You’ve Got Mail!
Today was a great day! It wasn’t rainy and I received a couple of great things in the mail. Both of which were surprising.
Parcel 1: It is no secret I have a sick Twitter addiction. I love it and I have twitter-friendships with people that I don’t know in “real life.” A dog snack company, Snausages, has been interacting with me lately because I post photos of my Bugg dog, Popple and they think shes pretty cute. They’d be daft not to, I mean have you seen her face? I could kiss it off!
“Gimme the treats!”
I’m thinking the company must have a new social media management firm taking care of them because they sent me an amazing care package for Popple complete with a hand written Thank You note from their mascot dog, Snocrates. It was just a wonderful gesture from them and it really brightened my day. Popple’s too! She is going absolutely bonkers for the treats. She just loves them.
Popple’s Care package
Since it was so not rainy out, I took Popple to the dog park and she had a blast romping with her buddies. She is only 27 lbs but she manages to wrestle with a Great Pyrenees and a German Shepherd confidently. It was great to get outside and get some fresh air. We both needed it!
Parcel 2: I received a really nice welcome letter from the Dean of my degree program. It was a great personal touch and it made things real! Gulp! I’m moving away soon (which I said I would never do again) with my boyfriend (which I said I would never do again), going back to school for another degree (which I also said I’d never do again), and low and behold, I’m feeling pretty darn good about those choices. I guess Bieber was right – Never say never. Yup, that just happened.
We will be heading over in early August to find an apartment and get our resumes out. Yikes! I’m so scared but really looking forward to it all at the same time.
So far so good. Everything is going according to plan and I have plenty to be grateful for.
Hope you had a great Wednesday.
Weigh In
I did my weigh in like I said I would. Now I feel like I should get a cookie. Previously I had mentioned I thought I would be around 5 lbs lost but I was really surprised when I saw the number on the scale. 7 lbs gone! Woohoo! That is a great number to see and I’m pretty shocked. My diet has been crap and filled with preservatives and allergens. Oh well. I guess the working out is helping the weight come off but I will have to make better changes with my eating habits.
Today at the gym, my cousin and I started our 30 day squat challenge and it is brutal. Day 1 required us to do 50 squats. Owchie. Today was also “Butts and Guts” day so I am just so sore. Even after a nice bath and getting cleaned up, I still look like I was ridden hard and put away wet. Tomorrow will prove interesting for chest and back day. Also, we are upping our cardio from 30 minutes of low to medium intensity to a more medium-high intensity. My cardio is currently peddling my butt off on the recumbent bike for 30 minutes of rolling hills on level 6. Don’t get me wrong – it is a fabulous work out but I never feel it in my hips, which are pretty saddle baggy at the moment. The Arc trainer will be my new victim I reckon. That thing makes me WORK.
It is so rainy here today. It was definitely a lazy day. I spent the morning in bed snuggled up with my little dog. We had naps, would wake up, go get a drink, and then fall back to sleep. Apparently that is our routine on rainy days and I don’t mind that one little bit. Hopefully the rain eases up because she is starting to get a little grumpy being cooped up without her daily romp at the dog park. Popple, my dog, is part Pug and part Boston Terrier and she is a little ham but she hates the rain. I need to put a raincoat on her or else she will not step outside. She will hold her “business” for days if I didn’t dress her up. It is pretty crazy how much she hates water. She is going to get a shock once I take her to the beach this summer. Her life-jacket is waiting for her. Muahaha.
My dang ovary is still being a little bugger. My baby grape just can’t give me a break. I guess it is my body’s way of telling me to stop eating crap. Dangit. Does anyone have any tips to help get rid of this pain? It is just awful.
Also, I noticed the other day that I have published over 50 posts! Do I ever shut up? Nope. 
haha
I hope you’re all staying dry and having a great week.
Quick Update
I’m feeling kinda barfy tonight. My right ovary is on a war path to destroy everything apparently so I’ve been feeling all kinds of rotten. Despite the nausea I’m in a pretty good mood. I’m so excited for the weekend I cannot even think straight. Our Murder Mystery weekend was cancelled so he came up with different travel plans. Regardless of where we go I’m sure it will be great just to recharge. The hotel we are staying at has a gym, hot tub, and a nice pool so I will be able to maintain my routine while I am away. I am looking forward to that. Who doesn’t love a relaxing late night hot tub dip or a good wake up swim?
