Replay of Facebook/Instagram live weekly PCOS Month series.
Part 5 (finale): PCOS & Changes That Stick – Oct 1 2021
Transcript:
Welcome to the series finale of the PCOS Awareness Month live series! This is part 5, and we’re talking about making the changes that stick.
So first, to recap: symptoms can include irregular periods, anovulation, skin conditions, hair loss, hair growth, difficulty shifting body composition, cravings, fatigue, anxiety… These are common but not universal across PCOS experiences, and that’s part of the reason it can take years to actually get a diagnosis. There are different types, to make things more complicated!
In the second week we talked about the effects of inflammation on hormones in relation to PCOS, and some of the ways to start nutritionally supporting inflammation reduction.
Then in week 3, we talked about the importance of addressing digestion and ways to support that.
And in week 4, we laid out some of the PCOS power foods, supplements, and fitness that may further support a PCOS-friendly lifestyle.
So now what? You have all this information now and I know that can be overwhelming. It can be really hard to know where to start. And then once you start, know how to keep it going so it does what it’s supposed to.
Especially if you find that making these adjustments is going to overhaul your entire way to be! It’s a lot! So we start small. But what does that even mean?
Pick one goal. I know that you probably have a ton of goals when it comes to your health and other things as well and it would be amazing if we could work on all of them at once. But we don’t live in a vacuum and circumstances aren’t always ideal for that. So at least when it comes to your health for our purposes, pick one goal. Let’s say it’s to manage your cravings so that you don’t end up eating all the things at night. And by all the things, I mean those comfort foods, sweets, salties, maybe things that we know make us feel bad like stuff that leaves us overfull or uncomfortable or nauseous, stuff we’re low-key intolerant to, stuff that if we have a protocol to follow we know we need to be mindful of.
So okay, we’re working on cravings. We’ve identified that eating all the things at night is the biggest problem time when it comes to cravings, which is another important step.
We also need to identify why we’re dealing with these cravings – and if we have PCOS, PMS, insulin resistance… those are contributors. We can work through it mechanically by thinking about what we’re eating earlier in the day, and this is where I often say start with breakfast – front-load the day with more of those nutrient-dense, macronutrient-balanced meals.
We can also work on it from a brain perspective as well – figure some of the other drivers, because habits are also formed so we don’t have to think about doing the things, we just do them. And it’s really easy to get into a habit of skipping breakfast and then eating all the things at night; and at the same time it’s easy to decide to eat a better breakfast and avoid eating all the things at night; but it can actually be hard to follow through because now your brain has to do work to make sure it happens instead of falling back on the habit.
And that’s why I say pick one goal. And similarly, when you get all the steps to support that goal, like working on inflammation and digestion and eating the hormone-friendly things and being mindful of exercise… break it down to one thing to try in a way that works for you, like taking one new breakfast recipe that features anti-inflammatory ingredients, and making it what you eat for breakfast that week. Making sure you chew thoroughly to kickstart digestion. Adding a cup of spearmint tea somewhere in your day.
I know there’s a lot of all-or-nothing thinking out there, and it’s really tempting to make all the changes all at once because maybe you’ll get all the results faster! But for most people… to be blunt, it doesn’t work like that.
So now what? If you want to use what I’ve said throughout this series to get started on your own, go for it – take a look back at the videos and transcripts from this series on LPFLblog – but I suggest pick one thing at a time, even if it’s one thing total or one thing from each video to start making the changes that stick.
And of course you can do it alone, but remember that having someone along the way as another set of eyes, to guide you in what to do each step of the way, I’m here! You can request a free Discovery Session with me, and we can talk about what that could look like for you.
Thanks so much for joining me for this series!
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