Second Mile - Check

Second Mile - Check

12.40 Minutes. I feel fat lol... It can only get better from here though, right?

I need someone to dress up as a Zombie and get behind me when I'm on the treadmill. Spur me on to run faster. I'll try to imagine one next time.... RAWR

First Mile - Slaughtered.

Ok so maybe not slaughtered, but I did finish my first mile. I did not run it all the way, but I felt pretty excited that I did about half at a run/jog and the rest at a very brisk walk. I could have kept going but I did not want to push my luck. I have a habit of over doing it and then paying for it the next day.

I also realized that I need to start stretching on a daily basis. I am still fairly flexible, but not nearly as flexible as I once was.

So first mile? Check.

I am on my way.

I am not a Runner.... yet.

I bought my first ever official pair of running shoes today. I was having a hard time finding a pair that would work for me. (I have a pretty common size and the Boston Marathon was yesterday so pretty much everyone was sold out of everything.)

These are the ones I ended up picking up the Asics Gel Cumulus 10:



I think they are kinda sexy. Well for shoes.

I really wanted to get a pair of the Nike+ shoes, but I could not find any in my size. I want to go visit NikeTown in Boston, so I may go into Boston on Sunday, since Tim is going to be visiting his sister this weekend.

These are the ones I am considering from Nike:

Nike Air Max Moto+ 6



Nike Air Pegasus+ 25



Nike Zoom Vomero+ 4




I do still need to get the iPod Nano kit like this:



Can you tell what my favorite color is yet? Lol.

I have a shuffle I am going to use in the meantime. My birthday is coming up so I am not allowed to make any purchases for myself, per Tim. Hopefully it's an early birthday present :)

So, we will see how this running thing goes. I'm not a runner.... yet.

PS. This is totally gonna be me and Tim once we start training together:

Update

So the visit with the doctor man was pretty average. We talked about the grey hair and he suggested I continue with the daily vitamin and the extra B12 supplement. I have an appointment at the end of May to see an Endocrinologist and he wants to see what the results are before we change anything. Now that I am used to the Metformin finally, I am going to start working on increasing my exercise.

Tim has started to train seriously for the Boston Marathon, and it's inspired me to start running as well. I have a long way to go but it would be awesome to maybe do it myself some day. We will see how my ankles hold up.

OMG Grey hair?!

So the other night, Tim (the love of my life) changed the light bulbs in our bathroom.

Brand new light bulbs = super brighter than normal.

I was straightening my hair, and doing so I typically shed a little bit. Most of it ends up on my shirt. I just happen to be wearing a black shirt, so when I went to brush it off, I noticed something strange... a grey hair! I immediately leaned in to have a closer look at my hair.

I am going grey. It is not immediately noticeable, but when I run my hands through my hair, I see flecks of it throughout. It is a lot, and not just one or two grey strands. Especially since I'm only 28 (almost 29) and my mom didn't start going grey until her 40's.

What the heck....! I seriously feel like it is one thing after another lately. Makes me seriously sad.



The only plus side is that I am pretty confident what is causing it. It might be from the Metformin. Metformin has been known to cause a deficiency in B12. B12 deficiency is known to cause premature grey hair. Although grey hair can also be a symptom of a thyroid problem. Boo either way. I have been taking a B12 supplement, in addition to a daily vitamin so we will see what my Dr says tomorrow. Happily I have an appointment with him for my annual check up anyway. I will update once I get back from the doctor.

Metformin - Dose 3

OMG a bit of success finally! I have officially lost some actual weight! I am so excited to finally see some results.

It seems like that I am finally getting used to the Metformin. There are certain foods that still upset my stomach and I try to avoid them, but other than that things are going pretty good.

I know it is going to take some time and it will all be worth it, but I get incredibly frustrated sometimes because it just seems like no matter what I do the weight just isn't coming off.

One of the really hard things about having PCOS is that it is actually harder for those of us affected with it to loose weight. Many women with PCOS eat much less than what is considered average, but they still gain or do not loose weight. Our bodies pretty much work against us and store fat much faster than normal. Our metabolism is also a lot slower than the average person.

The Metformin should help counter act against all that is working against me, so we will see how things look in a few months or so.

Hair loss update!

Happy news! My hair has stopped falling out! Hooray!

I've been taking the Densitive and I also picked up a sample kit of their curly regime. My hair is definitely happy with me right now, which in turn makes me happy. I got it trimmed a few days ago and the stylist agreed that I should definitely try the supplements to help with my hair loss. I'm super excited that things are starting to look up :)

Metformin - Dose 2

Nothing terribly note worthy to mention about the second dose of Metformin. It has gone pretty well which makes me super happy. I am still really thirsty and I typically have to eat every three hours or so, but I have learned little tricks.

I keep a container of almonds in my desk, I only need to eat a hand full and then presto-changeo I am full. I even have a little emergency pack I keep in my purse.

I keep low-fat string cheese stocked in my fridge at work.

Grape juice is my friend and is a staple at work.

I always, always have a bottle or two of water with me constantly.

These little tricks definitely keep me going, especially while I am at work. It also helps me stay on track with my diet and keep me eating every couple of hours. Slowly but surely I will get to my goals.

Metformin - Dose 1 Take Three

Based on how ill i was last week I decided to hold off on starting second part of my 3 part dose. I am happy that I waited because I actually feel pretty good this week. I have more energy and I feel really confident about how I have been eating. It seems like there is a bit of a silver lining perhaps to my story after all :)

Metformin - Dose 1 Take Two

So the last few days have been pretty miserable.

