Kicking my PCOs to the curb!

[Espi]

Metformin can sometimes make people overeat I've heard. Does it make blood sugar drop? If it drops too low that can be a trigger to overeat on carbs.

I hope you understood what I meant with Poliquin's quote. It seems that some people see their maintenance go sky-high when they train a LOT. This seems to be mostly true for OL and PL types of training. Or, cross-training ,like when peopole do 2 types of cardio (both steady state & interval) and both low- & high-rep workouts.
But you're constantly on the edge of overtraining. Eating a LOT can help, but some overreact and simply eat too much.

Scaling back a little on the exercise and eg. cutting out the cardio will help. But only when you also pay attention to diet.

Counting calories and weighing food with a digital scale is vital.

Confession: even then I end up overeating often.. I'm just a food lover and cherish food and performing well in the gym more than having a low bf% which always requires eatng less than you'd really like..

[Kirjava]

Originally Posted by nutbar

I'll be interested in how your eating experimentation plays out. I have my own set of eats issues so love reading other's thoughts on nutrition and hopefully learning something along the way!

Thanks for stopping by, Diane!

Originally Posted by Espi

Metformin can sometimes make people overeat I've heard. Does it make blood sugar drop? If it drops too low that can be a trigger to overeat on carbs.

Confession: even then I end up overeating often.. I'm just a food lover and cherish food and performing well in the gym more than having a low bf% which always requires eatng less than you'd really like..

Yes, Metformin can make blood sugar drop. Which might explain why I've been feeling like CRAP these last few days. When I'm getting hungry I'm getting shaky, nauseous, dizzy--it's awful. I'm trying to eat regularly and good protein with each meal, but it's tough.

I am also a food lover and cherisher. It brings me a lot of pleasure but also a lot of angst. (clearly!)

So today was day two of my efforts to revamp my diet.
It went okay. Like I said, I felt pretty off today and it is really hard to stick to a diet when food is one of the things that make you feel better. But I tried, I really did. My day was also weird--supposed to meet up with a friend, couldn't, was hanging around downtown, but the good thing is that I brought lunch with me. The bad thing was that I packed my food quickly without checking macros so while it was all healthy and stuff, I overate carbs and underate protein. (Classic).

When I logged the info on the computer and saw that later in the day, I panicked and ran on my parent's treadmill in the basement for an hour. It felt good because it was one of the few times today I didn't feel ill.

Tomorrow marks the end of my week off from lifting. Thank god! I can't stand it! Talk about feeling restless. I'm at my parent's house and they no weights here and live in the boondocks with no gym nearby, but I will do a workout of bodyweight resistence and then some HITT on the treadmill.

So my macros are off and my cals are up from goal but I WILL give myself props for avoiding the red wine on the table, as well as all the damn chocolate lying around in bowls everywhere, wrapped prettily in easter egg colours.

cals: 1,533 carbs: 208 (53%)
fat: 34 (19.6%)
protein: 106 (27.2%)

[mel]

Hey Kiri! I know what you mean about a week off from lifting. It's necessary sometimes but everything just feels all wrong until I get back to my routine.

Keep at it with your eats...you will find the place that works!

mel

[MuscleMom23]

Hope you feel better soon!

[Kirjava]

Originally Posted by mel

Hey Kiri! I know what you mean about a week off from lifting. It's necessary sometimes but everything just feels all wrong until I get back to my routine.

Keep at it with your eats...you will find the place that works!

mel

Thanks Mel! Glad to see you stopping by.

Originally Posted by MuscleMom23

Hope you feel better soon!

Thanks Kelly! I actually did feel somewhat better today, so that's good.

Well, sticking to my calorie range while at my parents house is one thing, but sticking to my macros is another. The day's not over yet so I won't post my eats yet, but I think unfortunately I once again ate too many carbs, not enough protein. Eating enough protein is something that requires a lot of planning, I think.

Anyway, the good news for today is that I managed to get in a great workout, even though all I had were a pair of tiny, hot-pink (of course) weights that my mom has beside the treadmill. So I had to be a bit creative, but I am pretty happy with how it went. I sweated a ton and got tired out.

