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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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

Say Yes to the Dress

yesterday some of my friends and i were watching say yes to the dress where a few girls were looking for brides maid’s dresses and one of them had pros. it was really sad watching her struggle as she had been diagnosed a year earlier and gained 100 lbs. she didnt like what she saw in the mirror and wished she looked like she had before.

i could completely relate to her story as i look in the mirror, all i can see is a fat girl who used to be in great shape with a nice body. however, she did also make me feel better about myself as she gained 100 lbs in a year while ive gained 20 in two. it gave me motivation to really get a hold of my pros, because in a few years, i dont want to be the unhappy bridesmaid trying to find a dress that fits and looks good.

im backkk

i took some time off from blogging as i was really discouraged in not seeing any results since april and i decided i really needed to figure out what was going on with me, what was working, and what wasn’t..and now im back!!

losing weight is a difficult task, and trying to lose weight while you have pcos is even worse and i had to realize that this is going to take a while and its going to be really hard, but not impossible. i’ve decided that its consistency that’s what’s important and i wasnt being consistent before. i would be perfectly healthy one day, but then derail the next and so on. i think that’s really stunted my progress, and from now on im going to try and be as consistent as possible.

i also realized that yes, i have been working out a lot, but thats not what losing weight is all about. its only 30% exercise while the other 70% has to do with your diet. i was focusing so much on how much i worked out that what i ate didnt seem as important to me any more which was a HUGE mistake. but the best thing about making mistakes is that you learn from them, and im now shifting my focus more on the foods im eating rather than the calories im burning.

before i took my break, i was attempting the paleo diet, but i realized it just wasnt for me. carbs are what really hurts us, but telling myself i cant have any made me want to eat them more than when i wasnt doing paleo. im obviously going to keep my carb count down, never going over 100g a day, and ive been eating gluten free whenever possible, and i actually really like it.

all in all..im really just here to say im not giving up..nor will i ever. you’re only given one body. so take care of it.

Future Plans

i said a while ago that i was starting the paleo diet to try and regulate my hormones and get my pcos symptoms under control, but i havent really been putting in an effort; the main reason i have not seen results in the mirror or on the scale. However, yesterday really sparked something in me, and i think im finally getting the hang of this whole eat like a caveman thing, and i think im going to be able to manage.

i picked up a couple new books at the library, one about the paleo diet so i can learn more about it, one about insulin resistance, and one about the glycemic index. im hoping these give me a better insight on how to fix all of my problems [and i will be sharing what i learn along the way].

as of right now, im planning on going full pale, no slip ups, just pure paleolithic eating for a month to really spark something in my body. As yesterday was the day that really worked for me, im going to do my month of pale from june 3rd to july 3rd..which also happens to be my birthday, and i would really like to see some results by then.

after that, i will be mostly paleo, but when im not, im going to eat gluten free foods only to keep my glycemic index in check. i was at whole foods today, a great food store that i love, and i found a whole isle of gluten free, organic food that i cannot wait to try.

going a month without mistakes and amping up my exercise regimen is going to be tough, especially when people around me eat whatever they want, but  i know i can do it and i know that i need to do it.

May 28, 2013

i forgot to mention yesterday that i had started insanity! it is suuuch a hard and good work out..i was sore yesterday just from doing the fit test..but i cant wait to see how ive improved in the next two weeks [when i will be doing it again]. my goal is to do insanity when i wake up in the morning before work every day. however, im not going to be afraid to switch it up when i can [like today i did 6am spinning and insanity after work].

even though ive been doing paleo, i havent seen much better results than before, so i think i need to step up my exercise game, which is why, like today, im going to try and work out twice; before and after work a couple of times a week [i dont want to run my body ragged]. this way, i can switch it up between insanity as well as classes the gym offers and my own work out routines.

im also going to keep a closer eye on my carb count as ive been eating more fruits than vegetables [im addicted to frozen berries] and my carb levels have been higher than i would like. any suggestions would be helpful!!

i also wanted to mention a new snack and [i think] paleo friendly snack: lentil chips. i saw them at the store and knew from experience that lentils are very good for you, and then i saw the label said gluten free and the ingredients listed bean flour as the main ingredient. im hoping these are okay because [while they do have carbs] they are low in fat while being high in fiber and they have protein.

“Self-Monitoring Body Weight and Food Intake Regularly”

the title of this post is one of the subheadings in Karen Roush’s book, and i think it’s important enough to discuss, as it has given me success in the past.

in her book, she says:

“studies show that checking your weight regularly and keeping records of food intake promotes long-term success in weight control. when you keep a record of what you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat it, eating becomes a conscious, thought-out process. You pay attention to your food intake and the decisions you make about food.”

on my blog, i have a food journal category  where i normally post my daily meals as well as my exercise [when im not detoxing]. this helps me keep track of what i eat, and also puts a little pressure on me to eat better since im sharing with the whole world what i ate for the day.

years ago, i had a different blog, with the same purpose of weight loss, but i had not yet been diagnosed with PCOS. the blog and recording what i ate, as well as support from the blogging community ultimately helped me reach my weight loss goal. Now that things are a little different, i decided to start a new blog, tracking my weight loss as well as my PCOS symptoms.

As well as this blog, i also have an app on my phone called Loseit! which ive had for years [and used back in the day when i had my other blog]. its a free app that calculates how many calories you should consume a day depending on your height, weight, gender, how much weight you want to lose, and how fast. each day you are supposed to record your meals [it counts up your calories as well as your nutrition info], as well as your exercise. it helps keep you on track, and helps you set goals that are within reach.

even if you dont have a phone with app access, they also have a website where you can sign up for free [loseit.com] with the same benefits as the app. i highly recommend checking this app out, or any other calorie counting app, as they will keep track of your caloric intake, your weight along with your weight loss progress, your nutrition information, and how many calories you burn during exercise.

having any source of organization and recording when trying to lose weight is most beneficial.

What not to eat with PCOS

as i feel as though ive been eating healthy, but no good is coming out of it, i started to do some research and see if there were things that people with pcos shouldnt eat. and what do you know, there are.

i looked at many websites and found the same things:

• sweets [desserts, sugary foods]
• soft drinks/sports drinks
• processed grains
• refined carbs

while this seems like a large chuck of things you can cross off your shopping list, there are also alternative to eat instead. for example:

• instead of a piece of cake or a cookie, you can have sugar free pudding or jello
• instead of powerade, you can have powerade zero
• instead of white sugar and white flour, go with whole wheat, whole grain, or brown rice

most of the information i found is from this website:

http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/pcosinfo.html

it was really helpful and had many different categories talking about pros, not just what you should and shouldnt be eating, but medicines and exercises as well. so take notes and edit that shopping list!!!

Quote of the Day 4/9/13

“If hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution.” ~Unknown

i am one of many, im sure, who eats when their bored. THIS IS BAD. its very important to listen to your body to see when you are actually hungry. if you eat when youre not, you will gain wait, and if you dont eat when you are hungry, you will slow down your metabolism. This may seem like a complicated process because you dont have food available all day long, but its important to try your best and eat when its needed, not when youre bored.

the food you take in is an energy source for your body, and your body appreciates it when you take in just the right amount; not too much and not too little. while so many people stress how eating too much will affect you, eating too little will kill your metabolism so while its important to realize when you aren’t hungry, its also important to realize when you are.