PCOS and TTC #1

[HopefullyOpto]

Shortcakes, glad to hear your getting the exercise in. Must do you wonders out of interest do you think the inositol helped your cycles at all?

Danna, so glad to hear about your follie. Fx this is your cycle and you get that gleaming bfp at the end of your tww.

Babysquash, like shortcakes said i also have a massive weakness for ice cream, if you are finding it hard to go cold turkey my advice is to do it in increments, i.e make a change to frozen yoghurt and then move to coconut cream ice cream (dairy free) until eventually cutting it out and only having it as a treat. This doesnt work for everyone and equally sometimes for me i just need to quit cold turkey but i am slowly making changes once again to see if it helps. I mean i am cd39/40 now and still no ovulation so something os obviously not right... Dont worry we will get our well deserved bfp's soon enough. Out of interest and obviously if you dont mind sharing but how much weight would you like to loose?

Very i see your temp dropped today, is that normally a pre ovulation dip or is it just an anomaly?

 

[veryblueapple]

That is an anomaly, because it's too early for ovulation. I do often get o dips. I don't know what's up with my temp today. I was having a horrible nightmare when I woke up, was super cold, temped and there it is a huge dip. Hopefully it's back on track tomorrow.

 

[HopefullyOpto]

Yeah having a nightmare probably put the temp

 

[HopefullyOpto]

Yeah having a nightmare probably put the temp out of whack. I often find that.

Very do you have any tips for meals and snacks. Im finding it so hard at the moment, i feel like im failing my body sometimes and dont know what im doing wrong. Do you think diet is more important than exercise or both equal?

 

[shortcakes21]

Shortcakes, glad to hear your getting the exercise in. Must do you wonders out of interest do you think the inositol helped your cycles at all?

Danna, so glad to hear about your follie. Fx this is your cycle and you get that gleaming bfp at the end of your tww.

Babysquash, like shortcakes said i also have a massive weakness for ice cream, if you are finding it hard to go cold turkey my advice is to do it in increments, i.e make a change to frozen yoghurt and then move to coconut cream ice cream (dairy free) until eventually cutting it out and only having it as a treat. This doesnt work for everyone and equally sometimes for me i just need to quit cold turkey but i am slowly making changes once again to see if it helps. I mean i am cd39/40 now and still no ovulation so something os obviously not right... Dont worry we will get our well deserved bfp's soon enough. Out of interest and obviously if you dont mind sharing but how much weight would you like to loose?

Very i see your temp dropped today, is that normally a pre ovulation dip or is it just an anomaly?

Opto... i do see a little change in my last cycle.. usually every other cycle i am really long and i have never gotten a positive opk before. Last cycle (my first cycle taking all 3 vits at once... inositol, NAC and Vitex) i actually got a positive opk and i got af exactly 14 days after and the cycle only lasted 31 days when usually i would have went almost 50 before af.

I have a realistic goal and dream goal for weight loss.... realistic would be 20lbs.... my dream goal would be 60.

 

[veryblueapple]

I think diet is more important at first. Because when you workout you naturally increase your calories (your hunger grows) to keep up with what you're burning. You have to make a conscious effort to stay under a certain amount of calories to lose weight. Working out is hard, especially if you haven't done it in a while, and more so when you're overweight. People often give up too soon.

It's MUCH easier to eat healthy, and be lazy, while still losing weight. It encourages you to want more and do more. It gives you motivation and confidence. And if you hate to cook (like me) go raw for a while. Just eat raw veggies and fruit to your hearts content. Have hard boiled eggs, low sodium deli turkey, chicken breast, almond/coconut milk, spinach/broccoli for protein. Don't rely on seeds or nuts too much cause they're high in calories but have a handful or less a day, make sure they're raw and not oiled/salted.

For breakfast: have a couple eggs (they can be hard boiled by the dozen ahead of time so you're not making eggs every morning), a handful of raw spinach leaves,a handful of baby carrots or a stick or two, some celery, a couple cheery tomatoes, an Apple, 8 oz of almond milk. I'm not kidding, if you eat like this you'll lose weight like crazy, and I felt sooo good. I had everything cut up in containers so it was ready to put a raw meal together within minutes.

For lunch you can take romaine lettuce, wrap a turkey slice, avocado, and some tomato. Turkey wrap, it's delicious. I don't eat meat, but my mouth is watering thinking about that one.

