HOW TO STAY STRONG WITH PCOS 

        You must be wondering why it has to be you out of all the women in the world? Definitely, not true, because you are not alone. Studies show 1 out of every 5 women is struggling with PCOS. Two years ago, I noticed I started spotting and my period became irregular. I didn't think of it as anything until it continued with this format and I thought, oh! Wow, this looks like something that needs my attention after all. I was booked for an appointment with a specialist, who asked me to take a record of my cycle for some months. I thought it was a joke until I was told to go for some test, pelvic ultrasound and hormonal test. And so the journey begins. The test result shows I had PCOS and even though it was said by the doctor to be a mild case of the condition because I was seeing my period monthly, except for a few times it came twice a month and skipped the following one. I still won't get it off my head of how I can get myself out, so I started researching heavily, joined different groups that have people struggling with PCOS. PCOS has been confirmed to be hormonal and metabolic dysfunction, studies show it can be genetic too. Funny, how a whole lot of people do not even know anything about it, either the struggle or the trauma, the pressure, depression, mood swings, cystic acne struggle and the anxiety that comes with it. You struggle to explain to people how it's not your fault that the hormone(leptin) response for food intake control is not as sensitive as it should be and so you can't help the excessive food craving. And how can you bring yourself to explain to an overzealous friend that, over-exercising creates more sugar in your bloodstream so you can burn it while exercising which is difficult for you because of PCOS or that too much exercise will only trigger the stress hormone ( cortisol) which worsen the insulin resistance and brings about the excessive secretion of androgen hormones (which some calls the male hormone)? You can't explain enough to this human who can't shut up but question the excessive hair on your chin, face, and chest that you are struggling with a condition called PCOS.  Over the years, there have been different myths spreading around about the condition, talks like you can't be pregnant you have PCOS, while a lot of people have issues with fertility it is not 100% true that all are infertile. So PCOS patients can get pregnant without any complications. Or things like you are the cause or it's a spiritual problem or it only happens to fat people, all these are a myth and are not true. So how do we help ourselves to manage it and have our body back? You need to know the type of PCOS you are suffering from, what triggers it, is your food, your way of life and your attitude towards it. Overexcerising will only make you add weight so you don't do that. Mind-body exercises like Yoga is some of the best exercises for a PCOS patient, also swimming and walking helps not only to burn calories but reduce stress level.    Also, you don't want to cut all the carbs from your diet so can be nourished and energetic while losing weight, the truth is you need to study your carbohydrate tolerance. Your lifestyle of sleeping should be adjusted, have enough sleep. You need to also know that you are not alone in the struggle so be positive, while you work on shedding that weight be happy, eat healthily, live the life, do not give room for negativity to wry you down. You've got this, and you will conquer!