Kicking my PCOs to the curb!

[Kirjava]

Hi!
I figured it was time for me to finally start my own training log, after starting NROLFW and being in week 4 of the program. And loving it.
I am really impressed by this board and how incredibly helpful and encouraging members are to each other. I have a few chronic hangups on my health journey so I would be grateful for help/encouragement/hand slapping from all you wise folks.

A few years ago I went on weightwatchers and lost about 30 pounds--from 168 to around 140 by carefully following the program and working out like a demon--mostly cardio.Then I got a personal trainer for a while and did a sustained weight workout, and got down, after a few years, to about 133lbs, and looked fairly buff to boot.

Because that took so much energy and time to maintain and because I was so successful, I got careless and my weight has started to drift up and up and up again....plus I stopped serious weight training because I was afraid I was looking too muscular--I build muscle REALLY easily and was, as my brother-in-law commented, more built than he was. Okay, not quite, but my shoulders were big, bro.

Anyway, so that leaves me where I am now: at 145lbs, too much for my frame (my pants aren't fitting well anymore! Argh!) and pretty anxious to get back into the lifting. Because my body likes it...but at the same time, I do worry about getting too big because maybe I'm that dreaded 1% of women who DO get too big.

Which leads me to my final thing--I have PCOs, a hormone condition that means my system is a bit out of whack--it can indicate high testostrone levels, which is why I worry about too much lifting...plus I'm supposed to stay away from carbs which is a problem because I'm ADDICTED to carbs and sweets and struggle with that every single day.
My doc told me to gain weight--maybe that would help with my condition, she said, but the problem is I can't seem to stop gaining...so...ugh.

Novel length! So, uh, hi everyone!

[Kirjava]

I won't try to publish my last 3 1/2 weeks of workouts, but I will just post my last one as a bench mark.
Workout A #5:All exercises 3 sets of 10 reps

squats: 60/10; 60/10; 45/10 (chickened out on the last one, but it was my first time using the olympic bar and I was nervous!)
pushup (full): bw/10; bw/12; bw/10
seated row: 60/12; 65/10; 65/10
step-up: 15/10; 15/10; 15/10
prone jacknife: bw/12; bw/12; bw/12

HIIT: 15 min on the elliptical afterwards

That was Saturday's workout. It was fairly tough, and I was a bit sore yesterday, but did 60 min of step aerobics because I had cabin fever.

So today is workout #5, B. Looking forward to it!

My biggest problem is not the working out--it's getting the eating on track. Even though weightwatchers helped me lose weight, I think I also learned how to chronically undereat while on the program. So now I've upped my calories and feel like I'm eating all the time--but am still hungry a lot, so go figure. Even though all the protein I'm eating is pretty amazingly helpful at keeping me feel full (seriously, am impossible task).
Right now I'm striving for nonworkout days: 1600cals, 1800cals, workout days.

Btw I'm 5'4 and 28. This morning I checked on the scale and my weight was up to an all-time high (since I lost the weight on weightwatchers) of 145. Argh! I'm trying not to freak but it's hard. And I've been overeating--having weekend days of over 2000 cals. Which is one reason I wanted to start this log and stay accountable.

My hope in all of this is to better manage my PCOs symptons and just feel like I have my health back and love my body again.

[LisaS]

are you eating on a controlled-carb plan to deal with the PCOS? I know you mentioned it was recommended to you but you didn't say if you were trying a specific eating plan. There are many people here who have followed a controlled carb plan for a long time so there's support for that if you want it - there are also many others who follow different ways of eating.

[SpacecityPaula]

Kirjava

I have PCOS too and so does Espi.

[Kirjava]

Hi Lisa,
I've never had a doctor specifically say: "eat only so-and-so carbs" per day, so I've never been low-carb. And since I'm a carb-addict that would be very difficult for me, so I've never followed it.

HOWEVER since I am having problems with food cravings and weight gain I think that following low-carb would be a really good idea for me, and think that there are many on this board that could offer good suggestions. I'm loosely following the recs from NROLFW and am even having a hard time being as low carb as Cassandra recommends--my daily carb levels are anywhere from 160 to 198..... ooooh even typing that out it is becoming so obvious to me that I really have to limit those carbs.

But I'm not sure where to start--meaning, what is a good starting target to go with. After too many years on weightwatchers I'm leery of joining a formal diet program like South Beach or TNT because right now I like the freedom just counting calories. I was thinking, however, of picking up PBD and giving that a shot and perhaps following the carb-sensitive diet recs in there.

[Kirjava]

Paula,
Do you follow a low-carb diet? I'll check out your log.

[Kirjava]

Today's menu:
breakfast:
1 cup of high-fibre cereal with 1 cup of light soymilk
1 scoop of protein poweder

am snack:
2 apples
2 tbsp peanut butter

lunch:
1/2 cup brown rice
about 2 cups of spinach, peas, sauteed onions and red peppers and zuchinni
2 oz shrimp
1 little can of tuna

pm snack:
protein shake (1 cup of soy milk with 1 scoop whey powder and a small handful of frozen berries)

dinner:
large green salad with about 4 oz of grilled chicken
1 tbsp of olive oil
added in nuts, hardboiled egg, seeds (going to a salad bar for dinner)
small scoop of TCBY for dessert

[mel]

Hi Kirjava,

Welcome to the logs! It is a great place for accountability and encouragement.

