The Steps I've Taken

When I decided that I was ready to make a real change in my life, I didn't make the changes slowly or little by little. Something in me knew that if I wanted this time to be different, I couldn't give myself room to talk myself out of it. In the past, I would think about how I needed to implement change in my life, but thirty minutes later I would be eating something unhealthy and telling myself that I would work on it tomorrow. So I texted my sister Kirsten, who is also my roommate, and I told her that I was ready to make a change and was purging our kitchen and hoped that was okay with her. Thank goodness she was on board because by the time she texted me back, half of our pantry had already been boxed up and ready for donation or thrown away if it had already been opened. So, with a newly cleaned out pantry (basically empty), I started doing my research.

The first thing I did was type "Healthy Grocery List" in the search bar and I made my own list based off of what popped up on google. At this point, I was a bit aimless but knew that I wanted a grocery list that didn't have the processed foods it normally did, and instead fill my kitchen up with fresh, natural produce and foods. I went to the store that night and bought some basic foods that consisted of fresh produce, chicken breast, frozen salmon fillets, and quinoa. The next morning, I called my oldest sister, Shelbi, who graduated with a degree in Nutrition, Fitness, and Health and told her about my plan. She automatically started researching information about healthy eating, specifically for PCOS. She was the person that helped me sort my mind out, get a plan together, and find the two types of meal plans that I wanted to follow. We found that an anti-inflammatory and a low-glycemic lifestyle were my two best meal plans to follow when it came to having PCOS. I researched these two eating plans and made a huge grocery list based on what I found.

After getting my pantry restocked, I started finding recipes that were good for me but still tasty and I found a new found love for being in the kitchen. I've always loved cooking, but being able to experiment with new ingredients and foods was intriguing. During the next few weeks, I built a whole new pantry, replaced all of the staple ingredients with healthy or organic options, and slowly but surely got rid of all processed, fake, chemical ridden foods. This included all of our condiments and sauces, baking ingredients, oils, snack foods, etc. I did recipe research, bought cookbooks, and invested in new kitchen tools that made cooking easier and more accessible. I'm sure by now you're thinking "this sounds expensive", and I'll be 100% transparent here: it was. But, I've done calculations and I am saving so much money now. I never eat out, which we used to do about 2-3 times a week, I no longer buy overpriced snack foods and instead eat fruits or veggies as snacks, and in the past our pantry was so full of random items that we would plan a recipe and have to go to the store that day for all of the ingredients we needed. We visited the grocery store at least 3 times a week. Right now our pantry is fully stocked with ingredients to make a multitude of recipes and we only go to the store about once every two weeks for a full grocery order. In the long run, I'm not only saving money but more importantly I am benefitting from this health wise.

Not only did I have to make changes in the kitchen, I had to make changes to my life outside of eating. I called my mom and told her that I was making a change and that I was going to need her support and understanding that I was not only about to become a picky eater but also the person that brought a bag of their own ingredients to their family dinners. She 100% understood and told me she was ready to support me however she could. Now, my parents are eating the same way that I am, organic and clean.

Another change I implemented from the start was getting physical activity in. I starting wearing my watch that logs my steps, burned calories, and hours I've stood, and used it to also track my workouts. I work out almost everyday for at least 30 minutes. I also had to do my research about what workouts are best for PCOS, and those consist of cardio and strength workouts. Both are workouts that are beneficial to our hormone balance. I also started logging my weight weekly. Every Saturday, I weigh myself and write down the number in a notebook. I started taking progress pictures, as well. I've found that these two things are a great motivator to look at when I see the progress I've made.

The last, and in my opinion, one of the more important things I did was make doctors appointments. Being diagnosed at such a young age, I regularly went to Riley's for check ups and I also regularly got blood work done to track my estrogen levels, testosterone levels, glucose, and A1C as diabetes was a major concern. When it came time for me to start adulting and make my own appointments, I severely slacked in this department. My mindset back then was ignorance is bliss but it was really a silent killer. So, I made appointments with a new family medicine doctor and with my OBGYN. I got blood work done that was ordered by my family doctor and my levels were sky high. These results kicked my butt into gear and it was a huge motivator to get my health on track.

Making these changes in my life to best cater to this lifestyle didn't happen overnight. I definitely dove in head first, but everyday I am making adjustments and still researching different areas to best fit what I am doing. This has been something that I have been working towards for almost 10 years. I've always known, in the back of my head, that I needed to make changes. At a younger age, the want for change was definitely driven by vanity and body image, but as I got older I wanted this change because of my health. It's obviously a bonus that I feel like I look better, but it is so much deeper than that. I know that I threw a lot of information at you in this post, but the chaos and overwhelming feeling of trying to learn so much information at once is kind of what I went through in real time. But, it is so worth it.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about my story, it is greatly appreciated. Over the next few weeks, I plan on diving into some of the topics I mentioned today in much more detail. If you have any questions or requests for topics to be covered, don't hesitate to reach out! Stay tuned for a new post next week!