Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Awareness

So I have gone back and forth on whether or not I was going to put this on my blog. It's been 2 weeks since I was diagnosed and I haven't really told many people. Then I figured well, if someone else decides to go get tested for it then at least I have helped to spread awareness, so here I am!

I have been off birth control for almost 6 years now. I didn't go see my gyno for 5 of those years. Number one, because I just HATE going to the doctor. Number 2, because I HATE going to the gyno even more than I hate going to a regular doctor.

The reason I went after my 5 year hiatus is because I had started getting these really bad cramps about a year ago. It was like I was in high school again. Being on birth control always helped those cramps, but once I got off the birth control I realized that I didn't get migraines anymore. I had been getting about 3-4 a month right before my cycle for years. I decided that 3-4 migraines a month were way worse than the cramps I was getting. That was until recently....like 7 months.

All of the sudden not only was I getting the horrible cramps during my cycle, but I was getting them for about 4 days in a row, 10 days before my cycle started. I just thought they were ovulation cramps and I put up with them.

Each month they seemed to get worse and worse. Like waking up in the middle of the night pacing the house crying. I felt like I was having contractions (not that I know what that feels like!!) They were horrible. I would sweat and get out of breath and just double over in pain.

Finally I decided to go back. I had been for my annual in November and everything was normal, but these cramps were killing me. And the fact that I was getting them twice a month instead of once a month was even worse. Oh, and another factor that made me go back to the doc was that my cycles were getting closer and closer together. Instead of every 28 days they were coming like every 15-20 days. LUCKY ME!!!

My first appointment we just discussed what was going on and he took some blood work. He wanted me back for an ultrasound to really see what was going on.

I went in for the ultrasound  2 1/2 weeks ago. I have seen them on TV so I knew what to expect, until she said go in the bathroom and take off your pants....uh, excuse me, WHAT?? Yes that's right TAKE.OFF.YOUR.PANTS!!! This was NOT going to be the ultrasound I had seen on TV. I went in the bathroom and got the little sheet to cover up with and plopped down on the bed. Then she pulled out this baseball bat connected to a monitor and I knew the fun was about to begin!!!

Once the ultrasound was over I sat in the lobby with a pregnant teenage girl, her gma, her dad, and her 4 best guy friends (one I assume was the father) for what seemed like FOREVER until they called me back. Oh, and teen mom is having a girl by the way!

In my mind I thought he was going to sit me down and say....you are totally fine, you just have to deal with your heavy cramping. What he did say, I DID NOT expect.

First he told me I had 3 tumors. Not to worry though because they were not a big deal, but we need to watch them. Then he rolls his chair over to a poster on the wall of all these different pictures and "problems". He points out an ovary that is filled with cysts and says Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome above it. He said this is what you have. My eyes immediately went down to the bottom of the picture that said..."Instead of releasing a mature egg, a cyst is formed in the ovary". I thought to myself, does that mean what I think it means? Do I not ovulate? So of course he explained the picture to me and told me that yes, I do not ovulate monthly. He thinks I might ovulate once every year or every couple of years. My heart kind of dropped to my stomach and little tears welled up in my eyes, but I was not about to cry. Then I uttered the words..."So are you telling me I am infertile?", his answer, "Yes".

He went on to tell me that not only does this syndrome cause you to not ovulate, it causes your inulin levels to spike, which in return makes it very hard to lose weight. He told me that I hold on to every calorie I eat. He said when other people eat, their calories turn into energy, yours store as fat. That would explain why when I eat one skittle I gain 2 pounds, but my husband can eat a heart attack cheeseburger and lose 1! In all reality though, I had been very discouraged lately. I have been eating so well and working out so hard, but I was loosing like a 1/2 pound here and there. It just wasn't coming off like it should. So this news kind of came as a relief to me to find out what was going on.

He put me on metformin. It's a medication that will decrease my insulin levels and in return is supposed to help you start to ovulate. He said it should start working in about 6-8 months. When we start trying for a baby if we aren't successful pretty much right away, he will then put me on clomid. Not sure what the steps are after that.

