As a woman with PCOS, every single day is a battle. There are days when my mood swings are so erratic that I doubt my sanity. There are days I feel so tired that I couldn’t even get up from bed. There are days I feel famished even after eating wholesome meals. I started to lose hair on my forehead and grow new ones on my chin and upper lips. Duh! Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but you should never never stop fighting.
To tackle my PCOS, the first thing I did was to manage my insulin resistance. Upon doing my blood work, I understood that I was neither prediabetic nor resistant to insulin. However I got regular hunger pangs and dizziness. To overcome this, I made sure I ate something every 2 hours so that my sugar levels don’t fall and rise drastically. I made sure that my meals and snacks include a balanced portion of carbs, protein and fats.
Secondly, I made sure that I moved more and kept myself active. Inorder to achieve that, I worked out most days of the week. My workout includes HIIT, strength training, steady state cardio, yoga and stretching. In addition to that I ensured I got at least 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight every single day.
Then comes the diet. I was adamant that I will not go for any fancy and new age diets to cure my condition. Instead my trainer and I sat together to come up with a ‘meal plan’ that I enjoyed having daily. The only thing I kept in mind was to up my fiber intake. I started having more fiber rich meals. This me feel not only satiated but satisfied for longer period of time.
Finally, the most arduous part of the journey was to keep patience. Being diagnosed with PCOS, the first thing doctors say is to lose weight. But being a PCOS patient, I wasn’t and still ain’t able to lose weight as easily as others. It is a vicious cycle. There were months when my scale didn’t move a single millimeter. I was devastated by putting in so much effort still yielding no results. It took a toll not only on my mental health but also on people who were supporting my journey. I constantly felt guilty of letting everyone down. It was very late when I realized that ‘The Scale Doesn’t Define Me’. It is I who define me, my attitude that defines me.
I took charge of my perspective and it. Instead of feeling like a victim, I started feeling like a warrior. I was iron-willed to change myself towards a better version rather than pitying upon my current state. I made sure to dump the scale. I made sure other’s comments didn’t matter. I made sure to put myself and my best interest at front. It worked.
I am not saying, I am the most confident person out there, putting myself through all those difficult situations and emerging victorious in every single one. Hell No!!! There are equally bad days as there are good ones. I still feel shitty and clumsy at times. There are days I feel like a wreck and that is totally normal. All I am trying to convey is “Fight your battle; One day at a time”