PCOS Diva Sparkle Cleanse

Back in April, I was hospitalized.   It was scary.   I thought I had COVID-19.  I didn't.  Long story short, I became immune to my asthma meds and I had some serious lung inflammation happening.  I was on steroids via IV as well as pill form and then when discharged, I was on steroids for a time later.   Once done, the steroid weight would not come off.  It just wouldn't.  I was down over 20 pounds.  When the weight would not budge, I became so irritated.   Like what in the what is going on!?!

So a friend of mine recommended the PCOS Diva Sparkle Program. 

The program focuses on detoxing from all of the toxins.   I am one week in and I must say, I'm feeling really good.   I have dropped a few pounds and I just seem to have more energy.   I was weary of the cleanse because of the cost and every time I hear "cleanse" I automatically assumed you'd be pooping for days on end.   That's not the case with this.

You have one shake with meds in morning and one in the evening.   You can cut calories if you wish, but that's not the focus of the program.   I was pleased after purchasing to see there's a daily "class" or "workshop" online that you participate in.

I'm learning quite a bit and curious to see where things are next week.

PCOS Complete Program

The school year has finally come to a close and I'm finally feeling refreshed enough to get back into blogging.

In the previous post, I mentioned the PCOS Complete course.

Well... I was given a very unique opportunity to take the course and I jumped on it. 

I honestly didn't know what to expect at first because the first module was nothing new to me.   I feel like I have a pretty good handle on my PCOS knowledge.   Module 1 is PERFECTION for a newly diagnosed woman.

Module two focused on nutrition for PCOS and I think what I appreciated most about this module is how much Angela and Stephanie talked about balance as well as carbs.   Carbs are not evil, ladies.   Faceplanting into a big old barrel of M&M's and chasing it with a potato chip binge is bad.   So many women with PCOS think, "KETO KETO KETO" but they don't understand the long term damage that can happen when you eliminate a proper carbohydrate forever.

My favorite modules were modules 3-7.   In fact, on my "to do" list, I have "re-watch modules 3-7."

Module 3 focuses on mindfulness and mindful eating.    It sounds corny, but when was the last time you sat down to a nicely prepared meal, and savored every bite?   When was the last time that you paid attention to every aspect of the food?    

Module 4 Sleep and Exercise!    Duh!   No brainer!    I've become obsessed with tracking my sleep lately.   I upgraded my FitBit to a Versa 2 to get a good look at the data.

Module 5 was painful.   Not going to lie.  Learning about the connection between stress and PCOS was scary and it's something I've taken into deep consideration.  I have a high stress job.   I have a high stress life.    This module caused me to sit down and reflect on what stresses can be eliminated or decreased for me.    One thing, was my husband.  No, I didn't eliminate him, LOL, but I told him I need him to have more house responsibility.    I have a lot on my plate and need him to take on some more for my sanity.

Module 6 spoke of body image and I can't wait to re-listen to that video.    I'm in the middle of a cleanse right now and having some interesting thoughts and revelations.

And lastly, module 7 - mental health, eating disorders and PCOS.   All I'm going to say here is look out for yourselves ladies.   Truly.    

I've had some Cysters from my PCOS and Ovasitol group ask if the program is worth it.   This is actually a really hard question for me to answer.

In short, YES.   It is worth it if you are able to devote your time to it.   My regret with this program is that when I participated, COVID-19 just started here and schools were closing and I was learning how to be a special education teacher online while schooling my two children.   I wasn't able to devote as much time and energy to it as I wanted and the irony is later on in the course I learned what putting other things before myself was/is doing to my PCOS/body.  

If you have any questions, feel free to message me on Facebook.   :-)

I'm not sure if the replay on this link will even work but if you aren't familiar with PCOS Nutrition Center by now... please get familiar with the amazing resources there.   I signed up for the free webinar, but the night of... could not get on.    Below are my notes on the replay and I so wish I could afford to do the PCOS Complete Program.

The webinar focused on healthy secrets for PCOS women and how what we put into our bodies truly does impact us (like it does for any woman) .... but also how "jumping on the bandwagon" isn't exactly wise for us.   For example, Keto ... it's not a cure for PCOS.

Lately I'm really learning how my nutrition impacts my sleep and my sleep level impacts how well I care for myself.  This webinar solidified it.

