Senin, 31 Januari 2011

Fertility Appointment

Today was my fertility appointment.May I just say that I LOVE my fertility doctor.
A lot.

One of the first things she mentioned was my weight loss. She was very happy, and proud of me. She told me that losing weight had no doubt helped my PCOS, and that my regular period cycles were proving that. She talked about insulin resistance, and how it directly effects the amount of testosterone that goes to my ovaries, affecting whether or not they would be able to develop an egg. She said a
low glycemic index diet would help my insulin resistance, balance out my hormones, and help me to ovulate regularly; And she was very happy to hear it was apart of my new plan.

She went down the list of my health issues (Lupus, RA, low thyroid, PCOS), and told me how amazing it was that I was able to lose weight, while having a number of things against me. That was a special moment for me. I felt very proud of myself for losing over 40 pounds, and not letting my health issues keep me from accomplishing my goals.

She took an ultrasound of my ovaries, and said they were "beautiful" My husband chuckled and told her that he always said I was beautiful inside and out. Ha. Ha. ;) She doesn't think I need to be put on Metformin, and wants to put me on Clomid, after I have my next period. Clomid will help me to ovulate more regularly. We will do that for 3 months, and if I'm not pregnant by then, we will talk about other fertility treatments we can do. She sounded pretty confident that the Clomid will do the trick. I'm excited for my next period to start, so we can start!

She talked to us for almost 2 hours. She answered every single question we had. She took the time to break down all my medical issues, and explained to us in laymen terms what they all meant, and how they can affect pregnancy. She is worried about my low thyroid and lupus, so she is going to set me up with one of the leading Rheumatologist/High Risk OBs in the United States!

It was a good appointment.
I left her office with a big smile on my face.

I was also reminded of my motto:
Eat Deliciously Healthy.
Be :Deliciously Healthy
.

Kamis, 27 Januari 2011

Some new healthy things I've been trying

The past couple days have been good, healthy, low glycemicy type of days. And no- "glycemicy" is not a word.

My main focus has been on
staying away from processed carbohydrates
. It's actually been fairly easy. I have become label reading obsessed. And it's actually kinda fun. Give me a second to get over the fact that I just said that.

Here are a few new things I've tried:

Almond milk:By itself- no thank you.
In my cereal- yes please!
Fage yogurt with cherry:
With the Cherry it's delicious... but when that runs out.... no freakin' way. Gag.

Whole wheat tortillas:
I tried these a few years ago, and thought they were gross. But since my regular tortillas have processed carbohydrates in them, I reluctantly bought these again. They must have changed their recipe, because they were delish! It made for a very tasty turkey burrito tonight for dinner.
MMM...Let's go ahead and get the elephant out of the room- yes, I ate my dinner tonight on a paper towel, because all my plates were in the sink, dirty. My name is Brittany, and I'm a slacker. It's a miracle I even made dinner.

So far, so good.
Tomorrow morning I'm going to try a green monster smoothie for the first time.

Monday I have an appointment with my
fertility specialist
. Last time she saw me I was 206 pounds. I'm excited to show her my new healthy lifestyle, and that I actually followed her orders, and lost weight! I'm also excited to get put on fertility meds.

Wish me luck!

Senin, 24 Januari 2011

Thank You. And My New Plan

First of all, I want to say "THANK YOU" for all of your comments, and emails on my last post.
I've been doing a lot of thinking over these past few days, as well as a lot of research on how PCOS, diets, and fertility, all tie together.

I've been having a feeling deep inside of me for a while now, telling me that I needed to eat clean. I got the sense that eating clean, would somehow help me to get pregnant. It was easy for me to laugh it off thinking the idea was ludicrous, because I didn't want to eat clean. So I've been ignoring this little voice in my head, hoping it would go away. But it's only getting louder. It's practically yelling at me now.... And what do you know, all the research I've been doing this weekend pretty much supports this voice in my head, telling me to eat clean. Nerds.

Here's a little bit of what I've learned:

A big part of the problem with PCOS is the high insulin resistance (you can read more about insulin resistance HERE). Resistance to insulin increases the body's insulin levels which effects normal ovulation, by preventing the body from ovulating or limiting the development process of the released egg. This has a direct affect on your fertility and ability to conceive. Many women with PCOS have difficulty losing weight, most likely due to high insulin levels promoting fat storage. The standard weight loss diet may not be the best approach for women with PCOS. High intakes of carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates (sweets, white bread, white rice...) will quickly turn to sugar and cause elevated levels of insulin. Since high levels of insulin can cause a number of problems for women with PCOS, a better diet would be a low glycemic index diet. This is a diet that includes foods or combinations of foods that do not cause a rapid rise in blood sugar. Eating a low glycemic diet will help to keep your insulin at a balanced level, thus increasing your fertility.

