Slow Carb Diet

As I continue on this exciting journey towards a better me, I posted previously about my plans for work and school. Well those are only part of the changes I am experiencing. I also am focusing more on my health and time management (more on time management in my next blog post).

As some of you know, I have been wanting to lose the pounds I have 'found' while working at a sedentary job for the last year. No problem, in January I simply re-adopted the proven ways I have used to lose my baby weight and maintain my weight since 2006. Problem, no weight loss. Now if you know me, I'm a bit stubborn (sshh Tracy and Terri!). So instead of giving up, I changed things. I pulled carbs from my diet. Nothing. I added aerobic exercise, to the tune of one hour a day. No change. This is now two months without one ounce of weight loss. Congratulations on my body's ability to optimize caloric content!

Not to be bested by my efficiencies, I added weight training to increase muscle size and optimize my body's calorie usage. Again nothing... except for the expected weight gain of muscle building (not a bad thing). OK, yes I am not 20 anymore, but I am not even perimenopausal, I won't blame this on age or hormones... or can I? Hmm.

I was due for a complete physical so I quickly booked one with my physician. We went over the usual workup and I discussed possible reasons with her. Having been in alternative healthcare for thirteen years, I do know a bit about testing, so I asked for not only a complete workup but a full hormone panel. She questioned this, but I explained that I suspected a hormonal imbalance outside of menopause if this wasn't a thyroid issue. She shrugged and filled out my REQ (medicalese for medical requisition form, this one being for phlebotomy/urology).

Off to my sister to get poked (she is a phlebotomist) and my doctor's office called the same day to book a follow up appointment... ah, they found something! Now my doctor knows me well and she had the results printed for me when I arrived (she knows I always want a copy of everything). She said the culprit was PCOS (Polysystic Ovary Syndrome) and I chuckled. She looked up from her computer with a questioning glance. I told her that I had extensive knowledge of PCOS due to my work as a doula. I have worked with several mothers in helping them successfully conceive with this diagnosis.

PCOS is a hormonal imbalance with excess androgen and reduced progesterone. I have no symptoms as are commonly seen with this, even my fasting glucose results were stellar (a risk of PCOS is subsequent insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes). However, this is exactly what I was looking for as I felt strongly that my weight had a hormone connection. After requesting a pelvic ultrasound REQ to check for ovarian cysts and endometriosis, I was off to the holistic drugstore. Vitex (Chasteberry), homeopathic Pulsatilla, and Omega 3,6,9 were my first plan of attack. These had worked well for my clients, especially in combination. Not a quick fix, it often takes 3-6 months to see the positive effects. However, combined with nutritional support, I plan to see changes sooner. I will give it three months before I add prostaglandin cream for day 14-28 of my cycle.

 

Then, something interesting happened. I pulled my rhomboid major when I challenged my weight training routine with full pushups to failure. It was completely my fault as I was not using proper technique. No, it didn't just hurt, I couldn't breathe without pain. Ouch! As I was recovering, Brian downloaded a new book to my Kobo he found called The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss. Without the ability to move (yes, my back hurt that bad), I read the book in three days. Or to be more specific, I re-read 2/3 of it several times and skipped the guy parts (not applicable, obviously). His logic on many things parallel my experience and his Slow-Carb Diet is brilliant.

My experience has been that cutting carbs from my diet worked every time. However, Brian suspected that in doing so, I was putting my body into starvation mode. With that logic, I had previously upped my caloric intake significantly with protein but to no avail. The premise of the Slow-Carb Diet is to not cut carbs, but to substitute the fast carbs (anything white, including brown rice) with beans. The other aspect, no sugar, including fructose (that means, are you ready for it... no fruit). He also maintains that a weight loss of 20 lbs per month without excercise is to be expected.

Now, consider this: I needed to lose weight and treat my PCOS nutritionally (which means a diabetic type diet), all while recovering from my shoulder injury. I put that request out to the universe (I had asked Brian to watch the Secret to help him understand my almost constant optimism) and it was answered completely with the Slow-Carb Diet.

We are exactly one week into this and we have both lost inches already. I will keep you posted on my progress, I am very excited!