Living Simply with PCOS

As I sit and write this article, life is anything but simple. You see, we’re packing up our home and our lives for a six month adventure in beautiful (sunny) South Africa.

There are a lot of logistics to consider – insurances, travel plans, tenants and rental agreements, packing up so much stuff. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and my desire for simplicity grows by the day.

It’s also really forced me to consider what is most essential when it comes to my PCOS. You see, it is so easy to get caught up in all of the things that we “need” to take, eat or do for our PCOS. It can leave us feeling overwhelmed.

So, let’s take a step back, especially as we’re entering the festive season, and have a look at the most essential elements of our PCOS management.

Food

Now, we’ve said time and time again that the way that we eat is the most effective way of managing our PCOS and our symptoms. In fact, researchers have found that eating well for our PCOS is more effective than clomid and Metformin in stimulating ovulation and generally managing our symptoms.

Now, this entire site is dedicated to managing our PCOS using food (mostly) and you will find articles on the main principles of eating well for your PCOS – dairy free, gluten free and low GL.

Also, if you want some more ideas of recipes that meet the PCOS Diet guidelines, why not check out PCOS Foodies? It’s an entire meal planning app specifically designed for women with PCOS.

So, how can we go about simplifying our food, following the basic guidelines?

Remember, we’re looking for dairy free, gluten free and low glycemic load foods. The first thing that springs to mind is whole unprocessed foods. You can eat these kinds of foods anytime, anywhere.

Going to a restaurant? A steak and some vegetables is a great option.

Picnic? Deli meats, salad, fruit, olives – you’re sorted.

Dinner at home? Chicken breasts and vegetables.

Lunch? Soups and salads.

It is AMAZING how much food you can happily enjoy that follow these guidelines.

Really, it is AMAZING how much food you can happily enjoy that follow these guidelines.

Now, I have a confession to make. My children (5 and 2) crave sugar. I have not been all that successful in staying away from processed foods with them. So, I’m seeing our trip to South Africa as a wonderful opportunity to reset their diets and way of eating.

I’m seriously considering a new rule – if it has more than 3 ingredients or comes in some kind of commercial packaging – it’s out.

I know that sounds extreme but if you had this wonderful opportunity to re-establish traditions and habits for your family, what changes would you make?

Supplements

We have spoken a lot about the best supplements for women with PCOS. And I often get asked which supplements are the most helpful for women with PCOS. You’ll find that there are so many options out there for women with PCOS.

But, I don’t want to be taking a million different tablets and supplements a day and I want to know that what I am taking will be effective for me. I also just don’t want to travel half way across the world with a bag full of supplements.

So, I have 3 essential PCOS supplements that I just won’t go without.

• Vitamin D – 85% of women with PCOS are deficient in Vitamin D. You can read more about it here.
• Omega 3 – It helps to lower testosterone levels in women with PCOS.
• Ovasitol – My number 1 PCOS supplement. If you can’t get Ovasitol, Inositol is you next-best bet.

Yes, there are other things that I could add to my regime but this combination has been amazingly effective for me and so many others.

Exercise

Now, this is also something that we tend to over think. We want to know what exercise we should be doing, how much and how often. And these are all legitimate questions with some very good answers that you can find here and here and here.

But remember, at the moment we’re talking about simplifying with PCOS.

So, what exercise should we be doing? Anything. Just make sure that you are doing something.

I find that sometimes the day runs away with me and I’ve hardly moved. That is why I love my Fitbit so much. It helps to remind me and motivate me to get moving and make sure that I get as close to my 10000 steps a day as possible.

Yes, I could be doing HIIT workouts and that would be even better.  But as long as I’m moving and being active everyday, I’m happy with that.

So, my Fitbit will definitely be making it half way across the world!

The Rest of our Lives

At the moment, I’m very mindful of the number of distractions, adverts and pressures, to spend more – more time, more money, more stuff. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just around the corner and Christmas not too far off, I just want to encourage you to be mindful.

Mindful of the things that you dedicate your time, money and energy to. For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, may you have a wonderful day spent with family and friends, focusing on the things in your life that are most important for you.

And in closing, I’d love to hear from you. If you had an opportunity to “reset” and start fresh, what changes would you make – for you and for your family?

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