Disclaimer: This is
written as a journal. Please forgive any grammatical or spelling errors, as I
will simply be writing directly from memory and at times, a rushed perspective.
This is intended to share my experience and how this impacts my symptoms of
PCOS, health and general well-being and is not intended to be utilized as a
meal plan.
First Week, cut out: grains, nut butter, chicken
Monday: Coffee
with sugar free creamer. Strawberries, some apple, almond milk, Garden of Life
protein, strawberry acai coconut Kevita, mixed greens smoothie. Banana,
supergreens, greens, protein powder smoothie. 1 Coconut cashew Quest bar, mixed
nuts, salad with cucumber, green pepper, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds, red
wine and apple cider vinegar.
A.M.: Bloated, blah, little gym energy or motivation but
pushed through. Some acne on chin.
P.M. Tired.
Tuesday: Same
coffee. Similar morning smoothie, minus kombucha. Banana, strawberries, mixed
nuts post-wo. ½ Quest Nutrition bar, GOL cacao raw super foods with almond
milk. Cauli, brocc., carrot, sugar snaps with 2 vegetarian fed eggs.
A.M. Slept harder night before, bit more zest in my wakeup,
excited to drink smoothie and get to the gym asap. Less bloat.
P.M. Full of energy to go on an hour walk with dogs even
after workout and little food. Content and ready for bed with ease. Bloat
(sodium from the nuts…) Doubled water intake but could not get feeling of h20
satiety.
Wednesday: Same
coffee, but no longer actually desiring it. Banana, super greens, vegan
protein, kale, almond milk smoothie. Celery, banana, grapes, apple, mixed nuts.
1 Quest bar. Green tea, H20 H20 H20! Broccoli, kale, cucumber, almond milk, raw
protein powder, super greens, cinnamon, banana, ginger smoothie: was nervous
for this one but it tasted really GOOD! More nuts…not too many but I do have
the munching problem in the evening…. I’ll be working on this. More water. Some
baby dill pickles.
A.M.: More ambition and motivation with a feeling of ‘clean’
energy and pushed harder in the gym. Little appetite; more lightheaded during
yoga but deeper meditation. Felt detoxed after morning smoothie. No afternoon
lag.
P.M. My vision seems more acute, more sensitive to light and
I feel more anxious to move around; a big foggy headed and unfocused but yet
more apt to use problem solving skills, or ready to, at least. Feeling rather
ready for bed, my head congestion is still here, but sore throat is gone from
Monday. Missing my husband doesn’t count, does it? I need a Skype date to truly
solidify whether these are legit… So, aside from the isolated whey in the
protein bars, only eggs yesterday. I feel lighter, yes I wish I was already
leaning out but I haven’t focused on that for once; my flexibility went up
thanks to doing yoga everyday now!
Thursday: kale,
blackberry, almond milk, raw protein powder, supergreens, spices smoothie; made
double to drink before work and at lunch; Quest bar; mixed greens salad with
red and green peppers, a sliced beet, nuts nuts nuts, oops, cherry tomatoes,
typical dressing; pickles
A.M. Full of energy but bloated and constipated.
P.M. POUNDING headache, chills, exhausted.
Friday:
strawberry, super greens, raw protein, beet leaf, almond milk and spices
smoothie, quest bar, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, and squash blend with hot
sauce and olive oil; yogurt; mixed peppers with onions, small spoonful of black
beans and small handful of corn tortilla
A.M. Oh my word, no headache, blasting with energy first
thing and had the BEST workout I’ve had ina long time…extra energy even after
LEG DAY, lifted heavy and faster than before with ease and seeming mental
clarity during my lifts; more focused. Having cravings today that rolled over
from yesterday a bit…family had pizza last night and I sniffed it haha but
wasn’t too tempted, managed my cravings last night with pickles before bed and
chugged water. Craving no sugar added frozen yogurt today…it’s the only dairy
I’ll ever succumb to but trying to use up my veggies in the fridge but missing
my bananas since I’m out now…Kinda spacey now, this afternoon, off to take
paperwork up to the school and get my hair cut, hopefully no cravings come.
P.M. Had to kill some time before my cut and had my brother;
we passed the frozen yogi place and he asked if he could get a little bowl, I
said yes. I caved, myself. In my defense, although I don’t need one because I’m
doing this for myself and making my own ‘rules’ whatever, as I was saying: I
did way better than normal in there; as always, I only got a no-sugar added
yogurt (vanilla and blueberry blend this time) but got the smallest bowl
possible, whereas I normally go for the medium and fill it up, and didn’t even
fill it up more than halfway and topped it with some shredded coconut and
almonds, peanuts, pecans, walnuts. Felt slightly gassy and bloated about an
hour after but not like normal. Chugged so much water before bed I felt bloated
but energetic for the next day.
