This is one of those pour your heart out moments kids. To be blunt, I'm struggling with the diagnosis I got last week from the doctor. So while I'm trying not to blog about PCOS all the time, I'd like to pay homage to how I got here and what my journey has been. I also don't want this to turn into the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome blog because that's not me, I'm not a disease - I'm a person who is training for a half-marathon and getting in the BEST shape of my life (along with you, my readers)!
A little background, on my wedding day, September 13, 2008, I weighed 169 pounds. I was off the healthy eating train on our honeymoon I gained the 10 lbs that I had lost the week of the wedding back and was at 179 pounds again. From the end of September 2008 to mid-November 2008 I went up to 188 pounds.
In January of 2009 I was at 193 pounds with about 52% of that being fat and 48% was muscle. During that time I didn't eat that differently than I had before the wedding other than I drank beer and ate non-mozzarella cheese again. I didn't eat regular potatoes, I didn't eat sugar, I didn't eat white flour. I wasn't binging and I wasn't drinking uncontrollably. I didn't exercise either, and didn't really watch my portions though.
With food diaries I figured out that I was eating about 2200-2500 calories a day. I started limiting my food intake and saw a dietitian in February. Shortly after that I was exercising four to five times a week and had started doing the couch to 5k program along with seeing a personal trainer. I gained a little weight from all the working out and in March my weight was at 196 pounds (according to the doctors office). My measurements had gone down and the belly fat had dropped significantly from January. I wish I had taken a picture in January instead of the one in March.
Fast forward through the summer, I was eating right and exercising plenty. I averaged around 12 miles a week with regular strength sessions. My net calories were around 1700 a day which is where I should be to be losing a pound a week considering my starting weight. I wasn't losing a thing. I noticed that I started having acne really badly and I was missing periods. I also noticed that my hair was starting to fall out more and more in clumps. I just figured this was all side effects of going off of the birth control pill and starting on the mirena (the IUD that I had inserted in March).
I brought it up to my trainer and was curious to know if she thought it was because of drinking beer or if my diet wasn't "clean" enough or anything like that. She said that it just didn't make sense and that she was going to kick up the intensity of my workouts but that I also should consult with my doctor. The doctor pointed out that I had lost three pounds since March but with as much as I was working out and eating right with a calorie deficiency (thanks to figuring out my BMR) I should have lost more than less than a pound a month. I had bloodwork done and the original response from one of the nurses was that everything was fine and they hoped that helped me out. I wasn't satisfied with that answer, I knew something was wrong but I wasn't sure what it was yet.
I received a call later from my doctor's assistant and apparently my body has all of the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and my testosterone and insulin levels are elevated. My body is failing at regulating itself and needs help to regulate itself from hanging on to body fat. That's why I've been placed on the Metformin (brand name Glucophage) at 1000 mg a day. I also think my cinnamon cravings are having to do with the insulin resistance/PCOS as cinnamon is supposed to help regulate insulin levels in the body.
I'm struggling with coming to terms that the reason why I'm having trouble regulating my weight is because I have too much testosterone. I'm also coming to terms with the fact that I may have fertility issues. It's been rough figuring all of this out during waiver season and in the middle of a very stressful time. It's frustrating that I'm figuring this out when I'm training for my first half-marathon or trying to make myself into an athlete.
I'm trying to laugh at all of it - I'm more of a man than you! I'm experiencing male-pattern baldness (that is if it was on the back of my head)! Ha - right? At the same time though, sometimes I want to cry over it because I've worked so hard and disciplined my body so much to not have the results that I crave. I'm still coming to terms with this, but I wanted to get it all out so that if anyone out there is dealing with something similar they realize they aren't alone in all of this.
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A little background, on my wedding day, September 13, 2008, I weighed 169 pounds. I was off the healthy eating train on our honeymoon I gained the 10 lbs that I had lost the week of the wedding back and was at 179 pounds again. From the end of September 2008 to mid-November 2008 I went up to 188 pounds.
With food diaries I figured out that I was eating about 2200-2500 calories a day. I started limiting my food intake and saw a dietitian in February. Shortly after that I was exercising four to five times a week and had started doing the couch to 5k program along with seeing a personal trainer. I gained a little weight from all the working out and in March my weight was at 196 pounds (according to the doctors office). My measurements had gone down and the belly fat had dropped significantly from January. I wish I had taken a picture in January instead of the one in March.
I brought it up to my trainer and was curious to know if she thought it was because of drinking beer or if my diet wasn't "clean" enough or anything like that. She said that it just didn't make sense and that she was going to kick up the intensity of my workouts but that I also should consult with my doctor. The doctor pointed out that I had lost three pounds since March but with as much as I was working out and eating right with a calorie deficiency (thanks to figuring out my BMR) I should have lost more than less than a pound a month. I had bloodwork done and the original response from one of the nurses was that everything was fine and they hoped that helped me out. I wasn't satisfied with that answer, I knew something was wrong but I wasn't sure what it was yet.
I'm struggling with coming to terms that the reason why I'm having trouble regulating my weight is because I have too much testosterone. I'm also coming to terms with the fact that I may have fertility issues. It's been rough figuring all of this out during waiver season and in the middle of a very stressful time. It's frustrating that I'm figuring this out when I'm training for my first half-marathon or trying to make myself into an athlete.
I'm trying to laugh at all of it - I'm more of a man than you! I'm experiencing male-pattern baldness (that is if it was on the back of my head)! Ha - right? At the same time though, sometimes I want to cry over it because I've worked so hard and disciplined my body so much to not have the results that I crave. I'm still coming to terms with this, but I wanted to get it all out so that if anyone out there is dealing with something similar they realize they aren't alone in all of this.