One Meal At A Time

Today, I challenged myself to take it one meal at a time. So far, it has helped me address my rice issues. I just hope that this will be for the long-term. Although there are a couple of flaws with my diet today, I am still hopeful that I can fully adjust to my new eating habits.

My Game Plan In Addressing Fatigue Due To PCOS

For the last couple of days, I have been literally dragging myself out of bed. When I first had this more than a week ago, I thought that it would just pass. But since it has persisted, it has come to the point when my day would just go by unproductively. I have so much to do but my energy level is at its all time low.

With two storms forecasted to enter the country in a couple of hours or days, I can’t go and see my doctor yet. I am also unsure whether the roads leading to her clinic are passable. Since I won’t be able to see her until next week, I will do my share as to how I can address this issue. So starting tomorrow, I am going to:

1.    Start exercising again. Since I could not rely on the weather here for sunny days, I need to start using my exercise videos once again. I know that exercise will definitely increase my energy level, and I seriously need to have an exercise routine at home because I can’t walk or jog when the weather is so uncooperative.

2.    Eat healthier. I know that this has been the biggest issue that I haven’t been able to tackle, but I will keep on conditioning my mind so that I can eventually have healthier eating habits. Lately I have gotten back to drinking caffeine just to wake me up but it hasn’t done me any good. I guess a quick caffeine fix is not the answer to my fatigue issues. I will also stay away from sugary stuff so that my body won’t crash. The very least that I need right now is for my glucose levels to fluctuate. It will just make matters so much worse.

3.    Set aside more time for myself. I have always been busy taking care of each member of my family and in the process, I have forgotten myself. I have vowed to give myself more ME time so that I can slowly address my issues. I really need to give myself needed attention because this has gotten way out of hand.

4.    Manage stress. I must admit that I have been so stressed lately. After typhoon Ondoy left, we are again faced with the possibility of being hit by another storm. Since I have already addressed disaster preparedness issues at home, I will try to keep these anxiety-provoking thoughts to a minimum.

5.    Religiously keep my doctor appointments. I haven’t visited her since I got busy with my exam. I will never be better if I don’t see her regularly. I just hope that the wait won’t be as long as my previous visit. Sigh!

I have thought all along that my symptoms couldn’t get any worse, but now it seems that it has. I’ve always had enough energy for my daily activities, but lately all I wanted to do was stay in bed. So, here’s hoping to a better tomorrow!

Small Steps

Today and in the coming days, I am concentrating on taking small steps with my weight loss approach. I’ve realized that I have gotten nowhere with my previous attempts because I was so ambitious and I easily lost motivation. One meal at a time…..

Can Chromium Picolinate Help Treat PCOS?

Since PCOS is a disorder that is not well understood, many women have taken it upon themselves to explore other treatment approaches in the hope of improving their symptoms. Over the years there have been researches done with regards to vitamin and even mineral supplementation as a way to at least improve the condition of PCOS women. Although these studies may have some limitations, the results are very promising.

Aside from Vitamin D, chromium picolinate has also been found to benefit insulin resistance in women with PCOS.  In women with insulin resistance, the body needs more than the normal amount of insulin in order to get a desired response. It is believed that the mineral encourages the formation of GTF or the glucose tolerance factor, which is a substance essential in making the body utilize insulin more efficiently.

With this possible treatment approach, it’s important to understand what chromium really is. The main action of chromium is that it can potentiate the action of insulin. As a supplement, it is available as chromium picolinate because the latter helps the body absorb chromium efficiently. And aside from enhancing insulin, there have been claims that it can promote weight loss, reduce body fat, lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels among others.

While these may sound like an easy treatment to the many symptoms of PCOS, there are certain precautions that should strictly be observed. Just like any other treatment approach, you should first consult your doctor before taking the supplement. It is never safe to begin any supplementation without knowing the risks involved. And it is equally important to know of any possible drug to drug interaction and adverse effects especially when you have maintenance medications.

I have to go back to my doctor soon, and I am definitely going to bring this up. Hopefully when the weather is better, I can see her again. If you have taken this mineral for PCOS and you noticed results, please let me know.

The Need To Reboot My Brain

I had too much rice today. This is a big step with regards to my weight loss plan and I really need to stop having it. I have to recondition my mind so that I can control portion sizes and so that I can start eating really healthy. I am so lazy with planning my meals and my brain is not in sync with my dieting goals. Sigh! I badly need to reboot my brain.

