PCOS Solutions(?)

A few weeks ago I ordered a book filled with recipes for PCOS-proof food. Beside the book I decided to take my chances with the supplement D-chiro-inositol. For people who have never heard of the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome this all might sound totally unknown and probably for a lot of people who have PCOS it might also be an unknown supplement. So I will try to explain a bit more about it and will post my experiences later on.

Like every other syndrome is the PCO Syndrome a name for a collection of symptoms. The symptoms are: high level of testosterone, unregular menstruation and the cysts in the ovaries. These symptoms will bring other symptoms with them. The high production of testosterone can cause hairloss on your head and too much hair on the rest of your body, acne, weight gain, bingeing, mood swings and low energy. These symptoms can be very difficult to cope with. Like I said in my previous post the bingeing is something that is badly controlled but also overweight will make the symptoms worse.

The DCI supplement should help with these symptoms. DCI is a natural found substance in the body for people without PCOS. I will be taking this supplement for the upcoming 60 days and should feel more energetic, have better skin and it should make it easier to stop bingeing.

Having PCOS for several years now and learning more about it, makes me hopeful that I will have it under control some time in the future. When I first found out about my syndrome I felt lived by my body. I felt abandoned by it. After some years and listining to my body I try to work together and feed it like it should be fed.

 

PCOS Proof Smoothie Challenge 2

For the month February I took the challenge to drink one PCOS proof smoothie a day. So far the smoothies have been delicious! I was pretty scared that, because they are filled with vegatables, the taste wouldn’t be great. So that was a big relief. But on the other side has been drinking one a day very difficult. Out of the 7 days I have only succeeded to drink one at 4 of them. The days I didn’t accomplish to drink them, were the days I had to leave house very early and was gone for the whole day or I stayed at someone else their house.

Last post I talked about the benefits of drinking these PCOS proof smoothies. I have been diagnosed with PCOS in 2012 and luckily don’t have all the negative effects of it. But the ones I do have, I wanted to be minimalized. It is so difficult for woman with PCOS to lose weight because of so many reasons. Try to imagine being hungry all day, I mean really hungry. So shaking of it, feeling faint and craving sweet. PCOS is a hormonal disease and because of this disbalans of the hormones, the insulin levels in the blood get disrupted too. This causes this extreme hunger because the bloodsugar levels get to low and the insulin level too high.

This hunger is one of the reasons it makes it very difficult to stay on track with a diet which includes sugar. A second reason is because of the high level of insulin in the blood, fat is more difficult to burn for the body. As you can see, it’s a negative spiral that has to be broken. Beginning the day with a PCOS smoothie can help keep the bloodsugar level stable.

For today I wanted to share a recipe of this week. The taste is simple, smooth and soft. The ingrediënts are simple: 2 hands of andive lettuce, half a banana, half an avocado and 400 ml of water. If it is still to thick, you can just add some more water.

Thank you for reading and questions can be asked in the comment section below!

Amsterdam(short visit)

Today my boyfriend and I visited Amsterdam. It’s about 2.5 hour drive so I don’t often come there. But today I had the chance to take some pictures of the beautiful canals and streets. The name Amsterdam is well known everywhere I have dropped it around the world. Even though I lived in the Netherlands all my life I feel like a foreigner in Amsterdam. It’s a big deal to live there. Personally I have never felt connected to a big city like that but I love the old city centre. It tells a story about the wealth of Holland. It shows how water always has been important to the Netherlands.

Canals and ‘Grachtenpanden’

There is so much to tell about Amsterdam and I am planning to go here more often. Today I only had the opportunity to go here for about an hour. I really want to visit the ‘Rijksmuseum’ and ‘Anne Frank’ house soon. The city is also known for the artists like Rembrandt and van Gogh. I would really like to see more of their art and stories.

Enjoying the view

Also Amsterdam is known for their bicycles and cyclists who rule the city. There’re about 1.2 million bicycles in the city alone and 400 km (249 miles) of special bike paths which is more than the length from the top north to the bottom south of the Netherlands. The bicycles unite the people. It’s a transportation used by every ‘class’ of people.

Bicycle

This brings us to the end of this blog. Unfortunately my time in Amsterdam was short for today but I wanted to share some pictures. Thank you for reading!

‘Amsterdammertje’

 

Aimlessly

Yesterday I decided to take a walk through the city centre. I feel at home in Groningen even though I have only lived here for 6 years. As I walked aimlessly through the streets I looked around and thought to myself. What makes me feel at home here? The big buildings, the grand cafés or stores? No it’s the small things. The little suprises you’ll find if you take a look around. When I think of Groningen I think of the huge amount of students on their bicycles who rule the city. There’re bikes everywhere and used for almost anything. Nurses go from patient to patient on their bikes and students even move their furniture on their bikes.

