PCOS...

Kids are napping and I have a few minutes so, I am going ot write about something that has affected my life and the lives of many other women, many who do not even know what is wrong or that there may be anything wrong with them...

I HATE the above initials. I really do. PCOS has caused so much grief in my life and in the lives of a lot of people close to me. If you want to read more please click on the link above. My PCOS was in a sort of "remission" for a few years, thus, all 3 babies that I was able to have after hormone treatment during my pregnancy with Claire. Currently, it is back in FULL FORCE!!!

I have been doing research and taking some herbal things. Currently, Vitex and a Vitamin B complex. I am trying really hard to figure out a way to do mostly a low carb diet without killing myself & my family (Charlie has high blood pressure) with a lot of high fat stuff. Low-carb diets have proven very beneficial to PCOS sufferers and I am firmly convinced, as is my doctor, that is how I conceived Claire in the first place!

RIght now, I am struggling with about a 20 lb weight gain (in the past 3 months!!) excess facial hair, acne (I haven't had acne this bad since I was 14), depression, anxiety, mood swings, always hungry, SOOOOO tired, achy, bloated and a sore tummy (from the ovarian cysts) not to mention a few other symptoms. :( I am NOT a happy camper... so, I am trying some new things:

*Exercising with either walking DVD (3-5 miles a day) or "The Shred" 3-5 times a week, at least!! I would do it every day, but I am being real, it's probably NOT going to happen every.single. day. with 3 kids and homeschooling!!

*Sam-E- for depression and anxiety.

*Low carb diet...the best I can do.. it's expensive and hard to do with small children but I am going to do the best I can. Some things I am going to try: *keeping deviled eggs and cheese sticks in the fridge, chicken salads and egg salads made up for lunch, trying to STAY AWAY from the breads and desserts...I will allow myself to cheat only on the weekends (by doing this before, it was the only way to stick with it, to allow myself "small" cheats on the weekends, I could make it through the week and saw results quicker).


If any of you suffer from PCOS, do you have anything to share that has worked for you?? More people suffer from this than they know so if any of the symptoms sound familiar, please have it checked out. Although, to warn you, some doctors are not very good at diagnosing this. I went for YEARS without knowing what was wrong with me!!

Hope this helps someone and if you have any questions, I will be happy to answer what I can.

~Julie~

menus this week....

Supper Menus:

*Chicken Enchiladas with sour cream & guacamole, Pinto Beans w/Bacon

*Bacon Cheeseburger quiche, salad,

*Chicken Tortilla soup (without tortillas or w/low carb), top with avocados & sour cream & cheese

*Hobo Dinners (hamburger patty seasoned with salt & pepper placed in a foil pocket with onions & zucchini & bell peppers & baked until meat & veg. are done), steamed broccoli & cauliflower

*Baked Catfish, asparagus, cauliflower

*Chicken Fajitas with no or a low carb tortilla, sour cream & guacamole

*Mexican Casserole w/pinto beans

*These are all low carb recipes & I can post them on my cooking blog or on here this week if you want me to. Just send me an email and let me know. If I have a request, I will post it. :)

Have a great week!

Julie

We're going to talk about......

gasp!! shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! losing weight!

That's right. I am going to talk about losing weight. The cookies and baked goods and being stuck in the house this winter have gotten to me! I am now about a size bigger than I am comfortable and I am about 2 sizes above where I truly want to be, so it is time to break out the diet manual and the exercise routine!

I am going to list a few things below that I started to use at the beginning of this week. If you want to follow along with me in this just comment or email me. I will encourage you & you can encourage me! Let's go!!! :)

Okay, this was interesting and motivating, I thought:(ignore the ads; I couldn't get them to delete)

How to lose weight in 7 days the right way

1. Eat a big and healthy breakfast every day. You need calories to jump-start your metabolism after a good night of sleep.

2. Do not count calories. Eat lean protein, fruits and vegetables as much as you want, and stay hydrated.

3. Walk or swim for at least 30 minutes every day. If you have a weight scale at home, hide it and do not weigh yourself for at least two weeks.

4. Spread your daily calories between five small meals and do not allow yourself to be hungry for an extended period. If you feel hungry, eat!

5. Carry healthy snacks with you when you leave your house. When you feel hungry between regular meals, use the snacks.

6. Do not set a weight-loss goal. Instead of thinking, “I need to lose 10 pounds in two weeks,” focus on developing healthy eating habits and being physically active. Go for a hike, dance, ride a bike, play with your kids.

7. Above all, believe in yourself! Thousands of people successfully lose weight every day. It is not a lottery and it ain’t rocket science.

My diet:

breakfast: Breakfast burritos in low carb tortilla

snack:almonds & sugar free jello w/whipped cream or stick of cheese

lunch: chef salad

snack: handful of nuts; piece of fruit or steamed veggies

supper: something like fajitas w/no tortilla or just 1 low carb tortilla

Anyway, there's what I am doing! It's not easy with babies but I am going to do this!!!! Just thought I would share!!

And part of Kelly Ripa's workout routine: ( I am doing this at night before bed sometimes while watching a movie; drives Charlie crazy! lol)

200 butt lifts (lay on your back and lift your butt up. (right now I am at 100)
25 bicep curls with weights (my weights are only three pounds each because that's all I have. I need to be doing five pounds each)
25 standing dumbbell press
25 standing dumbbell rear raises
25 Dumbbell side raise (THESE KILL ME)
50 squats (sometimes more)
100 Leg lifts on each leg
100 crunches (right now, I'm at about 50)
And sometimes I do push ups (I am working on getting better at these but they kill me! I used to do 50 of these the tough way, no sweat but now I can do 20 if my knees are on the ground)

Also, walking 1 minute; running 1 minute (repeat 10X) every day that I can. And Cindy Crawford's New Dimensions Workout Videos. I LOVE THESE!!! THEY ARE KILLER!!!! I have always (for 12 years) used her workout videos and they always work! They are tough but worth every bit of it. I am really looking forward to seeing the results that I know will come with this and the best part is: the girls can do it with me & Drew even watches! Funny! :)

I am up to 11 miles as of today, which isn't great but it's 11 miles I didn't have before last week!!

What's your exercise routine? Please share!! Sarah has a great one, too!

Love,
Julie