PCOS Diet

I hate going to doctors. As I gained weight year after year, pound by pound, I began to look for guidance. Red and purple lines began to appear on the back of my calves, thighs, and hips.

I don't eat a lot of red meat or sweets. I grew up with chicken, rice, and a vegetable for most meals. Turkey spaghetti once a week. My dad enjoyed grilling pork chops. I admit, my family has a particular penchant for the delicious: a wafting smell of something roasting in the oven would produce a myriad of sounds from my family. All of us enjoy new flavors from around the globe. I always ate my vegetables with some very rare exceptions. I spent the majority of my life borderline underweight. In high school, the numbers began to creep. In 2006 I was 105 pounds. In 2011 I'm 164. (I'm 4'11" and 3/4.) I tried various diets between then and now. Honestly, not as religious as some. In 2006, I went away to UT Knoxville for my first semester of school and ballooned up to 120 pounds. I ate nothing but salads, sushi, and healthier choices on campus, and climbed up giant hills to my class. Currently I work between 35-40 hours a week on my feet, and I struggle to lose weight.

I've been prescribed all different kinds of birth control since I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome in 2001 at the age of 14: Seasonale, Implanon, Depo Provera, and few more types. They stopped prescribing me pain relievers and started to try get rid of my cramps by eliminating any sort of withdrawal period altogether. I've also been on metoprolol for my tachycardia and high blood pressure.

Once, a gynecologist said vaguely that I eat too many carbs. Another said one time that "exercising is good". That's about all the advice I've been given to get any healthier.

My cousin who is also afflicted with PCOS began to take insulin shots.

This video really inspired me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCl_THksqYo Around the 6 minute mark in the video she goes into the rules of a low amylose diet.

While the video is based on naturally gaining fertility. The lady in the video was able to run 5k, and still unable to lose weight. According to her, these are the rules:
1.Avoid all simple sugars such as candy, sodas, cakes, pies, ice cream, etc. These are almost pure forms of glucose.
2.Avoid vegetables that are grown underground, corn, bananas, and foods enriched with maltodextrins or corn syrup.
3.Avoid wheat, rice, rye, barley, and oats.
4.Eat a minimum of 3 servings each of above-ground vegetables and fruits daily.
5.Eat at least 6 ounces of protein every day.

*Avoid low fat foods.

I did a little bit more research on the carbs:
It seems brown rice is alright in small amounts. Oats seems to be debated.

Health Issues

If you turn on the news, you might see something about our growing obesity trend. Fat filled bodies bulging over and out of tight fabric grace the screen. Bright red ketchup dribbling onto shirts out of giant hamburgers and greasy, salty fingers cleaning themselves on jeans: common sights in America.

Do I believe this is a choice? To some extent, yes, it is a choice. Though when these companies can afford commercials, billboards, and other advertisements to tempt you- When they offer cheap, convenient food at anytime, how can people say no? There's no drive-thru certified organic veggie burger chain.

When you've just got off work from an 8 hour shift on your feet, are you going to find a grocery store, or better yet, a farmer's market when there's that shining beautiful M beckoning you? You don't even have to get up! It's unfair to call it laziness with how much we work as a nation.

Maybe you've finally decided to start eating at subway or other healthier options. Maybe when you go through that drive-thru you decide to only get the egg mcmuffin instead of the steak bagel. But did you know that egg mcmuffin has over half of your day's sodium intake? The steak bagel has 200 mg more than your daily recommendation of sodium. They advertise readily the lower calorie options, but are they actually healthier?

What are we eating?

I'm on a journey to start eating better and healthier. I have high blood pressure, tachycardia, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Over 50% of women with PCOS are obese. We can only have better, healthy options for food if we start making active choices against the unhealthy. Eating right and exercising are no easy task. I'm here to share what I learn as I explore what it means to live healthier.

I'm not someone who can afford much. I make under 20k a year before taxes. My husband makes a little over 7k a year before taxes part-time because he's still in school. Still, I'm going to attempt to make better choices for myself.