The Wrath Of Tropical Storm Ondoy

The Metro has just experienced one of the most destructive typhoons ever recorded in Philippine history. The wrath of typhoon Ondoy was such that it left many people dead, and people numbering to hundreds of thousands homeless. Being a country sitting astride the typhoon belt, we have gotten used to having typhoons every now and then. But with tropical storm Ondoy, we were clearly caught off guard.

When typhoon Milenyo hit Manila, most of the people were inside their homes. The streets were literally empty because people were forewarned of strong winds and heavy rains. With typhoon Ondoy, people weren’t really as alarmed because it was forecasted only as signal number one. This category is obviously a far cry from the typhoons that we’ve had before. But as it turned out, we were very wrong. Typhoon Ondoy came with a fury unmatched by any other storm the Philippines has ever witnessed in more than four decades.

Seeing the footage of the flood on television, I feel so grateful that we are safe. With devastated areas close to my home, I can easily imagine that it can happen to anyone – including me or my loved ones. I realized that although we keep our families safe, our efforts will never be enough to protect even ourselves when faced against circumstances that are beyond our control.

A cousin likened the water current on the streets to that of the sea during bad weather – strong and unforgiving. And after only hours of downpour, we saw what was like a scene only seen in movies. Cars floated everywhere, and people clung to poles or to improvised flotation devices in the hope of saving themselves from being drifted away.

What’s totally heartbreaking is the fact that you see people in dire need of help, and you can’t do anything. Pleas for help came from people from all walks of life because the floods ravaged not only humble homes, but also homes in very exclusive villages. And with our small disaster preparedness efforts, responsible agencies didn’t even have enough rubber boats to respond to the call of even one village. Hence, so many families are still on their roofs at this very moment, without food, water, adequate clothing and shelter.

But despite this adversity, I am seeing the bayanihan spirit alive once again. In a program spearheaded by a network company, donations keep coming in from the unaffected members of society, and even from big companies, who voluntarily gave their products and even services, for relief operations. I am hoping that in the coming days, more and more of us will reach out to families who need our help during these difficult times. At least when we work together as one nation, all is not lost.

I Can’t Seem To Stay Away From Rice

My meals today clearly show that I can’t manage to stay away from RICE! I am so not in condition to stick to my diet right now. I noticed that when I have so much in mind, I can’t seem to focus on my resolve to lose weight. Sigh! I will try to make tomorrow a better day.

Sick Of Sweets

I absolutely have no idea as to what my body is going through right now. I never felt sick with eating anything sweet, but today was such a weird day. After I ate something sweet, I felt like puking! Do you have similar issues? I would love to hear about it.

What To Do With This Unexplained Tiredness

I have been feeling really tired lately. I can’t understand where it’s coming from considering that I have been sleeping well for the past couple of days. I have been taking Metformin for a year and a half already, and except for the need to go the bathroom more often, I really have no other major issues with it. But for the past couple of days, this fatigue has really slowed me down. I feel like I have the FLU without the fever.

I have read that Metformin can cause fatigue. But I really did not expect that it is going to be this disturbing. I must admit that there are days when I feel so lazy but that is just a far cry from the tiredness that I have been feeling for the past couple of days. When I wake up in the morning, I feel so tired it’s as if I haven’t slept the entire night. And what’s worse is that I have unexplained body aches and pains.

I am worried at what might be wrong because I never had this before. I already had my thyroid checked, and the blood tests came out normal. I am suspecting that Metformin must be the culprit. For so long, I only had GI problems with Metformin, but now I am feeling another possible side effect. And although it’s a relief to know that there are also other women with PCOS who experienced this kind of fatigue, I wonder why this just happened.

I guess this is more than an indication that I need to see my doctor again. After being sick for a while, I postponed my visit so that I can be in better shape when I see her. But now that this disorder has given me another blow, I seriously need another consultation. I have read that blood tests may be required for a long-term treatment with Metformin. I haven’t had any, and I wasn’t even aware of the need to do so. I guess this is another wake up call that will serve to remind me that I should be more proactive with my treatment.

For now, I will just rely on a pain reliever to at least alleviate the aches and pains. I try to avoid pain relievers but this discomfort is just too much.I have tried walking to get some fresh air and it helped a bit. I feel so wasted today, but I am hoping that tomorrow is going to be a better day so that I can get plenty of things done!

Too Much Social Eating

Today, I had too much social eating. When I am out, I don’t really exert a lot of effort at eating healthy. I also end up ordering what my companions order. And since I don’t have the luxury to eat anything I fancy, I really need to learn how to order healthy! My resolve went down the drain the moment I looked at the menu of that restaurant. Sigh!