If you need ideas for more meals check out paleo recipes online. Paleo is AWESOME for treating PCOS. I'm paleo except no meat also .

 

[shortcakes21]

I think diet is more important at first. Because when you workout you naturally increase your calories (your hunger grows) to keep up with what you're burning. You have to make a conscious effort to stay under a certain amount of calories to lose weight. Working out is hard, especially if you haven't done it in a while, and more so when you're overweight. People often give up too soon.

It's MUCH easier to eat healthy, and be lazy, while still losing weight. It encourages you to want more and do more. It gives you motivation and confidence. And if you hate to cook (like me) go raw for a while. Just eat raw veggies and fruit to your hearts content. Have hard boiled eggs, low sodium deli turkey, chicken breast, almond/coconut milk, spinach/broccoli for protein. Don't rely on seeds or nuts too much cause they're high in calories but have a handful or less a day, make sure they're raw and not oiled/salted.

For breakfast: have a couple eggs (they can be hard boiled by the dozen ahead of time so you're not making eggs every morning), a handful of raw spinach leaves,a handful of baby carrots or a stick or two, some celery, a couple cheery tomatoes, an Apple, 8 oz of almond milk. I'm not kidding, if you eat like this you'll lose weight like crazy, and I felt sooo good. I had everything cut up in containers so it was ready to put a raw meal together within minutes.

For lunch you can take romaine lettuce, wrap a turkey slice, avocado, and some tomato. Turkey wrap, it's delicious. I don't eat meat, but my mouth is watering thinking about that one.

If you need ideas for more meals check out paleo recipes online. Paleo is AWESOME for treating PCOS. I'm paleo except no meat also .

If you don't mind me asking how much weight have you lost? I try to go paleo (ive done clean eating for 2 months) i just seem to find it hard to stick to for looong periods of time.

 

[veryblueapple]

65ish lbs. I'm getting closer to high school weight (when DH and I first met)!

It is hard, but after you get past the sugar cravings and get used to your new diet, food tastes different/better. There's so much sugar and msg in our modern processed diets, it's not healthy or natural. Your body struggles to do what is meant for.

I'm not trying to push my lifestyle on anyone, I'm just so much happier,I want it for everyone.

 

[shortcakes21]

65ish lbs. I'm getting closer to high school weight (when DH and I first met)!

It is hard, but after you get past the sugar cravings and get used to your new diet, food tastes different/better. There's so much sugar and msg in our modern processed diets, it's not healthy or natural. Your body struggles to do what is meant for.

I'm not trying to push my lifestyle on anyone, I'm just so much happier,I want it for everyone.

Wow!! CONGRATS!!! Yeah losing 60lbs i would be at what i was when i met dh. I restarted again today... although my mouth is still hurting (damn cavity filling and tmj) This morning i had a smoothie which had fresh strawberries, spinach and banana as well as watermelon juice. For lunch I had a salad with mixed greens, shredded carrots, black olives, cherry tomatoes and chicken breast shredded. Right now i am having a cup of earl grey tea.

I always lack motivation and then i get really hard on myself and start eating all the junk again. It really is a vicious cycle.

 

[HopefullyOpto]

Very, thank you so much for the advice, you have lost soo much weight wow. Are you now at your ideal weighy or are you continuing to loose some. My thoughts were that diet would be the main contributing factor but because im not that overweight, im finding it hard to shift much more with the current amount i eat... I shall take your advice on snacks and try eat more greens. Whats your view on steaming veg in a microwave for lunch?

Shortcakes, keep up the good diet im sure you will reap the benefits as Very has. I also find it hard to stick to and always have the best intentions but sadly my husband doesnt help as he has no problem eating sugar and gluten etc. what i wouldnt give to eat like him and have no issue haha

Im still holding out hope for inositol to do some good, its been 4 days so i wont really feel much effect, although my acne is clearing. Yay! Whether thats the inositol or exercise or my body getting used to the vitex. Who knows...

 

[shortcakes21]

Very, thank you so much for the advice, you have lost soo much weight wow. Are you now at your ideal weighy or are you continuing to loose some. My thoughts were that diet would be the main contributing factor but because im not that overweight, im finding it hard to shift much more with the current amount i eat... I shall take your advice on snacks and try eat more greens. Whats your view on steaming veg in a microwave for lunch?