All I know is that this is in God's hands. I have 100% faith that he will provide and I will be a mother, whether it's naturally or through adoption. I have an AMAZING husband who supports me more than any person ever has and has the same faith that I do. I have a HUGE group of family and friends that support me and encourage me as well. I am extremely blessed and couldn't ask for more. So, like my post I wrote back in January, not only does this Lala want to be a Mama, this Lala WILL be a mama!

Food Diary Day 5, 6, 7

I was away from internet all weekend so I had to put 3 days together. So this week wasn't great with eating, but it wasn't to bad either....baby steps!

8:30a Breakfast
1/2 cup FF Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup of clean granola
1 tablespoon of raw agave

11:30a Lunch
California Salad from O'Charley's with baby spinach
(This is not clean at all, but I was craving it so much! The craisins and the pecans have sugar on them)

6:00p Dinner
Amy's Organic Tamale Verde Black Bean


Exercise
3.1 miles walk/jog

Day 6

10:00a Snack
Freeze Dried Apples

12:30p Lunch
Amy's Organic Tamale Verde Black Bean

3:00p Snack
Freeze Dried Apples

5:30p Dinner
1/2 cup of brown rice pasta
1/4 cup of Clean Italian Sausage Red Sauce

Exercise
3.1 miles run/walk
Playing at the river!!

Day 7

7:00a Breakfast
2 pieces of whole wheat toast
1 egg
1 slice of american cheese (Booo)
2 slices of canadian bacon


12:30p Lunch
1/4 cup of miso soup
shared sushi with my husband

7:00p Dinner
1/2 cup of baby spinach
40z of grilled chicken
1/2 of a hard boiled egg

Exercise
Rest Day

Puss in Boots Theme Night

My niece, Emily, and I love to have theme nights. This is just a Lala kind of thing to do! Normally I pick a movie and then I create our food based on the movie. Well, Puss in Boots was playing at the park last weekend so I decided I was going to take her. (We ended up getting rained out, so we bought it at home and watched it THREE times!!) I have never seen Puss in Boots, so this was going to be a challenge. I watched a couple of trailers of it on youtube and came up with my menu. 

These are horrible photos I took with my phone! 

(Which is how I take all of my photos on this blog! 

You would never know I was a photographer on the side!) 

Magic Beans....they have these green magic beens in the movie that grow a bean stock. They are in constant search for these beans. They are just little green beans that look like jelly beans so I went with Edamame! She loved it!

Golden Eggs....the reason Puss is looking for the magic beans to grow a bean stock is to get to the castle in the sky that has a goose that lays golden eggs. For this I did hard boiled eggs, peeled them, and then let them sit in cold water that I had dyed yellow. They became golden!! I also wrapped a plastic egg with a toy in it in tinfoil and spray painted it gold as a surprise during the movie when they finally found the goose!

Holy Frijoles...Puss says holy frijoles several times throughout the movie. So I made holy frijoles dip. This was just chips with refried black beans. 

Golden Coins....several times in the movie Puss had golden coins. So I bought some chocolate gold coins at Cost Plus World Market for dessert. 

She loved all of this!! It was super easy too. I love making movie night extra special for her. 

Of course you can't watch Puss in Boots without your own personal one!! (This is my baby, Paisley)

Food Diary Day 4

This was not the best day of eating. I just wasn't in the mood to prepare anything. I wanted convenience during the day and then there was girls night! It was a totally unhealthy day. I didn't eat anything really bad for me, but I didn't really have anything with substance....veggies!!!!

