Those Three Words

I’m a soon to be 26 year old gal from Long Island who enjoys taking day trips to the city that never sleeps, and the wineries out east, loving life and living it to the absolute fullest. I’m a former Taco-Bell addict and a definite TV junkie. I learned I couldn’t have both so I decided to say goodbye to the bean burritos and soft shell tacos. (I mean come on, who would want to give up seeing McDreamy on Greys Anatomy ;)) Back in 2009, three words changed my life forever. “You have PCOS”. It explained a lot at the time. The excessive hair growth that always kept coming back after having numerous trials of laser hair removal, along with the weight that was so hard to lose. (I don’t know what’s worse, trying to lose weight or losing my hair…oh, and don’t get me started on the depression and mood swings!) So many thoughts were going through my head “How many pills do I have to take a day”? “Blood work every six months!?” “I’m a greater candidate for Diabetes?!” I wasn’t happy...especially dealing with the side effects from all the meds (which I’ve had my Endocrinologist change for me several times after calling her every week complaining about how I felt…Whoops!) I finally found out the Glumetza worked best for me! I was a happy little camper actually losing weight and feeling pretty normal. That was until I went to the pharmacy to have it filled. $475. The happiness turned into tears and there I was back on Metformin, feeling as if I have a stomach virus every single day. Life for me was rough and I made a mistake by letting PCOS define me. To me, it wasn’t just a part of me...It WAS me.

Two years ago I made a commitment to myself and decided that I was in charge…NOT my disease. I started a healthy lifestyle which included getting fit and staying in shape and cooking healthy. I had to. I’m glad I did because not only did I lose 20lbs but I became happier, and I really started to become in love with myself. I’m continuing to work through the side effects of the Metformin as well as PCOS symptoms, and as cliché as this sounds, I learned one thing: “We are what we eat”. Diet and exercise really do work. And it’s something that we Cysters really need to keep up with.

If you focus on results

You will never change.

If you focus on change,

You will get results

– Jack Dixon

I’m going to take you on a journey where you can discover new ideas and new ways to cope with your PCOS with inspiring recipes designed for cysters as well as some workout tips that I’ve had much proven success with. I’d love to hear feedback from you all as well as your stories, so please, share away!

-Sarah