Servings 1
Time: 5 minutes
Blend all the ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Adjust the water if you desire a thinner consistency.
Servings 1
Time: 5 minutes
In a high speed blender, add all the ingredients. Blend well. Store this upto 3-4 days for quick use on any salad.
Servings 1
Time: 10 minutes
Blend all the ingredients in a blender. This dressing is ready to be used as a dip, or a topping for your salad, or Buddha bowl.
It’s nut free, gluten free and yet creamy with healthy fats.
Servings 1
Time: 10 minutes
Add all the ingredients in a high speed blender. Make a smooth paste and give a taste. Adjust the taste. Refrigerate the dressing and enjoy later.
This dressing stays fresh in the refrigerator for 5 days. This dressing is simple, quick to make.
How to stop yo yo dieting and overcome desperation to lose weight?
You lose weight. It feels exhilarating as you hear compliments everywhere you go. Then, life happened and you realised that following a strict raw diet or diets like keto, paleo wasn’t for you, or perhaps you couldn’t commit to never looking at a chocolate cake again.
Losing weight isn’t for everyone but it’s one of the most important driving factors for many people who want to change their lifestyle and manage their chronic conditions. But, weight loss is downright hard. So then, the BIG question is how can I lose weight without dieting?
Let’s understand what a yo-yo dieting is?
According to research, yo-yo dieting is also known as ‘weight cycling’. In the research paper it’s defined as unintentional weight gain which is commonly observed in adult humans, often provoking intentional weight loss attempts followed by unintentional weight regain. This vicious cycle repeats itself.
So why do we end up yo yo dieting?
There are two main reasons for this, namely-
Psychological reason: need for instant gratification
When we feel downright frustrated with our current weight, and nothing seems to work. We jump on a new miracle diet trend. This is a compulsive behaviour, instant gratification thinking style where you want to be slim and happy RIGHT NOW. Two weeks into the journey and you see some results but not what you expected, you start losing interest. Quick enough, you reach out for that favourite crisps, or ice cream which you refrained from eating past weeks.
The underlying problem here is your obsession with the numbers on the scale. You are stressed about the numbers, creating stress in your mind & body. Which further holds on to the stored fat. How does this work? When the stress is prolonged and seen as hopeless, the individual becomes more distressed and feels defeated. This activates the hypothalamus in the brain. What follows is a cascade of hormonal pathways resulting in the final release Cortisol which directly affects fat storage and weight gain in stressed individuals.
Behaviour : An all or nothing approach
You are trying too hard to reach your goal for the last time. You tell yourself this time, you won’t give in to your cravings or stressed out day. You will stick with the plan no matter what and eat healthy at all times.
That itself is an unreal expectation to set. Situations will arrive where you have been out for a meal/birthday party/holiday and have slightly overindulged. Instead of thinking ‘Maybe I had a bit too much there, never mind, it was only once , I shall get back to making healthier choices, swapping my breakfast to fruits for 2 weeks, or cutting down my portion sizes and increasing my daily steps, you get into this rabbit hole of self sabotaging thoughts. You start a dialogue with yourself, you can never stay committed, or you are weak willed, or this weightloss journey isn’t for you, or you rather not do anything because getting slim is darn difficult or isn’t meant for you. You catastrophize and start magnifying the problem.
But the reality stays simple. You just mucked up your one meal, nothing more than that. And you can always get back instead of staying off the wagon soon enough. Don’t wait too long & after hearing a promising diet, you are again ready to jump on a new diet trend.
These are some strategies which have worked for me and my clients to break the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting. Build habits that help you thrive on your journey to feel your best self regardless of your weight on the scale.
Note: Always consult your GP/PHYSICIANS. This article is no way giving you any medical recommendations or asking you to override your doctor’s advice. Nurture Yourself is not responsible for any health issues you may have or develop in future.
Serves: 4 persons
Time: 20-25 mins
Ingredients
½ cup oat flour (blended oats at home until smooth)
½ cup celery finely chopped
½ cup yellow pepper diced
½ cup carrot diced
1 cup broccoli florets (small size)
1 bug clove of garlic finely diced
1 red small onion finely diced
⅓ cup orzo pasta ( specially good for picky kids because they like pasta) optional to use
1 tsp ground black pepper
salt to taste
For the Garnish
2 tbsp of fresh coriander, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley finely, chopped
Method
Tips:
Add hot sauce or soya sauce if you find it too bland. But for me it’s best as is.
