I'd like to start off with a thank you, first and foremost. I know many people won't read this, if any, but if someone does happen to take a peek- THANK YOU!
WARNING: This first post will probably be lengthy!
My name is Blair. I'm a 27 year old student, still trying to find my place in the world.
In this blog, I'm going to share my long, day to day journey through the next step of Reclaiming My Health!: The PSMF Diet.
My reasons for starting this blog are simple:
• accountability
• awareness
• ease of sharing my results and observations with a lot of people
• and again for sheer importance - accountability
4 years ago I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Among other things, PCOS effects fertility, menstrual cycle, and insulin. Since my diagnosis, my symptoms have gotten increasingly worse, year after year. I've tried many remedies to overcome these symptoms, including diets, exercise, medications with awful side effects, and even invasive procedures, all ending with a big fat FAILURE. Just when I thought I had reached my breaking point, that I would be overweight, childless, and unhappy forever, the day of my first endocrinologist appointment arrived (3 months after I made the appointment!) I was anxiety ridden and skeptical walking into the hospital this morning. I've never seen an endocrinologist before and I had no idea what to expect. Add that to the many failed treatments and false hope from past doctors-- I wasn't expecting too much. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It was immediately clear this doctor gets shit done! My appointment lasted for over an hour. Now, I'm a researcher. I'll get a bit of information and then learn as much as I can as fast as I can. I thought I knew all there was to know about my condition. I was wrong. I learned so much today that I didn't know before, and she gave me a plan for the next 2 months.
Finally, moving forward!
My plan includes:
• blood work covering every reproductive hormone in my body, as well as CBC, HGB, and thyroid
• HSG- a type of x-ray to make sure there's no blockage in my fallopian tubes
• and-- the main reason for this blog-- make an appointment with a dietician!
PCOS screws you up. It really does. One of the biggest complaints and most common symptoms is insulin resistance. This makes it all too easy to gain weight, and extremely difficult to lose weight. And I don't need to tell you all the issues being obese causes for your body and your health. As I said up there ^^ somewhere, I've tried endless diets, workout programs, "quick fix" ideas. None of them work. In fact, I usually would gain even more weight after ending them than when I began. It's frustrating and discouraging, to say the least.
This (finally) leads me to my subject: The PSMF diet. I really like the paleo description of the diet and the details they give in the above link. Without going into too many of those details, it's an extremely low calorie, low carb diet that puts your body into ketosis, which causes your body to use stored fat, typically visceral fat (yay!), for energy instead of consumed carbs... which leads to rapid weight loss!
DISCLAIMER!: This diet is extremely dangerous without constant medical supervision. Do not attempt this without consulting your physician!
My lab work has been completed-- 7 vials of blood later-- and I am just waiting for my appointment with the dietician. Until then, thank you again! I look forward to sharing my journey with you all. Your support is appreciated more than you can imagine. ♡♡♡
