Living with and Eating for PCOS: My Story

I will be totally honest, this is not an easy post for me to write. I grappled back and forth for a long time whether or not to even share it.

But lately I’ve been listening to a lot of personal growth podcasts and have felt inspired to share my story.

So, I’m about to get real personal here. If you’re not ready for that, then you may just want to stop reading now, but here’s my story. How I’m living with and eating for PCOS. {P.S. probably one of the longest posts I’ve written}

*Disclaimer: this is in no way medical advice. I am simply sharing my story about living with PCOS, how I’m dealing with it and what it means for me. Please review any changes to your diet and exercise with your doctor.*

What is PCOS?

PCOS stands for “Polycystic Ovary Syndrome”. It’s a hormonal condition that can cause irregular periods, acne, weight gain, depression and have an effect on fertility. Sounds like fun, right?

I first learned I had PCOS after Burken and I decided we wanted to start a family. I had been on birth control for over eight years, and when I stopped, I thought, like most women, I would wait two months, the birth control would leave my system, and we’d be able to get pregnant.

Not so fast my body told me. For six months I never had a period {okay, any guys reading, get over it, I said period}. This obviously didn’t bode well because no period means no ovulation means no baby. Like I didn’t even have the chance at this point to help us along the journey of making a baby because my body wasn’t doing its normal “woman” thing.

Doctor after doctor after doctor

After six months of not getting a period my doctor decided it was time I needed to start seeing other doctors with different specialties.

I can’t count how many blood tests I had to take {I was surprised I had any left}. Or how many times I had to repeat my name and birth date to each and every nurse and doctor I saw. Don’t get me wrong, each person I met with was super great, but it’s still a scary situation to be in when you have no idea what’s going on with your own body, and neither does your doctor.

Finally, I had an ultrasound. Also scary considering while being scanned by a nurse she had the TV on so I could see. Well I’m no doctor, so I had no idea what I was looking at during that half hour, and just let my mind run wild as to what was going on down there.

Turns out the ultrasound showed cysts on my ovaries. Hence the PCOS. And when I found out I had it, of course I had to Google what it was. This was a bad idea because one of the first things that pops up is infertility. *Cue the instant tears*

Making a plan for living with PCOS

After finding out, I met with my doctor. We started trying different medications to help me start to get my period.

The first didn’t work, with the exception of giving me the worst acne I think I’ve ever had. Talk about feeling down on yourself. Can’t make a baby plus giant teenage sized acne. And of course all of this was happening around Christmas. When you see everyone and their brother. Perfect.

So on to the next medication. This has actually helped me so far, and what my current plan is with my doctor, who has honestly been an amazing person to have in my corner. But there have still been bumps in the road.

Keeping a positive attitude with PCOS

I can imagine most of you thinking, “but you’re young, you’re healthy, you’ve got time”. And while all of those are true, when you’re ready to have a baby, it doesn’t always seem that way.

It’s increasingly hard to watch friends on Facebook or Instagram announce they’re pregnant. I’m not at all saying I’m not extremely happy for them, because I am. But it can sometimes be hard to watch when you want that so badly too.

And I don’t know what they’ve gone through. I don’t know if they’ve had the same difficulties that I’ve been having while trying to get pregnant. And that’s why I wanted to share this story.

To let other women know that they’re not alone. That it’s common to have PCOS and not know it. It’s common for women to have different symptoms. That it’s common to struggle with getting pregnant.

But one thing I’ve learned through all of this is that I have to keep a positive attitude. Sure, it’s hard on some days, but my positivity and a great doctor and support system behind me is what keeps me going.

Eating for PCOS

So this is two-fold. It’s not only about the eating, but it’s about the exercising.

I want to stay healthy for our potential baby. I want to be able to exercise throughout pregnancy. I want to show our child that living a healthy life is so important.

Some of you may have seen that I recently became a Beachbody coach I did this in part because I want to continue this healthy lifestyle for our {I’m hoping soon} baby. But I also did it because I want to show other women who are trying to get pregnant that their health leading up to {and during} pregnancy is so important.

If you don’t exercise and eat well {cardio/weight training + leafy greens, lean proteins + less simple carbs and sugars} then you’re already showing your body that it’s not ready to carry another human.

With Beachbody there’s an all-in-one package that helps with all of this: nutrition, exercise and mental health. Because let’s be honest, stressing about trying to get pregnant is helping no one.

I use my workouts as a time for release from all of the thoughts running through my head. I use my time in the kitchen creating healthy meals as a time for reflection about what I’m putting into my body to prepare it for a healthy and happy baby.

Join me

For those of you who have read this who are trying to get ready for baby and living a healthier and happier life is something you’re striving for, then I invite you.

I invite you to join me on this journey of either starting or continuing exercise and healthy nutrition to prep for the best that is yet to come!

I won’t let PCOS slow me down or take over my life. With an excellent plan in place with my doctor and continued exercise, eating right and positivity, I know we’ll eventually make one beautiful baby.

Thanks for reading along with this insanely long story, but I do hope it resonated with at least one person and that sharing has helped them realize that they’re not alone.