lotusbogardi

Cruising Italian Style for 5  nights to Bermuda.

It's my second cruise and my partner's first! As usual for me, I am super excited super early.

I only have 18 months to plan!

Who is coming with us?

I know this isn't about weight loss itself, but one of the hallmarks of PCOS is hirsuitism. I have a very easily recognizable facial hair. It's mostly on my chin, with some under my chin, and some on my cheeks. As a woman, having a "beard" really makes you feel unfeminine.

Plucking would take far more time that it is worth. I have never gotten good results with waxing, my skin is too sensitive for Nair, so that left me with two conventional options. Epilating, and shaving.

I really liked the results of epilation. It's basically high-speed plucking on steroids. The epilator yanks each hair out by the root. The good news is that it works REALLY well. The bad news is that it yanks out even the soft downy fuzzy hairs you don't see. The first few times I was shocked by how uncomfortable it was the first few times, but once the area is initially cleared, you only need to do a daily touch-up and that doesn't hurt very much at all.

But, I'm lazy, and I would forget to touch up daily, and then I rarely felt like doing the two or three day clearing. So, that left me with shaving. As my testosterone level rose and my PCOS got worse, I got more and more facial hair and it became thicker and coarser. Shaving has gone from "Every now and then" when I was a teen to "Once a week" in my twenties, to "twice a week" at 30, to "every other day" now. Even shaving near daily, I was constantly conscious of my five o'clock shadow.

That is, until I bought a living social coupon for laser hair removal. OMG what a difference. I have had three treatments so far, and I am back down to once or twice a week. The hair that is growing back is thinner and finer as well. I know that laser hair removal isn't a complete solution, and the hair may grow back. Also, if my testosterone level remains unopposed, it will activate different follicles. For now, though, I am happy.

The products I mentioned I get from Oyin Handmade 's website (http://www.oyinhandmade.com ). There are a few boutiques that sell them, and if you're lucky enough to live in Baltimore, they have a storefront.

~Grammatical errors? spelling mistakes? nonsensical sentences? Don't blame me, blame tapatalk! ~

I don't have long hair, but it is probably the length of Halle Berry. I love wearing it short, but would love to cruise without having to worry about getting my hair wet. My husband is a swimmer, unlike myself, but I would love to enjoy the pool with him. Any suggestions on what to do with short hair?

Girl, I wish I was brave enough to wear my hair that short! It looks so freeing! Of course, when I think of Halle Berry, I think of her short pixie do, even though she has been seen with chin to shoulder-length hair and longer. If we are talking the pixie length, I wouldn't do anything special.

If you swim, I would just wash it with a gentle shampoo afterward (got to get the salt water out) and then condition/detangle, moisturize, and then add some definition. If you are looking at Oyin Handmade products in specific, this is the routine I would use:

#1 any gentle shampoo. If you want to use Oyin's Honey Wash, remember that it is a Castile soap and doesn't lather very much, but cleanses quite effectively.

#2 Honey-hemp Conditioner. Apply liberally, let it sit while you wash the rest of yourself, brush/comb through, and rinse. Then put a quarter-sized dollop in your hands and run it through your hair without rinsing.

#3 Hair dew. Run through your hair, brush or comb through.

#4 Shine and Define. Run through your hair. Let air dry. Finish with a sparkly clip, barrette, or hair band. Love your curls!

I would only do this once a day, after whatever swimming. If you are going to swim multiple times, you may want to run some Honey-Hemp through your hair between times just to protect it. At night, just cover with a scarf and refresh your curls in the morning by running wet hands through.

This post has a great pic of my hair, cruise day two, loose braid -out

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=34031362

~Grammatical errors? spelling mistakes? nonsensical sentences? Don't blame me, blame tapatalk! ~

The worst thing for me isn't not tracking, it's not planning to eat.

I realized that yesterday. I eat crap when real food isn't readily available. I forget I have 3 million healthy choice top chef meals in my freezer, and there's no quick fruits or veggies to grab to snack on. So then I stop eating. I have to consistently eat small meals or snacks every 3-4 hours when I am awake.

I can not skip breakfast.