Yield:
4 large heart shaped tarts
Time:
25 min plus resting time 30 + 15 min
Ingredients
For the crust
1 cup almond meal
¼ cup desiccated coconut
1 tbsp peanut butter (no sugar, no salt, no emulsifiers)
½ tsp rose water
4 pitted medjool dates (or use regular 7 dates)
For the cashew cream
½ cup soaked raw cashew (soak cashews overnight)
½ cup coconut cream (check notes)
¼ cup pure organic maple syrup (check notes)
5-6 blueberries
3 ripe strawberries (leaves removed)
For the Garnish
Fresh pomegranate
Blueberries
Desiccated coconut
Method
For coconut cream
Chill canned full fat coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight. This will make the milk fat separate and solidify on top. Use a spoon to skim the solidified coconut cream from the top of the can and put it in a glass bowl. Reserve the remaining liquid for another use. (soups, curries, etc)
For the sweetener
If you want to avoid maple syrup, you can substitute maple syrup with ¾ cup of date powder. The taste may vary but it is a more wholesome treat for people avoiding any form of sweetener due to their chronic condition.
The true price we pay when for convenience we eat frozen meals or a bag of cookies or chips. First get this obvious and yet not so obvious thought ingrained in your brain that anything we put into our mouth, comes in close contact with our gut microbiome.
What is a gut microbiome? Let’s understand the basic structure. Human body has five types of microorganisms residing within. These are bacteria, parasites, yeasts, viruses, and archae. The human gut comprises both large and small intestines. Human gut is hard to fathom because it consists of approx thirty nine trillion microorganisms in our colon. That is huge. These microorganisms live in a very bio diverse environment. Diversity is key in maintaining our gut balance.
Obviously, these microorganisms as residents of the intestines, have a huge role in our digestion process. These bacterias aren’t there inside of us and have a huge role to play. They aren’t passive microorganisms. They eat on the nutrients we feed them through our foods. But not all gut bacterias thrive on the same foods. Certain bacterias need certain foods to chew on to be able to proliferate and maintain the balance. It may happen that a relatively healthy person may restrict a certain food like whole grains in order to lose weight and in the process will starve the good gut bugs residing in their colon.
So how does this relate to snacking? Well in context to our gut health and the microbiome, what we eat affects our gut. And our overall health gets affected in turn starting with low levels of inflammation in the body.
So the next question is what kind of foods help our gut microbiome thrive and do it’s phenomenal work of keeping inflammation at bay? All foods that are in its Whole Form. Nothing taken away or added from its natural state are the foods that help our microbiome flourish and thrive.
But let’s put our lens to what happens when casually decide to eat a bag of potato chips? It affects our microbiome. A potato chip which is ripped of its natural nutrients and is transformed into a highly palatable food by addition of saturated fats, sodium, emulsifiers and preservatives. Hence what is left from the whole potato is this ultra processed form now as chips which may have some resemblance to the nutrition profile of a potato but most not. So what starts off as being healthy ( potato) becomes less healthy ( potato chips) but it gets worse when these are added with additives, colourings, artificial flavorings, etc. When these dominate our daily diet and become a majority source of our calories, health problems are inevitable.
Now, snacking can be a very sneaky little habit that may hinder our health progress and even force us to move away from Whole Foods more and more. Research suggests that processed foods are addictive. The biggest setback to our health is lack of fiber in our diet which all ultra processed foods have in common. Eating processed foods as snacks a couple of times a week, not only takes away the opportunity to feed ourselves with more natural and wholesome foods but instead begets more dependency on them in the long run.
Now the question is how to recognise a processed food to an ultra processed food?
Let’s take an example of a whole wheat cracker which you buy from a supermarket. When you turn to the ingredients list, it says- whole wheat flour, salt, thyme. This although is processed and made from whole wheat, technically it’s processed. But asking two questions will help you become more aware of your choices within drowning yourself in the ocean nutrition chaos. Start by asking yourself-
Snacking ain’t bad. So what can be considered as a healthy snack for a usual day? My favorites
So enjoy snacks that make sense to your daily needs, because it is not just your mouth that enjoys a good tasting food, your gut microbiome also eats your food. And they absolutely love the “good-whole unprocessed foods such as whole grains, fermented foods, seasonal fruits and greens, legumes etc”.