Lately I’ve been mulling over which direction to take my schooling in September. It hasn’t been an easy decision. The Recreation degree program has 2 different paths: Outdoor and Therapeutic. I won’t get into too many details but you can check the program out here. I’ve decided to take the Therapeutic route strangely enough. The decision was made because ease of employment, my interest, my transferable courses, and salary. SO! I’m pretty darn excited. I hope the next 3-4 years fly by because I cannot wait to get started as a Recreation Therapist. Unfortunately taking this course means that I have to move to a different province but I am looking forward to a change of pace. I am thankful it is on the East coast and I will have companion moving with me. Yup, the bf and I have decided to try cohabitation. Hopefully you won’t be hearing about me on Nancy Grace for murder. haha So that has been a really exciting thing. It was great having that big conversation and weighing the pro’s and con’s out together. So far so good.
Gym is still going well. I’ve been going now for about 6 weeks consistently and am down a total of 15 lbs. I pack weight on so easily but it does come off pretty quickly too once I get my butt in gear. The hardest part is keeping it off. Thankfully now that I have a career path that requires me to be fit I will be committed to taking care of myself. Wanting my personal training certification is also a big motivator as well. Today was back, shoulder, and arm day. It will be a miracle if I can wash my hair tomorrow morning in the shower. My upper body strength is really lacking. I’m hoping that it starts to build itself up as I take more weight off.
Things here are shaping up!
Hopefully my ovary stops being a jerk and I start feeling well again. I’m getting there though.
Happy Monday!
I look like a bag of milk and I’m lactose intolerant.
So I’ve been thinking long and hard about why my mid-section is looking like a bag of milk. While I do have PCOS and symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome, I know that isn’t why I look the way I do. I’ve been trying really hard to find an excuse to blame my spare tire on but sadly the only reason I found was me. I haven’t been taking my health seriously enough and I’ve been eating gluten, dairy, and red meat regularly. Not only do they cause havoc on my cholesterol levels, they all cause inflammation in my digestive tract and when you add that to my PCOS it turns me into a Bloat Monger. I feel like a walrus now.
So I guess I’ll have to take this whole “eating right” thing more seriously. Having a big mid-section wouldn’t scare me if it didn’t raise my risk for heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. It is just so hard to work past my cravings. Ugh.
The gym has been going really well. I have been steadily lifting more and more and can feel my muscles getting stronger. On the leg press the other day I pressed 300 lbs so that was pretty exciting. I wound up doing 3 sets of 12. That felt really exhilarating. End of May goal is to lift 350 comfortably. The strength from my squats is a different story. I’m lucky I can maintain my balance and hold two 25lbs dumbbells. There is certainly an opportunity to improve my ability. I think I might try to do my squats weight free on Bosu balls for a while to build up my core strength. Does anyone have any good tips for that? I do daily cardio and weights, and I do 15 mins of yoga about 3 nights a week. so anything above and beyond isn’t a bad thing.
I’ve been in some pain lately because of my cysts and it sucks. I’m fairly positive my right ovary has at least one doozey in there. My cycle is messed up and I missed last months period, my face exploded in acne, and my lower right side is just so sore and puffy. Tylenol and sleep have been happening on the regular and it has been helping. It will be nice to get some relief from the cramping and heaviness these cysts cause.
Regardless of the cyst, I’m still in an awesome mood. I pulled on my favorite Adidas workout shorts. Spandex of course! They were too big for me! Woohoo! Needless to say, I’m really happy about it! I am refusing to weigh myself for one more week though. Then it will be 3 weeks since my last weigh in but I don’t expect big changes as muscle is denser than fat. I would say about 4-5 lbs gone. That is my guess.
Happy Friday Everyone! I’m off to find some cheese for my whine. 
Weight Loss & Confidence
Occasionally I like to lurk on internet forums and just read. I don’t often make comments or even register for that matter but I am there taking it all in like a fly on the wall. Today on my internet adventures I was reading about weight loss and the effect it has on people’s confidence. No surprise there were many comments both condemning the newly found confidence and those who love it. I read the following comment regarding a person’s weight loss and I kind of had an Aha moment:
“It’s just too bad that she didn’t feel as confident before. I’ve been many sizes and self-confidence should not be related to your dress size.”