9:00a Breakfast
1/2 cup FF Greek Yogurt
1/2 tablespoon pure organic maple syrup
1/4 cup of clean granola

11:00a Snack
edamame

1:00p Lunch
11 clean chips
1/4 cup of salsa
1 low fat baby bell cheese wheel

3:00p Snack
1 package of freeze dried apples


7:00p Dinner (girls night)
3oz goat cheese
pistachios
3 slices of prosciutto (fat removed)
couple slices of cantaloupe  with reduced balsamic drizzled on top
clean crackers
hummus
4 kalamata olives
2 glasses of red wine

Exercise
30 minutes on the elliptical

Food Diary Day 3

8:30a Breakfast
1 over medium egg
1 piece of whole wheat toast

10:30a Snack
1/4 cup of Salsa
11 Garden of Eatin Chips
1 Clean No Bake Energy Bite

1:00p Lunch
2oz of polenta
1/4 cup of Clean Italian Sausage Red Sauce
1 tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese

3:00p Snack
20 clean tortilla chips

6:30p Dinner
1 turkey burger
1 roasted red potato
1/2 cup of grilled zucchini and squash

7:30p Dessert/Snack
Clean Grilled Peach Dessert

Exercise
3.5 miles of running/walking

Clean Grilled Peach Dessert

So I was calling this a clean peach cobbler while I was eating it. Clearly it's not. But if I closed my eyes, it kind of reminded me of it. The peach was warm and the crunchiness from the granola was like a crust. It's hard to come up with clean desserts that are good, but I will make this one again!


Clean Grilled Peach Dessert
3 RIPE peaches
1 cup of FF Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons of raw agave
about 1 cup of clean granola
honey (optional)

Preheat grill to medium heat.

In a small bowl, mix greek yogurt and agave and place in the refrigerator.

Once grill is heated, cut peaches in half and place cut side down. Close lid and cook for about 15 minutes. You want nice burn marks and the peach to be soft.

Remove from grill onto a plate. Add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the greek yogurt in the pit of the peach where the seed was. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of granola on top and then drizzle with some honey.

Clean Italian Sausage Red Sauce

I love pasta sauce! I eat this on spaghetti, pitas, polenta, tortillas....everything! It simple and quick!


Clean Italian Sausage Red Sauce
2 cans of no added sugar tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb
2 tablespoons of raw agave
2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 pound of cooked ground turkey italian sausage
2 cups of fresh baby spinach

In a large sauce pan on med heat, mix all ingredients together. Cook, stirring often for 30 minutes.

And you're done!!! Add it to anything you want.

Note: if I have 100% apple juice, I will use that in place of the water and agave. I didn't have any today though.

Food Diary Day 2

7:00a Snack (before running)
1/2 of a Clean No Bake Energy Bite

9:00a Breakfast
1/2 cup of FF greek yogurt
1 tablespoon of Kashi Cereal
1 tablespoon of raw agave
3 strawberries
6 blueberries

11:00a Snack
hard boiled egg

12:30p Snack
4 Kalamata olives


1:00p Lunch
1/2 cup of boiled brown rice
1 cup of broccoli
1 1/2 tablespoons of Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 package of freeze dried apples


3:00p Snack
1 cup of natural popcorn

4:00p Snack
2 pieces of carb free dark chocolate (I know, bad me...I had a horrible craving)

6:00p Dinner
Amy's Organic Black Bean Verde Tamale Frozen Dinner with Brown Rice


Exercise
3 miles running and walking

Drink
about 10 8oz glasses of water

Food Diary Day 1

I have decided to dedicate this week to a food diary. I am doing this for several reasons.

1. So that you can see what I eat in a week and get inspiration from it.

2. To give you breakfast and snack ideas. (Lunch and dinner are easy, it's the snacks and breakfast that get hard to come up with)

3. Most importantly to keep me accountable before I go on my mini vaca with my husband in 10 days!!!!

This is yesterday's diary.....

9:00a Breakfast

 1/2 cup of steel cut oatmeal

3 large strawberries

1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk

1/2 tablespoon of organic raw agave

11:00a snack

1/4 cup of pecans

1/2 an apple

1:30p Lunch

Amy's Organic Black Bean Verde Tamale Frozen Dinner with Brown Rice

1/4 cup of black beans

3:30p Snack

1 Clean No Bake Energy Bite

1 package of freeze dried mangoes

6:00p Dinner

Salad.....

