This morning I read a Facebook post from an organization named Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Association that educates people about PCOS. This is what their post said: "PCOS is thought to be a result of insulin resistance. Many doctors mistakenly believe that they can diagnose (or rule out) insulin resistance with a blood glucose test. While this is correct for approaching diabetes where the pancreas is starting to fail, this is incorrect for PCOS. PCOS usually involves insulin resistance with compensating hyperinsulinemia (overproduction of insulin), and this will result in normal blood glucose levels."

It sounds like it is time to get my insulin levels checked.

Interesting Link in an Email

I got this Medscape article in my email in relation to PCOS that I thought I would share: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/745257?src=mp&spon=24

Enjoy!

I Think It Is Stress...

...And my doctor agrees with me. I went in to the doctor's office to get checked out because I have been fatigued over the past several weeks and had a few incidences of heart palpitations. I was so tired, it felt like someone had been secretly drugging me. The more fatigued I got, the more I felt like I should rest, but that didn't seem to help much. I even took a pregnancy test because I've missed a period. It was negative.

However, my other tests, the lab tests my doctor ordered came back all in normal ranges. Having PCOS means having a high risk for out of control blood sugar and insulin levels. These can also cause fatigue. My fasting blood sugar was in the 80's, my blood sugar levels have average 92 over the past few months, my insulin levels were in normal range, and my thyroid hormone was back in normal range. I wasn't producing enough a while ago.

So...the one thing that I can think of that might cause fatigue, missed periods, and heart palpitations is stress. I've been fairly stressed out with the end of nursing school and all that entails. I've taken on a lot in the past few months with planning a baby shower, my mom's big decade birthday (can't tell you how old she is, she'd kill me), running a fundraiser, and planning the student-run graduation ceremony.

I'm going to try the one cure that I know that works well for me: cardio exercise. I think that along with relaxation, time management, adequate sleep, and a big shot of fun, I should be back to normal in no time. We'll see how that works and if everything gets back on track. I hope everyone out there reading this also has good ways to relieve the stress in your lives. It can seriously impact your health if you let it.

Happy birthday to me!

For my birthday yesterday, my body gave me a reminder of my fertility.  Aunt Flow was right on time at 31 days. She has been visiting me regularly for the past several months. This is such a good sign. I think that the reduced stress levels and better eating habits are serving me well. Also, run/walking with my hubby has probably helped too.  

Perhaps spending time with the adorable, small package that was delivered on the 9th to our good friends also played a role. Watching Josh holding a 2 day old melted my heart. He's a big teddy bear and his gentle, caring nature comes even more to life when he is holding a newborn. It brought tears to my eyes to watch. Someday, that may be us...

Inspiration

This past weekend, I did the Nike Women's Half Marathon with a couple of friends.  I had not planned to run the entire distance because I wanted to just do a walk or walk/run with friends.  This is different for me because the last half marathon that I did, I ran the entire way as fast as I could.  Well, it ended up that I ran about half of this one and walked the other half.

At the beginning, I was so excited to be at the start line of an event again.  I almost forgot over the past 5 years how fun that was.  That was nothing compared to the endorphin-filled finish line!  At the end of the race, the fire department guys dressed up in tuxedos handed you a Tiffany's box with a silver necklace in it.  The necklace charm says, "I run to be."

I love it!  It has me inspired to do more.  I want to do a marathon!  After the race, I realized that if I kept going at the pace that I was going, I would have made the cut off time for the marathon even just walk/running like I was.  It gave me the inspiration and confidence that I could do it.  Of course, now that school is in session and I am busy, it probably isn't the best time to do something like that, but I am thinking about starting training in the winter and doing an event during the spring of next year.  More updates on this to come...

PCOS Advice

So to double check my doctor's treatment plan, I asked a midwife that I trust about my condition. She basically said the same thing. Weight loss is an appropriate treatment.  PCOS is a cluster of endocrine issues or issues with hormones that can lead to an increased risk of heart disease and insulin resistance (type 2 diabetes). With proper diet & exercise as well as weight loss, my risk of developing insulin resistance is lowered along with my risk of heart disease. Whew! It is good news that I can do something about it. 

Now I just need to get someone to retest my hormone levels and I will feel fairly satisfied with the answers that I've been getting.

Eating Less Without Feeling Deprived

Try something for me. Close your eyes and don't think about the purple elephants. Go ahead, do it now. No purple elephants.

Are you back with me? During that first several moments, it can be quite a task to get your mind away from thinking about purple elephants. Does it work to keep telling yourself, don't do it? Really, you are still thinking about purple elephants by struggling so hard to not think about them. Before I made the suggestion, you probably weren't thinking about them and would have gone on with life without thinking about them.

Now try something else. Close your eyes, don't think about purple elephants, but this time, replace those thoughts with fluffy white bunny rabbits. Now close your eyes and remember fluffy white bunny rabbits.

