Taking your Life Back from PCOS With Lifestyle Management!

Taking your Life Back from PCOS With Lifestyle Management!


PCOS is a syndrome that affects women and girls both physically and emotionally. As such, with any syndrome that affects your overall well-being, you need to find the tools necessary to help you  regain your inner strength and live a healthier life.  

The benefits of a healthy lifestyle have been preached since the beginning of time.  Even if you are not trying to loose weight, the health benefits associated with proper diet, exercise and mental health can have long-lasting positive results, which is why lifestyle management for PCOS has become such a hot commodity.

"For women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), making some healthy lifestyle changes can be very helpful in managing the condition. Lifestyle management is important for all women with PCOS – whether you are overweight or in the healthy weight range. Even when not actively trying to lose weight, adopting a healthy diet will ensure that you are receiving a healthy intake of nutrients, vitamins and minerals and can reduce your long-term risk of disease such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Physical activity also increases energy levels, improves self esteem and reduces anxiety and depression.

Managing your weight includes preventing excess weight gain if you are a healthy weight, losing weight if you are overweight or maintaining weight loss long-term. Weight management can be much better achieved by combining diet with physical activity and behaviour change than by simply dieting alone."

Source - http://www.managingpcos.org.au/lifestyle-and-pcos#sthash.CELVjxy6.dpuf (Jean Hailes)

So How do we do this??

1. Stop Dieting

Whether you are trying to loose weight our just maintain your health, making the right food choices to maintain your health with PCOS is important. The root of the word "Diet" means nutrition so instead of starving our bodies we need to nourish them with the right foods,

Replace the carbs, sugars, high fat and some starches and replace them with nutrient dense foods!!

Foods to Eat

- High fiber carbs
- High protein Foods- lean meats and legumes
- Foods containg healthy fats - nuts, fish and some oils

Foods to Avoid

· Fried foods
· Foods high in sugar
· Soda
· Meats injected with additional hormones
· Refined carbohydrates such as chips, cake, cookies

· Highly processed meats

You can chat with some of the top nutritionists for PCOS right on twitter - PCOSNutrition @pcosnutrition 
and Martha McKittrick @citygirlbites Fertility Chef @fertilitychef They can help you with different diets, supplements and approaches to eating and nourishing for better health!

2. Start Exercising

Regular exercise has incredible benefits that go way beyond weight loss. It improves the mind, body and spirit improving overall physical and mental health leading to healthier lives and minimizing serious health consequences associated with the syndrome

Benefits -

- Regulates blood sugar

- Increases self confidence

- Increases weight loss / helps maintain healthy weight

- Increases metabolism

- Increases endorphins, which helps your overall mood

To learn more about the benefits of exercise please visit @CurvesDonelson and while exercising you can make the time pass by listening to The Dan Tennick Show +The Dan Tennick Show @DanTennickShow on Twitter

3. Try a different Approach.. 

Many have found major health benefits from adding supplements to their diets, especially with taking medications for PCOS like metformin and BCPs which tend to deplete some of the vitamins necessary for our systems to function properly and for us to feel good.  Additionally, many women are now turning to alternative therapies such as acupuncture, yoga and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) as alternatives to taking pills) While there is no conclusive findings on outcomes of these approaches, research and word of mouth is indicating some of the benefits of these practices....

- Acupuncture 

In the current study, published in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, a group of women with PCOS were given acupuncture where the needles were stimulated both manually and with a weak electric current at a low frequency that was, to some extent, similar to muscular work. A second group was instructed to exercise at least three times a week, while a third group acted as controls. All were given information on the importance of regular exercise and a healthy diet.

"The study shows that both acupuncture and exercise reduce high levels of testosterone and lead to more regular menstruation," says docent associate professor Elisabet Stener-Victorin, who is responsible for the study. "Of the two treatments, the acupuncture proved more effective."

- Yoga

1. Holding weight-bearing poses builds muscle.  In turn, increased muscle mass helps to combat insulin resistance – one of the keys to PCOS management.
2. An active yoga practice can increase heart rate, providing a cardiovascular workout and leading to weight loss.
3. Third, certain asanas and pranayama exercises promote hormonal balance and deep relaxation, helping to bring the adrenal and cortisol levels of stressed-out PCOS minds and bodies in check, and assisting in healing from chronic inflammation.
4. Yoga philosophy and Ayurveda, or traditional Indian medicine, similarly describe certain poses as stimulating energy systems within the body that may be stagnant in women with PCOS as a means to bring the body into balance.