Bikes everywhere

I love how the city still shows it’s little houses that have been here for years. Small houses in the centre are surrounded by big companies but keep their character. The houses are crooked and have aged but they make the city for what it is. It feels like a big small villages when I walk around. I love how traditions are still here. The market on tuesday is my favorite. I feel at home as I walk through it and pick my fruits and vegatables with care. I look at the amazing colours of the tulips and listen how people make small talk with each other. Even though it’s a rather big city, the market men know their customers who have been coming here for years. They talk about the weather which is never good enough. Either to wet, to dry, to hot or to cold. Dutch people like to complain, that doesnt mean they’re unhappy with things, it’s just the culture I guess.

I will be sharing more of my city in the future. But for now I wanted to share the thoughts  I had during a aimless walk.

Small houses in a big city

Tulips never disappoint me

Good Coffee to start the day

This afternoon I will give the presentation of my thesis at the company I researched. It’s going to be an exciting yet thrilling day. After my oatmeal breakfast I decided to start the day with coffee. Here in Groningen my absolute favorite coffeeshop is Black&Bloom. No not that kind of coffeeshop the Netherlands is famous of, they just serve coffee.

The Menu

Today I picked the Kenya Nyeri Kii. This coffee is from Caffènation in Antwerpen. It’s lightly roasted coffee made with an aeropress. The taste notes are fruity, clean aroma, chocolate and spicy notes. The coffee is served at 80-90 degrees celcius but the taste gets better and fruitier after it cools down a bit.

Kenya Nyeri Kii Filter Coffee

Black and Bloom is the first artisan espressobar in Groningen. They serve coffee from all over the world, roasted by the best roasters in Europe. I really like the laid back atmosphere in Black and Bloom. You can lounge on the couch, work on school projects at a table or have business meetings.

Fun fact! All the baking goods are home made by the owners wife and even though I haven’t tried all of them yet, the ones I tried are delicious and so original. They vary from brownies to peanutbutter’n’jelly amazeballs. A peanut butter cake with jelly inside. If you’re ever planning to visit Groningen I definitaly recommend to try this coffeeshop.  My favorite the ‘Malteser cheesecake’ and favorite drink besides coffee? Absolutely the ‘Cold drip ‘n’ Ginger Ale’. This cold drip is a coffee elixer made in the Yama coffee dripper. It takes about 10 hours to make an elixer from filter coffee. It’s mixed with Ginger Ale, ice and fresh mint leaves. I can’t think of a better way to start a busy day!

The Cakes of today

Chocolate chip cookies and white chocolate brownies

 

PCOS proof smoothie challenge

Voor de maand februari ben ik de uitdaging aangegaan om elke dag een pcos proof smoothie te drinken. Deze smoothies bestaan voor een deel uit groente, zijn gluten en koemelk-vrij en zouden moeten bijdragen aan makkelijk groente en goede voedingstoffen binnen krijgen. Daarnaast zouden ze moeten helpen bij:

• Langer een voldaan gevoel
• Minder last van suikerpieken en -dalen
• Je voorkomt suiker cravings
• Verlies (als dit nodig is) gemakkelijk gewicht
• Je hebt langer meer energie
• Voel je fitter en gezonder
• Krijg een mooiere, rustige huid
• Voorkom vreetbuien

Vandaag ben ik begonnen met de Amandel-Sinaasappel smoothie:

Het resultaat

Blenden maar!

Ingrediënten

De ingrediënten zijn: 150 ml amandelmelk, 250 ml water, halve banaan, 1 sinaasappel en 5 blokjes spinazie. Normaal hou ik niet zo van groentesmoothies maar de smaak was verrassend fris! Dus waar wacht je nog op… Zeker het proberen waard.

The last day of january

‘De jaren vliegen voorbij!’. Een opmerking die ik dagelijks te horen krijg tijdens mijn werk. Mijn oudere patiënten vertellen mij dat ik nog jong ben en moet genieten. Normaal gesproken denk ik: ‘ach het valt wel mee’. Maar als ik vandaag stil sta bij het feit dat de eerste maand van 2016 alweer voorbij is, schrik ik toch. Wauw wat is dat snel gegaan. De goede voornemens ben ik vergeten en 2016 is alweer vanzelfsprekend.

Dus bij deze heb ik besloten een blog te beginnen. Om stil te staan bij mijn leven en gebeurtenissen. Fotograferen, filmen en beschrijven van momenten die ik beleef en ik neem mij voor deze bij te houden in een online dagboek. Dus welkom en veel plezier!

Liefs, Karin