POWER over PCOS Blog

1. Go to bed earlier tonight:

In the two hours before midnight, your body is in ‘super healing mode’. Sleep before midnight enhances your recovery from the days stresses, and helps your body physically renew itself. Even if you get a good eight hours after midnight, it’s not as beneficial as eight hours with some of that being before midnight. So turn off the tv and computer by 8pm, dim the lights or light candles, and get your body prepared for sleep by 10pm.

2. Drink 8 glasses of water today, and add freshly squeezed lemon juice to 3 of them:

Measure your water intake and make sure it is at least 8 glasses or two litres. Have 3 between morning

and midday, and 5 between midday and evening. If you’re out and about, fill up the required amount in

bottles, and make sure it’s gone by the end of the day. If you’re at home or work, set a reminder every

half hour to take a few sips. Squeeze some lemon directly into the water, three times a day, and this will help regulate your pH, helping your cells to function at their best.

3. Avoid dairy, gluten, and excess fat today:

These foods are a strain on the digestive system, and dairy and gluten contribute to acidity and

inflammation, so give your gut a break and stick to lean protein like chicken or fish, vegetables, fruits,

seeds, nuts, and gluten free grains like basmati rice and quinoa (if you’re not on a Paleolithic diet).

4. Take 30 minutes to work out your whole body:

Do 15 minutes of walking, with alternating periods of fast and slow (eg: 2 minutes fast, 2 minutes slow),

and 15 minutes of stretching and strength exercises. By doing this 30 minute workout your insulin sensitivity and fat burning will be improved for the next day or two.

5. Meditate tonight:

Before bed, or while having a bath, take at least 20 minutes to follow a relaxation or meditation sequence. If you’re not used to meditating, download one of the many relaxation or guided meditation recordings off the internet, or use a CD if you have one. Alternatively, you can simply enjoy the quiet. Focus on your breathing, and visualise your muscles relaxing. Doing this will not only prepare you for a restful sleep, but will also activate your inner healing mechanisms.

Good news!, you can now pre-order your own signed copy of POWER over PCOS the book, with updated content, and a 7th step added in the PCOS solution.

To celebrate the pre-launch, the first 27 to reserve their copy will also receive a BONUS PCOS Success audio CD valued at $57!

Take a look now at the details and grab your copy…

Learning what to eat with PCOS is one thing, but drinks are also a part of our diet that needs atttention, because if you are eating well but drinking the wrong drinks, then you may not see results.

Firstly, water is really all that we need. The human body is between about 60 and 75% water, and about two litres (8 cups) is lost each day. This water needs to be replaced for our cells to function optimally. The body itself can actually make about a cup of water a day, and we also get some water from food, so you may not need to drink the full two litres to stay hydrated, but if you exercise you will need to increase your intake.

So drink plenty of water each day, and make sure it’s filtered water. You can also add some fresh lemon or apple cider vinegar to the water for added health benefits.

You can also enjoy some other drinks in moderation. Unless you are really struggling with your weight or insulin resistance, you can have small amounts of juice with no added sugar or preservatives. When I drink juice, I always dilute it about half an half. You can also have sparkling mineral water or soda water with a small amount of juice added for flavour. This is nice to have with a meal if you want something fizzy.

Another option is sparkling apple cider with no sugar or additives, just apple juice with bubbles! This is low GI, but will still give you a fair amount of natural fruit sugar to process, so drink in moderation. I often make up a drink with soda water and a powdered sports rehydration formula that has electrolytes and magnesium in it. Not the ones you see advertised, those ones are high in sugar. The one I use has no sugar or artificial sweeteners, and contains several beneficial nutrients within a natural lemon flavour. Great for before and after exercise too. For details of this formula, contact me.

Say goodbye to soft drinks/sodas if you want to get the best health results. These are not much more than sugar, and lots of it! plus they often have artifical additives which the body doesn’t need, and add to the body’s toxic load. Don’t think the no sugar versions are any better though, these have artifical sweeteners that may have negative health effects, and actually make you more hungry and likely to gain weight!

When it comes to alcohol, the effect on PCOS is that it can upset blood sugar balance and increase testosterone levels, so preferably avoid it or only have it occasionally and in small amounts.

