I'm finally....

.... understanding me!

Weight has always been a struggle, even as a child and I've never fully understood exactly why. I somehow managed to lose weight following the Slimming World plan but have found the maintaining bit really hard. Old habits really don't lurk too far away and I've never fully understood the damage they can do. 

When I was trying to conceive my children, 20 years ago, I was diagnosed with PCOS. One element is problems in conceiving, others include unwanted hair growth, weight gain/management, acne 

Struggling to maintain my weight loss, I decided recently to look a little deeper into the role PCOS plays in my weight management and found this fabulous site, where you can enrol in a starter kit and the condition is fully explained to you. I'm most definitely a visual learner, so being able to watch videos and see diagrams, has made it all make much more sense. I have looked into it before and I think when I started Slimming World, I was so strict with myself, I actually followed a PCOS diet without really thinking but as old habits have crept back in, that layer of strictness, which enabled me to lose the weight has gone.

Basically PCOS is a hormone disorder, where something is fundamentally wrong with our hormones. It affects your Beta cells and how your body processes insulin. Insulin impacts on our ovaries and we in turn produce too much testosterone, which increases insulin etc. Food too impacts on our testosterone levels (dairy) and our insulin levels (carbs, gluten, sugar, glucose) Keeping your blood sugar levels constant is key, controlling spikes in insulin  that can't be processed and are in turn stored as fat.

As a result of my investigations, the best way forward is to 

Avoid GLUTEN

Eliminate DAIRY

Eat foods with a LOW GLYCEMIC LOAD

Have a PLAN

Manage your CRAVINGS

it also suggests you

EXERCISE regularly

manage your STRESS

Get enough SLEEP

I have bought a few books on Glycemic load, I have been investigating dairy and gluten foods and have come up with a plan. 

I intend to go gluten free where ever I can but I'm human, so when in Cornwall, I will still enjoy a pasty or a portion of chips! I've decided to not go dairy free but low dairy. I don't eat much dairy anyway, but would waste so much money if I had to buy special products just for me, when I eat so few. I think the Glycemic Load is key - choosing foods with a low GL. It also suggest you eat protein with carbs, when snacking, which is something I've done for a while, it also suggest snacking 3 times a day - mid morning, afternoon and evening, so blood sugar levels are kept constant. So I've adapted my food planning sheet to reflect this. At the moment there is a lot to take in, I don't have much weight to lose, just a few stubborn Christmas pounds but I want to start feeling in control of my weight, so I can keep it off forever.

Sorry for the rambling, I think I had to get this all written down for me to process all the bits of paper currently floating around on my desk but if it does help anyone else along the way, then great!