1/2 of a filet of salmon (about 3oz)

1/2 cup of baby spinach

1/8 cup of pecans

1 tablespoons of reduced fat blue cheese

1/4 cup of blueberries

1 tablespoon of organic golden raisins

2 tablespoons of Honey Vinaigrette

8:00p Snack
1/2 cup of coconut yogurt at Orange Leaf (not clean, but low fat)
1/4 cup of Kashi Go Lean Honey Almond Cereal for topping (this is clean)

Exercise

zip, zero, nilch....BAD GIRL!!!!

Drinks
about 10 8oz glasses of water

Clean No Bake Energy Bites

I have seen these a lot on Pinterest and wanted to try them. They look very tasty and the thought of energy wrapped up in a bite size ball sounded like a great idea! I got the recipe over at Gimme Some Oven. Really the only thing that kept this from being clean was the chocolate chips. I left out the coconut because I didn't have any. If you add it, make sure you add unsweetened, otherwise these will not be clean. I changed a few other things as well

Clean No Bake Energy Bites
1 cup of Multi-grain cereal
1/2 cup of CLEAN peanut butter (I use Earth Balance, only 5 ingredients and no refined sugar)
1/4 cup of flax seed
1/2 cup of raisins
1/3 cup of RAW honey (when honey and agave aren't raw, this means they have been processed and are just like eating table sugar)
1 tsp of vanilla (check the ingredient list, a lot of times there is added sugar)

Mix all of the ingredients together in bowl. Let it sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove and make balls about 1.5 tablespoons in size. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Faux Anthropologie Zinc Letters

I have always loved these letters at Anthropologie. The thought of spending $40 on 2 letters I did not love! They sell cardboard block letters at Hobby Lobby and a silver, metal looking spray paint at Home Depot. The letters at Hobby Lobby were $2.49 a piece and the spray paint was $8. So I spent a total of $13. I only used a tiny bit of the spray paint so I will be able to do many more project with that. I would say these ran me about $3 a piece with the amount of spray paint I used.

Cardboard Letters $2.49 a piece at Hobby Lobby

Hammer spray paint in silver $8 at Home Depot 

Finished Product....I put them in front of my stovetop just to 

take a picture, but I am going to go back to 

Hobby Lobby and buy an E, A, and T to put there! 

The picture makes them look gray and not metal, but they

have a metal look to them for sure. You can not tell they are

cardboard and just spray painted. 

These have their own special place, but that's another

blog post!

Clean Zucchini Fritters

I have made the "unclean" version of these before and the clean ones taste exactly the same. I couldn't tell a difference at all. I found the recipe at Smitten Kitchen, one of my all time favorite blogs! 

Clean Zucchini Fritters 

1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini grated
1 teaspoon coarse or Kosher salt, plus extra to taste
2 scallions, split lengthwise and sliced thin

1 garlic clove (minced)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Olive Oil Spray

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. 

In a large bowl, add zucchini and 1 teaspoon coarse salt and toss. Set aside for at least 10 minutes. Wring out the zucchini in a paper towel. I use 2 so they don't break. This step has to be done or you will have soggy fritters and no one likes a soggy fritter!

Put the zucchini back in the bowl and add salt to taste...maybe 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon.  Stir in scallions, egg, garlic, and pepper. In a small boy, stir together flour and baking powder, then add to the zucchini and fold until blended.

In a large non-stick skillet on medium heat, spray with olive oil. Drop rounded bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet, about 2 tablespoons in size and then flatten with a spatula. Don't do all of them at the same time. 

Cook on each side for about 3 to 4 minutes. They should be kind of crispy and golden brown. Place on a paper towel to remove some of the oil. Place on a cookie sheet and in the oven on 200 degrees while you make the remainder to keep them warm. You will have to spray the pan down with the olive oil each time you add a new batch. 

I added fresh grated parmesan to mine, but you could also add marinara. 