We should love ourselves no matter what size we are, however; I know from experience that the confidence and love we gain doesn’t come from the size we are. The confidence comes from the fact we are doing something and following through with it. We’re being successful on our own terms. While we are making these changes it is a vulnerable and intimidating time.
It is difficult to make your appearance your priority because suddenly you’re looking all of the flaws in the face. You have to analyze them, genuinely understand the cause and deal with that. It is humbling and even a little humiliating. On top of noticing your own issues people start offering unsolicited advice and pointing out more flaws. Even though they have genuinely good intentions it can still be painful to hear. I find myself asking “Why is it so difficult being open-minded and understanding to ourselves and to others?” It is unbearably frustrating.
I always felt like people treated me differently when I was larger than when I was skinny but I realized it was because my confidence level was different. When I was heavier I tried too hard being what I once was rather than embracing the new changes. Like it or not, this is the body, attitude, and outlook I’ve created for myself. I should embrace them. Eventually, I did learn to accept it. Accepting it was challenging but it was incredibly peaceful. It took a lot of meditation, reflection, and floundering but I eventually did it. Once I did it, I noticed more and more people commenting on how nice I looked. My size hadn’t changed but my outlook had. When I stopped apologizing for my weight people stopped treating me with sympathy or with negativity. Once I began became happy, it allowed them to join me.
There are many positives that can go along with accepting ourselves. Our minds become more peaceful and our sense of well-being improves. Our opportunities feel endless but it leaves you wanting more. There is a difference between accepting and loving ourselves. From personal experience, yes you need to accept yourself before you can do the other. As the old saying goes, you need to learn to crawl before you can walk.
Sometimes when we gain weight we stop taking pride in our bodies because we’ve let ourselves down because we’ve lost our self-discipline. Self-discipline is in every aspect of our life: professionally and personally. Once our confidence in discipline falters in one area, cracks in other areas show quickly. We stop being able to do things we once could, wear things we used to, and moving around feels different. It is hard to stop the spiraling and down right scary to feel like you’ve lost control.
Since I’ve begun this blog/journey, I’ve become more accepting of my body, mind, and soul. I am learning to not fear the curves I see in the mirror every morning. Instead of stuffing myself in clothes that are too tight, feels like punishment, and telling myself “someday they’ll be comfy…”I’m wearing more flattering cuts. I’m eating better and making better decisions. Exercise has been fairly easy to stick to as well. Now that I’m doing all of these “little extras” for myself I’m learning to love what I’m getting out of it.
Losing weight is liberating. We shed the comfort blanket that we carry along with us for years. We take ourselves more seriously and other people stop expecting us to be cherubic and funny. It becomes okay to be smart, strong and even a little sassy. We give them permission to accept us because we’ve accepted our self.
The confidence isn’t because we are smaller but it is because we conquered our fear, challenged ourselves, stuck to something and really did it. We decided to be successful and reclaim who we are. Having confidence is more than a smaller pant size. It is learning to accept yourself flaws and all. It is the journey, commitment, stopping, starting over, and never giving up. Confidence is having the guts to look yourself in the mirror and not compare yourself to others. It is looking in the mirror and loving what you see because you’re the one who put it there. It is about loving yourself inside and out.
Spring has Sprung
It is just so beautiful out today. There has literally been such a dramatic shift in the weather and it has been a welcomed change. The sunshine, the mild wind, and the beautiful new growth is turning me into a hippie. I just want to run around nurturing and hugging everything.
The past couple of mornings I’ve woken up full of gratitude for everything. I usually am grateful but sometimes I have to make myself give thanks for all the wonderful things and people around me. The winter is such a struggle because of my Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) but the minute Spring rolls around I feel brand new. Reborn. That sounds so cliche but it is true. The Spring brings out the best of me and maybe that is because I am a May Baby. Spring just feels right. If I could live in a climate that was Spring year round I would.
