USE A FOOD JOURNAL Part 1
I’ll be the first one to admit. I HATE journaling, especially about food. The act of writing down what I ate, how much and when can be a real chore. But for me it is a necessary evil. The purpose of a PCOS food journal is not only to track calories, points or carbs. The reason I use a journal is to track how certain foods make me feel.
Many women with PCOS battle with depression, moodiness, irritability, anxiety and fatigue. I am willing to bet that many of these symptoms are a direct result of food they eat. To put it bluntly, if you put garbage (i.e. processed, sugary, refined foods) in you’re going to feel like garbage (grumpy, irritable, tired, bloated etc.)
Think about the last time you ate a couple donuts and a coffee for breakfast at 7AM. You probably felt pretty good at the time. The double chocolate donuts, washed down with light coffee with extra sugar tasted great. You were “buzzing” and ready to take on the day. But 10AM rolled around and sugar cravings sent you to the vending machine or pantry in search of carbs. You probably felt a bit “fuzzy” and tired. Perhaps your husband or boyfriend called and you snapped at him for no reason. You know the kind of morning I’m talking about.
Compare a donut morning to a morning when you have a protein smoothie for breakfast. You won’t even think about food until 11AM when you find an apple and a handful of almonds a very satisfying snack. You have energy to burn and your day is sunny and bright.
It may sound silly but when you have PCOS , foods affect you in ways you may not even be aware of. So when you are diagnosed with PCOS, it is a critical first step to get in touch with and understand how foods make you feel emotionally and physically. Next time, I’ll share my journaling technique with you. Until then, try to begin to notice how food makes you feel, you just might pass on that morning donut!