Saturday:
Strawberry, almond milk, super greens, raw protein and spices smoothie, quest
bar, mixed greens with green pepper, sunflower seeds, vinegar dressing, lemon,
cherry tomatoes; handful potato chips, Udi’s gluten free choc chip cookies with
almond milk, sweet potato with brocc,
caul, carrot mix and 1 veg. brown egg
A.M. Felt centered and started my day with yoga, but got
thrown off because then went to bro’s bball game and felt ‘tight’ and clean
energy but got depressed and tired on our way home; possibly due to the snow
and lack of sun but ate my salad and drug myself to the gym and ended up having
a great workout; my body def prefers morning workouts, though
P.M. Felt so cheerful and healthy minded, optimistic after
workout and cannot remember why but wanted those gluten free cookies and sweet
potato….maybe because I had already planned to cut out all processed food or starchier
carb sources this week…? The sweet potatoes even made me swollen almost
immediately and the cookies were not as satisfying as they would have been
previously; almost ended up getting in that, “I’m bored”, mindset and
depressed, which typically leads to mindless eating but instead dug deep to
think more intuitively and realized I was craving fresh smoothies and fruit and
crave that feeling of clean inside that changed so quickly with just a few
items that were part of my everyday diet and for most people, do not bug them
at all. I passed out watching Forks over Knives….as I am running out of the
documentaries to watch.
Sunday: Finished
off my sugar free peppermint mocha creamer in my last cup of coffee for at
least a week, hopefully longer. I love coffee but pretty sure I drink it more
for the warmth it gives me in the morning and perhaps a social matter.
Broccoli, banana, avocado, almond milk, protein powder, beet root smoothie;
apple, banana, grapes, nut butter with cinnamon; quest bar; spaghetti squash,
cabbage, zucchini mix with olive oil
A.M. Awoke to a phone call from my amazing husband, which
left me in a great mood, but Sundays are just so ugh in Ohio, I haven’t even
been into my NFL teams all too much and I’m pretty sure that’s because I can
only go to the gym between hours 1-5 and I’m working hard at keeping my
training routine promise so while I can easily do a workout at home, I’m
dedicated to that other aspect of my life and it interferes with other things
annnnd of course, I have nothing to do around here except blog and create
training programs for people; so, I just allow myself to be glum, I guess. I
watched, The Heat, with brother bear though and it brought me up and made me
laugh despite the dreary morning and headed out to the gym even feeling really
full somehow from my fruits and veggies.
P.M. Super full from all the veggies but am deciding to go
all raw for at least Monday-Wednesday and those veggies were going bad and I
cannot stand letting paid food go to waste, so cooked it all, phew. Felt the
endorphins after the workout, though, and stocked up on fresh kale, spinach,
strawberries, blueberries, bananas, coconut milk to hold me over for the next
three days. I felt like my face was less clear today, though, than earlier in
the week…seriously, just from a few gluten free cookies, tiny bit of yogurt and
sweet potatoes over the past few days…? Trying to wind down and show gratitude
to my family tonight so I can head to bed early and get up early for my leg
workout eaaaaaarly before work so I can start my all raw trial out great!
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For the next 3 days: only raw food personal challenge to
myself.
(Below are written on Wednesday, you will understand why…)
Monday: bananas,
blueberries, spinach, superfood greens, coconut water, unsweetened almond milk
smoothie x3, green tea, bananas, strawberries, grapefruit, apple (I actually
cannot recall 100% what was in my smoothies at the end of the day, due to
complete brain fog and a headache)
A.M. My alarm went off late, so I couldn’t get to the gym
prior to heading in for work but was energized because I was excited about what
the day held. My energy and clarity was present and high until the afternoon
after-school; I then had the onset of a massive headache. After that came the
chills, the inability to think properly or really move, as I felt extremely
weak.
P.M. Relay those feelings all night; I couldn’t even make it
to the gym or my brother’s basketball game and even doing yoga was taunting…I
watched a lot of Netflix and crashed.
Tuesday: strawberry,
spinach, greens, coconut water smoothie; raw almonds; kale, yellow, orange, and
green peppers, beets, and vinegar salad; kale, greens, raw protein powder, coco
water, almond milk, lemon, banana smoothie.
A.M. I received a last minute wake-me-up phone call from the
school asking me to work and I am still kicking myself for not just saying, “Yes”,
but I still had the headache from the
night prior and would’ve had to been showered, dressed (this means rummaging
around my car and boxes for proper work attire), and out the door within a
half-hour of the call. My body said, “No”. So, I got up sluggishly and planned
my workout, drank my smoothie, went and had probably the most pitiful workout
in a long time and couldn’t even manage post-workout yoga and accomplished
almost nothing that I intended for the day: my OCD for organization was nowhere
to be seen. I also began to get
extremely depressed, cried (rare for me) and started questioning everything in
my life; I supplemented with Vitamin C, E, Echinacea, and Niacin herbals to
help all these symptoms….”Food Matters” professionals show that we are all
extremely deficient in vitamins so there is absolutely nothing to fear with an
extra dose here or there, as we are taught to believe.
