Hello friends,

I have been getting more and more emails and comments about my PCOS.

• Can I share an update?
• Can I share more about acne and pcos?
• Can I share tips on what to do, where to start?
• Can I share tips for weight-loss and pcos?

I hope to get to most of those over a few posts, as it is so much information to put in one post. I hope to break it up some.

I don’t consider myself an expert on PCOS, just someone who is dealing with it. Here to share my journey. Remember PCOS is complicated and very different for each of us dealing with it. Again like everything that relates to health, diet, and weight loss we are all different and will have different journeys and outcomes. So one thing that might help someone else might not help you.  Do your research. I just hope my story with healing hormonal acne due to PCOS can help someone else in some way. At least know you are not alone in the battle.

The main reason why I have not really shared much on my acne and PCOS as I am still dealing with it.

I am not healed…yet!

Yes I do feel you can heal yourself from PCOS.

It’s not a quick fix. If your looking for an overnight cure, then you are in the wrong place. As my journey is still happening. My hormones are still trying to get balanced. Although, they are better.

Today I will be sharing a few things that have helped with my acne and PCOS so far on my journey.

I’ve learned so much about PCOS through Stefani PCOS unlocked book. Highly recommend it. And if you don’t follow her blog, you need too as she has a lot of great information about PCOS on it.  She did a great job in going through all the details about PCOS and what to do about it. Love how she broke PCOS into 3 categories. I feel I fall into Type II, the overly stressed – hypothalamic amenorrhea – PCOS category.

Looking back at these past few years I have been under A LOT OF STRESS which I know now might have been huge factors of why I am dealing with PCOS. I knew stress can be very harmful to overall health, but now I realize first hand that stress can be detrimental on so many different levels.  Even good stress – as it is still stress to the body!

I dealt with moving to a new city, getting engaged and planning a wedding, getting a puppy (more particular a vizsla), bought a house, changed careers, studied to be a personal trainer, started a new job, and during this time played around with exercise and my changed my diet. Now that is a lot of stress in a short period of time. Stress adds up over time!!

Knowing all these really helps me realize the bigger picture and helps me with the healing part of PCOS and acne.

Disclaimer: I am not an doctor or nutritionist. This post and tips are from MY personal experience with dealing and still dealing with PCOS and acne. Please consult your doctor before trying anything. Again you may have different results with some of of my tips. And that is ok, as we are all different and need different things.

Let’s begin.

Do I feel I have made improvements in my skin and acne?

YES!

Do I feel that I am healed?

NO. As I still get a few pimples on lower cheeks and jaw line area. Not as intense but still a few. So making small progress.

What are some things that I’ve done to help? I will share even more details in another post next week with more.

• Take more antioxidant supplements.
• I spray a niacin complex balancing mists on face – morning and night.
• Keep face routine simple – only splash with water in the morning with niacin spray and moisturizer.
• Keep reducing stress as much as I can.
• Eating (to my best ability) a low inflammatory and low glycemic diet for the most part.
• Eating more paleo/primal like —> as for those insulin resistant eating more paleo like can really help with weight-loss and PCOS. Though my issue was never weight-loss but feel I might have some insulin issues. And I do feel eating more primal is great for those with food sensitives and digestion issues like me. I know it’s not for everyone, and that is ok but I have seen improvements in myself by eating this way.
• Be careful with my carbs. Still playing around with my carb intake to find how much my bodies likes to be happy.

What is the deal with carbs and PCOS?

To me the amount of carbs a person can handle, no matter if they have PCOS or not, greatly varies from person to person. Whether you have PCOS or not, but how active you truly are! I do feel those with PCOS have to be more careful with the kind of carbs and the amount of carbs. Some people might do better with eating higher carbs where someone else might have to keep their carbs low. It really all depends. Carbs is still one macronutrient that I am struggling with in what and how much my body can handle. Something that Michelle and I share in our program, things we learn and try as the body can be confusing.

Some articles I read say no more than 80g of carbs, others say no less than 100g, and others say around 150g or more, and others say 40g or less. Those are big differences. So my advice to those that have PCOS and acne —> experiment. Track your carbs and see how you do. If you are not seeing any changes in 1-2 weeks, switch it up. Keep playing around until you find your sweet spot to heal your PCOS.  

One thing I do know about carbs is that I like to eat my carbs with protein and fat. I can eat protein and fat alone but I don’t like to eat carbs alone. I feel eating my carbs with protein and/or fat helps balance and stabilize my blood sugar levels. I also do feel that eating more gluten-free can help PCOS; even further would be grain-free. Now I am not perfect at it, as you know I eat some things that aren’t quite grain-free etc but I feel it is about the 80/20 rule. Having some balance and some fun in life as you find what foods your body likes.

make-up helps 

I will share more on PCOS in terms of exercise and weight-loss and more things that I am doing to help with acne in another posts here soon.

One key takeaway from this is:

EVERYONE HAS DIFFERENT NEEDS when dealing with acne and PCOS. Experiment until you find success. And know that it takes TIME. A LOT OF TIME. And most of important thing to do is reduce your STRESS!!

Be patient with healing your PCOS, hormones, and acne or whatever health issue you are dealing with. —> something that I have to remind myself every single day.

Visualize yourself healing. Visualize yourself beating PCOS. Visualize yourself having clear skin. —-> again something I have to tell myself all the time.

Stay positive. Focus all your energy on positivity. Remember whatever you focus on – that is where your energy is going to. So make sure you focus more on positivity and seeing yourself healed.

Each day I wake up believing that something great is going to happen. That today might be the day that I heal my acne. That I heal my PCOS. That I won’t have a new pimple to cover up. That I don’t have to be so careful with my diet. That I can eat just about anything and be fine.

Sure, I have many days where I get sad and frustrated (okay this happens a lot), but I do my damn best to stay positive and believe that one day I will be healed. You have to think and believe this too!

Some days I am grateful for my acne and PCOS as it has lead me to learn to take better care of myself. Has allowed me to focus on ME. Focus on my inner happiness. Focus on healing ME. It has taught me to never stop trying. Never stop believing. Never stop learning. To never give up.

I view my journey with acne like someone’s journey with weight-loss. They are different yet the same. You start trying something new and begin to see results. You start becoming so hopeful and happy that you figured it out. That you are making progress. Then… it stops. It stops working. You start to lose hope. You have to start digging deep to keep going. You start reading more. Researching more for that next big thing to help.  You start to find other things to try. You see improvements. The happiness and hope comes back. Then it stops working. It’s a vicious cycle.  Believe me I know. Though my issue is not about losing weight but about getting clear skin. Whatever your issue is… NEVER give up!! Realize it takes time to see results, especially long lasting results. Never stop loving yourself along the way. And learn to control your stress. I really do feel stress is one of the main issues for a lot of health issues.

I will be back in a few days with more face products and supplements that I am using and liking to help with acne and PCOS.  In hopes that it may give you some relief.

No matter what you may be going through – always keep your head up. Never give up!

Sorry for the long rambling posts, just wanted to get those thoughts off my chest. Thanks for reading.

UPDATE — read here to see how my skin is doing and what I am doing to get clear skin.

#bepurelyyou

be passionate and fit

xoxo

Lori