Shortcakes, keep up the good diet im sure you will reap the benefits as Very has. I also find it hard to stick to and always have the best intentions but sadly my husband doesnt help as he has no problem eating sugar and gluten etc. what i wouldnt give to eat like him and have no issue haha

Im still holding out hope for inositol to do some good, its been 4 days so i wont really feel much effect, although my acne is clearing. Yay! Whether thats the inositol or exercise or my body getting used to the vitex. Who knows...

I still get my bouts of acne so i never got that benefit from any of it. Yeah my husband is the same way... he is 6'2 and weighs 165lbs... i hate that he can eat anything he wants.

 

[HopefullyOpto]

Before Vitex i only got spotty after ovulation or around when i would ovulate on the pill. Since vitex its always there!

Aren't our husbands lucky hey!

 

[babysquash]

Thanks for the encouragement ladies! I'm working on incorporating more vegetables into my diet and less sugar and I definitely need to go cold turkey on the ice cream. I gave it up a couple years back and only ate it for special occasions but we've been slowly adding it back in and now I'm eating it regularly again. Not good. My husband and I both agreed to throw out the ice cream we currently have at home so that's a start. I don't eat a lot of junk in general but my weaknesses are definitely cookies, ice cream and crunchy salty things like chips.

I've been feeling down today but I'm not doing too badly at all. I made my usual oatmeal this morning but cut the amount in half and added berries. It was surprisingly filling and it tasted really good. So that will be my go-to for quick morning breakfasts from now on.

Opto - I'm hoping to lose about 50-60 pounds total but I would be happy just stopping the weight gain at all. I know that by the rest of the world's standards 230 is obese but I felt really good at that weight and was able to do all the things I love. Last weigh in I was at 310. My thyroid is on the mend but that hasn't stopped the weight gain.

veryblueapple - I don't eat meat either, except for occasional fish. I know that I need to eat more vegetables but I've never given myself permission to just eat them constantly. I'm going to test that out! One of my big issues is that I start out strong during the day eating healthy (but I guess not enough) and then I'm at the vending machine mid-afternoon because I'm hungry or bored or need something crunchy. So thank you for that suggestion! Next shopping trip will be a ton of vegetables.

 

[babysquash]

65ish lbs. I'm getting closer to high school weight (when DH and I first met)!

It is hard, but after you get past the sugar cravings and get used to your new diet, food tastes different/better. There's so much sugar and msg in our modern processed diets, it's not healthy or natural. Your body struggles to do what is meant for.

I'm not trying to push my lifestyle on anyone, I'm just so much happier,I want it for everyone.

Wow!! CONGRATS!!! Yeah losing 60lbs i would be at what i was when i met dh. I restarted again today... although my mouth is still hurting (damn cavity filling and tmj) This morning i had a smoothie which had fresh strawberries, spinach and banana as well as watermelon juice. For lunch I had a salad with mixed greens, shredded carrots, black olives, cherry tomatoes and chicken breast shredded. Right now i am having a cup of earl grey tea.

I always lack motivation and then i get really hard on myself and start eating all the junk again. It really is a vicious cycle.

I'm the exact same way shortcakes. Once I start beating myself up, I start eating to make myself feel better. It is a vicious cycle. I saw a picture of myself from this weekend and it immediately made me want to eat more junk even though that is the worst thing I could do.

 

[shortcakes21]

Yeah I totally understand I am at 200 and for being such a shortie (only 4'11) my doctors are all concerned ... Which I guess I understand .. It's just not as easy as they make it seem.

 

[veryblueapple]

Thank you both for your kind words, it means a lot

Your meals from today sound so yummy SC!

I used to binge eat. I was really depressed and felt guilty all the time so I learned to shut off that voice that said I shouldn't eat junk/so much. That's how I gained so much without realizing. And you all know the horrible consequences of PCOS, the worse it gets. I felt like a monster. I'm starting to get back to myself and feeling like a woman.

My goal is to get in the center of my ideal weight on the bmi scale, so I have another 35 to go. Seems like nothing compared to what I've lost but it's getting harder the closer to the end goal I get. It'll be easy to maintain once I'm there, I'm confident I'll stay healthy and fit. I'm just so much happier .

DH adapted to my lifestyle and lost weight too. He's really happy and I can tell it's boosted his confidence, which I love! He's always been sexy though.

I try not to zap stuff in the microwave, but i say go for it, if it gets you eating more veggies. The microwave tends to kill nutrients. And plastic is not good. I won't get into all that though lol.

