To diet or to not diet?

On account of my doctor's appointment being rescheduled for next week, I have decided to write about another popular topic related to PCOS. That topic is DIET. Isn't that such a fun little word?! Said no women ever! So, when I was first diagnosed the only treatment plan they gave me was to lose weight. No other advice, no other information, literally nothing. At that point, I think I was only 10-20 lbs overweight, so it wasn't much. Just lose weight is what they suggested, and let me tell you, it was very discouraging but the go-getter in me rose to the challenge.

Let me share a little bit of background with you before I discuss the first diet I tried. For the bulk of my childhood, I lived in the same house as my grandparents. This included my Mom and sisters of course, as well as my uncles and cousins. We were a large tribe. My grandpa worked hard to provide for the family, as he has his whole life. He is a great man, to say the least. My grandma worked just as hard at home. She cooked three meals a day pretty much every day. If we had friends over they sat at our table, if my Mom or one of my Uncles were dating someone, they sat at our table, and many times our neighbors sat at our table. She fed a small army and she fed them well. That is where my love of cooking began I suppose, and all the cooking shows my grandparents watched. We ate balanced meals, they were sometimes healthier than others. But it was the good 'ole American diet.

Ok so, the first actual "diet" I went on was pretty basic. I did my research, and I mean a lot of research, on PCOS. Some of that research was strictly "how to get pregnant" based, but it also included dieting. I decided to go with the Paleo diet. At the time, 2013, it was pretty popular as it still is today. The Paleo diet is a hunter-gatherer diet, similar to what our ancestors would have eaten long ago. The suggested food items include grass-fed meat, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, eggs, and healthy oils. For me, it was decently easy to follow. However, I altered it a little bit. Mine was called Paleo+cheese!! And, if you know me, there is ONE thing you know about me, and that is how much I LOVE cheese. So, I lost ten pounds over three months, and it was back to the doctors for me.

My primary care physician put me on metformin, which is a medicine for diabetics, but it can help women with PCOS get pregnant. I was put on five hundred milligrams for about a month (then I stopped taking it). I had more blood work done and was referred to a fertility endocrinologist. An endocrinologist is a doctor that specializes in treating your endocrine system. Your endocrine system is a chemical messenger that includes your hypothalamus, pituitary gland, pineal gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid gland, thymus, adrenal gland, and your pancreas. It also includes the ovaries for women and testes for men. So, in short, it's a pretty important system. At the endocrinologist's office, they went over every detail of infertility and pregnancy. Anddddd then, they reviewed my blood work from before I lost weight and after I lost weight. Here's the kicker, instead of my hormone levels improving, they worsened.

To say my endocrine system hates me is putting it lightly. At least, in my opinion. The doctor then shuffles my husband and me into a tiny room, I mean I am a short person, with what I like to call T- Rex arms, and I could almost touch both sides of the walls with my fingertips. It was tiny. We sat waiting and worried, then the nurse came in. She started talking about tumors. Obviously, when someone says tumor it is linked to cancer. We were terrified. So, I listened to my doctor, I lost weight, and now you are telling me I may have cancer? I just wanted a baby, damn. Then I was sent to get an MRI to see if there was in fact a tumor. I had to drink two bottles of this white chalky substance and had an IV of this dye that helps the doctor see things better. When they shoot this dye in your IV it makes you feel like you peed your pants. That was interesting. Turns out, I did not have a tumor, Thank God! I was however traumatized and I've never gone back to the endocrinologist.

Since that day, I have tried the Keto diet, which I enjoyed. I lost fifteen pounds in six weeks and I have kept half of that off. Keto is a high-fat low carb diet. Easy to follow if you love bacon and cheese like me. I've also done intermittent fasting. Another one I enjoyed and was easy for me to follow. With intermittent fasting, you just eat for small windows of time instead of the typical three meals a day. Overall, it is whatever works for you. And as I said in my first blog, what works for one person may not work for the next. It's all about trial and error, and what your body needs. Each one of us is so inherently different, physically, mentally, and genetically. Life is to short not to eat the things you love, and I believe anything is good in moderation.