Kicking my PCOs to the curb!

[beach_plums]

Kirjava,
Thanks for visiting my log.
I have problems with carbs too, but for a completely different reason, I'm hypoglycemic. When I eat too many carbs, my blood sugar spikes, then drastically drops, sometimes causing me to pass out. I went to a nutritionist for a while, who recommened whole grains and oats and more protein. When I follow those guidelines, I notice a huge difference in my energy level.

However, I too crave the carbs and sugar as well. Sometimes it takes a giant kick in the butt, like passing out, to remind me that I need to do what's best for my body instead of doing what I want (like having a heaping plate of pasta for dinner-Friday; and passing out-first thing Saturday morning).

[climban]

Hey Kirjava,

Thanks for visiting my log! You 're doing great, including with the food! Have fun with the aerobics, I 'm off to climbing!

[Kirjava]

Originally Posted by climban

Hey Kirjava,

Thanks for visiting my log! You 're doing great, including with the food! Have fun with the aerobics, I 'm off to climbing!

I'm so jealous you have a good place to go climbing. We used to have a good indoor gym in town and then it closed down so now I can't get that fix....
It's such a good combination of a mental and physical workout--it always felt a bit like solving a puzzle to me..."hmmm where to put my hand next? ouch my abs are sore..."

Or are you outdoor climbing? Which is great too, but I found a little scary. Okay, so I'm a wimp. I just made the mistake of doing the looking down from the very top thing and getting a disorientating wave of vertigo.

[Kirjava]

So last night I had a bit of a freakout--I was dressing for my Valentine's Day date and grabbed my pair of always-look-good dressy black pants....only to discover a brand new muffin top that made them totally unwearable....it was very depressing, especially since I had just had a really intense Cathe workout and was feeling good.

Anyway, it just reconfirms my dedication to losing that extra 10 lbs and feeling good in my body again. I totally took for granted how nice it was to be able to dress and not worry about flab!

Between my lifting workout on Wednesday and yesterday's tough cardio intervals workout and then walking the three miles to work this morning, I don't know if my body is up for my lifting workout after work, or if I'm just being a wuss. If I don't lift, I'll walk the three miles home again, so at least it's some good walking, but obviously nothing like a good weights routine. I would then do the weights tomorrow, of course. Not sure yet--will play that one by ear.

Thank goodness it's Friday--I'm feeling quite knackered today and ready for some rest!

[beach_plums]

If you're ready for some rest, make today a rest day. Pushing yourself when you're not feeling it isn't going to do you any good. Save the lifting for a day when you've got enough energy (especially since you're looking to add more weight to your deadlift).

[Kirjava]

Thanks for the feedback--I think that looks like really sound advice! In fact, I am quite happy to have someone tell me to take a rest day. But I will be walking a good 3 miles home so it's not like I'm going to be eating bon-bons on the couch (that's for later tonight). And then tomorrow I think I'll be revved and ready for my lifting workout.

I've decided to start posting my days menus a day AFTER the fact. Why? To keep me more accountable--I've realized that posting my perfectly planned menus is great and wonderful if I stick to them 100%--which I don't. So to discourage me from deviating in a bad way, I'll post the day AFTER to really reveal anything. Obviously, when I plan my meals it's not like I say: "Yes, I will totally plan to have three glasses of wine tonight." So that when it happens I'll HAVE to type it out.

Just for the record--NOT planning on having three glasses of wine tonight. Maybe just one.

[Kirjava]

Workout B #6
10 min cardio warmup on elliptical
Dynamic warmup: side to side lunges, squat to stand, step back lunges
Deadlifts: 65/10; 65/10; 65/10
Dumbbell shoulder press: 20/10; 20/10; 20/5, 15/5
Lat pull-down: Once again, my gym was too crowded for me to use this machine. So I did bent-over db rows: 25/10; 25/10; 25;10
Lunge: 25/10; 25/10; 25/10
Swiss-ball crunch with feet on bosu variation: bw/15; bw/15; bw/15

Today I skipped my HITT intervals at the end of the workout because I really upped my weights today and I just didn't have the energy for intervals! I will, however, take the doggie for a good long walk this afternoon.

[Kirjava]

Yesterday's food was pretty good, actually. I am still having a hard time getting my carbs as low as I want them.

This was my food:
Breakfast:
scoop of whey protein powder
2 tbsp lowfat granola with protein and sunflower seeds
tbsp of Peanuts
Yogurt, plain, low fat, 0.5 cup
Flaxseed Meal, 1 tbsp
Strawberries, fresh, 2 large
1/4 cup Barbara's Cinnamon Puffins

Snack:
1 oz of peanuts, an apple

lunch:
Tuna, Canned in Water, 120
Spinach, fresh, 1 cup
Eggs, 2 hardboiled
Zucchini
Butternut Squash

Dinner
Olive Oil, 1 tbsp
Broccoli, cooked, 1 cup
Onions, raw, 0.12 cup, chopped Atlantic Salmon (fish), 4 oz
Carrots, cooked, 0.5 cup slices Red Wine, 1 glass (3.5 fl oz)
Dessert
Yogurt, plain, low fat, 0.5 cup
Fruit Salad, 0.5 cup
1 square of dark chocolate

Daily totals:
1,644 cal
133 g carbs
61 g fat
138 g protein

[Littlemermaidklb]

MMM food looks good :-) Great workout too

[beach_plums]

Nice job with the weights increases! I'm inspired to up mine now too.

