Black Girl's PCOS - Challenge Accepted! ....21 days in

Black Girl's PCOS - Challenge Accepted! .....21 days in

So this is an update on my PCOS lose weight, reduce sugar diet where the goal is to lose 5% of my body weight.

And 21 days in....it has definitely been interesting! A whirlwind of ideas in fact!
For the last 21 days I have been eating fresh fruit and vegetables only....NOT. I've not lost the plot don't worry. I've always been told that man cannot live by VEG alone! And this WO(man) certainly can't. Not after 40 years of meat & fish passing my lips. Plus this challenge is not about drastic measures.

Therefore in the interest of doing this without using extreme measures (like deliberately starving oneself) I have decided to follow 2 diets that seem to meet the recommendations of all those medical websites I've trawled through prior to embarking on my challenge. I've chosen to test the Whole 30 lifestyle and the Alkaline Diet. The 2 diets have been split over 6 weeks to see which one A)Works best at shifting those stubborn pounds and B) actually makes me feel more energized and not deprived.

In theory both diets should do the same thing but the key to staying with something is (I've found) feeling good about it. For example we all join the gym with the intention of going regularly but soon those regular visits get shunted in favour of drinks after work, shopping with girlfriends, lazing on the sofa to get through the boxset that everyone is talking about before it becomes yesterday's thing. You get the drift...

So the challenge is to eat whole unprocessed food and specific alkaline heavy food while still feeding my kids the same food they have gotten used to before this PCOS challenge started. I have thought about swapping everyone over to the new eating regime but unlike some mums I have to have my arsenal ready tested before going into to battle, so if this works their time will come.

So far the whole 30 lifestyle has been relatively easy to do. I don't eat much junk food anyway so it has been all about picking the options that suit the lifestyle. Basically I swap stuff or I just leave things off my plate. So in effect I cook one meal for everyone but leave out the item that doesn't suit the whole 30 theory 

Below is an example of the dinner swaps I have done in order to accommodate the first part of these new eating choices. The family might have chicken with rice and peas for Sunday dinner but I'll have just the chicken with fresh salad or couscous. I still get the protein but less of the carbohydrates. 

So as you can see from my sample menu, I swap the heavy carbohydrates when I can. The results so far have been promising. I have lost around 9 pounds since starting 21 days ago and therefore I am on target. 

My only vice is that glass of red wine that calls to me at least twice a week but I think without this treat I would feel super deprived. However as it is, the Whole 30 lifestyle has been pretty manageable. 

We shall see if the next 21 days of eating Alkaline can beat Whole 30. 

See you soon folks 

❤👌✌

Black Girl's PCOS Challenge - (Accepted)!

Black Girl's PCOS Challenge - (Accepted!).

Didn't know there was such a thing? Well allow me to enlighten you. It is actually Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS for short. That is the hormonal imbalance that has plagued this black girl for the last few years.

And it all came out (so to speak) when I simply couldn't understand why I could not last longer than an hour or so between visits to the loo.  It did feel like I had turned into a fountain and someone else was turning me on and off. Crazy right? Probably not crazy for some of you who have already had kids.  So anyway back to my point. I decided to have this 'irregular' toilet use investigated and you know that saying 'don't open a can of worms'. Yes I opened a can of worms. And this worm happens to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Won't bore you with the specifics like how it gets diagnosed or treatment options. If you are intelligent enough to be reading this blog, you can Google it.

One of the things that have an impact on this condition is being overweight. So this year I have decided to make a concerted effort to lose weight to help me to cope with the excess hair (not growing on my head), the extended menstrual bleeds, tiredness and other niggles that may or may not be linked to PCOS but will probably benefit from some weight loss too. Apart from the emotional distress there is some financial distress from having PCOS. I mean at the rate I'm going hair removal cream, threading treatments, pads and tampons will soon bankrupt me!! Well maybe not as dramatic as that but one can hardly think of buying that sexy skin tight pair of jeans when she's got big pads stuck in her pants from yet another unexpected visit from mother nature!!

So on the 1st week of the year, the challenge has begun to reduce my PCOS symptoms so life can really be enjoyed to the full.

My goal is to lose at least 20 pounds which will meet the 5% recommended weight loss I have been reading on every medical site imaginable (or at least the ones loaded onto the Internet).

Decided to ditch the carbs and sugar or well drastically reduce them and not eat past 6pm. Might have the odd glass of wine, after all woman cannot live on carrot sticks alone. Can she??? or rather Why should she??? I will also aim to exercise more by walking and yoga. This is kind of an experiment which I hope will work as the light skin with dark facial hair (ie the beard) look and the 2 week menstrual bleeds have definitely lost their novelty factor.

My current comfort is knowing that every other 40 something woman is probably also on a diet this week if not this month so at least I'm not the odd one out with the basket full of veg at the supermarket. It'll be the guy over there with the 7 pack of chocolate bars and cola. Mmmm....Chocolate........

Ooops sorry daydreaming there for a minute.

Would love to hear any tips from those of you who have had PCOS and gone on a weight loss journey to control your symptoms.

Wish me luck!!

Follow my journey.