Clean Eating Avocado Enchiladas

I have always used a friend's recipe for enchiladas. They are really good, but they call for 10 white flour tortillas, 1lb of cheese, 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 1 cup of sour cream, and a package of cream cheese......BAD!!!!!  I decided I wanted to clean them up a bit. They of course do not taste like the original recipe, but they do the trick and are very good! I served them with clean refried black beans and clean cilantro-lime corn.

If you are having a get together and serving this meal, you might try clean 7-layer dip or clean nachos for an appetizer!

Clean Eating Avocado Enchiladas

1.5 pounds of cooked and shredded chicken breast

6-8 whole wheat tortillas

1 RIPE avocado smashed

3oz of 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1 cup of FF Greek yogurt

1 small can of green chilies 

1 tablespoon of Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb

2 tablespoons of ground cumin 

1/2 teaspoon of salt 

1/2 cup of low fat shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 9x9 glass baking dish with olive oil spray.

Add avocado, cream cheese, greek yogurt, Mrs. Dash, cumin, green chilies and salt in a bowl and stir until fully mixed. Add chicken and mix until fully blended. 

Add about 1/2 a cup of chicken to each tortilla and roll up. Add tortillas side by side to the baking dish. Sprinkle cheddar cheese to the top of the enchiladas.

Cook for about 25 -30 minutes.

Note: next time I am going to mix the cheddar with some greek yogurt to make the cheese on top more creamy. We shall see. 

Clean Lime-Cilantro Corn

When I was back in Arkansas last week we had a party at my best friends and served Mexican food. I made the side items which were all clean. This corn was one of them. My friend told me that my husband came up to her and said who made this corn, it's awesome....she said your wife made it! I love that my husband loves my cooking. Makes it so much more fun for me!


This is the easiest recipe in the world. I serve it hot, but it's good cold as well. Add a few chopped up tomatoes to it for a cold corn salad!

Clean Lime-Cilantro Corn

1 pound of frozen corn
1 cup of chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 cup of FF feta cheese
juice of 1 lime

Cook the corn (microwave or stove top). Once corn is heated through add cilantro, feta, and lime. Serve immediately.

Note: I noticed that if I didn't serve immediately you couldn't really taste the lime. So if you are not serving right away, then I would wait to add the lime. I also add a little FF spray butter to it which is not clean so if you want it 100% clean, leave that out.

Clean Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

Breakfast is my hardest meal of the day to eat. Of course breakfast is the most important meal of the day to eat. It get's your body fueled for the day ahead. If you don't eat breakfast your blood sugar drops and then you crave sugar the rest of the day.

For breakfast I need convenience. I do a lot of smoothies with greek yogurt, but sometimes I need to switch it up a bit.

This baked blueberry oatmeal is good because I can make it on Sunday night and we can eat on it for days. It tastes like a dessert too!!

I got the original recipe from the blog So, How's It Taste? and really liked it, but it wasn't fully clean. It was almost there thought so I didn't have to change much!


Clean Baked Blueberry Oatmeal
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, divided
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup pure maple syrup 
1 cup almond milk (or coconut and soy)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. melted coconut oil1 tsp. 
100% pure organic vanilla extract (no sugar)
2-3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
1 cup blueberries frozen or fresh

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix the oats, half of the walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the syrup, milk, egg, coconut oil, and vanilla.

Spread the sliced bananas in a single layer over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with half of the berries. Sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer. Pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats.

Sprinkle the remaining nuts and berries over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is browned and the oats have set. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Clean Grocery Shopping

Before I left to go to Arkansas I didn't do any grocery shopping. I used up what I had in my house so I could come home and do a big trip. Yesterday I went to the store. I bought enough groceries to last about 3 weeks and only spent $200. Some people think that eating clean is too expensive, but really it's not as bad as you think. Since you are eating smaller meals, the big meals you cook for dinner sometimes last for days. A couple of weeks ago I made one small can of tomato paste and a regular can of tomato sauce last for a week with 3 different meals....clean pizzas, clean chicken parm, and clean tomato sauce with sweet italian turkey sausage and mushrooms. (haven't blogged that recipe yet.)

