[Aug 2015 update: This is an OLD POST- I'm keto now and eat bloody meats, got my period back, losing all the weight! Check out Facebook below]
For the first time ever, I've got back to (near) veganism and haven't gained weight. I'm losing weight almost effortlessly (and I'm afraid to use that word 'effortless' b/c it sounds so weight-loss-advertisement-ish, but that's the best way I can describe it). I haven't been below 180lbs in years and I only spend 1 hour in the gym per week! I'd like to up that by adding cardio, but school and some other things have been getting in the way. I'm sure by adding cardio the weight would come off even faster.
But anyway, I've been vegan before but did it the wrong way. I totally went crazy with the soy products and processed vegan foods, and starchy carbs. I would always gain weight and felt that my PCOS symptoms were worse. So then I would go back to low carb type diets, thinking since I had PCOS high animal protein was something I HAD to do. But here's the thing... I KNEW deep down animal products are killing the environment, and me in the process. I know they are teeming with toxins, hormones, and carcinogens. I KNEW Dr. Fuhrman, the author of Eat to Live, was RIGHT. But this whole time I thought I could never succeed on ETL, or stick with it, because of PCOS.
Then my boyfriend joined the Army and went off to Basic training (he's still in training right now, but it's not bootcamp anymore, so we get to talk on the phone- yay!!!) and during those 2 months of almost zero contact with him I had lots of time for self-reflection and found that my letters to him were actually turning into mini-journals. I really knew deep down that a 'produce-heavy' diet is the key to disease prevention, optimum health, and a long healthy life. And I had to try it one more time.
So, that's that. I tried ETL for real this time- no cutting corners with fake vegan foods or tons of soy products. I bought organic vegetables and spent the extra $$. And I feel FABULOUS!!!! The best part is that I don't spend hours in the kitchen preparing meals. I actually think I spend less time in the kitchen, since nothing needs to be cooked for it to be edible. And despite the higher organic prices my food bills are actually lower. I think I spend $30-50 a week on food for myself, if that.
I pop out of bed without caffeine and have been staying out really late with my friends on the weekends. I could never do that before.
Here're my daily meals:
Breakfast (7am): Blended banana, strawberries, and So Delicious coconut milk.
(3 supplements taken with the smoothie: D3, two MSM, EPA-DHA)
** I'm bouncing with energy halfway through the smoothie.
2nd Breakfast (9:30am): 1 wheat-free waffle with organic jelly and a banana
(1 multi-vitamin)
** yup, I'm eating a TON of bananas!!
Lunch (12pm): salad greens, 1 whole tomato, sprouts, 1 can of beans, vinaigrette dressing
(2 more MSM, 1 more EPA-DHA, 1 more multivitamin)
** I'm ready to run 3 miles at this point.
or
Some sort of Asian veggie dish/sushi from any local Asian restaurant.
Di
nner (6pm): Tomato pie made with wheat-free pizza crust and loaded with veggies
or
any type of beans/veggie dish I can get creative with. The possibilities are so abundant.
I'm actually eating grains and starch and the scale just keeps going down. I'm not counting calories and I'm not going hungry. I haven't given up all of my old favorite foods... because I don't WANT them anymore
... except for July 4. I was totally PMSing and ate a bacon cheeseburger. Could only finish half and dropped another pound the next day, lol. Haven't wanted meat since, even though on ETL 10% of your diet can be whatever you want. I don't even desire the bad food for that 10% allowance, though.
So anyway, I've seen a lot of girls think they can't be vegetarian/vegan with PCOS. Just wanted to share my results so far. It can be done! I almost still can't believe it. Have to clean out my closet this weekend and toss almost everything in it. It just doesn't fit and looks ridiculously huge. And I can see the 160's in plain sight, and hopefully a normal cycle/reduced facial hair growth in the near future.