Here's what I gathered on the low glycemic index diet:
  • Avoid white processed carbohydrates which cause a spike in your insulin levels and provide little fiber, or nutrients. Eat breads, grains and cereals that are as unprocessed as possible.
  • Eat carbohydrates that are rich in fiber. The lower glycemic carbohydrates tend to have more fiber than the higher glycemic foods.
  • Couple a protein with your carbohydrates. When you eat equal amounts of proteins and carbohydrates, it helps to keep your insulin at a balanced level.
  • Get lots of fiber. Fiber helps by slowing down the digestion of sugars in the body, so there is no spike in insulin. It also helps by removing excess estrogen from the body, which may also help to reduce fibroids.
  • Exercise! Exercise helps PCOS by improving your insulin sensitivity, and increasing your metabolism.
Every single article I've read, stresses the importance of staying away from processed foods if you have PCOS. So that's what I'm going to do. In moderation, lol. You know how I love my baking, and I'm going to have to squeeze that in there. I'm thinking twice a month I'm going to allow myself to bake up a deliciously healthy treat. I have an appointment scheduled to see my fertility specialist, to discuss my new plan with her.

I am going to carry my Deliciously Healthy motto into this low glycemic diet. I'm determined to make eating clean(er) DELICIOUS!

I've also realized that I'm not just on this weight loss journey so that I can get pregnant. I'm on it to improve my health, as I have PCOS, lupus, RA, and low thyroid. I want to live a
healthy life
, and be the healthiest me I can be. And lets face it, I want to be a size 8 again.
Thank you again for all your support!
xoxo

Rabu, 19 Januari 2011

What's been on my mind

Yesterday I pretty much spent the whole day in bed, cuddling with Moxie.I was feeling blue, and I just needed to take a time out. I've been in a little funk, and have had a bad week as far as my diet goes. My time in bed wasn't completely unproductive; I was able to figure out what's been bothering me...

I had tried to lose weight many, many times before I was finally successful. There was just never anything that REALLY motivated me enough to get the weight off. That was until I met with a fertility specialist, where she told me if I wanted to get pregnant, I HAD to lose weight.

That did the trick. I didn't want my weight and my love for fast-food to get in the way of any of my dreams, especially my dream of becoming a mother. A fire got lit under my butt, and I finally changed. I came up with my Deliciously Healthy motto and started this blog. I was so excited to lose weight, and be healthy so I could get pregnant. My desire to get pregnant helped me have the will power to turn down pizza, donuts, and everything else. I started having periods on my own, which was so exciting and comforting, as I didn't have them before due to my PCOS. Having regular periods was showing me that I was ovulating regularly, which would make getting pregnant easier. It was all due to my new healthy lifestyle. It was very rewarding, and I was optimistic that I would be a mother in no time. All this excitement made eating healthy a no brainier, and a piece of cake.

At this point, we weren't trying to get pregnant yet. I wanted to wait a few months so that I could actually lose some weight first. The excitement and anticipation of trying to get pregnant in the near future, made me work extra hard at losing weight. In July, we technically started trying, which was 6 months after I started losing weight. And that was when a whole lot of insecurity and doubt subconsciously entered my mind. We would try for 1 month, and then I would come up with some excuse to not try the next month. In the past 6 months of trying to get pregnant, I would say we've only actually tried 3 out of those 6 months. I've realized that I don't believe I'm going to get pregnant. It just seems too good to be true, and surreal. I'm scared to try to get pregnant, because I don't want to be let down. So, I've been stalling. Soon, the baby fever was becoming too much, and I decided that I was done letting fear and doubt get in our way. In the month of December, we were trying to get pregnant. My period started today, which shows me we obviously didn't get pregnant. Once again, I feel like it's just not going to happen. It's too good to be true. "I'm never going to get pregnant." If I believe it's never going to happen, then that takes away my main motivation to eat healthy and lose weight. Hence my lack of motivation these past couple days.

And that's pretty much where I sit today. My motivation is gone, because I have convinced myself that I am never going to get pregnant. Even though we have only tried for 4 months.
(Also note that I'm on my period, so I'm overly emotional about this...)

I haven't given up on my diet in any way. I've just hit a little bump. Also, we have family visiting right now, which isn't helping. My husband always wants to go to every restaurant in town when we have visitors. AND I'm on my period, so I want to eat more then usual. I've been doing my best to at least keep a balance.