Here's what's in this picture

bag of baby carrots

bag of red potatoes

zucchini 

cilantro

3 avocados
1 box of Kashi Go Lean Crunch Honey Almond Flax

big bag of old fashioned rolled oats

box of baby spinach 

2 bags of brown rice pasta

4 cans of black beans

reduced fat blue cheese

fresh salsa

4 containers of FF greek yogurt

pure organic maple syrup

1 package of reduced fat mexican cheese

1 package of 1/3 less fat cream cheese

FF feta

eggs

sweet potato

4 pounds of chicken

5 fruit buddies

4 Lara bars

5 Amy's Organic Verde Black Bean Tamale Frozen Meals

3 containers of almond milk

1 can of chic peas

1 can of tomato sauce

1 can of tomato paste

2 bottles of Mrs. Dash

1 big bag of pecans

bag of whole wheat tortillas

3 bags of Garden of Eatin Blue Corn Chips

2 big boxes of brown rice

1 can of coconut milk

1 container of mushrooms

1 package of natural popcorn

3 bananas

You don't see much fruit on this trip, but that is because a couple of weeks ago I got an awesome deal on strawberries and blueberries and froze several containers of those. I also have a few apples. As far as veggies go, I have quite a few bags of frozen veggies in my freezer. 

With clean eating I will make 2 chicken breasts for dinner, but we cut them in half and have the other half for dinner the next night on a salad or something. 2 chicken breasts will make 4 main courses for us. 

Hope this helps anyone struggling with shopping clean! Message me anytime if you have any questions.

Back Home Being Lala

I have been MIA for the last week. I went back to my home town of Rogers, AR for the last week. It's been a while since I have been home so it was a very busy week. My husband, Mike, was able to join me on this trip. It was one of my favorite trips back! I had 3 work 2.5 days and the rest of the time I got to play!


We got in around midnight on Friday night. The next morning was the Miles for Miller 5k. That was the main reason we came home. My friend Amanda did it with me. She was awesome knowing that I couldn't run much so she would run ahead for a minute and then come back to me. What a rockstar! Mike was also a rockstar. First 5k and got it in 27:24. I was so proud of him. Most importantly, this was an amazing cause for Angel Miller!

Sunday afternoon I took pictures of Amanda's family.

On Saturday night our best friends Lauren and Gregg threw a party for us. It was so fun. Got to see lots of people all at once. Mike graduated in '96 and about 10 of his graduating class was there. 

Sunday I went to the Garrett's house for a visit and to take pictures of Farrah. I hung out with my grandma for a while and then we went to dinner with Mike's family for his mom's birthday. After that I took pictures of Mike's brother's family. 

On Monday I went to dinner with my mom at Bonefish and went and had yogurt at TCBY. Then we stopped off at an old church with a cow pasture behind it!

I went to Taco Tuesday at the Woodruff's for Big Jim's birthday! Jim made us his famous Brandy Alexanders. I hadn't had those since the 9th grade!! :) They are so delicious! I got to hang out with Cole and catch lighting bugs! It was such a fun night. 

Wednesday was 4th of July. Poor Mike was really sick. I went to his brother's house and hung out with Danielle and gave Trenton his 9th birthday present. 25 balloons with a one dollar bill in each! He loved popping all of them! Then I went back to Lauren's neighborhood pool party. Then I had dinner with Mike and his parents. We headed back to Lauren's neighborhood for some margaritas with Cory and Meredith and fireworks with the all of their friends in the neighborhood. 

Thursday night I took pictures of Lauren's family. Then it was time for girls night out! 

Friday we went bowling with Brynn, Connor, Cowen, Trenton, and Trevor. I won! ;) Then for dinner we went to Mimi's. My cousin's from south Arkansas drove up to join us!

We got a lot of pool time in while we were there. We stayed with my best friend Lauren and she has an amazing neighborhood pool! It was very relaxing!

Of course I got lots of Lala Time in!!!!!