Source: PCOS Diva@pcosdiva - http://www.pcosdiva.com/2013/02/4-reasons-why-yoga-is-beneficial-for-pcos/

-Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

TCM seeks to readdress the entire hormonal environment in PCOS, promote ovulation, improve egg quality, support conception and prevent a miscarriage if a pregnancy is achieved.
Deficiency of Spleen Qi and Kidney Yang, Accumulation of Phlegm and Damp are the identified issues with PCOS

Kidney Deficiency, Disharmony of Chong and Ren Channels
Constitutional kidney qi deficiency, prolonged illness, excessive sexual activity, long term intake of oral contraceptive pills, can all affect the kidney function and result in the depletion of kidney yin or/and kidney yang, leading to a failure of its ability to dominate the body’s fluids, warm the uterus with a poor nourishment of chong and ren channels. Therefore, the uterus is unable to get adequate blood flow, causing prolonged menstrual cycle with scanty bleeding or amenorrhea occurs.

Spleen Qi Deficiency, Accumulation of Phlegm and Damp in the Uterus
Over consumption of greasy, fatty and sugary foods, dairy products and alcohol; or excessive worrying and excessive physical work may impair spleen function, causing a failure of transporting fluids and food into useable energy. Accumulated body fluid then transform into damp and phlegm, obstruct the qi and blood flow in the uterus and blocks the chong and ren channels. Consequently, the uterus and ovaries are starved of blood supply, leading to irregular and scanty periods, or even amenorrhea and infertility.

Liver Qi Stagnation and Blood stasis
Enduring stress, depression or anxiety may lead to internal impairment of the seven emotions, causing liver qi stagnation and blood stasis; or invasion of pathogenic wind and cold. Together with excessive consumption of cold foods and drinks, they congeal the blood and cause blood stasis, which obstructs the chong and ren channels and prevents menstruating and therefore amenorrhea. Long term liver qi stagnation could eventually transform into heat, or excessive pathogenic heat invasion exhausts the kidney yin and blood and then causes irregular periods, or heavy and clotty bleeding.

Souce: Liqin Zhao, Chinese Medicine Times http://www.chinesemedicinetimes.com/article.php/124/a_comprehensive_treatment_of_polycystic_ovarian_syndrome_pcos

Supplements for PCOS -

Supplements used in treating PCOS aim at inducing regular ovulation, lowering androgens and modifying insulin resistance

Some of the more popular supplements for PCOS

1. Vitex, or chasteberry - this supplement will help to balance fertility and sex hormones. It will also help with acne control. This is the most popular of the supplements for women with PCOS and other hormonal disorders.

2. Cinnamon - this is taken before meals to balance blood glucose. In turn, when blood glucose is balanced, insulin is also balanced. It also helps with appetite control as well.

3. Saw Palmetto - a popular supplement for men for prostate health but also benefits women with PCOS since their hormone levels are sometimes high in androgrens and testosterone. This supplement will help with hirsutism, which is hair growth on the face and neck, as well as acne and hormone balance.

4. Chromium - this is similar to cinnamon and is used for glucose balance.

5. d-Pinitol - this is to balance fertility and sex hormones, glucose control and weight and appetite control. This is another popular supplement for women with PCOS.

6. Donq Quai - the has been referred to as the female geinsing and is useful for irregular menstrual cycles as well as for PMS control.

7. Black Cohosh - this supplement helps with PMS control and it also lowers blood pressures.

There are many other options to explore as well such as juicing, paleo and ketogenic diets!!!

4. Get your Groove Back

PCOS is not a life sentence.. Sometimes it may feel like you have lost control but, you can get it back! Having a happy mind and fulfilled spirit can often help you overcome things that seem overwhelming. it's time to reclaim your life!!

PCOS Reclaim Your Life Program

Leela Life Coaching is a great resource for helping you get your groove back...

"Life doesn’t have to be all about PCOS.  It doesn’t have to be the all-treatment-all-the-time channel.  You can pay attention to your hobbies; you can feel better about your body; you can make the changes that you need to make and spend your time and energy on your family and loved ones."

"The three month PCOS Reclaim Your Life program, we start by developing an individualized habits plan for you, based on your life, your needs, and your doctor’s recommendations.  This is not a one-size-fits-all arrangement; your program is based on your needs, your situation, and your goals.  We’ll talk about your long-range dreams, your values, and not just what you want but why you want it.

Then we make it happen.  With weekly homework (and consequences or rewards if you need them!) we develop your habits from the ground up.  We set goals that you can reach, and incentives that work for you.  Eating, exercise, down time, relaxation (did you know stress hormones make it harder to lose weight?), family time, and even techniques for reconnecting with your body and with your sweetie are in the plan.  We talk about how to set limits and boundaries and how to get others to honor them so you can have the life you want without the stress of having to justify it."

Source: http://leelalifecoaching.com/blog/pcos-coaching/

So remember... 

Physical Activity, Proper Nourishment and a Healthy Mind are the keys to living a healthier life with any life-altering syndrome, especially polycystic ovary syndrome. Size, age, or where you are in life does not matter, lifestyle management is important to minimize long-term health consequences associated with PCOS such as; heart disease, diabetes and forms of cancer as well as the psychological strains such as depression and anxiety.

Take the steps you need to find your inner peace with PCOS!