Podcasts
Hands up if you love podcasts!! Obsessed. There is such a huge variety of podcasts – the possibilities are endless, and they are generally short enough to fill your commute or shopping time with something enlightening, scary, or entertaining. I found one that I cannot stop listening to……..My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark. I did not start listening to episode 1 because….you know…..I am random. Lick the Clock – this is the episode that grabbed my attention so this is where I started. As I was driving and listening to this podcast, I realized that my mouth had been open for who knows how long….my mouth was just hanging open. I was hooked so I went back to episode 1 and started binging every episode from the beginning.
Crime junkies…….this podcast is for us. This is 2 friends sitting around talking about murders and events that have occurred. They are just bringing us into their funny, friendly conversation about things that interest them. They talk about other podcasts but they are always positive, which is refreshing. There is no need to talk down about anyone or anything. Plus, it gives you some other podcasts to add to your library! Win Win for all of us! The concept is simple – 2 friends telling each other murder stories in the same way that we used to tell ghost stories at slumber parties. They laugh, they joke, and they tell you stories about murders that have happened. Some of the stories you might know, some you might not. It is listed in the comedy category. Go check it out!
PCOS
Still struggling with PCOS. Every day. There are so many problems that come with an invisible disorder that causes the highly visible problem of obesity. PCOS is the acronym for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. This disorder affects many women and has no cure. We can only manage, or try to manage, the symptoms. There is no specific test that will definitively determine this diagnosis. Instead, it is a collection of problems such as irregular or heavy menstrual periods, excess body and facial hair, acne, and difficulty getting pregnant. Some of the things that come along with PCOS are obesity, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, heart disease, mood disorders, and endometrial cancer.
The problem I am having with PCOS is the (almost) inability to lose weight. It is possible, but MANNNNNNN, it is so hard. Despite how hard I work out or how much I alter my diet, losing weight is maddeningly hard. Honestly, I don’t eat wonderful but I don’t eat like it looks like I eat. My struggle with PCOS is something that most people don’t realize – all they see is an overweight woman. My face is the first place to show the wildly changing weights. Trust me, I’ve got a lot more places that need to lose weight more than my face!!! I will continue to fight, every day. My only option is to try to manage the junk my body hands to me!
If any of this sounds familiar, welcome to the endless PCOS fight. You might want to discuss this option with your doctor. If you are dealing with PCOS and have any tips that can help the rest of us, please feel free to share any comments!! <<fyi – your comments will not immediately show up because they must be approved before they will post but I will definitely be approving all comments that we can use to help us improve our lives>>
Everyone is struggling with something. Please be kind!
I don’t think I have PCOS but I have struggled with crazy fluctuating hormones, especially after turning 40. The past year, I get full blown, puking migraines 3 days before I start. MISERY. The doc said it is probably because of too much estrogen in the first phase and then a big drop in progesterone in the 2nd. The first thing I tried that worked is a Whole 30. For 30 days you cut out dairy, sugar, alcohol, flour, legumes, amd grains. So you eat meat, vegetables, fruit and your fats are ghee, olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil. I had ZERO pms symptoms and the lightest period of my life. The idea behind a Whole 30 is to add back in one food group at a time for a 2 week period so you can see how your body responds. I could never get that part right and plowed through them all on day 31. The 2nd thing I tried that work is gonna sound overly simplistic and weird but I read it somewhere and gave it a try. Eat a raw carrot every day. That’s it. Supposedly there is some kind of fiber in carrots that binds to excess estrogen. This isn’t as magical as a Whole 30 BUT it is way less restrictive and it keeps me from getting a migraine every month. I usually get organic carrots because they taste better and if you store them in a dish with water, they will last and not get all bendy. That’s all I got!
This is fantastic!! The Whole 30 would be hard for me simply because I would, also, eat every single food item after 30 days!! It’s not impossible but you are right, very restrictive. The carrot a day – TOTALLY DOABLE!! I am going to start with the carrot and build up from there!! Thank you so much for the info!! I’m so sorry that your migraines are so bad but I’m glad you found a way to prevent them!! You rock!! Thank you!! xoxo