My New Supplement: Garcinia Cambogia

trying to lose weight with pros can be really difficult and frustrating at times, so i’ve been doing some research on what can help me spark a little weight loss and i came around a fruit called garcinia cambogia. Dr. oz, who i follow when it comes to health advice, had a segment on this fruit and the health benefits of it.

The fruit extract helps inhibit fat loss while retaining muscle without any extra work at the gym. the extract is called hydroxycitric acid (HCA) and it does two things: suppress your appetite and block fat from being made.

It blocks fat by inhibiting the enzyme Citrate lyase, halting the fat making process and stopping the bad cholesterol [LDL] from being made as well.

HCA suppresses your appetite by creating more serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter in the brain. many people hear of serotonin when talking about people who are depressed — those people have low levels of serotonin and doctors usually prescribe something that will enhance levels of serotonin. though you may not be depressed, low levels of serotonin also leads to emotional eating, something i am extremely guilty of and has been a problem my whole life. whenever i get stressed out or upset, i turn to food and binge. By increasing serotonin levels, HCA improves your mood and stops you from reacting to stressful situations with food.

I know, something this good must cost a fortune because its too good to be true, however, its not that expensive at all [depending on where you buy it of course]. since garcinia cambogia is so abundant and simply comes from a fruit, its extract can be found for a good price, but beware of certain vitamin stores who will try and charge you $60 for the same product you could get for $15 at a walmart or cvs.

I started taking my supplement about 4 days ago, and im going to give it two weeks to start looking for results, as i know it takes time to get into your system and start working, but so far i can say that my appetite is definitely under much better control, and having 3 midterms coming up on thursday, i am very stressed but have not once turned to food as i usually would have. my exercise and diet has not been as good as it should be so going into week two, im going to work really hard to eat right and get in a good workout 5x a week to really get the best results possible

 

source/more info: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/garcinia-cambogia-hca

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My Long Break

i decided i needed to take a break and get myself refocused on what’s important in life: my health, not just physical, but mental as well. being stressed about my weight and how i look has been sending me on an emotional roller coaster, one i dont want to be on anymore. yeah it would be great to lose some weight, but being happy and in a good mind set is detrimental to that success and i wont be going anywhere without it.

ive done a lot of thinking and ive come to the conclusion that my binge eating is a result of 1. stress 2. being an emotional eater 3. not being happy. im working on ways to channel those feelings into something else, like running [which is what i used to do] instead of taking it out on the snack cabinet.

i have to realize that no one is perfect and im going to have my up and downs on my quest to try and reverse some pcos symptoms and get my old body back; even more i have to stop getting down on myself about how i look. beyonce doesnt have a thigh gap and people praise her like she’s god. she has curves and is still beautiful. things like that are something that i need to be thinking about instead of the upcoming victorias secret fashion show.

while i do have a busy schedule at school, im going to do my best to keep on posting consistently to help myself and anyone else whose out there and struggling like me.

as Zig Ziglar said, “Put all excuses aside and remember this: YOU are capable.” im capable and im worth it and im going to crush my goals.

My First Hike

                 

 

so i dont really come from an outdoorsy family, but one of my friends and i joined an outing club at school, and while she’s experienced with hiking, yesterday i had my first hike on greylock mountain in massachusetts. while the five hours we were on the trails were challenging and tested my endurance, the scenery and how i felt after was totally worth the burn.

being the only one in the group that had never hiked before, i went at a somewhat slower pace, but im glad to say i stayed in the middle of the pack and didn’t fall behind. yes, at times i thought i was going to need an inhaler i was breathing so hard, but once i got to the summit, i felt amazing.

i would definitely reccommend hiking to anyone who loves being outside, it is an amazing workout..just dont go when its wet..the rocks were extremely slippery and i saw my life flash before my eyes a few times hahaha.

the hike up was pretty steading, but getting back down was a whole nother story. the group leader decided to take a different path home, and let me tell you..it was 10x more challenging than the one going up. trying to go down the mountain i found myself climbing up a lot..including a basically vertical climb which i was not prepared for but worked through it..and it made me think how sometimes to go down, you have to go up. me gaining weight and going up in the scale has made me realize that yes, ive gone up, but thats just on my trail to go down. its a mere hill on the mountain im climbing down, and while things may be slippery and hard to hold onto, the feeling you get when you reach the bottom again is priceless.

trying to lose weight is going to be like my hike..there are going to be times when i want to head in one direction, but i end up doing the complete opposite. what’s important to remember is that its just a little hill, and as long as you dont give up going around that hill, your success will continue.