Tea and coffee are best reduced, and in some cases eliminated (yes you CAN live without them!). Although there are some health benefits, there are also health consequences. Regular intake of caffeine is not good for the body, and the tannins in tea can affect nutrient absorption. Being diuretics, they can also enhance the elimination of certain nutrients. The thing with coffee in particular, is that most people add sugar or artifical sweetener, along with milk. I don’t recommend artificial sweeteners, including aspartame and splenda, but instead, use natural sweeteners such as xylitol and stevia. Xylitol can be used in the same way as sugar. Enjoy your tea and coffee in moderation rather than a daily (or 5 times daily!) occurrence.

Hot chocolate will have less caffeine, so if you are wanting to cut back on coffee, then substituting it with HC can be one way to help wean you off the caffeine. Just don’t add any extra sugar, and have a soy hot chocolate rather than a dairy milk one.

Herbal teas are also good, especially spearmint, dandelion, and chamomile.

So when it comes to drinks, think water first, then remember - No added sugar, No artificial additives, No or reduced caffeine.

Feeling thirsty yet??

Weight loss of about 5% of body weight can often re-start absent menstrual cycles and ovulation, and help improve the chances of conception.

However, this is often not enough for many women.

Losing excess body fat and gaining more lean muscle will help improve insulin resistance and high testosterone levels, two factors involved in cycle and fertility problems. But this is only part of it.

To give yourself the best chance of achieving conception, you also need to address your nutritional status; replenishing deficient nutrients and getting adequate amounts of all nutrients, which is almost impossible these days without supplementation. A quality multivitamin is a good place to start, but there are other nutrients deficient in todays food supply. The Power over PCOS ebook gives an overview of all necessary supplements. There are also natural supplements you can take to increase your chances of conception. Various herbal formulas have been used successfully for years.

Also, we are exposed to hundreds of thousands of chemicals today, and although we can’t always see them, many have damaging effects in the body over time, and because of this our natural elimination systems can become stressed and overworked. An example is bisphenol-A, a chemical in plastic that can contribute to insulin resistance, a major factor in PCOS. The human body will naturally try to avoid conception when it perceives a stressful internal environment, such as occurs with toxin accumulation. A proper three-stage detoxification program is vital to enhancing the elimination of toxins, and I have seen time and time again, women finally being able to conceive after doing a detox program.

Your mindset is also a factor in whether you will be able to conceive or not. This is because research shows that our thoughts directly affect our genes. If you are often thinking negative or fearful thoughts, your body’s protective genes will be turned on which can do more harm than good, by creating inflammation and stress responses. On the other hand, with positive and calm thoughts, your ideal genes can be activated which allow for a healthier internal environment for conception to occur.

If you’re saying things like “Nothing is happening”, or “I just can’t conceive”, think about what that may be doing to your body. Of course, fertility problems are hard to deal with and you need to express your frustrations, but try to ‘reframe’ the way you think and speak about the issue. Focus on building up your belief that it can happen, and focus on building up your overall health, rather than focusing and putting your hopes on just one thing such as weight loss.

So yes, weight loss can help, but it is only a small part of the whole picture. Some doctors say “Just lose weight”, but this is a dismissive and ignorant thing to say to a woman trying to conceive. There are many other things can reduce and improve fertility, and all must be paid attention to to achieve the best possible outcome.

Follow the PCOS 6 Step Solution for best results.

If you’ve seen the television show FlashForward you’ll know that the whole world blacked out for a couple of minutes and got to see what their life was going to be like in six month’s time. Some saw good things, some saw bad things. What do you think you would see if you got a glimpse into the future?

It’s an interesting thing to consider isn’t it…

The good thing is, you have more choice than you may realize when it comes to what you would see. The choices you make now are shaping your future. You need only think of what you would like to see, and take action towards that goal. Of course, we don’t always know what’s around the corner, but we do have the ability to create the kind of life we want, including when it comes to our health.

What do you want to see in 6 months time?

So have a think… where do you think you will be in six month’s time? Are you happy with what you see? If not, then you need to make some changes. If you want things to change for the better then YOU must change for the better. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If you feel you have not been moving forward with your health for a while, then maybe it’s time to change what you are doing, or take action on something you have been putting off. Become educated on ways to improve your health, not to just ‘treat’ PCOS. Move forward with something positive and see yourself in a better position six months from now. It’s up to you.