Last night I was serenaded to sleep by the “Peepers” in the pond. They are little frogs that peep and chirp. It is a wonderful noise and it is great to hear after a really hard few months. This morning I was woken up by small birds chirping in the cedar tree outside my window and my dog shoving her tongue in my ear. I can’t even be angry at that.
I’ve woken up with a smile on my face for the past week and I can honestly say that has never happened. I think I’m going to embrace this and roll with it.
Hurray for Spring.
Happy Tuesday. xo.
PCOS: Puts a whole new meaning to “She wants the ‘D!’”
I know many of you suffering with PCOS can relate to taking so many pills everyday and the confusion that goes along with that. I feel it is important to understand what we put into our bodies and the roles that these pills and capsules play. I’ll be going through my supplements and highlighting the role they play in PCOS management. It is such a struggle but they help and we’ll find out why.
A week in PCOS Supplements & Medications
It is no secret that I supplement Vitamin D3 everyday as I am deficient. There has been some rumbling in the Cyster community about the correlation of Vitamin D deficiencies and PCOS and it really wouldn’t surprise me. When I take my Vitamin D3 I feel so much better. Of course I take it with so many other supplements and RX medications that I’m not sure what does what to help. I decided to look into what Vitamin D’s role is.
Vitamin D has a lot of names. It’s scientific name is Calcitriol. It’s nicknames are Sunshine Vitamin, Bone Vitamin, and Sunshine Hormone. Yup, a hormone. Vitamin D is actually a hormone. It is only called a vitamin because it isn’t something that you are able to get adequate amounts of through food. Vitamin D (Calcitriol) is available in very few foods, such as cod-liver oil, oily fish (salmon, mackerel, and sardines) and dairy products that have been fortified with Vitamin D. Calcitriol is a chemical that is made on our skin through sun exposure. It is a hormone like estrogen or testosterone which is why having deficiencies (and excess) can cause so many problems.
As women with PCOS, we are more vulnerable to Metabolic Syndrome. The term ‘metabolic’ refers to a grouping of risk factors which commonly occur together and increase the risk for cardiovascular disease. Metabolic syndrome shares many of the characteristics of PCOS, such as high blood pressure, elevated triglyceride levels, low HDL cholesterol, and abdominal obesity. All of these are risk factors for heart disease and women with PCOS are prime candidates to develop diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Not surprisingly, low Vitamin D levels are linked to all of these symptoms.
Unfortunately for us, the more we weigh, and the more insulin-resistant we are, the greater the chances of our being deficient in this hormone. I personally notice, and there is evidence supporting this, that while taking Vitamin D my cycle has regulated (kind of), my skin is clearing, my moods are much better, cravings are slowing down, and I am sleeping more soundly. In the studies, it has been shown that some women who are treated with Vitamin D begin to have regular menstrual cycles, lower levels of abdominal weight, less resistant to insulin, improvement in acne, and often conceived healthy pregnancies. My goal is not to conceive (yet…) but it is nice to have your body running optimally rather than so-so, don’t you think?
Studies about the correlation between Vitamin D deficiencies and PCOS are relatively new. More and more information is coming out all the time. Unfortunately even with these advances, there is still no solid explanation for the relation between the two. Although, suffering from PCOS we all understand “no solid explanation” better than anyone.
Since Vitamin D is a hormone I highly suggest you speak with your healthcare professional and get blood work done before you start supplementing as it can change the already sensitive balance. The safest level for an adult to take daily without suffering toxicity from long term use is 3000 IU. I’ve seen it reported as high as 4000 IU but all supplements I’ve read suggest a maximum 3000 IU with supervision. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I am not a Healthcare professional, I’m winging it with my Doctor’s supervision and suggestions.
Getting outside daily for 15 minutes in the sun will greatly benefit everyone’s Vitamin D level. Although, getting more Vitamin D isn’t the only solution to managing these problems but it is a contributor. Adding daily exercise and good diet is genuinely the key to managing the symptoms of PCOS and Metabolic Syndrome.
Puts a whole new meaning to “She wants the D!” Happy Monday!