The Challenge begins: September 1, 2013

so i did as i said i would and took my measurements today and came in at a whopping 165lbs..the heaviest I’ve been since i was diagnosed with pcos. i really need to start getting myself back on track and keeping myself motivated so i can be happy with the way i look again. when i was diagnosed with pcos, i was 138 pounds..so ive come a long ways up, and i know its going to take a long time to get back down.

since i know its going to be hard, instead of trying to lose 2 lbs a week, ill be doing 1lb a week, just so i stay on track and have an easier time reaching my goals. though i am embarrassed by them, i will be uploading progress pictures on the first of every month to see what progress i have made.

this being said, by october 1st, i plan to be at the bare minimum 4 pounds less putting me at 161. i know i can push myself to lose more in one month, but thats my goal for now, but I’m going to do what i can to crush it and lose even more.

id say i was off to a good start today, as i went hiking for 5 hours on a mountain in massachusetts [blog post with pics to come]. if i can stay this active and get a hold of good eating habits, i should be losing weight and feeling better in no time.

doing the 1 pound a week calculation, if i stick with it and work hard, by new years i should be down at least 16.5 lbs, putting me at 148.5, which would be spectacular. though my plan is to return to my original weight of 138, having an end of the year goal of 148.5 is a great way to start and ill work from there

CHALLENGE TIME: Bring in the New Year Right

ive been back at school and working on living a healthier lifestyle for about a week now, and i think im starting to get the hang of it, so what better to do than challenge myself??

A couple days ago, i realized, wow, there’s only 4 months left til the new year, and just yesterday felt like 2012. So im challenging myself, and anyone else who is willing to join to do a 4 month challenge from september 1st to january 1st with updates on the first of every month [weight, measurements, and progress pictures]. if i get enough people, we can put together a facebook group for some daily/weekly encouragement/updates for each other and keep everyone motivated.

So on september 1st, i will be posting my current measurements and my goal for the end of the year. ill be taking a picture for my start day and when october rolls around, ill post my september with my october to see if ive made progress. while it is nice to have a weight loss goal, its not necessary. its more about how youre treating your body and how much better you’ll feel after the 4 months of treating it right!

hopefully i can get more people to join me, whether you have pcos or not, want to lose weight or just maintain a healthy lifestyle, everyone should try to treat their body right, so comment below and let me know who’s with me!!!!

New Purchase – Jillian Michaels

when i first got pcos 3 years ago, i tried to learn more about it and came upon Jillian Michaels, who i had heard, read, and seen on tv before. I had seen her so many times and had no clue she had pcos and didnt always have a ripped body. she too is human and struggled with her weight and pcos symptoms before she decided to take control of her life and get healthy.

as she had already been a role model to me, naturally when i saw her book, master your metabolism, i picked it right up from the library and got started on reading it. though i was determined, i never read more than the first couple of chapters [no matter how many times i checked it out of the library..which was easily ten times] , because im not really into reading and i have a very busy lifestyle. however, i just ordered the book, so i figure, since i spent my money on it, im bound to read it. the parts that i did read already were really helpful and im hoping the rest of the book will be the same.

along with the book, my dad also found me the jillian michaels 30 day shred workout dvd which im pretty pumped about. i brought it to school with me, but i realized i dont have a dvd player, so im going to have to figure out some other way to utilize it.

Jillian Michaels is a true role model and i hope to be able to overcome my pcos and be strong like her one day.

A new start

ive taken some time to reevaluate my life and decide what’s really important..my health. for the past few months ive been talking about a lifestyle change and losing weight with no success because i was all talk and no action. i would say one thing and hold onto it for a few days, but then slip into old, bad habits, something that must come to an end.

i recently had my check up with my gyno and i talked to her about my weight gain and what else i can do to help reverse that and what else to do to set up a healthy life style. she mentioned the obvious healthy eating and regular exercise, but she also stressed the importance of the glycemic index as well as the insulin resistance which accompanies pcos. foods that are high in carbs and sugar will no doubt lead to weight gain in women with pcos which is why it is detrimental that we stay away from them. being back at school, im trying to workout some way to have low carb meals every day, but its still a work in process.

Something else ive been reading about is eating gluten free, something i am willing and want to do, and have had a successful start. basically, if you’re eating gluten, it is most likely a highly processed food which should not be eaten. if you’re truly eating healthy, you dont have to worry about gluten because whole foods like fruits and vegetables dont have gluten in them. i went grocery shopping and have found some snacks that are gluten free and delicious. By staying gluten free, ill be able to stay away from processed carbs, which is one of the main reasons why i have gained weight.

i know this is a lot for one post, but as it is my first full day on campus, i decided it was important to start off the school year right and i went for a jog around campus. i used my nike app to track my run and it came up to about 4.5 miles [i did not run the whole thing, i was just figuring out a good running path]. im working on setting up a goal for the end of the semester to work on my running time and to push me to work harder.

