PCOS Food and Lifestyle

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2009-10-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

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MORE time gone...

2008-04-20T15:30:00.001-07:00

Its been almost or over a years since my last post. I will definitely update soon(if anyone is reading at this point, LOL)

My journey with PCOS diet and lifestyle has taken many twists and turns over the year; I look forward to updating!

So much time, so many changes

2007-08-23T22:41:00.000-07:00

I will continue my "PCOS history" another day when I have more time. I do want to mention that as of April this year, I went completely raw vegan. No doubt this was the best move health wise I have ever made. I simply cant believe the transformation my body have gone through in the past few months. I will post before and after photos in a few weeks. For now on this will be my RAW PCOS BLOG.

You can find me here http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/index.php

Questions? Please ask!!

PCOS History Part I

2007-05-04T23:18:00.000-07:00

PCOS History and Journey

This may sound crazy but I think my PCOS started at a very early age, not just when I started my menses or when my periods started getting scattered, but my lifestyle for years has brought me to where I am today.

Growing up, we were not allowed to have an excess amount of sugar, white bread, sugared breakfast cereals, cookies, punch and other highly artificial drinks. Nevertheless the less our diets were still full of processed foods, Top Ramen, Campbell’s soups, pasta, over cooked vegetables, colored wheat bread, hormonal meet and diary products, juice pasteurized to death from concentrate, margarine, and so on. Like most parents, they thought they were doing the right thing. My brother and I was at a normal weight so there was no cause for concern. For years however, I watched my mother struggle with her weight on the classic Weight Watchers diets, low-fat diets, oat bran diets and so on.

We ate mostly at home with the occasional trip to the buffet style restaurant, Mc Donald’s, or pizza.

When I was 11 and starting Jr. High, my relationship with food started to go further downhill. I was bringing less and less home-prepared lunches and started eating more at school. A typical school lunch for me consisted of a Cup of Noodles and a bucket of French fries: fried white noodles, MSG, sodium and processed potatoes cooked in God knows what. A soda was thrown in the mix. Still, I was at a normal weight so there were no cause for concern because my mother had no idea I was eating this way.

When I turned 12, I started my menstrual cycle. It started out painless and “normal”. By age 13, they were starting to get irregular. I started getting them every other month instead of monthly. I was also starting high school. Doctors told me it was normal and that my body was still adjusting.

(To be continued...)

2007-04-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

I'm on my 7th day of my diet (I think its been 6 or 7 days). I feel pretty good. Starting on day two, I had some detox reactions, mostly in the form of my colon cleaning itself out. I'm still detoxing, but it isn't as bad now as it was this past week. My stomach is definitely less "poochy". My DP noticed a difference in my skin. My completion is brighter and my eyes are brighter. Overall, I'm eating less food now than I did during the first few days. I feel like I need less. I crave fried foods less and less. (more later!)

Just Food

2007-04-18T23:48:00.000-07:00

For breakfast I had a hemp seed smoothie with frozen strawberries I got from the farmers market and water and a hard boiled egg (obviously not raw!)

Lunch was a salad of mixed sprouts, avocado, homemade raw honey mustard dressing and raw walnuts.

Last night I made flax crackers (grinding 1/2 of the flax seeds before soaking). I added some chopped garlic, Celtic salt and some curry powder and it came out really good and crispy. I have another batch drying in the dehydrator as we speak.

I also made some raw pizza sauce using a fresh tomato, some sun dried tomatoes, lemon, Celtic salt, EVOO and Italian seasoning (all organic) in the blender and it came out really good. I spread it on the crackers.

For dinner, I had the above with the left over raw no bean hummus, I sprouted quinoa and steamed that.

Dessert/snack was more strawberries.

Raw

2007-04-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

This week I am working on adding more raw foods to my diet. I've been more creative in terms of salads. I tend to get stuck in the same old, same old, salad rut and have been using my raw cookbooks to add a bit more variety.
I also made (raw) bread sticks, curry crackers, no bean hummus, marinara, soaked and dried nuts, raw organic strawberry pie, nut milks and spriluna smoothies in the mornings. Tonight I will make flax crackers for tomorrow. I feared a lot of this would be time consuming. But most of the prep work is relatively quick; comparable to other foods. Dehydrating time is a different story. It can take 24 hours to make crackers so planning ahead is key.

I still eat meat and eggs though I've cut back slightly. I still feel I need animal protein in my diet but not as much given raw foods are so filling.