Warmup:
Active dynamic warmup moves. I did a series of them today to limber me up to try to help with my chronic stiffness. They're from the perfect body diet book. I did 10 reps of each move.
Prisoner squats
Y squats
Lateral lunges
Hip-pop on floor
Single-leg hip-pop on floor
Bird dog
Y's
T's
I's
Wall arm slides
walking quad stretch
knee grab
walking straight-leg kick
forward lunge with twist
scapular pushup
windmill

Workout:
I did the following 4 moves as a superset and repeated it three times:
1. Squat jump, 20 reps
2. step-ups, 15 reps
3. forward lunge with twist, 15 reps
4. leg back raise (targets glutes), 15 reps

I then did the following 5 moves as a superset, repeating it three times:
1. push-ups, 10 reps
2. static lunge off of step, 15 reps
3. reverse crunch, 20 reps
4. side planks, 60 seconds
5. cobra, 60 seconds

I then did 15 minutes of HITT on the tready.

All in all, it was a great and LONG workout. (Ah, gotta love vacation for that!). It was fun to do a change of pace and to use only body weight for resistance.

I doubt I'll do ALL those warmup moves again--that really took a long time. But I did like the Y's, T's, and I's, the Windmill, and the Walking Straight-Leg Kick.

[dillytl]

Eating enough protein is something that requires a lot of planning, I think.

A resounding YES to this statement!!! Before I started working with Leigh, I was like you in that I would over-eat carbs and under-eat protein (I still tend to do that on my "treat" days - but it's ok then! ) I've gotten to the point now that when I plan my day's menu - I start with the protein, and fill the rest in from there!!! Getting 150 - 170 grams of protein on a daily basis is TOUGH!!!

[MuscleMom23]

Originally Posted by dillytl

A resounding YES to this statement!!! Before I started working with Leigh, I was like you in that I would over-eat carbs and under-eat protein (I still tend to do that on my "treat" days - but it's ok then! ) I've gotten to the point now that when I plan my day's menu - I start with the protein, and fill the rest in from there!!! Getting 150 - 170 grams of protein on a daily basis is TOUGH!!!

You aren't kidding it's tough especially if you are used to eating more carbs and less meat! I have been taught that forever!

It's been a couple of months and I can see myself getting up there consistently now.

Hang in there!

[Kirjava]

Yes, and it's especially tough to do that at my parent's house where I'm not the head "cook" and haven't been stocking the fridge and all that. I have arrived before with a bag of groceries but I was just too tired this trip.

Anyway, so I decided I probably won't eat anymore tonight, so I'll catalogue the eats tally after all. Today was very similar to yesterday--fine on the calories (my target for workout days is 1600), but too high on the carbs, too low on the protein.
cals: 1,654 fat: 57 (32.7%)
carbs: 173 (44%)
protein: 92 (23.4%)

[rixatrix]

Originally Posted by Kirjava

Rixa, PCOs is tough thing to diagnose because hormonal levels fluctuate so much, and also, it varies wildly from woman to woman. The thing is, even if you went off the pill, did the bloodwork and found you had PCOs, they would probably just put you back on the pill again (a popular, though not necessarily great way to deal with it). Another way is to get an ultrasound and check out the status on your ovaries. I would recommend getting the tests done at some point just so you know, but chances are you've been having these chat with your doc already.

Thanks for the info! My doctor told me to basically not worry about it. She didn't exactly blow me off, because I think she's a great doctor and I trust her, especially when my thinking about PCOS is pretty transient and just sort of exploratory. I think what's hard though, is as you get older, your body starts to change and you realize you're broken in places, or breaking, and that everyone has areas where their body maybe doesn't function as well as it could.

My mom, maternal grandmother, and mom's sister all have hypothyroid - my aunt even had her thyroid removed (but she's the former bodybuilder and looks great for her age - go weights!). So that's always something I'm on the lookout for, because it's obvious I have a pretty good chance of getting it, too. Just like I'm sort of on the lookout for any other PCOS-related symptoms, or any changes in the symptoms I already have. (The facial hair and neck hair is obnoxious, to say the least, but can I really pinpoint it as that far beyond what average women have? Because I've seen my Pakistani coworker when she hasn't waxed in a while, and that really puts things into perspective.)

Anyway, I appreciate your opinion. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Kirjava

I am also a food lover and cherisher. It brings me a lot of pleasure but also a lot of angst. (clearly!)

AMEN! I think loving food and loving good, hard exercise is really just a love of LIFE. And I totally think the two can coexist in a physically and mentally healthy lifestyle. In fact, I think they probably coexist better than they do apart. It's so much more satisfying to eat your favorite thing after 1) not having it for a while, and 2) not feeling guilty because you know you treat your body right on a day-to-day basis.

Originally Posted by Kirjava

Today was very similar to yesterday--fine on the calories (my target for workout days is 1600), but too high on the carbs, too low on the protein.

What are your daily calorie goals? Just curious since I know we're both cutting.

