I was never the skinny girl in grade school. As each year went by, I put on more and more weight. I was playing field hockey, swimming, and running track and still my weight seemed to climb. When cystic acne started to take over my face, chest, and back things started to spiral out of control. I used to feel depressed so I turned to food as an escape. As you can imagine, it only made things worse. The turning point for me was going on birth control. It gave me regular menstrual cycles and balanced out my hormones. Within five months my acne had decreased considerably and my weight started to stabilize. The next few months I focused on eating healthy, exercising, and starting a new skin care regimen. Within two years I transformed myself into the person I wanted to become. It's been almost ten years since my transformation and I still struggle with my weight and acne, but now I fight back on a daily basis.
Why am I telling you my life story? Well recently I've been getting some not so nice comments on a few of my Instagram photos. When I post a picture of myself at the gym it's because I'm proud of how far I've come. I work hard at keeping the weight off and really watch what I eat.
So words like, "you obviously don't suffer from PCOS" or "you're too skinny to have PCOS" really hurt my feelings.
Did you know...not everyone diagnosed with PCOS is overweight. Up to half of women diagnosed with PCOS fall within normal weight and some are even underweight. This is called Lean PCOS.
For anyone who thinks they have PCOS or recently just found out, you may feel frustrated or upset. Having a diagnosis without an easy cure can be difficult. Don't ever give up hope. It's important to know you're not alone. Working on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and keeping a positive attitude is very important.
If you want to learn more about PCOS check out Fertility Associates. A book that has helped me out tremendously is WomanCode, by Alisa Vitti.
I apologize if this post rubs anyone the wrong way. I'm not looking for sympathy, my goal here is to educate others on PCOS.
before you judge others, please educate yourself