As a teen, my relationship with my body was not so great. Despite being active and on my feet, I was never slim in my opinion.
As you may remember, this relationship with my body started in 6th grade (see that blog here). It is only natural that I wished my body looked like that of my peers. I hated my thigh size the most.
I was a size large when most of my age group was a size small or a medium. Adding spandex to the mix did not leave me feeling the best when it came to dressing for performances in school.
I allowed this frustration to lead me down the path of dieting and trying to “spot correct” my body. You know those thighmaster tools you used to see on info-mercials? Yea...I had one!
The positive in all of this frustration is that it did lead me to taking action. I tried and failed and kept at it.
While it did take me a lot of time to stumble, fall, and get back up, I kept redirecting. Including figuring out that I had PCOS was key in realizing that unlike most of my peers, this journey to feel good in my body was not going to be so simple.
I was going to have to change some of my perspectives as well as give myself some grace. In my youth, giving myself grace was not easy. Especially when I was comparing myself to others.
Having my PCOS diagnosis led me to a rabbit hole of figuring out what would work best for me. I was able to put myself on a fair playing ground. One that is much more complex than I first realized, but it helped being in a group of women that were more like myself.
As you go on a similar path, you will gather resources, people, and opportunities. Two mistakes many people make is we go for the “quick and easy but short term” result or we keep building up the pile of resources because we want it to be a perfect journey.
Imperfect, over time, action is necessary to utilize frustration and resentment to your benefit! Your journey will neither be perfect or quick and easy...real changes rarely are.
To create this action, we are naturally directed to utilize a tool called SMART. If you are not familiar it refers to Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Realistic, and Timely.
If I am real honest, the acronym makes me want to roll my eyes. For one, it does not always work. For two, it is so overused. For three, sometimes we do not always utilize it in a way that is most beneficial.
These loopholes and challenges can make you wonder why people set things up in this structure in the first place. Making lifestyle changes is not so ridge. So in this video, I run you through some tips and tricks to allow this format to be of service instead of frustration for you.
As you can see, making changes for a lifetime is more of a journey instead of a boxed acronym. Sometimes we forget these tools are guidelines instead of a strict method.
What we set to achieve does not have to be set in stone, but does require some inspiration, support, grace, and motivation. That is what gets us through the hard times. This is what gets us back up, opens the door to pivots and adjustments.
If reading this resonates with you and you would like to speed up your learning curve on thriving in your health, come join us in the Thriving with PCOS community. We have trainings in the guide section that will help you take action in determining which lifestyle adjustments will serve you best.
Though no matter what you decided about joining us, I wish you all a healing journey well traveled.
Terra
I talk about living a life of balance, when in fact, my life was not in this place either. I believed in this so much that I even went through great links to become a certified coach to help others.
I finally did it and I did it scared. I ripped off the security blanket that was keeping me safe but unbalanced nonetheless. No wonder my hormones were always unbalanced in a major way. Which is not good for someone working so hard to balance them.
I really thought if I worked on balancing all but one area, I would be alright. Though it was bringing on resentment and frustration for me.
What I did not realize is that to change my life (and my health) I really needed to change my life. If my goal was to inspire others to live a life that fulfilled them, I needed to do the same thing. Inspire by living what you teach.
So how was this done? By dreaming again. Breaking down my dreams into goals. Creating action that makes my goals happen and gets me closer to making that dream a reality.
Does that sound like a fairytale?
I am sure it does, but it does not have to be!
One place to start is to look at it from the view of priorities. We have so many of them. I talk more about priorities and how to simplify them here in this video:
For me, this was the part I was getting conflicted on. I had so many priorities, and I was showing up poorly.
I was resenting my day job because the schedule was ever changing. I resented being a mom (which I wanted to be all of my life) because I needed to make sure he was cared for while I was at work. I never felt like I was doing anything well.
When life gave us a new opportunity, I began doing the normal job search in the traditional setting for my profession.
It was a video that talked about giving up good for great that helped me realize that it was time. Time to work through my fear of losing security.
I came up with the action steps to see if we could live a secure life without throwing life back off balance. We discussed it as a family, it appeared to look like we could pull this off.
I made the steps so clear and created accountability around them, that when I was presented with an opportunity in a non-traditional setting for my profession, I cried. I felt conflicted again.
Luckily, my accountability sources reminded me we would be okay and gave me the blessing I needed from an outside source to create the life of balance I always dreamt of.
If I would have had goals with no clear actions, I would have been on a random road. Nothing to aim for. I would have taken that job. I would have returned to the resentment, it just would have looked different.
So I encourage you, if you are unhappy with where you are at, take a moment to dream. See where that leads you.
It is time to dream again and start living life by your design!
When you are ready to turn those dreams into action, there is a framework out there to help you get there. It comes with an amazing community and support from me and many others.
Looking forward to seeing live by your design,
Terra
It was a long day at work. It was stressful. You snapped at a few of your co-workers! You are replaying it all on your mind on your drive home.
Then on top of that you come home with even more of a workload of tasks to complete. Why do we need to eat!...lol
You are finally ready to lay down, but your mind is racing. So you turn on the TV to hopefully fall asleep and forget about your day.