I realize that I would never let my daughters leave the house without a meal. Why do I ignore my own needs so often, until I am starving and stop caring about my intake?

This is my current task. I can not be a good mother if I do not take care of myself as well.

I made that personal frittata recipe and they were very good. BUT I changed it up a bit. I used half the potatoes and made 4 large ones in large muffin tin (instead of 8 small ones in regular muffin tin). Just didn't think half an egg would satisfy me. The larger ones were only 4pts each instead of 3 pts for the smaller ones.

That sounds like a good idea. I am trying to think of veggies my hubby would eat. He won't eat onions and bell peppers. He will eat broccoli, though.

I may have to play with it.

Today's weigh -in was a disappointment. Up two lbs. It still makes a total of down 10lbs in 10 weeks. I was off program all week and ate like I never heard of weight watchers. Not to mention the pharmacy for my facility is celebrating nurse's week by feeding us. Yesterday, doughnuts. Today, pretzels. Tomorrow???

This week I'm working the program like it's my very first. Also going to use the recipe in last week's booklet for "personal frittatas ".

Two more weeks to lose, and then I get to cruise!

and I'm glad my daughter is getting educated on her PCOS way earlier than I did! It feels so isolating sometimes - and misunderstood.

I know I am going to be hypervigilant with my daughters. A friend of mine was diagnosed about 10 years before me. Her GYN basically said "You have PCOS, you will never conceive naturally, here's a pack of pills". So, she gave up the idea of having children and became a "Career Woman". My heart aches for how different her life may have been if we knew more about this disease earlier.

I find that my body works best when I eat like I am diabetic. Small frequent meals, protein heavy, carb light. My first RE actually recommended I start my day with a "small steak, 4 ounces", and make breakfast the biggest meal of the day. I haven't gotten to the point where I can do that just yet. Breakfast food is for breakfast (or lunch or dinner), but Dinner food is never for breakfast!

I'm looking forward to all the activities on the ship. Jus walking around will probably be more than I'm used to!

I was worried about weigh in this week because I knew I didn't eat so well. Luckily the flexibility of points means I still managed to decrease another pound even though I was largely off program! Back to tracking tomorrow.

Part of why ww works for me is that I am paying for it and damnit I better at least try.

I am extremely involved with my healthcare status and get my thyroid tested at least annually, mostly because I'm anemic and therefore constantly exhausted.

I have done metformin on and off, but usually the side -effects make me stop taking it. I'm going to try it again now that my eating is more regimented. The last form I tried is called "fortamet ". And it's a different delivery system. My biggest weight loss obstacle, beside PCOS itself, is my tendency to not eat until the end of the day. Part of the reason I'm on weight watchers is that the tracking forces me to recognize when I'm not eating.

Intro: PCOS is an endocrine disorder with symptoms including weight gain, acne, excess body hair and irregular or absent periods.

My background: I first started to see articles on PCOS in 2001. Three things in the profile popped out at me: Irregular menses, weight gain, and hirsuitism (excess hair, usually on the face). My PCP discounted my concerns because my labs weren't definitive. When I asked for an ultrasound, she said it would be a lot of work to get my insurance to pay for it, and I didn't really need one.

I ended up moving back "home" and returning to my old PCP. I asked for a referral to a Reproductive Endocrinologist. When he asked me why, I began explaining PCOS to him. I was about halfway through my symptoms when he stopped me and had his PA write the referral.

When I went to the RE, I began explaining my symptoms to him. I wanted to show him my "beard" but it had gotten too itchy and I shaved it a day previous. He listened carefully, and then confirmed that yes, I did have PCOS. I asked him if I needed an ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis. He said "No, you have it". I explained to him that my last Dr didn't think so. He said "Look, you have the hirsuitism, you have the abdomen fat, you have the amenorrhea, you have the weight gain... PCOS is a syndrome. It has many symptoms, but you don't have to have all of them to have the syndrome". I told him that I wanted an ultrasound, and he said okay, but he didn't think I needed it.

Thank god, he agreed to the ultrasound. He already planned to give me Lupron, which is designed to stop all androgen (sex hormone) production, for 3 months. But the ultrasound revealed a tennis-ball sized cyst in my left ovary. After being treated with Lupron, (for just one month) the cyst remained, and that meant he needed to remove it. Laproscopic surgery saved 2/3 of my left ovary from being destroyed by the tennis-ball cyst.