For More Information Regarding Vitamin D check out these sites below. All of these sites provided me the information you see above:
http://drgominak.com/vitamin-d
http://www.vitamind.hk/womens-benefits/pcos-and-vitamin-d
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/endocrine/otherendo/vitamind.html
http://www.pcosdiva.com/2012/11/vitamin-d-a-pcos-deficiency/
http://www.overcomepcos.com/3/post/2013/01/-the-link-between-vitamin-d-deficiency-and-pcos.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D
http://pcos.about.com/od/relatedconditions/a/Metabolic.htm
You Really Do Get Back What You Put In
So I’ve been working hard at the gym and I have always loved going there. It is just hard getting out of the front door and that is the reason why I stop going every time. This feels different though and I know I say that whenever I start hitting the gym but I really mean it. Now more than ever I need to take care of myself. I’m starting my second degree in September. I am taking Recreation and eventually I’d like to get my Personal Trainer certification (and become involved in recreational programming for the elderly.)
It took me a long time to realize that I HAVE to be active to feel relatively healthy. PCOS & IBS really make my body struggle to function optimally and it is my responsibility to pick up the slack. Turns out I love pumping iron so it “works out” well. See what I did there?
The results I’m feeling are so good. I’ve never been a skinny-mini and I don’t think I have the frame to pull it off. (Or the hormonal balance for that matter.) Being really muscular is something that has always appealed to me and I was well on my way when I began working at the YMCA in High school. Sadly, my priorities changed once I could fit into my prom dress. haha
One of my besties from school and I at Senior Prom ’02. (I am on the right in the lilac dress.)
Of course when I was younger I didn’t embrace the strong stature that I had. I used to wish I could be like a waifish Hollywood starlet. When I realized that wasn’t working out as I loved food too much and struggled losing weight. I started to pump weights hard. I LOVED it. I remember feeling so proud walking around at Prom and our Grand March because I worked and reached my goal. A) I graduated B) No babies C) I lost the weight I set out to lose. I was on top of the World. The lifestyle was easily maintained until mid-way through my first year of university when my PCOS symptoms exploded. I wimped out after that and I’ve been off and on ever since.
I think everyone has a certain body type that they feel is ideal for them – slender, long & lean, and extreme hourglass. The list goes on! Personally, I simply love my physique when it is really, really muscular. Call me crazy but if I had the energy, time, and the money to put into my looks I could see myself really aiming for the Coco T look but with a lot more clothes. (Here is her Wiki. I’ll leave you do the Google’ing. Be mindful as some results are NSFW.) That lady has amazing structure and a little, well a lot of, meat! I have a large chest and my bum is shaping up nicely. I may never look like Coco and that is fine, but day-um. She puts in work and I find her inspiring. Say what you want about her, she takes care of herself.
Now that I understand my hormone situation a little better, I can use it to my benefit. I have high testosterone counts and I gain muscle easily. The game plan from here is to ease off my unhealthy carbohydrate intake, particularly white flour based breads and pastas. It is just so hard to do. Carbs are one of my biggest vices. Glucosmart is supposed to help with cravings so I will give it more time. Apparently it takes about 3 months to see the full effects and I am only 3 weeks in. Does anyone have any pointers that helps to avoid carbs?
I remember ranting about how insecure I am about my butt and I have to say since starting the gym I have noticed a big change. I’m really pleased. There has been lots of squats, back exercises, cardio, and core exercises. Basically my routine consists of picking up heavy things and then putting them down and doing that over and over again. 
My Cousin has been a great source of strength for me as well. Everyday without fail she drives out to the gym and she motivates me and is so patient with me when I have my bitch fits. Thank God for family. Support really does make a difference. I am lucky to have such amazing family and friends cheering me on constantly through my ups and downs.
Still waiting for my energy levels to get up there. Right now I will work out for about 2 hours and come home and nap. Of course I feel like death for the rest of the day. Napping and I have a love/hate relationship. I know that everything else is starting to come along so that is great. This is actually the 3rd week in a row I’ve taken all of my medication and supplements without forgetting a single dose. That hasn’t happened in ages. It is really rewarding taking better care of myself. I don’t know what else to do about my energy levels and I’m feeling pretty frustrated. Ahh well, there is certainly more positive things than negatives so I feel really grateful. The saying is true – you really do get back what you put in.
