs tends to help women with PCOS who have a hard time losing weight, to lose weight... Great news for me and hopefully some of you too!!
I have decided that I am done starting and stopping a diet because my husband won't eat this or eat that. This time he's totally on board with our new plan and it is something that my doctor recommends anyways: reducing my crabs. We have chosen to abandon our vegetarian diet for Atkins. So far it has been very easy and not taken too much of a toll on my energy or anything. So far I've had to force myself to remember to make time to eat breakfast because I hardly ever eat breakfast during the week. I will eat a snack between breakfast and lunch, so far it has been celery one day and pepperoni slices w/ cream cheese today. I will eat a lunch, so far both days it has been salad with cheese and ham cubes on it. My second snack will consist of sugar free Jell-O with a dollop of homemade whipped cream (whip up whipping cream and some Stevia). Dinner has been a salad with boiled eggs, ham cubes and cheese with about 3 crab legs. Tomorrow I'll be able to cook some dinner and I'm thinking of making this delicious sounding Mexican Lasagna. Apparently you steam cabbage with a little butter and cook ground beef with some garlic, cumin, chili powder and other spices you like, drain both (not together). Put the cabbage on the bottom of a 9x13 pan and top with ground beef. Put a little salsa on top of the meet, some sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. Serve it up with a salad or some mashed cauliflower... YUMM!!!!
I have used the Atkins web app to track my progress (none has been made yet since I started on Tuesday) but I can put my food in the log and add my weight/measurements and makes changes to track my progress in the long run compared to my goal. I am just hoping I make some progress. I don't know about you but one thing that keeps me from moving forward with diets a lot of times is when I see zero progress after I've worked hard or dieted well. Nothing kills my motivation faster than seeing no results from my hard work. Right when I started to gain a little weight, I remember we were going to then gym 4-5 times a week for approximately 2-3+hours each time (depending on our schedule), eating a 90% raw, vegetarian diet but I was only gaining weight and my pants only kept getting tighter.... The exact opposite of what I was busting my butt to happen!!!
I will keep my weight loss journey updated as it goes along. I am hoping to motivate someone to make some changes to improve their health or lose the weight they want by doing this. I know this won't be an immediate results deal and will be work but I am willing to do it! These few pounds could be the difference between my happiness, my health and my future offspring coming to life!
Wish me luck!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)