I am also making an effort not to eat as much cooked oils. Raw, cold pressed oils - YES, but no fried or excessively heated oils. No oven fries or oven fried chicken, etc (SIGH). I have a grill pan and powerful fan/vent in the kitchen for the smoke so that is helpful.

This morning I had a spirluna smoothie with organic frozen blueberries and a little pressed apple juice. Snack was/is curry crackers and no bean hummus.For lunch I’m going to a raw foods restaurant because I didn’t really make a lunch last night for today. Tonight I will make chicken satay (its marinating at home), a large salad and a grain of some sort - maybe quinoa.

Excercise and Insulin Resistance

2007-04-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

Though this isn't new news, its important to reiterate the importance of exercise for insulin resistance.
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20010315/1159.html
In my personal life I can say exercise helped me a great deal in addition to diet. I cant do one without the other, but if I was forced to choose, it would have to be diet; because even though I have always been somewhat active, my PCOS symptoms (including ovulation and weight loss) didn't improve until I started cleaning up my diet. But exercise is like the thick icing on the cake. My blood pressure is always at a normal level, my blood sugar is stable, energy levels are up (most of the time) and I was able to change the shape of my body through weight training--though I can do more. It also help stabilize my appetite and sleep pattern.

Currently I track run, trail run, spin on my bike at home, Yoga (sometimes), hand weights and walk. I don't belong to a gym currently and I haven't for the past two years or so though I may join a Yoga studio. I am looking to improve what I do so I will keep posted on my progress.

What do you think?

2007-03-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

I am always curious as to what others think the cause of PCOS is. Now that I have a few readers, I hope to get some opinions .

Though I've known about PCOS since around 2000, I still know very little about the cause. I've read a few books, websites, magazine articles and it seems like all the information at best is based on theory. Here are my scattered thoughts as to what may cause PCOS; this is also based on what I read.

Genetic predispositions (both the mother and/or the father's side). For the time being (until I change my mind) I feel having a genetic predisposition plus one or more of the risk factors following below.
Family history of diabetes
Exposure to xenoestrogens as a fetus.
Pesticides
Hormones in food
Overuse of antibiotics
Refined sugars and flour/starches
Trans fats
Too much estrogen or "estrogen dominance"
Overweight (though it can certainly cause it)
Stress
Birth control pills
Depo Provera

I may add on to the list later as I think of more possible causes or risk factors.

What do you think?

2007-03-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

I'm getting to the point (I guess it’s a seasonal thing) where I would do a minor diet overhaul. Maybe I've been mindlessly eating too many carbs, even good ones. Maybe I haven’t been taking my supplements like I should or not eating enough veggies. Whatever the case, I like to take some time out to see how I can improve.

I realized that I would do better overall eating more raw foods. Not go raw vegan because I feel better consuming some animal protein and a modified traditional foods diet, but add more raw plant based foods to my diet. When I did this last year for a bit, my energy shot up and I lost a few pounds in a short period of time. Two books on the subject I recommend are:

Rawsome by Brigitte Mars
This book is great because Brigitte not only list recipes and techniques, tools and instructions, but you also get a very wide overview of plant-based foods and what they can do for the body - not your just basic nutritional information. I recommend this book even if you're not in strictly interested in a raw vegan diet.

RAWvolution by Matt Amsden
This book is mostly recipes, but it does give you some basic instructions in preparation and "equipment" you will need. I love this book is full of beautiful photographs of the food itself, where the previous book doesn’t have any. Sometimes it’s good to get an idea of what the food you’re preparing does look like – especially if you are new to raw food preparation.

Like I mentioned I don’t believe that a strict raw foods diet is best for me, but trying to get a large percentage of raw food in my diet isn’t unreasonable. Salads and celery sticks can easily get boring so this give me a way to have gourmet style plant-based meals, gluten and sugar free desserts, dairy and soy free smoothies and sprouted nuts and grains (better for digestion). A 100% raw vegan diet is very time consuming and can be pricy, especially with the equipment (fortunately I do have), but 2-3 new times a week wont hurt me. I'm not a raw expert by any means, but there are a ton of books on the subject and many more websites and blogs.

