Birth Control and Prenatal Vitamins

My life is one big ironic mess.

I have PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome), which to this point, I've kind of not taken seriously.

But, it is serious. Women with PCOS are at greater risk for heart disease and diabetes. 6 out of 10 are overweight and many struggle significantly to lose weight, further increasing their risk.

I didn't really start putting on much weight until 2007 or 2008. That was about the time I went off birth control. For women with PCOS, birth control helps regulate the hormonal challenges of PCOS. It wasn't until I stopped taking it, that I learned I had it.

As I put on weight, I chalked it up to my eating habits and lack of inactivity. And, to be certain, the gallons of beer I've had over the past few years have not helped.

However, I have been working HARD for the past seven weeks to lose weight, and I have. In fact, they say that losing as much as 5% of your weight can greatly reduce the symptoms of PCOS. I have done that exactly, but my doctor has encouraged me to lose another 15 pounds.

Nonetheless, I can't help but feel like I am working excessively harder than most who are new to a diet and workout regimen. At one point, a doctor told me after a diagnostic test that I should eat somewhere between 1050 and 1175 calories a day in order to lose weight. Do you know how very little that is?

I workout extremely hard a minimum of 5 days a week. I do cardio as well as strength training and interval work. I have SIGNIFICANTLY cut down on alcohol intake.

I cannot help but think someone who had so drastically changed their lifestyle would have perhaps seen a much more dramatic weight loss in the first 6 weeks. To be sure, I feel better and my clothes feel better, but I am still wearing the same size.

I have gone back on birth control in the hopes of managing my hormonal issues and getting a boost in bringing my weight down. I am on prenatal vitamins because it is recommended to take them six months prior to conception (and it makes your hair shiny.) When you are working so hard towards pregnancy, taking that birth control pill each night really screws with your head, but I'm thinking long term goals here.

Despite the many undesirable symptoms of PCOS that I deal with everyday, I have been unwilling to think that the weight issue applied to me. I am beginning to realize that it may play a larger role than I cared to believe. It is disheartening to feel as though I am getting much less reward than those who work equally as hard at their fitness goals. However, despite the difficulty losing weight, I can say I'm not adding weight and can still reap the health benefits of exercise. (But a bikini body would be really nice.)

I am glad I have given myself a solid six months to take care of just me. My hope is that I will lose the weight the doctor requested, if not more, hopefully manage to get pregnant (although my PCOS and weight are only one factor effecting our infertility), and then continue to care for myself so that I do not suffer from diabetes or a heart attack at an early age.

As with any illness, you must adjust your life. It is possible that weight gain will always be very easy for me and weight loss quite difficult. I hope to continue making myself a bigger priority to fight that as best as I can. I hope to be a mother, but I also hope to be a healthy one.