[Espi]

Re the carbs, you'll get there eventually. Also remember, it's not a really strict amount, but a gliding scale. One person feels good on just 60g and another needs twice that amount to feel good. Foremost it's a matter of changing dietary habits. Your carb choice of like butternut squash is very good, viz. slow carbs that satiate and provide good nutrients. Others would say it's too starchy as a choice.

I'm a bit puzzled though how you can end up at 133 g when your menu doesn't look very carby to me, outside that squash and the granola. I'd personally prefer the squash and leave out granola, but that's because granola = wheat/gluten, which is a food I'm intolerant to (irritates the gut and gives joint pain).

BTW, have you ever looked into licorice? I've started eating it again. As you may or may not know, the Dutch are massively addicted to licorice candy. (not that vile stuff you Merkans/Canucks eat, but the real licorice). Apparently it can be used for 2 purposes
1 to relieve adrenal fatigue as it raises cortisol levels as well as blood pressure. NOT a good choice when you have high blood P and when you're in the early stages of adrenal fatigue when you're pumping out excess cortisol, but if blood pressure is too low and you're low in cortisol, it can be a good choice.
2 to decrease PCOS. Apparently, in Japan, licorice root is used to treat PCO(S) as it depresses testosterone. According to data comparing testosterone levels of European men, the Dutch male (who massively consume licorice) has the lowest T levels of all European men.

Interestingly, my SO was vehemently opposed to me trying licorice, as it depresses testosterone. But when I started eating it again, I've noticed an increase of libido. However, since I started it when I also upped calories, it's hard to distinguish between those 2 effects (libido rising because of calories or because of licorice).

You might want to give it a try as well. To not eat too many calories, I like drinking it as a tea and add licorice root powder. One can even buy twigs. Yes, we're crazily addicted over here.. I've even got a miniature bottle of 'Dropka' = vodka w a licorice taste.

[bundy]

nice workouts!
Very interesting stuff on here...this log makes me realize theres so much more for me to learn.
Good progress

[marygrace]

I am still having a hard time getting my carbs as low as I want them.

I know what you mean with this. Especially for me with eating a plant-based diet, its probably impossible to eat low-carb by most people's standards. I don't really see this as hindering my progress though. What I mostly do is avoid grains, except for my morning oats. For the rest of the day, I get carbs only from beans, fruits, and vegetables. Its working well for me, and the longer I've spent eating this way, the less I really crave grains or bread. I found a great recipe from a gluten-free website for bread, though, and have been using it as a good source of fat and protein. Its made primarily of almond meal and eggs, though I replaced the eggs with flaxseed. If you're interested in checking it out, here's the website: Gluten-Free, Organic Wholesome Recipes - Elana's Pantry

Oh, and awesome job on 20 lbs with the shoulder presses! I just moved up to 15 lbs and its so hard, but feels great! Currently, though, I can't imagine doing 20's!

[SpacecityPaula]

Originally Posted by AnnetteW

No, I'm not following WW at this time. I do miss going to the meetings though, and once I drop below 150 lbs, I'll go back for the free meetings (150 is my goal weight.)

My ovary has always caused problems. It's the only one I think I ovulate with, and I've had extreme mittleschmerz over the years. Lately I don't think I ovulate regularly anymore. I'm 44 though, things change. I did always have major irregularity before my first baby, who was finally conceived on Clomid, btw. But the other two were easy to conceive. Maybe I have a few of the symptoms, but nothing major I guess. Oh, I have had hairloss issues, and have been on Rogaine for the past 8 years.

Getting caught up in here this morning Actually Annette, what you describe sounds like PCOS. The frustrating thing about PCOS is that you can have a mix of the symptoms but not all of them, or all of the symptoms (my endo told me I'm "classic" PCOS a few years back), or something in between. No woman's case of PCOS will be the same as another woman's.

[SpacecityPaula]

When I started HELL, I focused on eating a lot of veggies, squash and potatoes (both regular and sweet) and skipped grains all together for about a month. I did very well. I'm seriously considering going back to that to see what happen and then start adding stuff back in. It'll take time to find what works best for your body, but it's worth it.

Espi:
I hadn't heard about the licorice root depressing testosterone production. The one time I did go to the health food store a bit north of where I live, the guy there told me that he's had a lot of PCOS people resolve their issues by treating the thyroid. His personal belief is that it's not an estrogen issue, but a thyroid issue instead. What do you think about that??

[tkinsley]

I'm going to jump in and weigh in on this one a bit. The first thing: nothing operates in a vacuum. We're a system, and man oh man, the endocrine aspect of things is extremely orchestrated and almost beautiful to behold--when it's working right. Like all things in fine balance, many things can impact the overall functioning.

So.

The basic problem with PCOS is an overproduction of androgens. That's clear. It results from, in or is linked to anovulatory cycles with irregular menses and infertility, acne, obesity, truncal weight gain, hirsutism, excess sebum (oil) production, "metabolic syndrome" and insulin resistance (this is why metformin is used btw--it increases insulin sensitivity at the end organ).

In women, androgens are made in the ovaries and much more so converted from estrogen in the peripheral fat. Just by virtue of that fact, someone w hypothyroidism and weight gain would increase their bodyfat and thereby increase the conversion of E-->T.

I'm a bit of a minimalist on the tiny details, myself. I think that one corrects what one can via lifestyle and medications, and then give it a solid 6 months to assess for changes. I'm not sure a special diet is going to be necessary for most people who are consuming a wide variety of different foods--I mean, assuming that one of the dietary staples isn't andro-pops or something. It can't hurt to try licorice if you like it, but there is no one thing that will fix it all. The overall system has to get back to baseline, and that takes time, patience, and probably some medication(s) as well.