When I turned to 18, just like everybody else, I moved away from home and started university. Probably a bit farther than some of my friends, since I got into a Danish business school. I was superexcited about my new life and meeting new people. It was a whole new world, of course, with other kind of food and additives, but my lifestyle didn't change significantly. Obviously, it was a big challenge with a lot of new impulses, but I loved every moment of my first semester so much that I hadn’t even come home for another 3,5 months.
In December, when I landed, my parents were waiting for me at the airport. When they saw me, they not only cried because they missed me but they were so shocked about how I look … I gained +15 kilograms (more face+ass than belly though). So my story had begun here ...
After a year of “unconsciousness”, I was lucky to find a place where a whole team took care of my problem. In this private "hospital", professionalists are specifically working on treating PCOS. By that time, all the symptoms could have been discovered on/in me: insulin tolerance, acnes on my face, cists in my ovaries, hairloss, missing period. Since day one, I received the most suitable treatment and help in the mentioned facility and even though this is an uncured syndrome and sometimes my condition gets worse, I am sure that I am surrounded by the best doctors and dietitians.
What is the core of my lifestyle?!
Besides the medical treatment, it is indispensable to get to know everything about carbs and how to count them, as well as get used to working out 4-5 times a week… but the most difficult for me is handling with my "illness" emotionally.
During this period, my main focus was always on my diet and how to remember every word I heard from my dietitian: each day I have to eat 160 grams of carbs which can only contain wholegrained and sugafree ingredients. I know, for the first time it seems so much, but trust me, if you divide it for 5 meals per day, it will be perfectly enough.
So that’s how my days look:
Breakfast ( -7.30am) - 30 grams slow carb
Morning Snack (9-10am) - 20 grams carb: 10 grams slow, 10 grams fast
Lunch (12-2pm) - 50 grams carb: 2/3 slow, 1/3 fast
Afternoon Snack (4-5pm) - 20 grams carb: all fast or half-half
Dinner (7-8pm) - 40 grams carb: either all slow or at lunch
*occasionally, I have some midnight snack around 10-11pm, but only in case I know I will be up till late, so I eat some slow carbs (10-15 grams), just to be able to enjoy the party :)
It seems a little bit difficult and hard-to-keep, but I believe that this is the base of a healthy lifestyle and in this way, we can be able to provide all the necessary nutrition for our body to be happy and feel good. As my favourite dietitian says, “Our body is just like a car, it runs with fuel. Why would we give our precious car bad quality fuel if we can provide good one as well?”
So from now on, in my recipes, you can only find ingredients and meals which are perfectly suitable for the insulin tolerant diet, but I also recommend them for anyone who would like to live a healthier life, but still enjoy every second and bite of it!
Hope you will like them too!
- H -