Instead, you find yourself just staring at it blankly. Sleep does not come to you until 1am and you have to be up and at ‘em by 7am...ekks!
This is the story, or close to it every night. All you want to do is get a good night's rest and yet you seem to be missing out on it.
You either cannot get to sleep or stay asleep. Either way you are feeling fatigued and lethargic throughout the day.
This HAS to STOP!!
I agree with you...it does! Have you considered creating a sleep routine?
I promise you it is not just for children.
Creating a routine before bed helps you unwind and close out the day. Once you are relaxed and ready for bed, it will make it so much easier to drift off to dreamland.
There are many studies out that have found the importance of a sleep routine in children. They show improvement in their overall mood.
Remember those outbursts you had with your co-workers...yep a sleep routine may help keep those stressors in check!
In this day in age, we all could use a little support with our mental and emotional responses. No one needs built up stress and anxiety before we go to bed.
So what does a bedtime routine look like? It can really be what you make of it. Just doing the things to get ready for bed anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour.
I personally take an hour for my routine.
In my routine is gratitude journaling. More on that in the video below...
Try to keep to the same time every night. Though some of us may have a job where some evenings that just does not happen. That is okay! Your body will respond to your routine once it recognizes the established pattern.
No matter when you establish your routine for or what your routine looks like...make it suit you and your needs to relax and unwind at night. What is in the routine is not as important as just establishing one.
If you found this of value, and you are looking for more steps to create better sleep, then I have a course that may be of more service to you. Creating Better Sleep has such an impact on so much on our day to day. Whether you are talking about health, emotions, having more energy or focus.
No matter what you choose, creating a bedtime routine is one of the core pieces to help you get the good night’s sleep you are dreaming of.
Sweet dreams,
Terra
So many women do this. So PCOS women are no exception!
My (PCOS) belly is so big. I hate the way my arm jiggle. I hate how big my thighs are.
I have been right there with you. Above are just a couple of my least favorite things about my body actually.
We cannot help ourselves. We have literally been taught by other women to judge our bodies in some way shape or form. We have also been taught to obsess over it.
I mean why else would women around the world choose to have cosmetic surgeries!
This has to end here and now!
I was presenting in a group on facebook about Intuitive eating as part of a mini-series we are doing in there. I honestly did not realize how much I was practicing many of these things already.
I talk about the rules of Intuitive eating here for those that are curious
In those rules, there is one key piece that really hit me hard...Respect Your Body!
What this means in the world of Intuitive Eating is love your body!
Love the way it works. Love what it is capable of. Love something in the way that it looks.
Ladies there has to be something you love about your body!
My challenge for you, figure that 1 thing that you love about your body. It can be anything. Your eyes, your smile, your ability to push things with your strong legs...just pick something.
Spend more time focusing on what you love than what you are unhappy with. I promise you that this will change so much for you over time.
No one can love you better than yourself! Until you learn to love yourself, you will continue to live in a space that is full of dislike and distrust.
Above are just a few things that I love about my body. If you are brave, share with me in the comments what you love about your body.
XO,
Terra
I can remember a time in my life when I would ask myself, “When was my last period?” Which is pretty common when your body is not ovulating. Naturally going to the doctor to fix this problem is something I did.
Unfortunately the problems began to continue from there. This is what happens when what you are taking is not the real deal. I had to change what I was getting in those pills and here is why:
So like I said the problems I had began to develop into something more. I wish I knew then, what I know now. There is a big improvement when I made the switch to natural progesterone from synthetic progestin.
Let’s compare the differences:
I wanted nothing more than to sleep during the afternoon. I would curl up on the couch with a comfy blanket, turn on a movie I had watched a million times, and nap.
Even now that sounds like an amazing idea! Luckily, I do not feel like I need to do that any more.
When you are taking progestin based products, adrenal fatigue is a common issue. Since making the switch, my energy levels began to improve and napping was no longer a necessity to make it through the day.
When I would have a period, they would be crazy heavy and miserable. I would go through so much famine product and have to do laundry often.
While both are great for this, natural progesterone does it just a bit better.
Oh and of course...my mood would be unreal. I honestly had to go to counseling to adjust my attitude and as well as work on my depression.
One thing progestin does not do well is help with your mood. In fact, it is linked with progressing mood disorders.
Progesterone on the other hand has been such a blessing for me in this area. It is a promoter of good mood and also better sleep. Also when you sleep better, you are in a better mood. The two go hand in hand.
Other benefits that you may gain from natural progesterone is it supports the cardiovascular system, nourishes hair and skin, supports breast tissue, and helps build muscle and bones.
Natural progesterone for the win!
Now the trick is, how to get your hands on this stuff?
The first place to focus is getting your body back to naturally ovulating. I know this sounds tricky.
This can be done when you address the underlying issues that are keeping you from ovulating. For many PCOS women this is easier said than done, but it can be done with lifestyle changes, I promise.
The second piece to help support you while you are working on the above is to get micronized or bioidentical progesterone.
This comes in the form of creams, serums, and capsules.
Ready to switch to natural progesterone? We discuss this and more in the Thriving with PCOS community on Facebook. Come join us in taking the steps to acquire natural progesterone for yourself.
See You There,
Terra
