PCOS Diet Week 1

Each week since I've started my blog I've tried to post my dinner menu from the previous week. This feature is going to be changing... from now on I will be posting not just my dinner menu but what I ate the whole day. I will also be discussing how I am doing in keeping with my new dietary way of life. I don't sugar coat what I've eaten in these posts. I let you know when I go over/under or just take a day off. There will be some overlap of my previously posted menus and this new feature as I started this mid-May and am just starting on how my new plan is going. However, I have kept track of (almost) everything I eat and use my daily log to help me write these posts. 

Partially I am doing this because I feel some people think eating healthy is an all or nothing kind of deal. It isn't. A lot of health experts use the 80-20 rule. The basis of it is that nobody is perfect and that it really matters what we eat 80% of the time and we can 'cheat' or 'mess up' or 'treat yourself' 20% of the time. I am not posting to feel accountable for what I eat. I think I have reached the point where I feel most accountable to myself (wow, I never saw myself being able to say that!) I am not going to apologize for going over/under or not posting what I ate on a certain 'day off'. I'm just posting it so those of you who may want to try something like this can see how it works for me.

Week 1 overview: I lost 2 pounds this week (although last time I changed my diet to be healthier like this I lost 5 so...) even though I added extra calories. I have had a cold so I didn't exercise. Exercise with my pregnancies is a bit tricky as my SI Joint doesn't handle things too well. My urge to eat all afternoon pretty much went away after day 3-4. I still get pregnancy-type cravings and give in to them most of the time... however I don't feel that they are making a terrible difference! I honestly feel I'm eating healthier and am not as worried that I lost a couple of pounds as I feel my body and baby are getting the nutrition they need. However if I keep losing I will increase my calories because weight loss is not my goal right now. My goal is to help decrease my PCOS symptoms and be healthy. (Well I was also hoping not to gain 2 lbs ever week to week and a half - but to cut it down to 1/2-1 pound a week.) I do find it hard to make sure I get all the vegetables I need. I thought I was doing pretty good before starting this new plan but I think I was only getting 12-2 servings of veggies a day on average. Sometimes it is hard to be sure to get enough! Besides eating right I tried to make sure I was drinking enough water every day... I do pretty well except days where I'm out and about.

If you want a daily breakdown of how I did and what I ate here it is:


Day 1: I ate a few extra carbs at breakfast, but stayed within my limit all day, so that was a success! To combat my needing to eat all afternoon I sucked on about 4 lifesaver mints during the afternoon. Seriously they were a (ahem) lifesaver! During dinner prep I was super hungry and ate some apple slices as I was making dinner (we had apples with dinner). I felt like it helped curb my ever increasing appetite so I didn't over-eat. (Not that over-eating is really a huge issue right now... something about being at the beginning of the third trimester helps my stomach not hold as much food!

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup), 1 banana and 1.5 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter.
Lunch: Canadian Bacon, Mashed Potatoes, Side Salad, Pineapple and a Creamie
Snacks (Typically eat one between breakfast & Lunch 1-2 between lunch and dinner and 1 after dinner.): Almonds and Dark Chocolate Chips, 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, Granola Bar and 4 oz milk.
Dinner: Spinach Bacon Quiche, 1-1/4 cup cooked broccoli, 1 apple-sliced and 1 piece 9-grain bread-toasted.
Total Calories: 2007, Carbs: 202 grams (236 including everything)

Day 2:  Today was hubby's birthday and unfortunately he got 2 cavities filled... I took him out to eat lunch and he chose Arby's (we happen to live in a fast food haven with hardly any nicer places). Not my favorite place to go eat as they don't have as many healthy alternatives (although for us it does have some sentimental value). I did end up getting the ONLY salad on their menu and thought that was okay. I got the chicken strips as I didn't want to worry about how heated their lunch meat was (that whole listeria and pregnancy thing...)
After dinner we had cake and ice-cream. I was excited that I stayed in my calorie (and carb) budget! However, I would have felt okay if I would have went over because birthdays are special occasions and it okay to splurge every now and again. We were gone from home quite a bit so it was easier not to feel like snacking all day long.

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup), 1/2 cup mango
Lunch: Arby's Market Fresh Salad - Farmhouse Crispy Chicken, water
Snacks: Almonds, 2/3 cup mango, Granola Bar
Dinner: Spinach Bacon Quiche, 1-1/4 cups cooked Broccoli, 1 cup fresh Pineapple, 1 Molten Lava Cake, 1/3 cup Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream.
Total Calories: 1987, Carbs: 210 grams (225 including everything)

Day 3: Today I haven't been as hungry or felt the need to eat ALL afternoon... However I do feel hungry in the afternoon! (Granted I'm sure part of the constant desire for snacking is due to pregnancy, but if it settles bit I'll be happier!) It has taken some self control to not go and eat whatever I want whenever I feel hungry... although I did notice that I could just eat all afternoon and never have the craving go away. I do feel the snacking in between meals is helping me. Also sucking on a mint every now and then helps. As well as drinking a large glass of water!

