What it's like to be the world's most efficient eater..../ Week 28

When I went to the reproductive endocrinologist in April of this year about my PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome - there is a link to the left where you can see info about it), he talked about how women with PCOS are the world's most efficient eaters. I will admit that I didn't really understand what he was talking about and forgot about it. Steve and I were talking about it yesterday morning and I asked him to explain what it meant. Apparently, given the way my body processes food, it absorbs or stores most of it and creates little waste. This makes it efficient. So, where someone with a normally functioning system could eat something and his/her body would just burn off the calories, my body's natural tendency is to hold onto the calories in the event I may need them in the future (i.e. FAT).

Now if you consider this from an evolutionary standpoint, it basically means my body functioning is superior. Why you say? Because you and I can eat the same things but I will retain the calories and create little waste. So, after your body has already burned the calories and expelled the waste, mine has hung on to them. Who do you think is going to starve to death faster? Won't be me!

Okay, so if you consider this from a 'trying to lose weight' standpoint, you can begin to understand my problem. I have to be cognizant that anything I put in my mouth that my body does not actually need to function on a daily basis will not be expelled, but will be turned into fat in the event that I will turn into a cave woman and be starving or something. So, I have to find the perfect balance between what my body needs nutrient-wise and what it doesn't need so it will start burning calories. I haven't been doing a very good job of considering this. I have a theory that my body craves sugar and carbs so it can convert them into stored energy (i.e. my butt and thighs). I don't know if this is actually true or not, but it makes sense to me.

So take that into account and then add in insulin resistance that occurs with/causes PCOS and then you really have a problem. "Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body produces insulin but does not use it properly. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps the body use glucose for energy. When people are insulin resistant, their muscle, fat, and liver cells do not respond properly to insulin. As a result, their bodies need more insulin to help glucose enter cells. The pancreas tries to keep up with this increased demand for insulin by producing more. Eventually, the pancreas fails to keep up with the body’s need for insulin. Excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream, setting the stage for diabetes. Many people with insulin resistance have high levels of both glucose and insulin circulating in their blood at the same time." (http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/insulinresistance/)

Not only do I store what my body doesn't need to live and function but my body sucks at using the glucose for energy. These functions are obviously interrelated and it's a real 'chicken and egg' problem in understanding what happens first and then second. After a certain point it doesn't really matter because the problem remains that my body desires to gain weight and hold onto calories and I desire to not be overweight and to burn the extra fat my body doesn't need.

I am trying to reorient my way of thinking to include these ideas when I am planning meals and exercising. Weight watchers helps me stay within a certain caloric range based on the amount of points that are available for a given day. The responsibility falls on me to stay within this range and also get exercise so my body is encouraged to burn the excess that I don't need. I did really well with that at first, but have fallen off the wagon a bit recently. I have noticed positive results from the weight that I have lost so far. My overall blood sugar has decreased which has resulted in lowering my chances for developing Type II diabetes (yay!). I still have some further work to do in that area, but it's good to see the results. I also feel a lot better and have an easier time walking up and down stairs and walking for longer periods of time.

I have also been able to stop taking all of my PCOS meds (admittedly without doctor supervision). I was able to use birth control without gaining weight (not sure what helped this but it was nice.) So, if any of you take Metformin, you can relate to how nice it was to be able to stop taking it. Additionally, I think the spironolactone I was taking to reduce androgen levels caused some fatigue and tiredness. That has gotten better as well. And certainly not the least, I look better! People are really starting to notice how much weight I have lost and are responding kindly with encouragement and praise. It's very reinforcing for me to hear that.

My next goal is to lose another ten pounds. From where I am this week (2lb gain), I will have ten pounds to lose to meet that goal. I honestly think I can do it before the end of the year, which is about eight weeks away. That would be the perfect way to start my New Year. But that also means that I have to be very careful around the holidays. This could potentially be the hardest stretch of the entire year for weight loss. I want to conquer it and show people that weight gain around the holidays is not mandatory and they can control themselves. Mostly, I need to be able to show myself that I can be in control of what I put in my mouth on a daily basis and how much I exercise. Even though it doesn't feel like it, I do have the time to walk for a half hour each day.

So this is Week 28. I have been working on this for 28 weeks, have lost around 40lbs so far and I have about 80 more pounds to lose in order to a healthy weight. I have given myself til my 30th birthday (July 2012) to meet this goal which I think is reasonable. Now I just need to get my head in the game!

Stats this week are:

Weight gain: +2.0lbs
Total weight lost: -39.8lbs