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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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!!!!

June 2, 2013

I’m really happy with myself for how well I treated my body today. I ate well, getting plenty of fruits, veges, and protein, and worked out twice!! I did insanity in the morning before work and then after work I did some cardio and took a class called xtreme training at the gym..which was extremely difficult but so worth it. I ended up biting over 1300 calories for the day, something I’ve never done before.
I’ve been weighing myself often as my weight keeps fluctuating, but I weighed myself today and I’m back down to 157!! if I can keep this pattern going I’ll hopefully reach my goal..just 17 pounds left. It won’t be easy, but I’m gunna do it!

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.

New Recipe!! Egg White & Turkey Muffins

I said I was going to try and find some new recipes this week to stop the constant, same meals I’ve been having every day. While I cannot credit myself to this recipe (found it on Pinterest), it’s delicious and will be sharing my form of the recipe. It’s super easy and quick as you only need 2 ingredients: egg (or egg white) beaters, and cooked ground turkey.

At only 150 calories for 3, 4g fat, NO CARBS, and 26g protein, this is an extremely PCOS and Paleo friendly recipe

You will need:
18 oz liquid egg whites or egg beaters
6 oz cooked ground turkey
(Seasonings if you wish)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Spoon 2 tablespoons (1/2 oz) ground turkey into each muffin cup (don’t forget Pam or baking cups)
Pour 3 tablespoons eggs over ground turkey
I added some pepper to the top of each, but add whatever seasoning you would like
Bake for 18 minutes

The serving size for these is 3 muffins..how many times can you say you’ve eaten 3 muffins for only 150 calories??
The nutrition info is the following (for 3 muffins)
150 calories
4g fat
40mg cholesterol
272mg sodium
0g carbs
0g fiber
0g sugar
26g protein

Day Fifty-One: May 21, 2013

Today was a successful day two of paleo, though I do want to try and figure out how to add more protein I to my diet. Even though I’m not eating any processed carbs, my carbohydrate count is still going over 100 due to me eating more fruit. So I’m going to have to figure out some way to add in more healthy meats.
I also know that it’s more beneficial to eat multiple small meals throughout the day, so I am going to try and do that as much as possible.
Meal 1: apple; omelet (1 egg, 1 egg white, spinach, avocado)
Meal 2: turkey roll-ups
Meal 3: chicken roll-ups, carrots
Meal 4: celery; trail mix (sunflower seeds, raisins, craisins)
Meal 5: salad, turkey burger
Dessert: frozen berries
Though I am trying to work out more, I’m taking the day off from the gym as I realize my body is exhausted. So instead, I’m going to bed early to try and get a full 8 hours of sleep

Today’s workout 5/3/13

i know i have finals coming up and wont have a lot of time to hit the gym, so when i can go, im going to make the best of my time and do as much as possible

treadmill intervals: (30 min)

•  2 min @ 5.5
• 1 min @ 8
• 2 min @ 5.5
• 1 min @ 8
• 2 min @ 5.5
• 1 min @ 7.5
• 2 min @ 5.5
• 1 min @ 7.5
• 2 min @ 5.5
• 1 min @ 8
• walk 2 min @ 3.5
• raise incline to 15
• walk 2 min @ 4
• walk 1 min @4.5
• walk 2 min @ 4
• 1 min @ 4.5
• 2 min @ 4
• 1 min @ 4.5
• 2 min @ 4
• cool down [incline off]; 2 min @ 3.5

i put two different types of intervals into one workout to see how i would like it and i felt good plus it burned a lot of calories which is always a plus.

next up i did stationary bicycle intervals:

• warm up: 5 min @ 6 resistance
• 1 min @ 13
• 2 min @ 15
• 1 min @ 17
• repeat for 15 minutes
• cool down: 2 min @ 6

normally i dont put the resistance so high on the bike, but i wanted to feel the burn rather than speed peddling, and let me tell you..I FELT IT

to finish it off, i used a cardio machine called the wave which is supposed to work your thighs, ham strings, and butt muscles. i switched between resistances 15  20 and 25 for 15 minutes

to end my workout i did a few leg machines and some ab exercises:

• 30 crunches
• 20 bicycle crunches
• 30 toe touches
• 20 reverse crunches
• 15 side dips (right side)
• 30 crunches
• 15 side dips (left side)
• leg raise (30 seconds)

working out feels great so im going to try and continue this pattern of fitness!! and remember:

“Fitness – If it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body.” ~Cher

Day 31: May 1, 2013

today marks the start of month #2. as moth 1 was not very successful for me weight loss wise, im really determined to make a difference throughout may; which is why im very excited that i stayed on track and had a really successful day.

im trying really hard to keep my carb count down and protein up and adding in more exercise to my daily schedule which i did effectively today..

breakfast: egg white omelet with mozzarella; high antioxidant berry drink

lunch: salad with vegetables, grilled chicken, and lite italian dressing

snack: cheese stick

dinner: turkey sandwich

exercise: cardio intervals; arms; [plus im up to 3 sets of 12 pushups]

i know pcos is not going to go away after one successful day, so im going to work hard to keep this pattern going. while weight loss is going to be difficult for me, its important to remember that slow progress is better than no progress