The Not-So-Hellish Diet-From-Hell.

I've been owing you this post about my actual "diet" for 4 months now... so here we go! 

One of the things that drives me the most crazy about having PCOS is how out of control it makes me feel. Not in a wild way. I'm not Animal:

Excuse the poor video quality. Um, I'd definitely burn some major calories if I had that much energy.

I've tried a few different PCOS-friendly diets. First I tried balancing my sugar throughout the day, diabetic-style, but that was sort of short-lived. Possibly because it was too free. I didn't have the self-control to be able to eat a huge variety of things and still make appropriate choices. So then I tried the Paleo diet, also known as the Caveman diet. Because, apparently, I'm an extremist? That lasted a little bit longer but I was struggling with the idea of making two dinners every night- one for me and one for The Man because I felt bad subjecting him to my restrictions. Since there's only two of us (haha that's kind of the point of this blog isn't it?), if my husband isn't going to be on a diet with me (and why should he be??), things get a little complicated around dinnertime.

I'm not a huge fan of excuses. I guess I just wasn't ready for the full-blown commitment, maybe. Not until I saw this video:

If you watch that video, she spells out the guidelines for the PCOS low-amylose diet and tells her amazing story... you can read more of her journey over at The Subfertile Frugalista.

But to make a long story short, here are the rules in a nutshell:
       1. Avoid all simple sugars- no candy, soda, cake, ice cream, canned fruit, yogurt, cookies etc. AKA: ALL OF MY FAVORITE FOODS. Oh Em Gee.
       2. Avoid vegetables grown underground (except onions and garlic), corn, bananas, and foods enriched with maltodextrin or corn syrup.
       3. Avoid wheat, rice, rye, barley, and oats- yeah, that means no oatmeal, bread, pasta, cereal. You know, all of the easiest/quicket possible food options in existence.
       4. Eat a minimum of 3 servings each of above-ground veggies and fruits daily.
       5. Eat at least 6 ounces of protein every day.
Avoid low-fat foods.
DON'T count calories (holla!).

We're currently on a break from Reproductive Endocrinologist appointments for a number of reasons, so in the meantime, we've been trying this diet out (in addition to my Metformin prescription). I've also pretty much cut out all soy as well since I've read it messes with your estrogen levels and that's pretty much the last thing I need. I've been doing this since April! Almost 4 months! Things do get complicated with dinnertime, like they did with the Paleo diet but after seeing that video and her success story, I just had to make the commitment.

So. What HAVE I been eating? A whole lot of chicken and nuts. More dairy than I should probably should be having (mostly milk). I started out with a ton of smoothies with lots of fruit and vegetables but I've kind of been slacking on that- gotta get back into it. Those Chocolate Brownie Bites I posted about were a major staple for awhile. Some fish. A bunch of different almond flour and coconut flour experiments. I've got this fake cookie dough recipe that uses chick peas that I need to post about! And I've been doing this since April!

It can be done! Clockwise from top left: An avocado & salmon appetizer from a sushi restaurant on a trip to Montreal; homemade salmon kebabs; grilled chicken with a spice rub while visiting my parents in Massachusetts; homemade cauliflower tortilla with kielbasa (questionable) and veggies.

Err, actually, this past month has been a bit harder, I've "cheated" more than I'd like to admit (today we came back from vacation, throughout which I only moderately cheated, but then I declared today a MAJORCHEATDAY and have so far only eaten a doughnut and an ice cream sundae. Yep. Back on track as of right... now!), and therefore my weight loss streak has tapered off a bit, but I've been a lot better about taking my Metformin 3x/day. And yes, with me that is something to write home about. All-in-all I've lost somewhere between 9 and 15 lbs more than the number on the scale that I'd been repeatedly getting stuck at for the past 2+ years, and 15-28lbs since my highest weight spike ever. So... BOOM.

Worth it. (and for realz, we're officially back on track!)