Note: Always consult your GP/PHYSICIANS. This article is no way giving you any medical recommendations or asking you to override your doctor’s advice. Nurture Yourself is not responsible for any health issues you may have or develop in future.
For salad
For The Garnish
Dressing (makes approx 1 cup)
Notes: Soak half cup pitted dates in water for 4-5 hours until it plumps up.
Use 1/4 cup water to blend the dates into a smooth paste like texture. Adjust water if need the paste to be thinner. Store in a glass container up to a week.
Replace sugar in salad dressing with date paste.
The prepared dressing can be refrigerated in a glass container jar upto 3 days.
We are our habits. What does this mean? From the moment we wake up until we fall asleep our day is guided by our ingrained habits. We tend to run our day on autopilot most of the time, don’t we? Think about waking up every morning, what is your first action? ( ie. I meditate in bed for 10 min right upon waking up and then make my bed right away) We all have our own favorite ways to start and end the day. This is mine. It officially makes me day ready.
For a moment; think of all the minute details that drive your habits. The way you stand and gobble your breakfast may look weird to someone else but for you it’s normal. Without realization, you eat your breakfast while driving to work or standing by your kitchen counter.
Habits to a large extent makes our identity. If you don’t go out with friends or host a dinner on weekend, you don’t feel like you belong. If you don’t drink your morning coffee, you feel like something is missing.
One of the best books I have ever read on Habits is written by James Clear called the Atomic Habits. While reading, I witnessed a few light bulb moments. There are big takeaways from the book that in particular have helped me inculcate new habits and let go of the ones that didn’t serve me right.
I have used a few tricks to help my health and weightloss journey. These tricks really nailed my intention to actually do the things that would get me closer to my goals. Here is a summary of my journey into good habit building and sticking with it.
Based on what James Clear explains in his books; these are the 4 steps by which all habits are formed. It is namely cue, craving, response and reward.
Say for example, you want to lose weight. But,let’s first identify your BIG WHY? ( ie. Why do I need to lose weight?) Ask yourself this question. No matter what; it must be something that means a lot to you. Are you simply frustrated with the perpetual cycle of weight loss/weight gain and ready to move on with your life? Do you want to feel as young and energetic as in your 20s? Or have you or a loved one recently received a concerning diagnosis or experienced a health scare?
Secondly, you need to define your goals clearly. Speak it loud, visualize it, own it and post it. (ie. I had written on a post-it and stuck it behind my bedroom door). How many kilos do I want to lose and why? This was useful daily reminder especially when days felt tough)
Once I did that , I knew that in order to lose weight I had to get my nutrition and every meal right. Later came the fitness and other aspects that would amplify my efforts & accelerate my result. I already knew that what I was doing for months and years wasn’t working positively for my health. (ie. I was diagnosed with PCOS, low grade inflammation, and mild depression, and I was many pounds higher than my ideal weight. So I had strong motivation to catch the fire while it’s still small). Now, when I look back, the fire wasn’t really small.
When you assess your lifestyle, what are you doing on a daily basis? You know what your biggest challenges are. Most times you realize that it’s your bad habits that keep you stuck. Changing habits can be daunting. Here is how I applied the 4 steps (Atomic Habits book) to habit forming suggested by James Clear.
Cue- anything that triggers a response. (ie. as you sit in the car)
Craving- Craving to satisfy a certain need. (ie. you want to drive safely)
Response- How and what you do in action for certain triggers. ( ie.you reach out for the seat belt)
Reward- You feel safe. (ie. wearing the seat belt gives you a sense of security while driving on the road & you feel like a responsible citizen)
Similarly, when it comes to eating right, I know my fruit intake always gets compromised. So I started selecting 3 different fruits and placing them on my work desk. This visual cue generated a craving to satisfy my need to eat more fruits, as a response I started eating them as my snack and I felt energetic, full and great about completing my daily goal of eating 2-3 fruits.