I sometimes used to worry about getting too big too, partly because of my shoulders, which got huge...my traps too. My masseuse was kinda freaked out by them, lol. But, I know that I look and feel strong and healthy, so I don't worry.

Please don't let that stop you from taking care of yourself.

Good luck getting your eating where you want it and feeling good about yourself again. We'll all be pulling for you.

mel

[Espi]

I've had PCO(S) but seem to have been cured of it. At least , got rid of the largest part of my belly. And more importantly, regular exercise (was on a 12 mo. cycling trip) regulated my cycles to almost clockwork precision of 29 days.
The best thing I ever did was lowering my carbs. I'm not sure what level of carb intake would suit you best, but something like TNT diet or Colpo's Fat Loss Bible diet might suit you best.

Then you can occasionally indulge in carbs, so your workouts will improve.

[Kirjava]

Originally Posted by mel

Hi Kirjava,

I sometimes used to worry about getting too big too, partly because of my shoulders, which got huge...my traps too. My masseuse was kinda freaked out by them, lol. But, I know that I look and feel strong and healthy, so I don't worry.

Please don't let that stop you from taking care of yourself.

Good luck getting your eating where you want it and feeling good about yourself again. We'll all be pulling for you.

mel

Thanks so much, mel! I hope you're right that I won't get too big --maybe I should grow my hair long so I feel more dainty. My husband worked out with me at the gym today and I asked him: "c'mon, seriously--am I too big looking?" and he just rolled his eyes (in a nice, not mean, way) and said: "you should do what makes you feel good!" which is just what I wanted to hear....because lifting makes me feel good because while I might not be dainty I AM strong. (or strongish, anyway--reading some of these logs reveals some amazing and impressive strength!) It's funny you mentioned the story about the massage therapist because I had that happen to me once, too.

[Kirjava]

Originally Posted by Espi

I've had PCO(S) but seem to have been cured of it. At least , got rid of the largest part of my belly. And more importantly, regular exercise (was on a 12 mo. cycling trip) regulated my cycles to almost clockwork precision of 29 days.
The best thing I ever did was lowering my carbs. I'm not sure what level of carb intake would suit you best, but something like TNT diet or Colpo's Fat Loss Bible diet might suit you best.

Then you can occasionally indulge in carbs, so your workouts will improve.

Thanks for the input, Espi--my GROWING belly is definetely my biggest issue. I can't wait until my cycles get regular. I haven't had a cycle in about 2 years. It is kind of scary.

What kind of daily carb intake do you have?

[Kirjava]

Workout B #5
10 min cardio warmup on elliptical
Dynamic warmup: side to side lunges, squats, step back lunges
Deadlifts: 60/10; 60/10; 60/10 (I really need to work on my df form--I just don't feel like I'm doing this right. I am feeling it too much in my low back, I think. I need to figure out the whole bending knee timing thing)
Dumbbell shoulder press: 15/10; 15/10; 15/10
Lat pull-down: My gym was SO crowded tonight, I could not get on this machine! It was frustrating. I didn't know what else to do, so I did bent-over back rows, using a 20 on each side for 3 reps of 10.
Lunge: 20/10; 20/10; 20/10
Swiss-ball crunch: 25 plate/10; 25 plate/10; 25 plate/15
10 min of HIIT on elliptical

I stuck to my eating plan...except for I skipped the frozen yogurt at the movies and had a little plain yogurt with a tiny sprinkle of homemade granola and chocolate chips when I got home. Oohhhh that dratted sweet tooth of mine.

[Espi]

Originally Posted by Kirjava

Thanks for the input, Espi--my GROWING belly is definetely my biggest issue. I can't wait until my cycles get regular. I haven't had a cycle in about 2 years. It is kind of scary.

What kind of daily carb intake do you have?

Do you also experience a lot of stress in daily life? Sleeping poorly perhaps as well? These are things you really need to address as well. Back in 2000 my cycle normalized after 3 months of care-free cycling (& h-hiking) across the USA. The exercise and more regular eating did me a world of good.

FYI: an adult woman that's far away from menopause lengthens her cycle when food intake is not adequate. This lengthening occurs in the first follicular phase. I'm approaching menopause at age 44.
Since April 2007 I'm tracking basal body temperature which has enabled me to pinpoint ovulation. This is how I discovered that my 2nd phase is now the instable one. Apparently that's typical for peri-menopausal women, their 2nd phase starts to 'flounder'. Generally it shortens as soon as I start dieting, to the extent of having cycles of just 23 days. Once I stop dieting, it lengthens again to 27-29 days, sometiems 31 days. That's a far far cry from how it used to be in the old days when 35-42 days was the average and sometimes I'd skip cycles altogether. Especially when travelling = pleasant stress. Apparently travelling by public transport (as I used to do) is tons more stressful than travelling by bicycle (burning off eaten calories and less time-crunch, viz you stop whenever you want).

