As part of 12 days of Cysters, I would like to share with you a week’s diary about living life battling PCOS…
Monday
Just like most mornings that involve hospital appointments, I woke up with anxiety. I had a hospital appointment with the PCOS specialist at the diabetic clinic to try and help me in my weight loss battle, but I hate going to hospital appointments. I only go because I need the help but 90% of my appointments to do with my weight and fertility make me cry.
I didn’t eat breakfast, I can never normally stomach it. She did tell me off for that, as well as diagnose me with Hyperglycemia which is common in women with PCOS who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Now I have to change my whole diet… good bye chicken nuggets.
At the end of the day, my battle with PCOS and hyperglycemia comes down to one question, would I rather have chicken nuggets and diabetes or energy and children?
– Kirsty-Louise Card
I spent the rest of the day, avoiding starting my new diet while I constructed meal plans for how I was going to start it. I also had to deal with some painful acne around my chin which tends to mean that I had a bad hormonal reaction to something that I have eaten… probably the pizza the night before. That shouldn’t happen once the new diet is started though, I have to stick to natural foods and any carbs I consume need to be on the low side of the glyceamic index.
Tuesday
I started the diet. Most mornings I would avoid breakfast like the plague as I really struggle to keep it down and have done since I was around 14 years old (the age I was when my periods started). I have learned that this is because I wasn’t getting the energy from my food the day before until the following morning which meant there was no need for me to be eating.
I started off the day with two slices of seeded bread, toasted with a low fat cheese spread (yes, you can still eat cheese!). I did struggle to eat it as I’m not used to eating breakfast and some days I struggle to eat lunch but the dietician said that I needed to train my body to be able to eat three meals a day.
I had a small pot of pasta for lunch and an omlette with tomatos for dinner. Honestly, this low GI diet isn’t as bad as many think, especially if you like the food.
As expected with the first day of every new diet, I was starving by the evening but I still didn’t munch and made it through the day with new cravings.
The dietician gave me some notes which I will link you to below which is the recommended low GI diet:
Wednesday
This was an easier day. Turns out I have more will power than I thought I did. I only felt hungary around meal times and my digestive system is running more effectively than it used to. I even spent some of my time making up fruit snack pots incase I needed a healthy snack. It was yummy!
The only issues that I’m having is the detoxing. My immune system has become a little weaker so I’ve managed to catch flu, the acne is horrendous and I have such a bad case of cloudy mind. The change in my hormones has without a doubt put my brain in a blender but itn will be like this for up to two weeks, just in time for me to go back to uni and my next period…
Thursday
I wanted to experiment with different snacks that I could make so I messaged some fellow cysters to help me out and they pointed me in the direction of pintrest for low gi recipes which lead me to my sugar free oat cookies and also a lot of flax seed recipes that I will experiment with later… I’m especially looking forward to the pancakes!
I also started looking for gyms close to my university… I figured if I’m going to dive into this diet, I might aswell jump in head first.
Friday
I had a walk up to my Gran’s to take the cookies up. I wanted her to try them as she has type 2 diabetes so it would be nice for her to have a treat that she is able to enjoy, guilt free! As luck would have it, she loved them. Apparently, I’ve surprised a lot of people with my culinary skills this week.
The evening was my biggest test… I had the offer of a takeaway from Pizza Dial and anyone who knows me, knows I can’t resist the chicken nugget meal from that place and yet I still ordered a grilled chicken wrap with no chips. I am on fire this week.
The tummy pains have started though, they are to be expected when starting a new diet though.
Saturday
Shopping day… we may have went a tad over-board but I descovered that keeping this diet up while on my student loan will be affordable… Aldi is a godsend ladies. I’m still getting tummy pains but I don’t bloat when I eat anymore. That evening me and my Auntie (who also has PCOS and has been loosely following the diet with me) had pasta while her foster son and partner had their unhealthy, carb loaded meal but we are feeling much better.
Sunday
The tummy pains were a little heftier but I’m still feeling the benefit of my food, I have gone from being the sleepy girl that you read about in memes on social media to a girl who can’t stop dancing in her bedroom.
It’s all in the food girls. It’s all in the food.