Habit shift may at first feel like identity shift- For any habit to stick- you must use these four steps to make it a no brainer. Initially habits may feel hard to change since most times you feel like it’s your identity. Giving up on your identity is like finding yourself a completely new wardrobe that isn’t your style. (ie, i had to leave my morning chai in the morning which i thoroughly enjoyed while reading a few pages from a book that I felt drawn to, but now the book stayed and the tea had to go) What did I do?
Next step is to use “HABIT REPLACEMENT” as a catalyst while trying to change your habit. (ie. Since I loved my morning tea and reading, I decided to replace my tea with a herbal concoction (masala chai) without any tea leaves or caffeine) This kind of replacement will keep you in touch with how you associate to your daily routine and yet help you gradually find new supportive ways to lose weight.
The third tip that can be useful is to “HABIT STACK” . Once a small good habit has found its place in your life, your next step is to build upon it. (ie. once I started having my non caffeine chai, I would usually hang around or pick up my phone for social media updates, or check my emails etc.)
I identified that this isn’t serving my end goal which was to lose weight, it may be bringing a quick gratification but in reality, I was losing my precious morning time which could be used to squeeze in a short workout. So I laid my yoga mat in the same room the night before next to where I’d sit in the morning. So all I had to do was hop on the yoga mat in my Pjs and do some 20 minutes of Surya Namaskar and breath work.
Last but not the least, if you want to set yourself for success, make sure you create this amplifying environment that all the time supports your end goals. (ie. when I would suddenly feel hungry and as my blood sugar felt a dip I would crave for all sorts of crackers, cookies and bread, so i devised a plan of avoiding to keep such food at home in stock and replacing it with healthier options that was easy for me to reach like dates, fruits, roasted peanuts, nut butters etc.)
If you are someone who craves for unhealthy salty or sugary snacks, refrain from buying such foods (try it for a week) or make it hard to reach such food and mark it as “Dead Foods that reminds you of your end goal.
Let me summarize this for you
I can’t let you go without dispersing this hard truth that you gotta remember with utmost seriousness. If you form a habit, make sure you do it with consistency. Failing once is ok but failing twice is a downward spiral which you don’t want to slide down to.
Understanding Veganism, Flexitarianism, Plant-Based Diet, Vegetarian, Pescaterian, Ketogenic Diet, Paleo Diets: Definitions, benefits in weight loss/maintenance and sustainability factor
What is the theory of diet?
Simply put, food theory is a term used to describe how human beings think about food. It is the picture that exists in an adult’s mind with regard to what they eat, how they eat, and the quantity they eat.
I have studied more than 100 plus dietary theories during my health coaching education. I have had a broader perspective of all existing diets and yet my belief which is backed by my multiple research in the field of health science, longevity and rapidly growing chronic diseases settles on a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet being the best for humans.
Since many of us get confused in the ocean of nutrition knowledge. Let me uncover some of the confusion or even ignorant perceptions on some of the common diets that exist today.
Vegan Diet: A vegan diet omits all animal products and by-products: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, honey, leather, fur, silk, and wool. Many vegans avoid cosmetics and soaps derived from animal products, as well as foods processed using animal products such as refined white sugar and some wines. Many vegans do not use products tested on animals.
Ethical commitment, optimal health, and moral conviction are often the main motivations for vegans.
Pros:
Cons:
Flexitarian: The Flexitarian Diet, in simple terms, is a more flexible version of the vegetarian diet. “Flexible” in this case means that meat may be eaten on occasion, though the diet is primarily plant-based.
Pros:
Cons:
Vegetarian: A Vegetarian diet is a plant-based approach that excludes meat, poultry, and fish. Most vegetarians consume dairy products, and many eat eggs. Those vegetarians who consume both eggs and dairy are referred to as lacto-ovo vegetarians, while those who consume only dairy are lacto vegetarians.
Pros:
Cons:
Pescaterian: A pescetarian eats fish and shellfish, but no red meat, poultry, or other land animals. In addition to seafood, a pescetarian diet typically includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, and beans. Some people choose to include eggs as well. While many individuals choose this diet for better health, others have moral, religious, or cultural ties to it. Fish is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which boast a plethora of health benefits.