I tend to go to extremes when I have a goal in mind (having a baby being the ultimate focus atm), so I'm like what else can can I do to get healthier, constantly researching and trying to cut out chemicals, xenoestrogens, etc. For example I only use natural deodorant now.

Yay, I'm glad your acne is clearing up! I can't wait to see what is still to come from you both. I know your herbs are working fabulously SC.

 

[HopefullyOpto]

Hi Very, i see your temp is back up. Definately an anomaly. Im doing better woth eating today. Had a unsweetened greek yoghurt, apple and pear smoothie with cinnamon. Lunch i has a chickpea and tomato/pepper chicken stew thing (last nights dinner) and raw seeds for snacks. I shall try keep it up

I get what you mean about the microwave, i just dont know how to go about eating more greens for lunch without it costing a bomb (eating out) i work right next to a uk wholefoods but its very expensive...

 

[babysquash]

Yeah I totally understand I am at 200 and for being such a shortie (only 4'11) my doctors are all concerned ... Which I guess I understand .. It's just not as easy as they make it seem.

EXACTLY! It's like, well just lose weight! Um....yeah you try it. My doctors have stopped telling me to lose weight thank goodness. Because of my thyroid AND the PCOS, it could be impossible for me. But I'm definitely willing to eat better and exercise even if that means that I'll still be overweight. It's just a matter of changing habits which I'm constantly working on. We can do it though!

 

[babysquash]

Thank you both for your kind words, it means a lot

Your meals from today sound so yummy SC!

I used to binge eat. I was really depressed and felt guilty all the time so I learned to shut off that voice that said I shouldn't eat junk/so much. That's how I gained so much without realizing. And you all know the horrible consequences of PCOS, the worse it gets. I felt like a monster. I'm starting to get back to myself and feeling like a woman.

My goal is to get in the center of my ideal weight on the bmi scale, so I have another 35 to go. Seems like nothing compared to what I've lost but it's getting harder the closer to the end goal I get. It'll be easy to maintain once I'm there, I'm confident I'll stay healthy and fit. I'm just so much happier .

DH adapted to my lifestyle and lost weight too. He's really happy and I can tell it's boosted his confidence, which I love! He's always been sexy though.

I try not to zap stuff in the microwave, but i say go for it, if it gets you eating more veggies. The microwave tends to kill nutrients. And plastic is not good. I won't get into all that though lol.

I tend to go to extremes when I have a goal in mind (having a baby being the ultimate focus atm), so I'm like what else can can I do to get healthier, constantly researching and trying to cut out chemicals, xenoestrogens, etc. For example I only use natural deodorant now.

Yay, I'm glad your acne is clearing up! I can't wait to see what is still to come from you both. I know your herbs are working fabulously SC.

It's definitely not everyone that can do what you've done so you should definitely feel GREAT about all the hard work you've put in!

 

[veryblueapple]

Thank you. It has been hard but extremely rewarding. One major thing I need to work on is my self perception, and confidence. I used to have so much confidence!! Over the years it's slowly dwindled away. I think every woman should feel beautiful regardless of her size.

I'm on the threshold of 200, and I'm 5'10". Weight sits very well on me, it's evenly distributed. I'm figure-8 with large breasts, so it's easy to gain and not really notice it right away. When I was at my heaviest I could look in the mirror and be like "yeah, I guess I've still got it." Then go to a family event and later see myself in the pictures standing next to my 110 lb sister-in-laws who are also 5'10" and I look like I got stung by a thousand bees, and puffed out compared to them! I wish I didn't care. If I'm just of average size then I'm ok with that. Being the largest woman at a family event with 50+ people makes me feel so insecure, like they must think I'm lazy and gross. I'm definitely NOT lazy. Again I shouldn't care if people think I'm lazy or not, but I'd rather have them think nothing then something bad, or even better to think "there's a nice lady, and a good wife."
Sorry you guys are getting a little taste of the war raging inside my head.

On the positive side, things I've noticed since losing weight: I can sit on the floor comfortably for longer periods of time, I can run longer, I don't sweat as much, I get less aches, clothes fit better and I can find cuter styles, and of course regular periods and ovulation.

I'm going to keep working my butt off. I want to have a more athletic physique, and live the active lifestyle. We've already made our lives so much more active and outdoorsy, I love it! I've woken up after a long slumber.