Because of practicing YOLO for the longest time, I gained so much weight. Not to mention the toll that it took to my health as well. So when the journey of love, responsibility, maturity, family and future is on the pipeline of the next chapter of my life, I discovered that I am at risk of having diabetes if I won’t correct my lifestyle anytime soon. This risk is because of the hereditary diabetes, and the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) that I acquired because of being glucose intolerant. This means my body cannot tolerate anything FUN.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder common among women of reproductive age. Women with PCOS may have infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods or excess male hormone (androgen) levels. The ovaries may develop numerous small collections of fluid (follicles) and fail to regularly release eggs. – https://www.mayoclinic.org

The exact cause of PCOS is unknown. Early diagnosis and treatment along with weight loss may reduce the risk of long-term complications such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

When I say fun, I mean Rice, Bread, Sweets, CAKE. ANYTHING WITH SUGAR in it. My PCOS is an active one, on both ovaries, meaning it is possible that they will multiply if I won’t take action. This will put me into risk of not just Diabetes, but to many more ailments and worst, it will be difficult for me to conceive.

Usually western medicines’ solution to my problem is to take hormonal pills to control the PCOS, and balance the hormones. But since my mom is a doctor of Naturopathy, she is not in favor that I go towards that direction, so we tried looking for an alternative way of solving the problem, without medications. We opt to solve the root cause forever rather than to just put it on pause. I was lucky that my OB was open to this approach but in one condition that I should drop a dramatic amount of weight as quickly as possible.

Then there goes the start of my Keto journey.

When I started Keto by cooking my own food, and controlling and planning my own meals, with the help of my mom, not to mention the discipline required to make keto work for me, I thought being on Keto is not a happy journey. There were times that I cried out of self-pity because I cannot eat my happy foods. With discipline, and weekly cheat days, I was able to shed off the first 11 kilos. With this, I can notice that my menstrual cycle was instantly changed to regular again.

I tried checking on my PCOS, and it improved! The cysts were less than the first finding, and the best thing is that the left ovary is at this point PCOS-free!

I tried a different Keto food provider but stopped it because they are including rice on some of their meals. Even if it is brown rice, it is still rice. This caused my weight stay plateau, then I browsed through into Keto’s of Manila’s page which started my happy Keto life. I got to eat good food without being sad that I cannot eat my favorites. I still maintained my weekly cheating days as well.

I was on plateau for a few months but I’m not growing bigger, and I was feeling healthier, so I never stopped the lifestyle. Perfect timing in preparation for our church wedding, the scale finally moved again! A good 6 kilos then I decided to take a Keto-break to reward myself from the stress caused by pre-wedding stress.

But of course I did another round of ultrasound, to get myself checked. And guess what, both my ovaries are now PCOS-free! They’re gone without taking hormones! Amazing and wonderful, isn’t it?

So now that I am done with my post-wedding reward season, I am starting my keto lifestyle again, and I am excited to achieve a healthy and happy life with the help of Ketos of Manila. For the first step, I wrote a review for them in a separate blog post.

Pieces of advice especially for my cyst-ers:

1. Stop depending on the movement of the scale. Your healthier self day by day should be enough to get you going.
2. Slow Progress means PROGRESS.
3. Let loose. Don’t be to hard on yourself. Reward yourself regularly.
4. Your goal is not only to fit in that old jeans, focus on the goal of being healthy for the people you care the most.
5. What works for others doesn’t necessary mean that it should work for you. Good things take time.