However, fish is not the direct source of Omega 3. Algae in the oceans is where the fish gets its Omega 3s. Safest & nutritious food sources of Omega 3 are walnuts, flax seeds, chia seeds.
Pros:
Cons:
Ketogenic Diet: The Ketogenic Diet, dating back to the 1920s, was created to help control epileptic seizures in individuals who do not respond to medication. The diet is based on the process of ketosis, in which the body uses ketones for fuel instead of glucose. Ketones are a byproduct of fat metabolism that are utilized in times of starvation, carbohydrate restriction, or excessive exercise. For the body to reach a state of ketosis, calorie intake must be limited and composed of 80% fat. The remaining calories should come from low-carb vegetables and protein.
Foods are high in saturated and unsaturated fats including meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, nuts, fish, various oils etc. Foods they exclude are vegetables, fruits, healthy carbs, legumes, trans fat and processed foods.
Pros:
Cons:
Paleo Diet: The Paleolithic diet, also known as Paleo or Primal diet, is rooted in the belief that sticking to food our caveman ancestors would have eaten leads to optimal health. This includes meat, fish, vegetables, wild fruits, eggs, nuts, and more. The goal of the Paleo approach is to consume the foods cavemen did millions of years ago, before the cultivation of grains and legumes, and well before the invention of processed, packaged foods. According to Paleo advocates, if a caveman wouldn’t eat it, modern people shouldn’t either.
Guidelines include eating a relatively high amount of healthy fat such as coconut oil, avocado, ghee, and olives. Vegetables, raw or cooked, are the primary source of carbohydrates, rendering the diet relatively low-carb. Animal protein, including its naturally occurring fat, should be included in the diet. Red meat, poultry, pork, eggs, and organ meat are all encouraged.
Pros:
Cons:
Whole Foods Plant- based Diet: The Whole Foods Plant-Based Diet is a simple way of eating. It limits animal based foods to rare occasions if at all and avoids processed food– A food that is still close to the form in which it grew. It includes 5 main food groups such as whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts & seeds. You can also add herbs and spices as an important part of a WFPB diet. Limiting processed foods, or anything that comes pre-packaged.
Pros:
Cons:
Note: Always consult your GP/PHYSICIANS. This article is no way giving you any medical recommendations or asking you to override your doctor’s advice. Nurture Yourself is not responsible for any health issues you may have or develop in future.
Time for cooking: Prep 45 min (approx. including the prep)
Servings: 4 portions
Soak black gram beans overnight. Next day in a pressure cooker , give 2 whistles or until soft. You can alternatively boil it too in some water in a pot for about 30 min or so.
Drain the excess water and let the beans sit aside.
Heat a wide pan, add the onions , sauté until light down. Now add the carrots and stir for another 5 minutes on low heat.
Now go on adding the peppers and ginger. Sprinkle some water if you find the veggies sticking to the pan.
After about 2-3 minutes, when the veggies look a little soft , add the spices. Incorporate the spices and let it sit for 3-4 minutes.
Now add the tomato paste and the remaining water. Mix everything well. Now add cherry tomatoes . Give a good stir. Cover and let it cook for 5 min.
Meanwhile, in a fry pan, add 8-10 cashews and toast until sprightly brown. Let it cool and then break them into small pieces. Keep aside.
Uncover the rice, stir again. Turn the heat off. Squeeze lemon juice. Garnish with coriander leaves and cashews. Serve immediately.
It’s really an easy way to have a protein rich warm meal during the winter weeknights. Get creative with your veggies choice. Any veggies your family likes can be added to this recipe.
Would you also try our comforting Rissotto recipe? Here is the link https://nurtureyourselfnow.com/green-light-risotto/” Its a surprising way to add greens in your meals. Give a try!
Weight loss is not fun or glamorous. I am a testimony to this. My journey to weight loss or getting on the bandwagon of weight loss began in 2008. It was right before my wedding. Under the pressure of parents, the society to look a certain way on your BIG day casted this scarce feeling of not looking pretty enough. I started finding shortcuts to weight loss. I jumped on an expensive gym membership, tried multiple yoga studios, got into heat therapy to melt my fat, starved myself and ate a plate full of cucumbers and carrots for dinner for weeks. You name it, and I had tried all in just a couple of months to my wedding.
