Health Issues Elaborated

In my initial post, I mentioned how I used my Hypothyroidism and PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) as the reasoning to why I couldn't lose weight.

I wanted to take a minute and get semi-serious and elaborate on when I was diagnosed, the treatment (for me), and how I've tailored my eating to meet my needs. There are some trends you'll notice with it once I start posting foods and meal plans.

In January of 2010, I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism after about a 40 lb weight gain in a very short amount of time. I knew my egg mcmuffin wasn't the ideal breakfast, but, I didn't think that it would cause me to gain 40 pounds in the span of 3-4 months. I was very lucky to have been assigned to a wonderful PCM who legitimately cared. I was honest with her regarding my diet because back then, my eating wasn't super out of control. She asked me a ton of questions- basically to see if my symptoms matched what she thought was going on an sure enough between her awesome skills and the blood work confirming it: my thyroid was on it's own freaking program!

Some of my symptoms that I didn't even chalk up to being something wrong with me because I had them as long as I could remember: always being cold, paleness, dry skin, moodiness, and fatigue.

Back then, I had a reason for why I had every single one of those issues: I've always been cold, even to this day with the condition regulated, I am always in a sweater or hoodie. I've always been pale. I've always had dry skin (still do!). The moodiness was a recent thing, but we had also just moved to Hawaii and I was homesick. Fatigue... Well, ok, this one, wasn't normal for me, but I chalked it up to being part of being homesick.

It took about a month or so for my medication to get on track and get my condition under control. Once that was done, Dr. B told me that eating right and working out should make weight loss much easier since my condition was under control. Boy, was that not the case!

Some time shortly after my thyroid issue was regulated, other things were not going back to normal, and we had been in the fertility testing phase of our life (pretty much all of 2010 was spent being poked and prodded. We stopped trying in 2011) and that's when I found out that I also had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. My theory has always been that the PCOS was onset by the sudden weight gain my out of whack thyroid caused. For those of you who aren't familiar with PCOS, here is a link with a better overview than I could ever try and give you: PCOS Overview.

It wasn't until 2012 that I really started trying to get my health under control and in order. I tried EVERYTHING. In January/February, I literally restricted myself to 1200 calories a day, at least an hour in the gym, no this, no that... I was miserable. I only lost maybe 2 - 5 lbs. For such a big change in diet and exercise, I was disappointed. I eventually went and saw my doctor about getting an appointment with the nutritionist. I had done some research and found that most women with PCOS have trouble losing weight because their bodies process carbs very differently than the normal woman. A lot of women with PCOS end up with diabetes. I was not trying to have that. I read a lot of articles and research reports (as well as talked to a couple friends with the condition) that found women with PCOS tend to have much better results losing weight when eating and maintaining a lower carbohydrate diet. My appointment with the nutritionist was really just me wanting to discuss my ideas of the Atkins Diet/South Beach and whether it would be safe for me to lose weight that way.

My appointment with the nutritionist did not fair so well. She basically told me that I needed a reduced calorie diet and to eat what I had been eating. She also preached to me that since the rest of me internally was healthy, I should practice "Body Acceptance" instead of focusing my efforts on getting skinny. Let me tell you something, this lady looked like she had never been overweight a day in her life. I had a very very hard time not wanting to punch her. Anyone who has been big, then little(r), then big again will understand where I'm coming from when I say... "There is no way in hell I'm accepting this."

Around April, I had noticed certain symptoms/side affects of the PCOS worsening. Namely my hair falling out and my acne getting fairly bad. After a trip home to see my family where my mother and hair dresser back home had pointed out that my hair was significantly thinner, I decided it was time to suck up my pride and talk to my doctor about medication that helps with the symptoms.

I was put on a small dose of Metformin (1x a day)  which has made a HUGE difference in my life. I didn't want to be medicated for my condition, but, sometimes, it's necessary. Metformin (glucophase) is a medication primarily used to treat Type 2 Diabetes, but, lots of research supports that it aids in the treatment of PCOS.

Since being on Metformin (and taking it regularly) and really making the effort to eat for my condition, my life has changed. For me, eating for my condition means lower carb lifestyle. I try and max out at 75g net carbs (Total Carbs - Fiber = Net Carbs) a day, but, there are days when Im way over. I have also limited the amount of bread/pasta/potato carbs that I intake throughout the day.

I know this post is pretty pointless for most of you out there, but, part of me had to post it. Weight loss has not been easy for me, not since 2010. It's not sunshine and rainbows and just counting calories. For me, I have to watch everything I eat. But more importantly, my main message is, if I can do it- you can do it :)