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup), 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (partially thawed and added to the cereal.)
Lunch: 4 cheese stuffed shells, 1 cup Mango, 1 cup cooked frozen steamable veggies.
Snacks:Crunchy granola bar and Neufchatel cheese, Milk Chocolate Flipz, 8 oz milk, 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt, Raspberry Frozen Yogurt Creamie, Dark Chocolate Granola Thin
Dinner: Breakfast Burrito, ~1 cup Steamed Asparagus, banana
Total Calories: 1897, Carbs: 228 grams (258 including everything)

Day 4: Actually felt okay with what I ate and actually had to try to get up to my target today. My afternoon eating frenzy snack attack didn't really hit today! Super excited about that ;).

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup), 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (partially thawed and added to the cereal.)
Lunch: PB & Honey Sandwich, 1 cup milk, 1 cup steamed broccoflower,  1 apple, 
Snacks: 2 slices bread with 1 Tbsp jam (homemade with not very much sugar), 1/2 cup yogurt, String cheese (2 oz total-though eaten at different times), 3/4 cup ice-cream.
Dinner: Bacon & PepperJack Stuffed Chicken Breasts (half of one), 1 cup steamed broccoflower and 1 cup honeydew melon.

Total Calories: 1821 (logged, although I think I ate something just before bed), Carbs: 235 grams (252 including everything)

Day 5:  Didn't eat veggies at lunch because I needed to go grocery shopping! Made up for it by having a salad for dinner to try to get all my veggies in.

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup), 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (partially thawed and added to the cereal.)
Lunch: Bacon & PepperJack Stuffed Chicken Breasts, 6 oz yogurt, 1/2 cup blackberries-fresh.
Snacks: String cheese (2 oz total-though eaten at different times), Apple Cinnamon Rice Cakes, Roasted Vegetable Crackers, 1 cup milk, Crunch Granola Bar with Neufchatel cheese, Frozen Yogurt Raspberry Creamie, 
Dinner: Salad with Baked Chicken Fingers
Total Calories: 2041, Carbs: 214 grams (234 including everything)

Day 6: I'm feeling like this is starting to go better. Last night I cut up extra veggies for salads and felt like that gave me motivation to actually eat salad for lunch since most of the prep work was done ;). I'm not gaining weight (in fact I'm losing just a bit - which I didn't necessarily expect but should have since most dietary changes in my life have caused weight loss... however this time I haven't lost nearly as much in the initial week - probably because I am eating more calories!) If the weight loss keeps up (or no gains) I will increase my calorie intake and adjust the number of carbs.

Breakfast: Instant Oatmeal, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup blackberries
Lunch: Salad and 1/2 cup Cottage Cheese
Snacks: 1 Apple, 12 Almonds, 3/4 cup Ice-Cream and granola bar
Dinner: 2 cups cauliflower, 3/4 cup honeydew melon, Mac & Cheese
Total Calories: 2043, Carbs: 207 grams (241 including everything)

Day 7: I still get cravings for chocolate, but I just grab a few dark chocolate chips and eat them (I usually forget to add them into my log... however I don't eat a lot, just enough to satisfy my craving-about 10 chips or less. So I don't feel guilty about not logging them.) Down a half a pound this morning. If I'm still losing in a couple of days I'll be increasing my calorie intake.

Breakfast: Whole Wheat Waffles with homemade Strawberry syrup (reduced sugar), 1 cup milk, 1 egg-fried.
Lunch: Cheese Toast, Baby-cut carrots, and ~1 cup pears (canned in juice)
Snacks: 1 Whole Wheat Waffle, 1/4 cup greek yogurt, 1/3 cup yogurt, Flipz-White Chocolate, String Cheese, Dehydrated Pineapple-not store bought.
Dinner: Navajo Taco, 1 cup cantaloupe, Frozen Yogurt Raspberry Creamie.
Total Calories: 2114, Carbs: 250 grams (271 including everything)

This is part of my series on PCOS and learning to understand and live with it. *I am not a medical professional, nor do I have a lot of knowledge of PCOS other than what I've read. This is just me, my opinions, how I understand PCOS and how I am dealing with it.