It was like an obsession which now makes absolutely no-sense to me. But decades have gone by, and I am not the same person anymore. My new evolved self knows better. Anyway, to cut the story short, once I got married I never bothered about weight loss. I was happy with my body and never felt it negatively affected my being or self worth. Yet, I did envy the fit women who aced their way with short skinny jeans and fitted tops.
As I got busy living an expat life, raising my two beautiful kids, and other things just sort of took higher priority in my life. Only when my youngest son turned 1 years old, that my focus started shifting to my own wellbeing. Unlike the past, this time my focus was on my HOLISTIC WELLBEING (not weight loss). Yes, I still wanted to lose weight & feel good in my body. But, my WHY SHIFTED. I no longer wanted to be fit to look a certain way, I wanted to be fit for my kids, and for my future self who would feel energetic all day, could keep up with my active boys. Hence, I started focusing on two aspects of health, mainly fitness and food. Mind you, at that time fitness still for me was my go to for all the bad eating, late night binging, indulging on more desserts than I should and more. In short, I became a fitness buff. I’d use most of my free time working out in a gym or running by the river. I’d come out of the gym which was in one of the hotels (at the time I was living in Kazakhstan) and would meet my girlfriend and splurge on a piece of cake from a cafe based in the Renaissance hotel. (this memory is so vivid, I’d treat myself for doing the extra 2k run in the gym). There isn’t anything wrong with working out but spending 1.5 hours in the gym was to me a punishment and hence I over indulged later.
This journey continued for years. I worked hard, starved for days and then over indulged. There were days I’d eat only salads and soups for that special day where I would try every dessert on the restaurant menu. I used to feel wonderful about my efforts which at the time was in reality 100% futile. I was in this vicious cycle of a yo yo dieting lifestyle. I’d try to hop on a seasonal diet (right before summer holidays, new years, anniversary, etc). I used to believe the only way to lose weight is to restrict the foods I love or enjoy eating. Gosh, it was an insanely torturous mindset. At the time, it felt normal and even true because everyone around me validated my beliefs. They were all sailing in the same boat- an hour of gym; six times a week, staying up hungry only to end up binge eating later, or dissecting nutrition into macros and micros and feeling shame and guilt for not adhering to the plan of eating right.
Although I was trying hard to lose weight and get fitter, I was still missing the BIG PICTURE. I wasn’t focusing on my long term health. I was seeking diet miracles to happen. This led to short term gains and led to backfiring all my efforts. It slowed my metabolism and messed up my hormones.
About 5 years ago, when I experienced a serious health challenge, I was forced to change the lens. I no longer cared what my weight was, how I looked. Although I continued my health journey, my goal was specific and crystal clear to me this time. I wanted to stay fit and live a long , disease free life. Sadly, I started realizing that everyone around me was suffering from some chronic condition or living with unexplained symptoms like muscular pain, period pains, hair loss, allergies, etc. Literally a whole spectrum of symptoms you can think of. The more I observed & listened to my friends & family, read and learnt through various education media, my curiosity kept growing. I was determined to know why we are getting sicker and why even young children are developing diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, asthma, ADHD, skin allergies, poor eyesight, etc. It still worries me to see the amount of packaged and highly processed items our kids are exposed to through various media channels which frankly I don’t even consider food .
I’d say that is when my REAL HEALTH JOURNEY BEGAN. I poured myself into books, got certified as a Health Coach, took my training in Holistic Nutrition and became a certified nutritionist. My hunger for knowledge didn’t end there, as I started feeling better, self combated my health challenges without the use of any medications, I started believing in the miracle of food for the very first time in my life. Truly, until then I don’t think I had made this connection deep enough. It was an AHA moment!! Yes, a WHOLE FOOD PLANT-BASED LIFESTYLE really healed me.
My empowered self stayed on course with this new lifestyle. Although, I faced many challenges which were to name a few like:
Despite all these challenges and more, I stayed true to my purpose. I knew in my heart that I have the power to heal and support my body. Although it took me years to figure out, I made many mistakes and learnt from it. Now all the pieces of the puzzle make sense to me. As a side effect I lost 50 pounds in approx 2 years. My hair grew longer than ever, my energy went through the roofs and my mood and anxiety settled for good. A secret which I’d not like to keep from you is when my health started getting better, I realized that the daily subtle aches in my body, monthly period pains, occasional acne, mood swings, snapping at small discomforts, my hair loss and my restless sleep were all connected. It was all the damaged pieces of the same big puzzle- my Holistic Health. I then realized that for so many years I was living a reductionist life. My paradigm towards true well being shifted almost 360 degrees.