One of the stats that really stood out to me was that over 50% of women with PCOS have themselves on some sort of restrictive diet.    I wouldn't be surprised if that number is actually higher.    Weight is such a struggle for me, it always has been, and I sometimes toy with the idea of having weight loss surgery.    However, even with that, I know so many women that have had surgery and it's caused a whole world of other issues or the weight just came back... or both.   

One thing I'd like to look into is my ghrelin, CCK and leptin levels.    The gals in the webinar chatted about this as well as other challenges we cysters have with diet.   Yo-yo-dieting.   Intense cravings.  Intense hunger.   Lower metabolism.   And of course how very exposed we are to inaccurate nutrition advice... even from our own doctors.

The reality is there is no long term research that shows any weight loss diet helps the majority of women with PCOS maintain that weight loss and promote health. 

In other words... diets do not work for people with PCOS!

I absolutely loved how the gals talked about this point:
FOCUSING ON WEIGHT LOSS IS HARMFUL TO PEOPLE WITH PCOS!!!
It's a simple thought... but so true... I can't even begin to explain how I felt when the gals said this.  I felt like my thoughts and feelings were completely validated.   

Oh the things I could share for HOURS on this point.  I felt further validated when they were chatting about the importance of an EMPATHETIC and SUPPORTIVE non-weight-shaming approach that is necessary for PCOS WOMEN. 

The benefits that were discussed about this "Non-Diet Approach" included normalizing eating, less binge eating, improving the quality of our nutrition, sustaining healthy behaviors, improving health and risk factors, preventing the yo-yo-ing and reducing the risk of eating and mood disorders.

I found myself longing to be able to do the PCOS complete program being discussed but it is simply not in the budget right now.

The remainder of the webinar was great conversation on these five topics:
1.  Rejecting the diet mentality
2.  Trusting yourself and practicing gentle nutrition (yay, Ovasitol!)
3.  Finding movement you ENJOY (exercise doesn't have to be hell)
4.  Practicing good sleep hygiene (something I am finally learning)
5.  Regular self care practices (it's okay to take time for YOU.... seriously!   Mindfulness is not some sort of hippie conspiracy... it helps)

Truly.... if you're able to get hooked up with the PCOS complete program, I'd love to hear about your experience.   As for me, I'm super jealous and need to win the lottery.   :P

PCOS Workbook Second Edition Review

Hello, hello, and Happy New Year!!

I wanted to spend some time giving a review of the second edition of the PCOS workbook. 

I first want to say that I am not being paid by PCOS Nutrition for this post or review.   I am just a huge fan of the work Angela Grassi does and I'm a huge supporter of all things PCOS Nutrition.

First things first.   The AUTHOR has PCOS ya'll.   She is a registered dietician.   She HAS what we have.   She GETS it. 

In the second edition of the book she has included up to date research, bigger (in my opinion) visuals, and so many helpers!

The book is divided into ten sections
1.  Connecting the Dots: Understanding PCOS
2.  Nutrition for PCOS
3.  Mindfulness and Mindful Eating
4.  PCOS and Sleep
5.  PCOS and Exercise
6.  PCOS and Stress
7.  Body Image and PCOS
8.  Mental Health and PCOS
9.  Coping with and overcoming Infertility
10. Getting Support

At the very start of the book, Angela lets you know who she is and where she stands.  As you begin navigating the text you will find several sections to fill in.   Including pages to keep your lab results! One of my favorite things about the lab results page is that the TSH level is noted as LESS THAN 2.5!!!   I have been saying this for YEARS!

As someone who also has Hypothyroidism - Specifically Hashimoto's... when I was going through infertility it took a long time to find a doctor who really understood the thyroid.   They would say that anything under 5.0 was "normal" for thyroid and I just knew in my gut that for a PCOS woman that was wrong.   A PCOS woman should ALWAYS aim for her TSH to be 2.5 or less ESPECIALLY while trying to conceive!   Kudos to Angela for including this!

You are going to learn about carbs, gluten, inflammation, what you're eating and why.   You're going to learn (and for some of us it may be a tough pill to swallow) that carbs aren't necessarily evil.  It's all about understanding our body and our body chemistry. 

This book also gives you time and space to REFLECT.   Yes, there is an e-Reader version.   Personally, I'm a fan of having the book in print.   There are multiple pages and spots to fill in to help guide you through the text and what makes it even more wonderful is that Angela provides you with plenty of valid and informative resources to check out in the back of the text.

If you have PCOS this workbook is for you.   If you have a family member who was open enough to share with you that they have PCOS, ask them if they would allow you to treat them to this wonderful resource.    It is also available on Amazon!