Tips for women with PCOS
Last weekend the Philippine Obstetrical & Gynecological Society Cebu Chapter celebrated its 39th Foundation Day with a 'PCOS Wellness Day' with the theme: WO(MEN): Saving lives for 72 years. It was Dr. Kristina Dosdos who invited me to share my story in relation to weight management.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a condition that affects woman’s hormone levels. Women’s with PCOS produce higher than normal amounts of male hormones. This hormone imbalance causes them to skip menstrual periods which makes it harder for women with PCOS to get pregnant. PCOS also cause hair growth on the face and body.
The most common PCOS Symptoms are irregular periods, heavy bleeding, hair growth, acne, darkening of skin and weight gain.
The PCOS Wellness day covers a very extensive information which starts with myth busters: What’s true and What’s not; Nutrition 101 what’s good to eat with PCOS; Beauty secrets and skin care from the beauty expert Dr. Malinda Vasquez; Ready to have a baby PCOS won’t stop me and Go with the flow The PCOS menstrual cycle with another Beautiful Dr. Mona Ethellin Yiu.
I had the chance to listen to the last two topics mentioned and was overwhelmed to what women with PCOS go through. The rest of the talk was mostly nose bleed on my part but what catches my attention was the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and weight management plays a vital factor to someone who has PCOS.
My talks focused on weight management and living a healthy lifestyle and proper weight management, which is easier said than done. These things require tons of motivation, sacrifice and hard work in order to achieve.
Here are some of my simple tips:
1-Adopt new habits like riding a bike to work if your workplace is just one or two kilometers away, use stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, clean and wash your car at least 3X week on your own and if you are stressed out in work try jogging or swimming and don’t vent out stressed by binging.
2- Balance your calorie intake. Your food intake versus physical activities. Calories in and Calories out. One way to make you aware if you are eating too much is to write down everything you eat. By doing so, you will be shocked or surprised at the end of the day on how much you have eaten. Be mindful what you put in your mouth. Chew your food properly, drink before you start to eat and choose your food wisely – Quality, Frequency and Quantity. Q-F-Q.
3- Control your weight. Never be afraid to step on the weighing scale. Track your weight regularly and avoid using over size clothes from time to time. Wear fitted shirts and pants so that you will know if you got bigger or smaller. For instance, I always have a goal size shirt that is in the closet and try it on once in a while just to check, but mostly my workout shirts are tight and it keep me motivated when it starts to be uncomfortably tight.
4-Don’t eat with distractions like gadgets, laptop, smart phones and TV. These things should not be part of your dining table. People who eat distracted tend to eat more.
5-Follow the 8-hour rule: Limit TV & gadget time. Turn off the light keep to keep your bedroom dark and in cool temperature and If you are afraid of the dark, use warm light instead day light. Sleeping is not a waste of time because when you sleep your blood pressure drops, breathing slows down, blood flow moves to the muscles and tissue is repaired.
6-Exercise: You don’t need a gym to exercise all you need is your body. A simple 4 minute 2X a day will help your increase your metabolism and burn more calories.
A healthy lifestyle is not about losing weight. A healthy lifestyle is about getting fitter, stronger and healthier. A healthy lifestyle is a lifetime commitment. A healthy lifestyle is to improve quality of life!
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