P.M. While eating my salad that seemed to take forever to
create, I was honestly feeling glum still and told myself that I would keep
this promise to myself and stop focusing so much on how I think this may not
taste so delicious compared to umm me downing a jar of nut butter, perhaps.
Instead, I didn’t watch TV, play on my computer, phone or talk to anyone. I sat
in silence with my rainbow of a salad and thoughtfully ate each piece, savoring
the flavors of nature and envisioning how it was nourishing my body and healing
me from the inside out. I have to say that I probably could not have done this,
as I often eat a mix thoughtful but mindless, as in I eat healthy food and get
nutrients in but have let go of my slow eating habits that will help keep me
satisfied more without just taking in any food I put in front of me. I also can
attest that my daily yoga practices, mixing up the routines and instructors are
allowing me to truly become more centered and grateful. Yoga teaches you to
move and breathe with a purpose and dedicate our practice, while showing gratitude
in all that we do; it was a revelation and an affirmation of this practice when
I was able to do this during my meal. I
drank my smoothie at the dinner table, with my little brother tempting me to
eat his homemade, delicious looking baked potato fries but I reminded him that
I made a promise to myself that I would do this for my health and mental
well-being and denied him, ohhhhhh! Luckily, we had Aidan’s basketball game to
keep my mind busy and my headache was slowly going away, but it was surely cold
and even more so for me it seemed. I was constipated this day, though, whereas
on Monday I was flushed out.
(Note: I need to have my OWN kitchen so that I can whip out
kitchen tools, buy more than just what fits in addition to my family’s food
right now and get creative on these raw dishes!)
Wednesday:
banana, spinach, strawberry, blueberry, raw protein, coconut water, almond
milk, ginger, cinnamon, ice smoothie; ¼ cantaloupe, 1 orange, 3 strawberries, 1
banana with cinnamon; raw almonds; kale, broccoli, coco water, almond milk,
small portion of raw protein powder, supergreens, mixed greens, blueberries
smoothie, spices; ¼ cantaloupe
A.M. Finally woke up with barely any headache but was slow
to rise. It was technically a day off from lifting but I didn’t have work so I
knew my body would thank me for getting to the gym. I ended up wanting to do
mostly cardio but once I got in there, decided I would switch it up and do
something that hasn’t been in my routine for a while: running and lifting for
endurance. So, basically, I did a Crossfit style workout but it felt great to
run a steady pace; it’s bizarre because I love to run but have not for so long
because I am up North now and it’s not possible where my family lives to run
outdoors and, the neighborhood crime is up, as well. I cannot wait to get back
down to the South so that I can get some fresh, open air in the warmth! I
started to get spacey again when I got back, but being drenched even more than
normal in sweat was an amazing feeling and reminder of my journey; my yoga was
great and I felt the high from my practice once again!
P.M. Well, I’m
writing this presently at just after 1600 and without being too nasty, I have
to say I have only had the first two meals that are listed (the rest are
planned for tonight) and for some reason am urinating every 15 minutes and have
gas like crazy! (I am actually nervous about the fiber packed smoothie I have
planned for dinner…. Oh and I usually do urinate A LOT, but it is clear and I
have drank a lot of water, but not any more than normal.) When looking in the
mirror today, I do feel like my skin looks more alive. I have battled with acne
in different ways for over 10 years and have discolored, red skin, mostly on my
face (not to mention, the mustache and out of control eyebrows), so for me to
feel comfortable without cover up or powder on outside is a step in the right
direction. It’s this overload of nutrients, I’m assuming! Now, I do not wear
makeup everywhere I go, but am almost always self-conscious about people seeing
me with blotchy skin. I am taking my brother to another bball game tonight and
am hoping to pop in to Vitamin Shoppe and pick up more Apple Cider Vinegar-with
the Mother and a glass of GT’s Kombucha, if they have it-yumm! Because I am
taking each moment of my day with more ease and thinking out more thoroughly, I
cannot say I have planned out where I am going from here, as in even tomorrow,
yet and perhaps I will contemplate as I lay in bed tonight but the remainder of
the day is still to be enjoyed and fulfilled whole-heartedly.
A rough idea of what I will continue with: incorporate a
green smoothie everyday (with larger amounts of green over fruits per meal);
have at least 2 completely raw meals each day; when I cook vegetables, only
lightly steam them to prevent loss of nutrients; maintain no animal products
and seek out alternate sources of protein; keep the majority of grains and
coffee out; add in more cardio to my training routine, as I feel; try a new
fruit or vegetable each week and a new method of cardio; make sure I meditate
or do full yoga practice for at least 10 minutes each day; eat with more
thought on how each bite is either helping or hurting my health.