It feels good to get that off my chest.
150's here I come!

Senin, 17 Januari 2011

I ate a donut

I've been feeling rather frustrated lately.

I've been passing up all sorts of delicious things, in an effort to lose weight, and I have absolutely nothing to show for it.
I am stuck at 167
. The frustrating thing is, I used to be 161 a little while ago. I had a bad few weeks, and gained 6 pounds. For the past couple weeks, I have been doing everything right. Eating healthy, exercising, drink all my water... and nothing. Since I was able to get down to 161 a little while ago, I don't really think this is a plateau. I'm just stuck. And it's frustrating. So naturally, I decided to have a donut. Will this solve my scale problems? No. Is it good? Yes.

I will be my normal, Deliciously Healthy self tomorrow.
Today, I'm a rebel.

Kamis, 13 Januari 2011

To die for chocolate chip cookies

I've had a serious craving for chocolate chip cookies.
I mean, aren't chocolate chip cookies, the best cookie on earth?
So, I decided to satisfy my craving, in a Deliciously Healthy way, by making these:
What you need:
  • 1 cup and 2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter- divided
  • 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon low-fat milk
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips- divided
What you do:
  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl, and set aside.
  2. Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown (1 to 3 minutes). Pour butter into a bowl. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.
  3. Add both sugars, salt, milk and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until smooth. Add egg and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in 6 tablespoons of chocolate chips.
  4. Divide dough into 16 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Press the remaining 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies.
  5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time for 8-11 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack.
Here's what I'm thinkin':
Makes 16 cookies
Serving size: 1 cookie
Calories per serving: 120 calories

They were perfect.
Seriously.

What's your favorite cookie?

Selasa, 11 Januari 2011

A TMI, NSV

One of my new years resolutions is to drink more water. I've been doing pretty good, but I feel like I've been taking mad dashes to the bathroom every 10 minutes!

Today, I was doing the dishes, and I had to "go". I was almost done, so I thought I would finish the dishes, before taking the 100th bathroom break of the day. The sound of the running water was not helping me "hold it". Soon I was doing the potty dance, as I tried to rush through the dishes. Finally I realized that I couldn't wait for the last pot to be loaded into the dishwasher. I had to go NOW! So I RAN to the bathroom, quickly pulled down my pants, and... you know. When I was done, I pulled up my pants, and when I went to button my pants, I realized I had never unbuttoned them! Confused I thought, "Can I seriously just slide off my pants?" So I tested it again. I slid them off, and slid them back on, without ever unbuttoning them! And I was pretty happy about that.

The scale may not be moving, but my jeans are looser!

Have you had any recent NSVs (non scale victory)?
If so, high 5 to us!

Jumat, 07 Januari 2011

Happy Birthday Blog!

This Sunday will mark
1 year since I started this blog, and weight loss journey.
In that year, I have lost 45 pounds, and gained knowledge, health and happiness.

Here are some of my favorite posts, over the past year:

*THIS one just makes chuckle. I still can't wear those.

*THIS was when I started to feel like I could actually do this.

*Last Valentines Day was when I really understood that eating healthy can be fun, and DELICIOUS!

*got a gym membership.

*Conquered my fear, and got in the pool at the gym for the first time.

*Climbed a mountain.

*Was finally able to wear high heels, after losing 40 pounds!

It has been an awesome ride! I'm excited to see what this year has in store!

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart, to all those who have read along with me. And thank you to everyone who has left me comments. They always put a smile on my face, and have helped carry me through some hard times in this journey.

I heart you. Each and every one of you.

Selasa, 04 Januari 2011

Baby Steps

Want to know a key to my success?
Baby steps.

I have baby stepped my way through this entire weight loss journey.
Here, Dr. Marvin, from What About Bob, explains it better then I: "It means setting small, reasonable goals for yourself, one day at a time. One tiny step at a time."


I baby step my way from minute to minute. From meal to meal. I baby step my way to the gym, each and every time I go. I probably wouldn't make it there, if I didn't. When I'm at home, I don't think about everything I need to do to get in the pool, at the gym. I simply think about what I need to do to pack my bag. Then I think about what I need to do to get in the car, and drive. When I get to the gym, I simply focus on getting to the locker room. And then finally, I take baby steps to getting in the pool. Baby steps.

"All I have to do, is take one little baby step at a time, and I can do anything."

Thank you Dr. Marvin.
Dr. Leo Marvin.