I probably picked the worse week to start my medication based on the demands of my work. On Wednesday, I had to work a 12 hour shift. It was super bad, I was the only manager working all day and we were incredibly busy.

I got severely sick around 12:00 pm because I had not had a chance to eat. It was the weirdest thing I have ever felt. I could not concentrate, I felt all loopy, and I at one point I felt like I was going to throw up. The day was essentially hell.

When I got home I did get really sick. I am not going to go into details but I pretty much spent the majority of the night in the rest room. The next day I still was pretty ill and could not go to work. I did make it to the Dr, but she was not sure if it was the Metformin or this stomach bug that has been going around. She suggested I stay home today and rest up, and I am feeling a little better thankfully. I return to work tomorrow, hopefully things will get better at work and less hectic.

Metformin - Dose 1

I started the Metformin today and it has not been all too bad so far. My Dr suggested that I start with just 1/3 of the full dose he prescribed and build up to the full dose over the next three weeks. (He prescribed 1500mg, three 500mg pills per day.) So I took one 500mg pill this morning after breakfast (one whole wheat pancake, one scrambled egg).

So far, I have been incredibly thirsty. Super thirsty, and I have been craving water like I have been on a desert island for weeks. It is weird. Another weird thing that has happened is a few hours after I ate breakfast, I got super hungry again. Like, I need to eat right now kind of hungry. So I munched on a handful of almonds and felt all better.

I need to start eating small meals about every 3 hours so this seems to be working out pretty good. I have been reading about all these horrible side effects other women have had on Metformin so I have been preparing for the worst. I know it is only the first day so we will see what happens.

Friends in the beauty industry = happy me

Sometimes working in the beauty industry has its perks. I was talking to one of my hairstylist friends about my hair loss, and he suggested I try this line that he absolutely LOVES, Kerastase. They offer dietary supplement that helps with hair loss and also generally helps with hair growth and strength. I'm going to give it a try and see how things work.



Because he lives in NYC, he suggested I visit a local salon that offers the Kerastase Experience. Luckily there is a salon nearby and I made an appointment for later today. It should be fun and I can definitely use a little bit of girly time pampering.

My Story...

Hi, my name is Kaylene and I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) in January of 2007. Ha that sounds a little funny, but it is the truth. I decided to write this blog to document my journey while dealing with this disorder.

When I was first diagnosed, I was so relieved. I finally had and explanation for all of the weird things that have been happening with my body. I had been pretty thin in high school, but I was always fairly active with soccer and dance. It wasn't until I graduated and moved out that I gained a ton of weight and all my symptoms started showing up.

I went from a size 3/4 to a 13/14 in probably 6 months. My periods went completely hay wire. I started developing discoloration under my bust and my under arms. I noticed I had developed some skin tags, but I thought this was just genetic because my grandma had them. I started getting facial hair I never had before. My hair had changed too, the hair at the back of my neck got really wiry and coarse. I also started getting pretty severe cystic acne. I had no idea that this was directly tied to my diet and hormones.

When I moved out the summer of 1998, I started eating whatever I wanted, which unfortunately was primarily fast food, and heavy on the bread and meat. I had never liked vegetables or fruit growing up and now that I was living on my own I did not have to eat them anymore! I was free to eat whatever the heck I wanted to.

I am sad to admit that even with all these weird things happening, it took not having a period for an entire year and being diagnosed with HPV to scare me enough to get serious about finding out what the heck was going on. So in January 2007 I finally went to an OBGYN and he diagnosed me with PCOS fairly immediately. He told me that birth control should help solve the issues but he wanted to do some blood tests to rule out anything else. The blood tests came back with elevated testosterone, so he gave me the birth control and essentially sent me on my way.

The week after I had my first period in over a year was amazing. I lost probably ten pounds. My family was amazed at my transformation. I grew more confident and became more active in my personal life. I started going to open mic nights and singing, and because I was more active I started to lose more weight.

In August of that year I moved to Massachusetts to be with Tim, my soul mate and the weight kept coming off. I was more active and Tim was helping me eat healthier than I have ever eaten before. I started eating vegetables! Anyone who knows me knows how big of a deal this was.

May of 2008 that all pretty much went out the window. I had a recheck scare at my OB and had to go in for a colposcopy. I am not too proud to admit my diet and eating habits reverted back to my old ways. I worked right next door to a Taco Bell that had a Pizza Hut in it. I think I ate a mini pizza every day for lunch for at least a month. Because I was depressed and stressed, I craved salty and bread based food.

Everything came back clear from the OB thankfully, but I think the damage had been done. A lifetime of eating poorly has finally caught up with me.

At the end of January, I noticed I was losing my hair. I have always been a pretty heavy shedder, but this was above and beyond what was normal for me. The last straw for me was the appearance of some new and very angrily red stretch marks above my bikini line. I had gained 20 lbs in one month, even though I had curbed in most of my stressed and bad eating habits.

I just got back from an appointment with my OB, and based on the symptoms and the sudden weight gain he determined I now have Insulin Resistance. This fairly common with PCOS, doctors are not sure if PCOS causes the IR or IR causes the PCOS, but they come hand in hand.

My doctor has started me on Metformin to help with the IR and I am also starting a Insulin Resistance/Low GI diet paired with almost purely organic foods. I also plan on increasing my exercise and activity level. My goal weight is 120 and I have a long way to go.

This blog is going to show my journey as I start my new lifestyle. It is going to be incredibly hard but the great thing is, if I can do it, anyone can!