Making Life Easier With PCOS

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A MOCK ARTICLE

Navigating PCOS is no walk in the park and the simplest decision can be to use birth control but natural remedies will leave you feeling much better. When choosing to help your body naturally there's little transition, risk, and costs unlike prescribed medication. Slapping birth control upon the first diagnosis makes the emotional journey of PCOS even harder. It's important to get your hormones under control instead of giving yourself more in hopes they even out. Changing your diet and exercise rate can help balance out your hormones and give you consistent results.

T​here are two components to changing your life with PCOS. There're some dietary changes and a recommended amount of exercise. Changing your diet can be the main factor of what starts to regulate your body. Believe it or not, the foods you eat affect a lot of your hormones. I'm sure your doctors have told you but there's an increase of testosterone in your blood system. This is caused by increased levels in insulin releasing androgens. Irregular insulin levels are commonly connected to Type 1 & 2 Diabetes. When someone is experiencing higher or lower insulin levels, changing the diet is the first thing they try before going to prescription medication.

S​tarting any kind of diet can be daunting so if you need to slowly incorporate it, that's okay. But what you may come to realize, most of these recommended foods may already be what you eat day to day. Starting off with the bad news, you should stay away from fried foods, red meats, sugary foods, alcohol, glutton, and white rice. That's not to say your diet can't have a cheat day. But if you want consistent results, then your diet should be consistent too. The 'don't' list is more concise than the 'do' list so let's break it down.

Your diet is going to be rich in Omega-3. That's olive oil, non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, and whole fruit (Jon Hopkins Medicine). A lot of non-starchy vegetables are one's you would've resisted as a kid like carrots, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, and the list goes on. See, it's not as restrictive as you think. Getting in protein that is rich in Omega-3 may be more difficult if you do not like fish and are not able to eat red meats. Chicken or turkey is great to still get in your protein without straying too far from the path. Avoiding sugary foods may be hard at first but the more into the diet you get the more creative you can get with recipes for all the natural fruit incorporated into your diet. There's a whole community of women with PCOS out there who are willing and wanting to help the newly diagnosed.

I​f you're confused about how to incorporate that into a meal, lots of Mediterranean recipes have all that listed in their ingredients while still straying away from that 'don't' list. This diet is any food from Portugal making its way through Italy and most of Greece. Giving a broad diet, such as this one, helps make it a lifestyle and easier to keep up with (Jon Hopkins Medicine). Out of all the diets to get stuck with, Mediterranean is one of the best ones because you'll never be short on a flavorful meal.

Diet is a big part of making life easier living with PCOS but exercising is as important. Doing physical activity helps regulate insulin levels as well (National Library of Medicine, 2020). Professional prescription recommends 150 min of exercise per week. That's about thirty minutes of exercise, five days a week. There isn't any exercise that isn't encouraged but workouts with HITT, strength training, or mind-body exercises are suggested. HITT workouts are great if you don't have a lot of time or money to go to the gym. They are high intensity but are short so it's all worth it. Lots of HITT workouts can be performed from the comfort of your own home or garage if you prefer. Strength training requires a bit more time and money unless you have a gym at home which most people don't. You may be confused by what mind-body exercises mean. It consists of yoga or Pilates. Because your hormones aren't regular, you may have increased negative moods. It's beneficial to get in a good workout while also calming your mind and having intentional time for peace.

Taking rest days to do activities you enjoy is crucial to keeping your mind healthy. Putting in too much exercise can create an increase in hormone distribution (National Library of Medicine, 2020). Making exercise a part of your routine puts less stress on you to get it done. Taking care of your body is what should be releasing stress, not adding to it. Living with PCOS can lead to having increased acne and skin problems so even taking a spa day can be necessary to living a happy life.

Before getting diagnosed with PCOS, your life can be crazy when you're trying to figure out what's going on with your body. Having the weight of this new diagnosis can feel like there's even more pressure put on your life but it's important to slow down and see what your options are. Implementing some lifestyle changes can make living with PCOS that much easier.