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Eating For Your Hormones [Fixing PCOS]

Several weeks ago I posted about a new eating plan. Here were the key points:

  1. Ditch the scale
  2. Give away clothes that don’t look good or don’t fit
  3. Eat consistently, real meals, every day. Make time for true sit-down meals.
  4. Eat whatever you want to eat. Nothing is off limits. 🙂
  5. Mantra: “I will have good days and bad days but my value is not determined by my weight and I intend to nourish myself at the start of each day.”

So – i have to say – it has been so good! I’ve had lingering hormone issues (PCOS) from some nutritional deficiencies in the past (several years ago) and this plan has really helped my health improve.

Here are some resources that I found helpful. They are articles about thin PCOS-ers (women who have PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome but are not overweight), about restrictive eating habits, and recovery from disordered eating / eating disorders.

*I had trouble getting in this much food each day at first but I got used to it and my body has adjusted. I did not gain weight (actually lost 1-2 pounds).

**This article raises a few good points such as – 1) thin PCOS-ers should not fast and 2) they should eat higher carb. To be honest I don’t know how much I buy into the rest of her recommendations (such as cutting out entire food groups) but I do think that it’s important to be eating regularly and enough carbohydrates so your body knows it can rely on you to give it fuel.

One more note is that eating this way seems to have helped my stomach calm down. My IBS is having a period of remission and I couldn’t be happier.

What are your thoughts? Do you have PCOS or IBS and how have you dealt with either?

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Weekend Link Love – 1.22.2012

I only have a few links this week. Hope you enjoy.

Random Links of Love

Gena @ Choosing Raw linked to a really insightful article on HuffPo about the half lives of eating disorders. Gena does a much better job dissecting the article than I could, so I encourage you to check out her thoughts on the matter. As a recovered ED-person, I found myself nodding along with both posts, and I think anyone with an interest in mental health would find them intriguing. Liu delves into the genetic aspects of ED susceptibility and personality traits associated with the disease.

I’m sure most of you have seen the various “Sh*t XYZs Say” videos floating around lately, but just in case you haven’t, here are some of my favorites:

Hehehehehe.

Some Yums I Want To Make

Biz’s Buffalo Chicken Chowder looks so good, and so simple. Cannot wait to make this.

Banana Bread Snack Cake from How Sweet It Is.

Butternut Risotto (low calorie!) from Foodie Fiasco.

How was your weekend?

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Lynn: Marriage & Food Triggers

We are now *in Maui* (arrived yesterday afternoon) and on the first full day of our honeymoon. I have no idea what we’ve planned (I am writing this a week ago) but I am so excited for what it might be. Now I want to welcome Lynn – thanks for guest posting for me today!

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Hello “Say Yes to Salad” readers!

This is Lynn from “The Actor’s Diet” – a food blog about my life as an actress in Hollywood, and the foods I eat to stay looking camera-ready. But my blog is also about my recovery from my longtime battle with eating disorders. Although it’s been over two years since my last binge bout, I am always cautious about a potential relapse. Since Maggie asked for a guest post pertaining to the subject of marriage, I thought I would share with you how I handle when my husband goes away – one of my old triggers.

I used to freak out whenever he left town since I felt emotional about his absence, and would use being alone as an excuse to binge away/not eat for days without his watchful eye. Throughout the years, I’ve learned some coping skills to deal with those feelings/behaviors, and now when he goes away I have almost zero anxiety.

Here’s what I do:

  1. Schedule a massage/facial/mani/pedi. I think self care is uber important, and having something indulgent to look forward to can make the time apart seem like a vacation for yourself. You can get great deals on groupon, or search to see if there’s a massage school near you for discount rates. New to massage? Check out my tips.
  2. Don’t stray from your usual routines – continue to exercise if you do that daily and make sure to eat a healthy, filling breakfast. Some of my favorites are on my blog’s recipe page.
  3. Make sure to indulge/treat yourself too. I’m not a believer in the “no food reward” mentality that most diets have. I think food can be an incredible source of comfort, and a big part of my recovery has been accepting and allowing it to be just that. Bake your favorite healthy treat (I love these black bean brownies) or if you don’t feel comfortable having certain foods in the house, go out and eat your favorite meal/dessert, savoring each bite.

  4. Watch TV shows/movies that your partner would never watch. My husband can’t stand big-budget romantic comedies and shows from the 80’s. That’s exactly what I fill up my DVR box/Netflix queue with!
  5. Plan a fun night out – or in. Get your girls together for a nice dinner in/out, catch up with your old high school friend over a drink and talk about stuff your partner would feel left out about. Or just stay home and pamper yourself with great takeout and a bunch of your favorite magazines.
  6. Video chat with your partner! We’re so lucky to live in a world where we can Skype/IM Video for free. Just like the Jetsons!

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Hope you all enjoyed these tips! I will definitely keep them in my arsenal of tricks. Fortunately right now I am with the love of my life for 2 solid weeks and we do not have to worry about anything – no phones, no computers, no responsibilities (ok, we have the phones and computers – but we are not using them much!). It’s amazing how freeing it is to completely get away from your life for a little bit.

Do you have any more tips to add?