Back to the carbs. Right now I'm at my goal weight, albeit bf% is still not how I'd like it to be (viz. 26-27% as opposed to the desired 23% = optimal for my age). Back in 2002 I started low-carbing and slowly shed weight (1kg a month). Late 2002 I switched to a keto diet and shed 8kg in 6 weeks.. but alas also lost a ton of hair and turned grey in a short period, due to severe B12-depletion (which only got addressed much later .. not by a doctor but by my current SO!!!).
While a keto diet can lead to magnificent weight (& fat) loss in a short time period, it's not suitable for people that work out (lots). Too much stress on the body! You're burning through your B-vitamins like a wildfire, and if your body doesn't absorb them well in the first place , you're in trouble.
If anything: choose a diet that has you cycle carbs. You go low on rest days (as low as you can tolerate, the lower you go = the more appetite is suppressed = lower calorie intake = faster fat loss) and then go to the level of carbs on WO-days that gives you sustainable energy. This is hard to predict.

Thing is: if you're used to very low carb intakes, a little carb goes a long way. If not, then you're a predominant carb burner. This is why it is often adviced to establish ketosis during about 1-2 weeks (and hold off the training for a bit) and then start cycling carbs.
Some have low - medium - high days and others prefer low - high. I do the former.
Low days = 50-75g of carbs on rest days (say 1g/kg BW)
Medium days = approx. 150g on a training day (approx. 2g/kg BW)
High days = approx. 300g on a more strenuous training day (often including HIIT, viz. 4g/kg BW).
On a cutting diet:
low days approx. 1100-1400 kcal
Moderate days at maintenance (currently 2200kcal)
High days over maintenance (2500-3000 kcal)
On average this gives 10% deficit. It may look like a futile approach to go that low and yet only have 10% deficit, but it's about the only thing that really worked for me. Also, I don't mind eating very little one day (or heck, even fast for 24hrs) if I get to indulge a little the other day.
Besides... it works miracles.. body never even guesses I'm on a cut! Never let your body eat below maintenance for prolonged periods, unless you're UBERFAT like 30 kg overweight.

Feel free to tweak this.. this is just 'my' approach.

Interesting: back in 2002-2003 I could tolerate very low carb intake of an average of 100g carbs or less. Now I no longer can.. either because of development of adrenal fatigue (ties in with B-deficiency and food intolerances) or because I'm so much leaner. The latter is probably not true, since Galya is very lean but yet, can tolerate very low carbs (<50g) just fine and trains hard too.

[Kirjava]

Espi, that's a lot of great information. Thank you so much.
I'm wary of going into ketosis because my doctor specifically advised against it for me.
However, after doing a lot of thinking about it over the past few days I have decided to reexamine my diet and reduce my carbs to about 95-125 a day. That is still a considerable reduction with what I'm eating right now (about 180-210), but still managable, I think, and I hope will help with my cravings and constant hunger.

I have the recent issue of women's health which has an excerpt from Cassandra's "Perfect Body Diet" which advises that the "carb-sensitive" diet should have about 95-125 g of carbs a day.

When I have a chance later I will post my day's menu.

ps. Espi, just about drooled with envy reading about your bike trip! I'd so love to do that.

[Kirjava]

So here is my menu for the day:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup of egg whites with 3 tbsp sunflower seeds and a cup of spinach, some salsa, 1 tsp of fish oil
Snack: 3/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt, 3 tbsp walnuts, 1 scoop of whey powder, 1 orange
Lunch: bag of cucumbers and celery, 1/2 cup of black bean dip, 1 mini can of tuna
Snack: 1 apple, 4 deli slices of ham
Dinner: 1 chicken breast, 1 cup of squash, some broccoli and olive oil

That rounds out to about: 1523 cals, 131 carbs, 53 g fat, 145g protein

So I even had more carbs then I really meant to...right now (post-dinner) I'm really craving something sweet even though I'm not hungry at all...I'm hoping my decaf coffee will take that craving away!

[LisaS]

Originally Posted by Espi

FYI: an adult woman that's far away from menopause lengthens her cycle when food intake is not adequate. This lengthening occurs in the first follicular phase. [snip] ... pinpoint ovulation. This is how I discovered that my 2nd phase is now the instable one. Apparently that's typical for peri-menopausal women, their 2nd phase starts to 'flounder'. Generally it shortens as soon as I start dieting, to the extent of having cycles of just 23 days. Once I stop dieting, it lengthens again to 27-29 days, sometiems 31 days.

interesting - my cycle shortened from 27-29 to around 23 when I had my rt ovary removed 3 yrs ago - and the days shortened in 1st phase rather than 2nd. I'm still 14d post ovul. like clockwork. Wonder what that means in terms of being peri-peri?
[sorry in advance for the hijack Kirjava]