One of the great side effects of being more mindful of how I take care of myself is my acne is really clearing up! Holy Dina, my face is smooth. SMOOTH! Like a baby’s arse. I have one small cluster of cysts on my chin and one doozey on my cheek but you can actually see skin under there. It is amazing. I believe a lot of it is from the Vit D3, the Glucosmart, and exercising (sweating & clearing my pores.) In a previous post I’ve mentioned that I used Clean & Clear but I was using the blackhead scrub and blackhead wash for a while because I was having a hard time with blackheads. As my face changed I didn’t think to change my face wash. So I recently switched to Clean & Clear Advantage 5% Peroxide cream cleanser and only exfoliate my face 2x’s a week. Those changes have made a big impact. It really helped the process along. Persa-Gel is in the mix for my big cysts too. Love that stuff! (2x’s day max though of your face will dry out and get VERY itchy! I actually woke myself out of a deep sleep by scratching. When I looked in the mirror I had made my face a million times worse. There were plenty of tears that day.)
The gentleman I am seeing has booked us a weekend away at a lovely golf resort for an interactive Murder Mystery weekend for my birthday and I am so excited about it. Perhaps a weekend away with some fun is just what I need to recharge my batteries. I have no idea what to expect so I’m looking forward to letting go of control and just going with the flow. It is great to have someone who actually plans something like this. This type of thing is right up my alley and the fact he has similar interests makes all the difference.
All in all, things are really shaping up so nicely in my life. I am really excited to see what the next phase is!
I hope you all had a great week.
Why Am I So Tired!? Oh..That explains it. Thanks Google.
In previous blogs I know I’ve mentioned/whined about my lack of energy a million times and I know I’ve been doing everything right. My brain just always feels foggy and I’m always getting congestion headaches! It makes NO sense.
-Taking a multi-vit = Check!
-Taking Vit D3 = Check!
-Taking my Stress supplement = Check!
-Taking Blood builders (Iron) = Check!
-Taking Calcium & Magnesium = Check!
-Taking Folic Acid = Check!
-Eased off on Alcohol = Check! (grumble)
-Taking GlucoSmart = Check!
-Exercising (Cardio & Resistance & Flexibility)
-Taking my depression & anxiety medication = Check!
-Vega One Nutritional Powder = Check!
-Align for IBS = Check!
-Cranberry supplement = Check!
Checkity, check, check, flippin’, gosh darn check! I feel like I’ve been doing all of the right things but my face is still a mess, my head hurts all the time, and now I’m just getting frustrated. Judging by all the supplements I take I should be hardcore parkour’ing around. Instead of feeling bouncy and effervescent when I get home from the gym, I simply want to nap for a few hours. I could nap all day. If it wasn’t for my cousin I don’t think I’d make the gym at all.
(The gym was pretty awesome today. I can’t lie. It was the first day that I went back and actually felt like I wanted to genuinely work out and not just walk on the treadmill and whine about the incline.)
Aside from the great workout I had today, I was feeling pretty “out of it.” When I came home from the gym I felt like I had drank too much. My brain was fuzzy, I was shaky, and I had all of the text-book symptoms of low blood sugar. (Grumble.) I laid down for a little while and munched on some almonds and dried cranberries but I just couldn’t recharge. So I Google’d my symptoms (Google never lies!) and the last suggestion on the first search result page was for Candida overgrowth. It made me think.
I’ve known for some time now that Candida and PCOS go hand in hand but I haven’t had a yeast infection so I thought I was in the clear. Strangely enough, you can have Candida overgrowth and not get a vaginal yeast infection but the overgrowth manifests itself in different (and strange) ways. Depression, joint pain, brain fog (ha!), congestion (ha!), bowel irregularity, bad breath, smelly sweat, exhaustion, hyperactivity, OCD, sleep problems (double ha!), metabolic syndrome (let me just say this – I look like a bag of milk), hypoglycemia, unusually green eyes (I can’t even make this stuff up! I have dark green eyes and I’ve commented on how green they’ve been the past year or so to people), reoccurring infections (sinus, bladder, ears, colds) (story of my ding dang life), and Penicillin allergy (also double ha!). The list goes on and it is really surprising how many symptoms truly do correspond with PCOS. It is freaky! (For a complete list of Candida symptoms and lots of information click HERE.) (For the correlation between PCOS and Candida click HERE.)