Maybe you could…

- Start a different exercise regime

- Do a proper detox program

- Start budgeting for those supplements that can help

- Learn strategies to improve your mindset and attitude

- Work out a healthier eating plan

- Read more health books

The important thing is to “Do something today to create the tomorrow you want”.

…It upsets me to see so many women with PCOS suffering when they don’t have to. I know what you are going through, and I also know how to come through it. I would love to help you along your way, and that is the reason I created my PCOS mentoring program at www.pcossuccess.com , to give women like you the knowledge, resources, guidance, support and accountability you need to achieve real results. PCOS is no longer a problem for me in my life, and it doesn’t have to be for you either.

So I ask you again… What Will You See In Your FlashForward ?

~ Julie

Visit my facebook page and follow my quick updates, photos, tips, and news. See you there!

Have you achieved what you set out to do in 2009? There’s still time! Only 100 days until the end of the year. Take the opportunity to review what you would like to achieve, and go for it! Maybe you would like to drop a dress size or two, stick to a healthy eating or exercise plan, get your ideal job or career, write a book, or anything else that you would like to achieve.

Having goals is important in all areas of life, but we all know they can sometimes be hard to achieve - we lose focus, interest, or feel its too hard. But really, reaching a goal is all about setting the intention to achieve it, believing you can, and breaking it down into manageable steps.

The 100 Day Challenge has just been launched to help you end the year with a bang! do you want to be where you are right now at the end of 2009, or do you want to be where you want to be?? Take action and achieve the results you want!

The Gabriel Method is known as the revolutionary ‘diet-free’ way to lose weight. Written by the once obese but now slim and toned Jon Gabriel, this book is unique in that it isn’t focused on a diet or exercise plan. Instead, its focus is on getting your body to ‘want’ to be thin.

This sounds strange, but it can actually happen. The body has what he calls ‘fat programs’; physiological and metabolic changes that cause the body to store fat and prevent it’s loss from the body, in an effort to protect it from a perceived threat of some kind. Just like these programs can be turned on, they can also be turned off, allowing the body to naturally lean towards a state of being slim.

The book goes into detail about how our beliefs and perceptions in daily life can actually result in weight gain, because of these fat programs being turned on. Jon’s background in biochemistry, along with his personal experience, adds credibility to this program.

I must admit, I was skeptical when I first heard about this book, but once I read the first few pages I knew that he was talking about something I know well – the effect of your mindset on your body, and in this case, on your body shape.

Jon discusses how you can change your mindset to turn these fat programs off, and how to allow your body to crave healthy foods and exercise. The book also includes a visualisation CD which is an integral part of the program.

If weight loss is important to you, I can recommend reading through this book and taking on board his suggestions, along with following your healthy way of eating, and the other steps in the Power over PCOS book.

For all the details on The Gabriel Method, click here.

For the Australian edition of the book, click here.

~ Julie

P.S - Let me know your results with this program!

I have had the privilege of being a co-author in this huge book, along with experts such as Dr Joseph Mercola, Dr Susan Lark, and many others. Never before has a book compiled such a wealth of knowledge from so many health experts around the world. This book is truly one of a kind, containing advanced strategies and secrets to achieving an optimal state of health and longevity.

Also makes a great gift for the important people in your life (including yourself!)

More info here…

The answer is “YES”.

Many women are told by doctors “You have PCOS… You won’t be able to have children”, but this is wrong. Yes it can be difficult for some, but not impossible.

There are many women who have gone on to become mothers, either naturally, or with the help of medical treatments.

Ideally, four to six months of natural health promoting treatments should be employed first, before resorting to invasive procedures. Even if you don’t achieve conception this way, your health will be in a much better state to prepare for treatments such as IVF.

To give your body the best chance of conceiving, you need to have optimal nutrition through diet AND supplements, aim towards a healthier body composition (losing fat can help fertility), remove excess toxins from the body via detoxification, and create the right mindset around conceiving… this means focusing on the outcome of what you want and believing it is possible.

A great way to believe that you can conceive, is to read success stories.

I have created a new ebook just for this purpose - to inspire you and show you that you CAN become a mother. It’s called CONCEIVABLE and you can download it here:

http://www.conceivewithpcos.com

Julie