Well, I thought I wrote down the foods I ate Thursday and Friday and just didn't have time to blog them but I can't find much of anything. My exercise went out the window Thursday too. Friday I totally crashed out, falling asleep at my desk at 4pm then ended up going to bed at 9, then waking up at 11 to actually get something done. Over the weekend, I ran around outside all day Saturday and Sunday we were walking around at a music festival from 1pm until midnight, with only a small break between 6:00-8:00. I ate really well most of the day, too, deli meat and vegetables. Then at midnight I *had* to go to Wendy's. Guess that probably blew everything.

I just read that a woman my age should be getting 25 grams of fiber per day. I knew it was definately more than I'm getting but I couldn't believe it when I looked back at my blog and the most I had on there was 11! Ack!

FOODS EATEN TODAY (Tuesday)

Meal / Food	Calorie	Fat	Carbs	Protein	Fiber
Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ Raisins & Brown Sugar	152	1	33	3	3
Lunch:	Cal	Fat	Car	Pro	Fib
	Cal	Fat	Car	Pro	Fib
Snack (9:30am): Nekot Cookies	250	12	29	7	1
Dinner:	Cal	Fat	Car	Pro	Fib
Snack (10:30): Tuna Salad w/ Crackers	150	1.5	24	9	1
Totals	Cal	Fat	Car	Pro	Fib

Wednesday, September 24EXERCISE
I didn't have the chance to exercise today. I thought there would be plenty of time after work but it turned out we were running until 9pm.

FOODS EATEN TODAY

Meal / Food	Calorie	Fat	Carbs	Protein	Fiber
Breakfast: Sausage Egg Cheese Bis	565	33	29.5	28	1
Lunch: Michelina's Noodles w/ Chicken	270	4.5	33	15	2
Dinner: Bojangles Sandwich Combo	681	30	80	27	7
Snack (3pm): Cake	129	6	30	3	0
Snack (11:30): 1/2 Cup Booberry Cereal	60	3	8	2	0
Totals	1705	76.5	180.5	75	10

Ounces of water: The good news is, I totally lost count of how much water I drank today. For some reason, I started out the day very dehydrated but I ended up drinking at least 180 ounces!

It's only been two days since I measured and weighted but since it's Wednesday, I'll establish the habit and put the stats here. For what it's worth, the scales this morning showed one less pound than they did Monday:

Weight: 193	Height: 5'6-1/2"
Dress Size: 16/18	BMI: 31
Measurements: waist 38-hips 45.5-Bust 42DD

TODAY'S THOUGHTS

I'm not sure what kind of exercise I'm going to do today. Yesterday I almost wimped out because when I got home we decided to go to the grocery store then by the time we had dinner it was after 7pm. But I perservered and went outside with my son until it was too dark to see. I thought about one of the cysters who said she promised herself a 15 minute walk every day and had just gotten back at 10:30pm!

I think there's a spin class tonight, I toyed with going to that even though it's probably an intermediate class. I just realized that I can't go to this coming Monday class because of a conflict. I have to make sure Monday to work out in the morning or during the work day. It'd be better to do it in the morning that way I'll have no excuse.

Yesterday I bought some decaf flavored coffee to have as a "snack" in the afternoon. I know I'm drinking way too much caffeine and it is not good for my system at all. I've read conflicting reports about coffee and what it does to insulin levels. But I imagine it anything is better than the sugary snacks I crave every day at about 3pm. Monday I had yogurt. That's a good balance of carbs and protein, if I eat the "light and fit" variety. I'd like to find enough variety in flavors to eat one every day since it also has so many good benefits due to the active cultures. Unfortunately, the grocery stores are hit or miss on carrying it at all. Last time the only flavors they had that I could stomach were creamy Raspberry and French Vanilla.

WHAT IS INSULIN RESISTANCE?

I found the following information in a post by KYBluegrass on the Soul Cysters Message boards. I thought it might help to add some information on Insulin Resistance, which I have been diagnosed with and which is very common in women with PCOS.

Diagnosable Insulin Resistance occurs with PCOS in about 40% of the diagnosed PCOS cases. In essence, someone who is insulin resistant is on the total opposite end of the spectrum than someone who is diabetic. In a diabetic, they either do not produce enough insulin on their own or none at all. For someone who is IR, they produce WAAAAYYY too much. The effect of all this extra insulin floating around in your system is much like taking too many antibiotics...over time, your body builds up a resistance to all this extra insulin, and ignores it.

What happens, in layman's terms, is this. You eat a meal, and your insulin is released to carry the glucose to your cells. Your cells have become resistant to your insulin, so it has no where to deliver the glucose. After a period of time, your brain senses that your sugar level is still too high, and orders more insulin to be released to bring it down. Thus begins a nasty cycle. For someone who is insulin resistant, it becomes gradually worse as time passes, and it gets very easy to gain, but very hard to lose weight.

I think this excellent description does clarify the syndrome, also called "Syndrome X" some. But this is a tough issue to address. I find it interesting that even though I've suffered from PCOS symptoms throughout my life, I've only been battling weight problems for about 8 years. I drank so much Jolt Cola in college it's amazing I didn't explode! Maybe that all contributed to the slow process of where I am now.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS
Well any "diet" I might have been trying to meet went out the window today when I went to lunch at Pizza Inn. After having eaten my fill of pizza and more, I said "you know I could just get the soup and salad bar." I promised I wouldn't beat myself up about this kind of thing, though. I can start again tomorrow. Just the sheer act of writing these things down can help immensely. Unfortunately I have no idea how to calculate the value of all that pizza I ate so this time, I'm leaving it blank. If I take into account everything else I ate today, my protein/carb balance is looking pretty good. I believe the IR Diet recommends 7 grams of protein for every 13 of carbs, which I came pretty close to meeting as the chart shows.