I am only grateful for the awakening I experienced through a rough patch in my life when I was diagnosed with PCOS, mild depression and to say the least a life where I felt I needed to gasp air to feel alive everyday. This has been my journey with bits that I wanted to share with you. I know people who have been in touch with me or know me enough can feel and understand this to an extent. For the rest of you, here is what and how my journey unfolded. A complete shift as I say that brought health, happiness and freedom to live life without restriction.
This transformation didn’t stop there, as I embraced this lifestyle by simply staying true to my journey while restoring my health, soon my family started following my lead. It felt almost like a river taking its own course but at the end merging together at its final destination which is long term health and happiness. We as a family follow a plant dominant lifestyle with focus on disease free health, vitality and sustainable future for our innocent counterparts (animals) and our planet.
And this message is for you, it doesn’t have to be perfect, because perfection is just a false delusion of mind and in my perspective hinders growth.
There are these three features used to diagnose PCOS. These are-
Apart from the above, PCOS has many signs and symptoms, some of which may not seem to be related like –
These problems may seem not a serious issue, not many women/ girls talk about these to their doctors until they have trouble getting pregnant or they experience frequent missed periods.
Note: Although PCOS is a leading cause of infertility, many women with PCOS can and do get pregnant. Pregnant women who have PCOS, however, are at higher risk for certain problems, such as miscarriage.
Researchers and health care providers suggest that PCOS likely results from a combination of causes, including genes and environmental factors. Some genetic or chemical changes that occur in the womb.
Although the cause of PCOS is not known, PCOS may be related to many different factors working together. These factors include insulin resistance, increased levels of hormones called androgens, and an irregular menstrual cycle.
It’s best to speak to your doctor and get his opinion on various testing options available that may help with the diagnosis.
There is currently no cure for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and it does not go away on its own.
This should be the first line of treatment to manage PCOS. Lifestyle changes help by reducing insulin resistance and restoring hormonal imbalance.
Regular physical movement. This means any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that require energy and structured exercise. Always consult your doctor before taking up a new exercise routine if you suffer from a serious medical condition or are on medications.
Restorative sleep can ease many related symptoms like weight gain, tiredness , lethargy associated with PCOS. Aim for restorative sleep of seven to nine hours every night.
Identify your daily stress triggers. Not all stress is bad, but stress that prolongs and starts impacting other areas of your life are chronic stress that can put you at risk of other chronic lifestyle conditions. Find ways to manage your stress. Avoid risky substances such as alcohol and smoking.
Losing weight and being more physically active can minimize many PCOS symptoms and related conditions. Even a 5% weight loss can improve many symptoms of PCOS.
Foods that are full of fiber and micronutrients that are wholesome are absorbed slowly keeping blood sugars normal results in weight-loss without messing the hormone balance. Women should be advised to focus on a predominantly Whole Foods Plant-Based way of eating as we know this works very well in men and women with Type 2 diabetes and also the metabolic syndrome.
Eating a fiber rich plant based diet helps lower inflammation and oxidative stress, promote healthy gut bacteria and helps to normalize blood sugars and reduces insulin resistance. Weight loss may also result in a decrease in serum androgen concentrations and, in some, improvements in hirsutism.
PCOS can have a very silent existence and yet it can be a source of lethargy, lack of proper sleep, menstrual pain, acne and overall affecting your daily life. Once you have been diagnosed with PCOS, you have to seriously seek medical advice from your health professional. Get prepared to make lifestyle changes. A lifestyle coach like me can offer you guidance, support and accountability you need to experience a positive shift in your health.
Seek progress not perfection. The more positive changes you will make, the more positive changes you will see in your PCOS related symptoms. The European journal of social psychology published a study that says- for a new habit to become automatic, it may take 66 days. So don’t lose hope or give up on a small yet mighty healthy habit you have begun. They compound slowly but it’s worth your time and commitment.