All of this information made me curious. Have I been barking up the wrong tree this whole time? (Well, not quite as I do have unusually high testosterone levels in my blood and crazy low estrogen levels…Deep voice, acne, hair. I feel like a 16-year-old boy but that is a WHOLE other post. haha) There is actually an at-home test you can do for free to check for Candida! All you need is a glass, tap water, spit, and an hour of time. (Click HERE for more information on the Candida Test) Many people poo-poo this test and say it is a gimmick but I’ve done it before at a Diabetes Summer Camp I used to work at and came out Candida clean too, might I add. This time around I did not do so well.
If watching your spit separate in a glass for an hour grosses you out there is also a highly accurate questionnaire available HERE.
Due to my crazy sinus, chest, and ear infections I was on antibiotics over 7 times in 3 years. Gross, right? Needless to say my guts are still suffering the ramifications of that and I think it explains a lot of my sickliness in recent years. Never once was Candida overgrowth ever mentioned to me and I never even thought it could be a factor with anything. Now I realize I may have over looked something I previously thought of as mundane.
To remedy the situation I’ve decided to do a candida friendly diet for 4 weeks to eliminate it from my system and heal a bit. (Click HERE for Candida Diet Foods to Avoid.) It is also recommended I avoid most of the mentioned foods with PCOS anyway so it is a win-win! After the four weeks, it is suggested to introduce a small amount of yeast back into the diet to see what the effects are. Yikes.
Does anyone have any experience with the Candida diet, Candida, and/or PCOS? Have you had any success with certain remedies? Also will tweaking my supplements do anything? Should I bother with the elimination diet or do you think the overgrowth business is all BS?
Happy Saturday.
PCOS: Hormonal Imbalance Triggers & Relievers
After reading over the hormonal imbalance entry I did, I realized I could have been a bit more descriptive about treatments and triggers for Androgenic and Estrogenic imbalances. Below I’ve complied a list of my favorite sites that I refer to and use frequently.
For information regarding individual hormones and PCOS click here: Hormone Levels and PCOS by E. Sterling Since I’m not overly familiar with ALL of the hormones I will leave the description to the professionals.
For information regarding hormone imbalance triggers click here: Keeper of the Home: Living with PCOS: Things to Avoid This is extremely informative. It goes over all kinds of triggers from soy to caffeine. If it will hurt your levels – it is on the list. (HERE is her PCOS homepage. She is very religious but it has good science based information as well!)
Also, I found this little blurp (and by little I mean huge):
PCOS is a complicated condition, requiring long term attention and regular medical attention, keeping in mind the potential for increased risks of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, uterine cancer.
As a practitioner with more awareness and experience with PCOS, we have an important role in detecting the long undiagnosed patient, the inadequately managed patient, and the discouraged patient.
In summary, a comprehensive plan for PCOS would include:
Weight loss in those who are overweight
Daily aerobic exercise one hour per day
Low simple carbohydrates (Up to 80 gm/day of carbohydrates and 60-90 gm per day of protein)
Flax seeds 1-2 tbsp per day
Soy food 1 to 2 servings per day
Vitamin D 2,000 i.u. per day or without testing, up to 5,000 i.u. per day
Calcium 1,000mg-1,500 mg per day (including dietary sources)
Chromium 1,000 mcg per day
Green tea (90% polyphenols, 80% catechins, 45% EGCG) 300mg-500 mg per day or 3 cups of tea per day
Nettles root 600 mg per day
Saw Palmetto extract 400 mg per day
Pinitol 600 mg twice per dayConsider Licorice root extract
(Click quote to be taken to source site.)
I feel so conflicted about soy. If you read Keeper of the Home’s blog about things to avoid, you know she suggested staying away from it. However, it is clearly listed as a treatment on another sight. For some it is a miracle worker but for others it is a nightmare. There are so many debates about soy leading to breast cancer and other problems. Does anyone have any personal stories about soy? I’d love it if you’d share them. (Click here for more information about soy and PCOS from the PCOS Network.)
Hopefully this provides a little more information about what it all means.
Happy Friday!