Was it easier to not think about purple elephants? You had something else to concentrate on so that you didn't keep thinking about purple elephants. I find thinking about white bunnies help to get my mind off of what I'm not supposed to think about.

I think this principle is very useful for what I experienced this weekend. I was feeling deprived. I had been really good about eating a low calorie weight loss diet for a while. Then, the deprivation thoughts started to come into my head. You know those thoughts that whisper, "Don't think about the cake that other people are eating. I'm sure they are enjoying it. I might be able to enjoy it too, but I'm not supposed to have it. Just quit thinking about it and it will go away."  That becomes, "I can't stop thinking about it and it really won't hurt to have a small piece." Then that thought turns into, "Well you blew your calories today so you might as well just let loose and get back on track tomorrow." Other thoughts include, "Why am I so hungry right now? It isn't fair for me to keep feeling this hungry. I just want to go back to eating whatever I want. What I was eating before really wasn't that unhealthy."

This weekend I was at a workshop and brought my own food to eat knowing that an unknown lunch was going to be served by the workshop instructor. I ended up eating the food that everyone else was eating that wasn't necessarily healthy, gained weight and felt sluggish as a result. What set that up was a feeling of deprivation. Going there, I had a plan. That plan went out the window when I started trying to not think about the yummy cookies on the table instead of the benefits of the yummy food I spent time preparing for myself.

I kept telling myself, "I deserve this. I have been eating so little for a while now and it doesn't feel as good as those cookies would in my tummy." Then, "I already had a cookie, I might as well have some coffee cake because when is the next time I'm going to be able to have something like that." The strategy of trying not to think about it was useless against what happened this weekend.

With PCOS, I am in a unique position. It is difficult to maintain my weight and extremely difficult to lose weight. I need to have impeccable eating habits. Without those habits, I will gain weight. I cannot just eat healthy foods when I'm hungry and stop when I'm satisfied because my body doesn't work like everyone else's. Unlike others, my body is programmed to gain weight unless I take action and do something about it. It is very easy to feel like this isn't fair and feel deprived as a result. To me, the weight gain wouldn't be such a big deal if it didn't come with high blood pressure, depression, heart disease, diabetes and other health risks. 

Well, to counteract this, I have come up with some strategies to cope that I want to share with everyone.

#1 Eat often - Eating a light healthy snacks and small-portioned meals throughout the day is fuel to keep your metabolism burning. Also when I fail to eat at least every 4 hours while awake, I can get hungry enough to not care as much about what is going into my mouth. Hunger drives me to make decisions that I wouldn't otherwise make. When it has been 7 hours since the last time I ate anything, I set myself up to be more likely to say yes to something fast, easing and unhealthy.

#2 Eat fiber - Fiber is found in abundance in vegetables, fruits and whole grains. It helps you to feel fuller for longer. A bowl of oatmeal with berries in the morning lasts me a long time. The American Dietetic Association recommends that we eat 20-35 grams of fiber every day. This means that every meal and snack you eat needs to have fiber. If you eat 5 times a day (3 meals and 2 snacks), you need to have at least 4 grams of fiber every time to eat to meet the minimum requirement. 

#3 Fill up - Speaking of feeling fuller, having foods that cause a slow change to your blood sugar help you to not feel hungry as quickly after eating. They tend not to trigger hormones involved in food cravings. You may have heard of eating a low glycemic index diet. Those include foods high in fiber, lean protein and healthy fats. This is especially important in PCOS because of the high incidence of insulin resistance. Include a balance of carbohydrates, lean protein and healthy fat when you eat.

#4 Appeal to your senses - Eating foods you like is enjoyable. On the other hand, eating something because you have to and not because you want to is a sure way to feel deprived. For example, I love mushrooms. I will eat mushrooms on sandwiches, in salads, in casseroles, and put it in soup. I love the earthy smell and taste. Find foods that appeal to your senses like this. When you find something that appeals to you, savor it. Last week when it was blazing hot, I cut up melon and put it in the fridge. It wasn't hard not to savor cold sweet bits of goodness on a hot day!

#5 Drink water - Water helps you to feel fuller. Also, as I said in a previous post, humans can mistake the thirst signal for the hunger signal. You may feel like going to the fridge to eat when really you need to pour yourself a glass of water. Water also has no calories as opposed to drinking your calories in the form of juice, soda or other drinks loaded with sugar that don't fill you up.

#6 Be light - Lighten up every once in a while. Try not to take yourself so seriously that you are king or queen of restriction. Too much restriction will certainly make you feel like you've been deprived. A guilty pleasure every now and again isn't going to make or break you as long as you can have it without going overboard. Balance is important. For me, I have a couple peanut M&M's off the candy jar on my husband's desk every so often and can appreciate having had chocolate.

Well, I'm off to go put these principles in practice. How do you stop yourself from feeling deprived? Please feel free to add more suggestions. I'm sure there is tons of other really great advice that others have.