[Kirjava]

Originally Posted by rixatrix

Thanks for the info! My doctor told me to basically not worry about it. She didn't exactly blow me off, because I think she's a great doctor and I trust her, especially when my thinking about PCOS is pretty transient and just sort of exploratory. I think what's hard though, is as you get older, your body starts to change and you realize you're broken in places, or breaking, and that everyone has areas where their body maybe doesn't function as well as it could.

My mom, maternal grandmother, and mom's sister all have hypothyroid - my aunt even had her thyroid removed (but she's the former bodybuilder and looks great for her age - go weights!). So that's always something I'm on the lookout for, because it's obvious I have a pretty good chance of getting it, too. Just like I'm sort of on the lookout for any other PCOS-related symptoms, or any changes in the symptoms I already have. (The facial hair and neck hair is obnoxious, to say the least, but can I really pinpoint it as that far beyond what average women have? Because I've seen my Pakistani coworker when she hasn't waxed in a while, and that really puts things into perspective.)

Anyway, I appreciate your opinion. Thanks.

I think being aware of the symptoms and keeping a careful eye on them is a good start, and I certainly hope you never have to think about it beyond that kind of general precaution!

Originally Posted by rixatrix

AMEN! I think loving food and loving good, hard exercise is really just a love of LIFE. And I totally think the two can coexist in a physically and mentally healthy lifestyle. In fact, I think they probably coexist better than they do apart. It's so much more satisfying to eat your favorite thing after 1) not having it for a while, and 2) not feeling guilty because you know you treat your body right on a day-to-day basis.

I agree. I don't enjoy good food unless my body feels "ready" for it--and that usually means good physical activity. My dream day is a huge 8 hour hike followed by a sumpetous feast. That's why I would love to take a bike tour in the south of france--bring on the exercise, bring on the eats.

Originally Posted by rixatrix

What are your daily calorie goals? Just curious since I know we're both cutting.

On workout days I'll do: 1600 cals, with 20-30% carbs, 40% fat, 30-35% protein. On non workout days I'll do 1400 cals, with the same macro breakdowns.

[Espi]

Try 1200 /1800 instead. Actually I'd even encourage eating more than that like 1200/2000+ . It may lead to a less fast wt loss, but will increase performance in the gym. The extra calories also will make it easier to go lower the next day, while keeping them moderately low every day costs a lot more perseverance.

On the macros.. yeah, it takes several years before you can really do it on autopilot mode. The easiest thing to do without pre-planning is
- every time you open your mouth PROTEIN goes in.. nothing else, no ifs/buts etc. with the exception of possibly a small amt of fruit.

For about a year and a half I've tracked food after the fact.. didn't lose weight at all, even gained some, but did see my maintenance go up from 1600ish (when not being active) to 2700ish when I just had moved and had a very high lifting volume + cardio. All this within 6 months. The big mistake was to think the 2500-2700 mtn was here to stay.. it didn't . Once the body adapted to a higher lifting volume, mtn bottomed out at around 2000ish kcal and BW just flew up!

Things turned around once I started to PRE-plan my eats 1 day up to 4-5 days before and then I was finally able to turn the tables. Up till today I still pre-plan , but just the night before and copy 1 day onto another, change a few things and then am oftentimes able to hit my macro & calorie target within a few grams of difference. I'm seeing it as a game to hit the targets almost spot on, but am not too obsessed if things work out differently.

[kfisherx]

Man has this log been enlightening for me. I find getting the right food in me at the right macros has been such a huge deal. It is a wonder that anyone does it at all it is so hard. I have to plan very carefully every day in order to hit my macros and get in the protein. It does get easier but I can easily see this taking a year or more. Ugghh....

[nutbar]

Originally Posted by kfisherx

Man has this log been enlightening for me. I find getting the right food in me at the right macros has been such a huge deal. It is a wonder that anyone does it at all it is so hard. I have to plan very carefully every day in order to hit my macros and get in the protein. It does get easier but I can easily see this taking a year or more. Ugghh....

But isn't the entire process/journey incredibly cool & interesting?! I love learning and experimenting and tweaking to see what happens. It's like a big ol' chess game in a mad scientist's lab.

[Espi]

Exactly. Not that I can play chess but I can fully relate to the 'mad scientist's lab' feeling. Both for the food planning/diet as well as the training. Loving plotting out routines on graphs and seeing strength increase or (sometimes) decrease.

Interpreting the data takes more time though..

[marygrace]

Your workout looks great and I'm sure with some tinkering and practice, you'll start to get the macros right. Like Espi mentioned, every time you eat something, make sure protein is a part of it! Since I haven't been doing much in the area of tracking, this is the one rule I always follow.