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

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

July 8, 2013

the holiday weekend really killed my routine and it was pretty rough trying to get back into the swing of things today. im not happy with how i ate at all!! it was allll carbs and sugar..the two things im supposed to stay away from, but i did manage to get in a pretty good workout. however, losing weight is only 30% exercise while the rest is how you eat and treat your body..clearly today i did not treat my body like i should have so you better believe i have 3 alarms set for tomorrow morning to get my morning workout in before work, and then i have plans for the gym later on. ive been making a lot of progress lately and i would hate to throw it all away by continuing the holiday eating/being lazy habits.

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.

Weigh in #4 [week 6]

i know i havent been keeping up with my weigh ins, but i was very busy at school and getting ready for finals. however, now that i am home, i intend to weigh myself every thursday as planned, starting with today

when i stepped on the scale, i read 157.2 and it felt amazing to finally be out of the 160s. i know i was not on track much during april and the beginning of may as its very difficult to do while at school, but i definitely think my detox sparked my system a little and contributed to me starting to lose weight

as of right now, i am a total of 6.2 pounds down, getting closer to my goal of being healthy, fit, and pcos free.

im confident these next weeks will be just as successful

Detox Day three

i know its not the end of the day, but i know ill be able to get through my whole day of detoxing today, so im posting early.

i woke up this morning feeling a little sick. i know i had been developing a cold before i started detoxing, but im not sure if i felt poorly from my cold, the detox, or a combination of both [ive detoxed before and never had a problem]. no decision is final yet, but i am thinking about starting my recovery days tomorrow as my body clearly is not happy with me at the moment, and my health is whats most important.

listening to your body is key, and doing something that makes you feel off can be detrimental to your health. while i know a 7 day detox would be better to rid my body of the toxins i obtained while at school, i know my body would benefit more from recovering. Im not looking at this as a loss, as there are 4 recovery days, making this a full 7 day detox instead of 7 days of juicing with 4 days of recovery [11 days is a long time as well]

I also plan on getting back to the gym starting monday [with the recovery now ending sunday], and i think being fully done with a detox before i start high intensity exercise again is really important and wasnt something i thought of before.

Besides the detox, ive gotten further in the book i picked up at the library, “What Nurses Know…PCOS” by Karen Roush, and ive gotten a lot of useful information from it and have been taking some notes that i think would be really beneficial to share.

as there are a lot of notes, ill be posting them throughout the week, and hopefully this new information helps you all as well

Detox Day 2!

im happy to say i stuck with my detox and had a successful day..even though i went to lunch with my dad and sister and had to sit there and watch them eat while i sipped on my water [i had my liquid meal before]. detoxing takes a lot of self control and determination, but the way i see it, if i can resist food now, i should be able to resist bad foods when im through.

since exercise is somewhat out of the question while detoxing [i went for a long walk today]; ive been filling my time with other activities like going to the library [which is a great (and free) resource for information as well as fitness videos]

i picked up a short book in the nonfiction section called: “What Nurses Know…PCOS: The Answers You Need From the People You Trust” by Karen Roush. While ive only gotten through the first chapter so far, its proved to be very informative and useful. i feel like i get the gist of PCOS, but this really explains everything in detail, and in a way that i can understand it.

as i go through the book ill be sure to take down some notes to share, as well as any new info i find.

as i will have more time on my hands, i am going to try and post more often..future posts including my workout play list, my vitamins [the ones i take for pcos], as well as anything else that comes to mind.