While out of town

2007-03-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

I spent the past few days (Friday - Sunday) at a tradeshow in Anaheim. I never knew how hard it would be to find decent food in that area. Overall, my dining experience was less than stellar. It was the Natural Products Expo so there were quite a few vendors shelling out samples of their items, but for an actual meal in the area...good luck. Friday morning I was home where I was able to have my usual breakfast. I took a snack for lunch. Dinner was at a nearby Marriott restaurant and it was a little better than I though, but not enough to justify the price. I had mix greens salad with vinaigrette and a crabcake (I know it has gluten) and it was edible. My DP had the seared Ahi tuna and it was pretty good - just how tuna should be prepared. The next day, started the culinary decline. Breakfast was a very modest, organic raw walnut butter, a strip of nori and a little coconut oil for we didn’t really have a place to go to eat. The hotel restaurant had the usual "continental" breakfast: starch, carbs, sugar, and more starch. Lunch was at the same place we at the previous night, except the food was surprisingly horrible (and overpriced to boot). I opted for the salad bar. All of the prepared salads had cheese, something I just don’t like at all. The only salad that was available was ice berg lettuce and a few ashy shredded carrots. The other food at the bar consisted of baked Buffalo wings, fried chicken (tasted like it was previously frozen for 20 years), potato skins with cheese (looked disgusting), soggy squash, and a few other things was forgettable. DP ordered the halibut and it was dried, tasteless and slathered in a thick, bland sauce. Needless to say, I ate pretty light for lunch.

The show was packed and busy and I was able to satisfy my hunger with the samples on the show floor. Dinner was a bit later because we met a friend for a glass of wine after the show and engaged in some post-show activities. While scrambling for a place to eat, we came across a Thai food restaurant outside of the area. It was a small, hole-in-the-wall type place in an older, decaying strip mall. Normally where I come from, hole-in-the-wall places are the best. It was small, but not cute though. There were no other places to go in the area. The menu looked pretty diverse and so we ordered several plates. The idea was to have enough for the next day since we had a refrigerator in our room. ¾ of the way through the meal, my head started to pound. The gentleman that joined us asked the server if there was MSG in the food and she said yes.

Now given my allergy to MSG, I should have remembered to ask, but its been years since I’ve actually been to a place that had that in their food. MSG just isn’t that popular in the Bay Area (especially Berkeley) given that amount of health conscious people we have in the area. I immediately stopped eating (thankfully, I didn’t have much) and drink a glass of water. On our way back to the hotel, it felt as if my head was under a vice. The pain gradually got tighter and tighter. I don’t have headaches let alone migraines normally so this was a new experience for me.

When we got back to the hotel, I took a few supplements and it seemed to have calmed it down. We ordered a movie and went to bed to prepare for our journey home the next day.

Afraid to eat anything ever again but hungry, we asked the front desk if there are any places they would recommend for food. They handed us a generic hand drawn map of downtown Fullerton and gave us directions. The navigation system in our car got us there. In ninety something degree heat, hungry and recovering from the previous night’s MSG poisoning, we walked around the quiet, but quaint downtown area where the streets are lined with independent shops and restaurants; a stark contrast to the rest of the area with its 1970s strip malls, fast food and chain stores. We found a vegan restaurant to cool off and have lunch. I had the grilled tempeh (fermented tofu), brown rice with tamari, grilled eggplant, peppers and portabella mushrooms. I also ordered a salad. My body was starving for nourishment. DP ordered something similar. It was very good meal, perfect for the 7 hour drive that was ahead of us.

Next time I am in the area, I will be more prepared. I just had no idea that food choices were so limited in the area, given the amount of visitors it attracts every year.

2007-03-04T20:16:00.000-08:00

My workout schedule had been derailed by the news of my cousin passing away. Friday, I ran for 30 minutes but my knees and joints were so sore I couldn't do much else. I took a long, hot bath Saturday night to help with the soreness. With the exception of a sweet treat (gluten-free chocolate macaroon) I've been pretty much on track. Today, I did about 30 minutes of gardening, but I plan on spinning in the morning before work.

Yoga class

2007-02-28T21:08:00.000-08:00

Food wise, today was not much different from yesterday. I had the same amount of protein, fat, carbs, veggies, fruit, etc. Because of weather, illness and time, I haven't gone out for a run since Friday though I did exercises some over the weekend indoors. Today I took a 1.5 hour Hatha yoga class and it got my muscles going. I am so stiff that I think the class benefited me more than a run would have. I will try to wake up early tomorrow to spin before I shower, eat and go to work. Lets see how that will go.

Muffins

2007-02-27T20:35:00.000-08:00

Today I went back to work; thank goodness I was feeling better than the previous day. Before dinner, I made grain and flour-free muffins (with pecan and almond flour, eggs, maple syrup, baking soda, salt, vanilla, frozen blueberries - all organic).

