Facing Fears: Blood & Needles

I got home Thursday for my long thanksgiving break and decided it was in my best interest to finally get my blood work done to test all my levels including insulin & estradiol, the two I’m mostly concerned about. while this was an awesome time for me to get my blood work done, I also have a HUGE fear of needles and blood makes me queasy. despite my fears, I got my blood work done (closing my eyes and looking the other way).
I’m really excited to finally know exactly which of my hormone levels are acting up the most and by exactly how much. I think this will be a great step towards recovery and success.
I’m reading through Jillian michaels “master your metabolism” book as it gives a more natural way to balance your hormones, and I’m not sure if my doctor will be prescribing be any medication. but if there’s a natural way to help regulate my body, I’m all for it. I’ll try and post some of the great info I’m reading & learning from the book to help you all as well!! I’ll be sure to post again when I get my results from my test

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Twitter Account!!

im aware that i have been seriously slacking with my blogging, but ive had a really busy and hard schedule this semester, so to keep myself motivated, i started following some fitness accounts on twitter and they’ve been amazing. so i decided, why not make one myself?? im not saying that by doing so, i am giving up on blogging, its just a quicker and easier way for me to stay focused and help myself and others and it’d be really cool to see who else i can get to join me or who is already out there! so this is my twitter name: @BornFit_Fighter   i figured it was appropriate as it is a real fight for me to be healthy and fit, but i know i am going to get there and that im going to feel great when i do. so i hope you guys check out the twitter community and @ me if you do!!

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

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

A break from blogging

It’s kind of depressing to me that I’ve said I’m going to start my lifestyle change back in April and while I am doing better, I’m no where near where I should be. My health is something that is extremely important in my life and I have not been taking that serious enough. Yes, I’ve had a hectic and stressful summer, but excuses are for the week. That being said, I’m taking a break from blogging to 1. move myself back into school and 2. reevaluate how important this is to me and why I haven’t been successful thus far. when I come back I plan on being determined , posting every night and finally sticking with my healthy lifestyle.

Logging & Blogging

i know ive been mia for a while, but between working 40 hours a week, having class 8 hours a week, and family visiting lately, ive been really busy. however, that’s no excuse for slacking on my diet even though being busy cuts into my workout schedule. its important to remember that 70% of weight loss comes from dieting, while only 30% from exercise, so working out less often hasn’t helped me, but it won’t hurt me either.

even though i have been busy lately, i know that both logging and blogging are important because they’re really what keep me on track. without some type of order or pattern, i tend to slip up more and make poor choices. so to help me out a little bit, I’ve figured out how to blog using the app on my phone, meaning i wont have to wait to be home and on the computer to blog, and im also starting to use my favorite app Loseit! again to track my caloric intake as well as the calories i burn in a day. ive been using this app since 2010 to believe it or not and i love it. if anyone else has it, let me know and ill look you up! i think it’d be great motivation to know other people using the app and i would definitely start logging every day like i used to.

i leave for school in 2.5 weeks, so im going to start coming up with a food/exercise plan. as ive said before, the gym at school is HORRID and dining hall food is probably unhealthy and processed everywhere. not having a kitchen again this year will force me to be on a meal plan once again. however, my dorm is a lot farther from classes, so i will definitely be walking 3+ miles a day going back and forth which is a plus, but is also bad if im running late..

im going to work really hard to make this year at school a lot healthier and a lot more active than last year and i cant wait to get started