With many rounds of fertility treatment, I have two beautiful daughters. The recommendation for treatment remains as it was then: Weight loss, insulin sensitizing agents (glucophage/metformin), and possibly ovarian dormancy (via "the pill", "the patch" or "the ring") to preserve fertility.

I have been on various forms of metformin off and on. For me XR/ER works better than plain. Plain is cheaper, but very hard on the stomach. I can not do any form of hormonal birth control, something about the synthetic hormones makes me very emotionally unsettled. If I don't have my cycle every 3 months-ish, my GYN wants me to induce it. To do that I use a med called "Prometrium" which is a bioidentical form of progesterone synthesized from wild yams.

I am back on weight watchers for the first time in years. I tend to try to stay protein heavy/carb light and ignore my cravings. Carbs tend to send me into what I call the "blood sugar death spiral". Low blood sugar > eat carbs > Blood sugar spike > too much insulin triggered > blood sugar crash > crave carbs!

We're eight weeks into a ten week session of WW at work, and hoping for another round. I'm down 11 lbs and hoping to get to 16 by my cruise date of 5/31. I know, I am being optomistic.

So that's me, Jeannie. Any other "Cysters"?

I find I do better when I set mini-goals for myself. Small achievable goals boost my confidence and propel me a bit.

My cruise is in four weeks. My mini goals are as follows:

-Five days a week completely on program, which means tracking and staying within my point range. No thinking I can "wing it".

-Five more pounds of weight lost by my pre-cruise weigh in.

-Recruit 10 people commit to WW@W, so we can do another 10-meeting session (already have ten willing to continue).

Weighed in today. Down a pound for a total of eleven in the past 8 weeks. I was sure I did horrible this week cause I had a mini -binge on Monday.

I guess slow and steady works well.

I like weighing in on Thursdays and I'm trying to up my on -program days.

Yay! Congrats!

This is your conscience speaking ...Buy the dress ! The purple is pretty but the green has a definate wow factor! :D

Green is my favorite color. I own a lot of it and have to make a conscious effort to buy other colors. I may buy the green anyway.

What a great price! How can you not buy that dress! I think it's lovely! Then again I am partial to black! :D

I was looking at the purple or the green. I may do it on pay day. I love flouncy, floaty dresses.

I am trying SO hard to not buy this dress.

I think I may be failing. I love Holy Clothing.

http://holyclothing.com/index.php/dresses/shop-by-size/3x/venus-diamond-neck-satin-lace-full-a-line-skirt-sun-dress-3x.html

Congrats, A!

My weekly weigh-in was today. After two weeks of holding steady, I'm down two more lbs. I finally earned my 10lb ribbon! I'm quite pleased with my progress. I'm hoping for 10 more before my cruise.

I have to confess to being somewhat sad today. We put together a group of 20 to do weight watchers at work. At week 7, we are down by half. I don't see another 10 week session in the making because ww won't do an at work series unless 20 people sign up and pay in advance. There is something to be said about the camaraderie of struggling through this with a group. I haven't decided if I'm going to find a local meeting. I will keep weighing in here though. Mutual support and understanding means so much!

I've spent two hours on YT today trying to get more ideas after the suggestions in this thread. Lotus, the product junkie in me wants to try something from your list, but I'm holding strong. We'll see for how long.:p

Well, the honey hemp conditioner was my gateway drug. If you want to try a little of all the hair products, try the 5 piece snack pack.

Aint it the truth? Something magical about eating it and writing it down (or point tracking however you do it). I've caught myself once or twice thinking well this says 5 points but I think it's more like 4. LIKE I'm being graded on the points....more powerful to be honest with self. I like that. :rolleyes: It's a process!

I use a point tracker app on my phone. My phone goes with me everywhere, and it really helps me. I have picked up whatever junk food I'm craving, worked out the points, and then put it back down! Even if I am really craving it.

I think it looks great. I'd keep it long personally, but I love long hair. Short (but still long enough for a ponytail) would be lower maintenance, and you could probably wash n go easier.