I have had a hard time with my weight most of my life. There was a time where I was healthy, fit, and felt sexy. But I fell in love and the weight started to pack on. On top of the weight, I found out in my early 20's that I had a condition. It's called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS. What is PCOS?
The PCOS Support website states it as this:
"Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common female endocrine disorder, affecting approximately 5%-10% of all females. PCOS is a hormonal disorder that involves multiple tissues and organ systems within the body, and is believed to be fundamentally caused by insensitivity to the hormone insulin. It can be diagnosed in all phases of life - in girls as young as 8-9 years of age, up through post-menopause. Although PCOS is one of the leading causes of infertility, the reproductive aspects of the disorder are secondary. PCOS is not limited to women of reproductive age or potential."
My mom had female problems ever since she could remember and several surgeries because of it. When I got diagnosed, we realized that's what she had. And it is hereditary, so I was bound to get it. The only way to get PCOS under control is to lose weight, but if you have PCOS it makes it hard to lose weight. It's a catch 22. This made it so much harder to get rid of the bulge I packed on.
I started to do daily double workouts. Once in the morning before work for about an hour, and then in the evening for 1 to 2 hours. Running, weights, bike, swimming. I also started counting calories and keeping a food diary. I was eating about 1500 - 1700 calories a day. Eating a bag of salad daily. For a year I did this and did not lose one dang pound! Talk about frustrating. I went to a dietitian and she told me hopefully my body will catch up with what I was doing.
At my annual exam I spoke to my gynecologist about it. She said I needed to get on Metformin, a diabetic medicine. Not because I was diabetic but because with PCOS you have insulin resistance. This would help me to ovulate and then hopefully get pregnant. I also found a book called "A Patient's Guide to PCOS". This helped me a lot with how to eat to lose the weight. I was eating about 1200 - 1300 calories a day.
Fast forward to present day, mom of a healthy 4 year old boy. SO yes, with proper diet and exercise in combination with the metformin, it worked and I got pregnant. First I lost weight, then I got pregnant. Of course, when I just started to lose weight and get excited to buy new clothes, I was with baby. But that was my ultimate goal so I was happy.
Of course I had pregnant weight that needed to get off. Then I came back to the plato weight that had trouble with. I've read magazines, seen cool stuff on Pinterest about how you have to rock hard abs, subscribed to some workouts, and have been seeing lots of fad diets. Again, at my annual check up with my gynecologist, we spoke about my weight. She suggested something that I probably never wanted to even think about. Gastric Bypass surgery. She said with my weight and age I could probably be a good candidate for it.
No, not an option for me. I know others that are very successful with it. But for myself I don't think I want to do it. And honestly I don't think that I have tried my all to lose weight. I've known some people who have had that surgery and unfortunately sometimes they gain some weight back. So to me, its not fixing what goes in but how you think.
I really got thinking, I need to change my thinking. I need to write down all the stuff I need to focus on and the stuff I need to not think about. Stuff I need to avoid eating and the healthy stuff I need to fuel my body.
What did I do? I wrote out a contract. A contract between me and myself. A contract to keep me accountable. Something to remind me I am worth working out every day. Put in specific foods that I should avoid. And I've just wrote this Tuesday and already I have a sense of accountability. It's helped me. I've lost 10 pounds since Monday. I'm sure it's mostly water weight from de-bloating and such. But it's a good start.
My favorite thing about it, when I have a temptation of food, I love to say "It's not in my contract". It sounds so legit and official.
So before investing in stuff that are fads or stuff that is a quick fix. I would say, first re-evaluate your thinking and see where you are at. It's helped me and I'm off to a good start. The neat thing is I only have to answer to me.
