True Devotion

Whenever you are truly devoted to something, you stick with it for the long haul, be it relationships, career assignments, and yes even exercise and eating plans. It's been a while since my last post, and I've had a few setbacks--minor surgery, a head injury, and an upper respiratory infection, all since October. During my stay at Green Mountain in November, I made a lot of progress in just one week--despite being disoriented and slightly off from hitting my head. Yet, when I returned home, I did not stay devoted to my plan. Yes, I was dealing with the lingering effects of hitting my head, but I find that it seems something always comes up and knocks me off center. Without true devotion, it's easy to be thrown off track. For the past ten years, PCOS has thrown me one curve ball after another--rapid weight gain, hair in places no woman should have hair, a struggle to conceive, body aches and pains, and raging hormones.

It's been a rough road, but I refuse to let PCOS control my life any more. As many of you know, this past week the DC area has received a lot of snow. We have been snowed in for a week now. The first few days of the snow in, I snacked on not so healthy items. By the 3rd day, I was suffering with PCOS related pain and inflammation. For my fellow cysters out there, you know exactly how this feels, and it's no fun. For the first time, I could see the direct correlation between processed foods, simple carbohydrates and PCOS symptoms. I am grateful for this insight, and I quickly abandoned the unhealthy snacking, and I'm feeling better.

I will exercise 5 out of 7 days a week for 45-60 minutes each session. The plan is to do 45-60 minutes at Bally Mon, Wed, and Friday and to go to Curves after work and before class on Tuesday and Thursday. I will eat a balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner consisting of whole grains and other whole/natural foods.

Now what I must do is become truly devoted to all the things that keep me healthy. Eating natural foods, exercising regularly, taking metformin, even though I have absolutely no blood sugar issues at all (yuck!), and above all trusting God that if I consistently do my part, everything else will fall into place.

So, here I am with 70 pounds to lose and a newfound sense of devotion to the habits it will take to get and stay healthy. PCOS had better watch out.

Stay in the fight!

Paula