Breakfast
1 hard boiled egg
(I am not very hungry in the morning, but I must eat something)

Mid morning snack
1 hard boiled egg
Bartlet pear

Lunch
Leftover baked chicken
cabbage slaw

red cabbage
daikon radish
red onion
green onion
Shiitake mushroom
carrot
EVOO
Balsamic

1 sprouted corn tortilia

Mid afternoon
not hungry

Dinner
3 large prawns sauteed in coconut oil, spicy (they were pretty big)
sliced baked eggplant
same type of salad as lunch
16 oz kombucha
2 muffins

Supplements
B-vitamins
Folic Acid
Cinnamon
Vitex (herb)
Evening Primrose Oil
Flax seed Oil

I know I need more fruit in my diet, but unfortunately, this season hasnt been good for that.

food list

2007-02-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

This is a very rough guide to my diet. There are more foods I eat, but this can give you an idea: (I will continue to update this list)

NO
refined carbs
white rice - except for occasional Sushi out
sugar, corn syrup, fructose, high fructose corn syrup
juice (except for raw vegetable juice)
sodas
artificial sweeteners
preservatives, MSG, etc
hard liquor
beer
unfermented soy foods and products
dairy - except for raw or at least organic, grass fed butter

YES
organic fresh, raw fruits and vegetables
sea vegetables
raw vegetable juice
wheat grass juice
whole grains
quinoa
brown and red rice
wild rice
flax
organic chicken and turkey
wild salmon and other fish
wine (very seldom)
Flax seed oil
Coconut oil (unrefined)
raw and organic butter
extra virgin olive oil
raw fermented foods such as raw sour kraut and kombucha (daily)

Called in sick

2007-02-26T20:15:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day of my cycle and I was having crippling cramps: not able to stand up straight, dizzy and heavy bleeding. Plus DP and I are still fight a bug or cold of some sort.

Though today was supposed to be a rest day, I couldn't help but cook and so some laundry though I managed a 1 1/2 nap in the mid afternoon. I did some spinning on my bike for about 25 minutes and it did help some of the cramping (followed by a hot essential oil and Epsom salt bath).

Morning (slept until 10:00)
2 oz fresh wheat grass juice
1 hard boiled egg
1 gluten-free waffle
raw butter
strawberry sugar free jam (sweetened with fruit juice)
1 tbs coconut oil
kombucha 8 oz

Mid afternoon
Salad

lettuce
radishes
nori

green onions
red bell pepper
Sauteed shrimp
sweet potato fries (baked)
kombucha 8oz

Dinner
chicken (baked)
salad (same as lunch)
baked eggplant

Supplements throughout the day
zinc 30 mg
cinnamon 350 mg 2x today
alpha-lopoic acid 150 mg x2 today
cayenne
astaxanthin 4 mg
B vitamin
magnesium citrate 400 mg
folic acid 800 mcg
evening primrose oil
vitamin E
Taurine
White tea

Excercise
25 minutes of spinning

2007-02-25T23:10:00.000-08:00

Today was a bit light as well as I still wasn't feeling well physically and emotionally. I kept the carb content low at least and did some core work and stretching. If its not raining tomorrow, I will go for a run after work; if the rain stays, I will do some spinning.

A new day - 24 Feb 2007

2007-02-24T20:04:00.001-08:00

OK, so its been quite a while since I posted. I almost forgot I have a blog! Again, I want to write on a regular basis what my lifestyle protical is for PCOS and possible hypothyroidism.

So far, this is what I had today:

Breakfast

3 turkey sauseage
3 tbs polenta
1 tbs raw, coconut oil

I didn't really have an appetite today because I'm fighting a cold, but I did have a fair amount of energy going into the afternoon.

Late Lunch

Broiled salmon with a spicy lemongrass sauce

8 oz of Kombucha (I will drink 8 oz before bed)

Tonight I will make a big salad and will add flax seed oil and balsamic vinegar, I don't feel the need to have more protein or any starch for that matter. Like I said, I'm fighting a bug and dont really feel like eating much. :(. I will also have red raspberry leaf and needle tea before bed.

Thrusday, November 30 and Friday, December 1

2006-12-04T20:54:00.000-08:00

7:00AM 1/2 pear
7:10Am run for 30 minutes
7:50Am 1 hard boiled egg w/sea salt
9:00 small piece of baked salmon
1:40PM mixed greens salad with walnuts, strawberries, grapefruit
2:00 another piece of salmon
5:30PM espresso and 1 cup of soy milk
small macaroon
8:30PM 8oz kombuca tea
1 cup kale

7:00AM 8oz komcucha
7:00 1 tablespoon toasted almond butter
green tea (powdered)
1:00 1 grilled chicken taco, Mexican style rice, tomatoes, corn chips
Forgot to write down dinner.