as for logging my food intake, i started new programs on both lose it and my fitness pal, and have been logging accurately and plan to continue to do so to help me track my carb and sugar intake as well as my calories consumed and burned. if anyone has these apps let me know so i can add you!!

im really looking forward to finally sticking with a plan, not just to lose weight, but to create a permanent healthy lifestyle and reverse my pcos symptoms

In Through the Nose, Out Through the Mouth (a post meant for yesterday)

Yesterday would’ve been a successful logging & blogging day if I had enough time to blog last night! (And as I said in my last post, if anyone else uses loseit! let me know! logging is more fun when you have more people!!)
I’d say yesterday was really successful both nutrition and exercise wise. When I was at the gym, I ran on the treadmill for a while and decided to focus on my breathing. the best runners always say it’s best to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, something I can’t admit to doing. I’m a full on mouth breather when running but I want to fix that so I started working on it yesterday and it sucked!!! my body wasn’t used to it at all and I felt like I couldn’t get a deep enough breath in, but I was able to recover a lot quicker than I usually do which shows that it really works. So while I’m going to have to work at it for a while, it’s definitely worth it and I will be continuing

They Say it Takes 21 Days

I’ve heard so many people and websites say that it takes 21 days to make a habit out of something, just a mere three weeks and you’ll be hooked on a routine. So I’m challenging myself to have 21 good, not perfect, days to start off a good habit of constant exercise and healthy eating instead of this stop-go routine I’ve made for myself now.
when the 21 days are up, if I’m still craving processed carbs and sugar, then so be it. But if I’m as successful as I hope, skipping a workout or eating a cookie will be out of the question.
As I mad sure to mention before, I’m aiming for good, not perfect days. Trying to be perfect is 1. impossible and 2. puts too much stress and pressure on you. it’s important to remember that you’re not on a diet, you’re changing your lifestyle, so a great every once in a while wont kill you.
I really need to start treating my body better; you only get one, and the better you treat your body, the better you will feel about yourself and the less pcos symptoms you’ll have to encounter.
I’ve kinda been off my blogging game lately, but I want to make it a goal to blog on every one of my 21 days to motivate myself and hopefully motivate others to do the same as well.

That being said..my day one (today) was pretty awesome. I stayed away from the unhealthy food and managed to get a pretty good workout in. I’m really looking forward to seeing some results in 21 days (which will be August 13).
For breakfast I had green tea, lemon water, and a protein shake
I didn’t have many options for lunch as my parents aren’t going food shopping until Friday –we’re having a lot of family over this weekend so it’ll be a real challenge to watch what I eat–so for lunch I had strawberries mixed with raisins and peanuts
Finally for dinner I had salad with grilled chicken and ceasar dressing ( not the best choice I know)
as for my exercise for the day, I wet to the gym and ran on the treadmill (ran 1.5 mi, walked .25, ran .25 to equal 2 miles) and then finished off with some abb and leg exercises.
I love leaving the gym feeling accomplished which I did today. I’ve avoided the treadmill a lot lately and it felt really good to start seeing myself build back up to being a runner again, even if it was only a mile and a half

Keep the Good Days Comin: July 15 2013

I’m really pleased with myself today. I was able to get in a really good workout and ate well too. It’s all about creating a pattern, and before I know it, I won’t even want to have that cookie for dessert and I won’t dare skip a workout.
I started off this morning with some frozen raspberries, a protein shake, lemon water, and green tea. Both green tea and lemon water have been proven to boost your metabolism, so I’m making it a point to drink them both every morning (and every night when I can).
For lunch I had a salad which included my favorite type of lettuce (mesclun), plenty of chicken breast, and some balsamic dressing. I also brought some lemon water to work with me and had been sipping on it all morning.
After work I went straight to the gym because I know my faults always start right when I get home from work, so keeping myself busy stops me from the unnecessary carb overload I might have indulged in. At the gym I warmed up with the stair master for ten minutes and then did a great spinning class. To me, group exercise is one of the best things to do because one, you’re with your friends, and two you’re more motivated to stick with whatever you’re doing. I ended up burning over 800 calories by pushing myself as hard as I could and I feel amazing.
Recovering after the gym is really important, so I made sure to stretch and have a good dinner. For dinner I had steak, broccoli, as well as more salad. A little while later I had an Italian ice for dessert as they are much lighter than their ice cream/frozen yogurt counterparts and they’re only 100 calories!!
I’m really proud of my results today, but I have an extremely busy day tomorrow where I know I won’t have time to work out, so I really need to pay attention to what I’m eating because no extra calories are going to be burned.
Today I ate 95g of protein, something I like to see. I want to feed my muscles in order to get rid of my fat, so I’ve been making sure my protein intake is the highest of my fats, carbs, and protein.