I just found a very interesting web site entitled Healthy Lifestyle Choices. There are many links to information on low carb diets, diabetes, and insulin resistance.

EXERCISE FOR THE DAY: So far I have walked down the stairs four times. This evening I kicked the soccer ball for 15-20 minutes and took a 15 minute walk with my son.

FOODS EATEN TODAY

Meal / Food	Calorie	Fat	Carbs	Protein	Fiber
Breakfast: Egg & Cheese on English muffin	347	14	39	18	2
Lunch: Pizza Inn!	???	???	???	???	???
Dinner: Salad w/ Chick, Croutons, Caesar Dressing	298	18	6	27	0
Snack (10:30pm): Cake	129	6	30	3	0
Totals	774+	38+	75+	48+	2+

Ounces of water: 100

EXERCISE/ACTIVITY FOR THE DAY: Today I participated in a spinning class on site at my work. It was one hour long. Great cardiovascular workout!

MEAL LOG

Meal / Food	Calorie	Fat	Carbs	Protein	Fiber
Breakfast: Egg & Cheese on Wheat	387	14	24	11	2
Lunch: Salad w/ 1tbs Thousand Island	60	6	7	0	0
Crackers w/ Chicken Salad & Diet Coke	230	12	22	10	0
Snack (3:30pm): Yogurt w/ coffee	100	0	17	8	0
Dinner: Taco Bell 2 Nacho Cheese Chalupas	760	50	62	24	6
Taco	170	10	13	8	3
Totals:	1707	92	145	61	11

Ounces of water:172

TODAY'S THOUGHTS

Alright! I left my office and am waiting for the spinning class to start. So what if I'm sitting in the smoking area? I'm not smoking! (Okay, no one's out here to bum off of, LOL!) I couldn't believe it when I got on the scale this afternoon and weighed 194! I gained 7 pounds back in what felt like the blink of an eye! I'm kinda glad I waited till now to do it, though. I have already resolved to make it better. If I had done it when I was still floundering I might've totally lost it.

Now I just have to promise myself that I won't feel embarrassed or stupid next to the more experienced spinners in this class. The reason why I like it is because they encourage you to go at your own pace. This is one activity that can add variety and motivation to my exercise routine. I believe Monday is the only beginner class but they do have classes 3 times a week so that's three possible opportunities to participate. So I can't let any excuses get in the way of doing it at least once a week. My neck and shoulders feel tight, I hope this will be good for them. What I really need is a new sports bra because the ones I have all hurt my shoulders. Look at this woman, jogging on the way to spinning class! Grrr. As usual I wonder to myself, why can't I look like her soon! It's so hard to shake it. The cysters say it took time to gain the weight, it'll take time to take it off. I guess I started gaining around 6-8 years ago. Although back in 2000, I got down around 170 I believe and gained that thirty pounds in less than a year. I honestly believe that may all be attributed to the PCOS. I wonder if I would've faced as many problems if I had stayed on Weight Watchers. I wonder if it'll be okay to let go on weekends with my new plan. I really thing doing the Weight Watchers only 5 days a week helped me stay on task for the whole 12 weeks, even if my weight loss may have been a tad slower because of it. Oops, better get to class.

MY GOALS

I have been encouraged by my fellow cysters to take baby steps toward my fitness goals and I am hoping this blog will help me do just that. But first, here's the big picture:

Weight: 194	Height: 5'6-1/2"
Dress Size: 16/18	BMI: 31
Measurements: waist 38-hips 45.5-Bust 42DD

Ultimate Goals:

Weight: 155
Dress Size: 14	BMI: 25
Measurements: waist 32-hips 41-bust 36D

Short term goals:

• 30 minutes of exercise daily
• Log daily activities and food
• Drink 1 gallon (128oz or 4 liters) of water per day

I think at this point it would be best no to set any specific weight or food goals because it is so easy to get discouraged, but I will weigh in and check my measurements every Wednesday morning to track my progress.

MY STORY

In September of 2002, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). What is PCOS? According to an article by Terri Jean entitled PCOS/IR: The Hidden epidemic you may have but aren't aware of:

PCOS is a common disorder effecting 5-15% of the women population. . . PCOS is often marked with two common conditions: the inability to utilize insulin properly and too much testosterone in ones system. Both markers are treatable, but not necessarily curable.

PCOS is a broad spectrum hormonal disorder affecting the entire body (weight, skin, hair, emotion, mind, fertility and energy level). Left untreated, the patient faces numerous possible complications such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. This disease is the most common cause of irregular periods and infertility. . .

Immediately prior to diagnosis I had uncontrollable carbohydrate cravings and my weight had ballooned from a low of around 175 up to over 200 pounds. Since then I have learned that many women combat the symptoms of this disease with regular exercise and healthy diet including close monitoring of carbohydrate intake plus, in many cases, any medicines their doctor may prescribe. Taking the leap to really committing to changing my behavior has been difficult for me. But now I join with other PCOS sufferers ("cysters") on http://www.soulcysters.net to make a positive difference in my life.