Nourished & Free: The Podcast

Managing PCOS while Preventing Disordered Eating (with Megan Miller, RD)

December 06, 2022 Michelle Yates, MS, RD, LMNT Episode 18
Nourished & Free: The Podcast
Managing PCOS while Preventing Disordered Eating (with Megan Miller, RD)
Show Notes Transcript

Women struggling with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) are often told to diet, lose weight, get on birth control, and then come back later when you want to get pregnant. This is a problem.

As a woman with PCOS myself, I've found that this is the worst advice you can possibly receive.

In this episode, I dive deep into PCOS and disordered eating with specialist, Megan Miller. Megan completed her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from Western Kentucky University in 2016. She then went on to complete her dietetic internship through Morrison Healthcare, while also completing her Masters of Science in Nutrition from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2018.

She is now a Health at Every Size Registered Dietitian, based out of the Indianapolis area. She specializes in disordered eating, eating disorders, and PCOS. Throughout her career as an outpatient dietitian, she has watched women struggle with failed diets, obsessive food rules, and poor body image. Her goal is to break this cycle and help women to live the life they deserve.

Read the article associated with this episode here.


TOPICS COVERED 👇 

  • Megan shares her thoughts on birth control for PCOS management [2:30]
  • Symptoms of PCOS that women can identify even on birth control [5:23]
  • Does PCOS affect specific body types? [7:41]
  • Contributing factors to PCOS [10:40]
  • What are we supposed to do if our doctors dismiss us? [13:38]
  • The link between disordered eating and PCOS [14:41]
  • Cutting out carbohydrates with PCOS [17:45]
  • Different types of PCOS [20:23]
  • Will being dairy and gluten-free improve symptoms? [22:23]
  • High cortisol and PCOS symptoms [24:13]
  • Megan’s favorite supplements to recommend to her clients [26:50]
  • Androgen blockers [30:02]
  • Megan’s advice for someone who is feeling lost in their PCOS management [31:05]


LEARN MORE
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[00:00:02.02]
Hello Megan.
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Hi.
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Thank you so much for coming on the show.
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I appreciate your time so much.
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I can imagine you're very busy with an 18 month old,
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so I appreciate you.
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[00:00:14.21]
Yes,
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thanks so much for having me.
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I love talking about all things pcos.
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[00:00:19.02]
So.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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So I don't know if you know this,
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but I actually have pcos.
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I did not know that.
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Yeah,
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I was diagnosed when I was 19 via ultrasound.
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Okay.
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And I had the classic response of looks
[00:00:35.01]

[00:00:35.01]
like we're gonna do some birth control,
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especially at that age that is we go to.
[00:00:39.18]

[00:00:39.18]
Oh yeah,
[00:00:40.11]

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for sure.
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For sure.
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And it did nothing for me personally.
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I would love to know your thoughts on birth control with pcos management.
[00:00:49.14]

[00:00:49.14]
Yeah,
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I feel like a special,
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so backtrack a little bit.
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I think with Pcos from just working with clients,
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one of the hardest parts is if you are not in the phase of life where you're trying to start
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[00:01:02.23]
a family,
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[00:01:03.19]
then you're kind of dismissed and you're told just come back
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when you're ready to start a family or when you're having trouble starting a family.
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And it's really unfortunate for most people because because even if you
[00:01:17.01]

[00:01:17.01]
never want to have a family,
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[00:01:19.19]
you still want to address your pcos symptoms because there are a lot of other factors that Pcos
[00:01:24.14]

[00:01:24.14]
contributes to besides just fertility.
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Um And so that is just really hard in general for women and people
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um like,
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Yeah,
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if you get diagnosed at 16,
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[00:01:35.01]
you're probably not wanting to start a family anytime soon,
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but you also have a lot of symptoms that are unfortunate and you want them dealt with.
[00:01:42.03]

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And the problem is I feel like with birth control is that it's just a band aid
[00:01:47.01]

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and that a lot of,
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you know,
[00:01:49.07]

[00:01:49.01]
women are put on birth control,
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you know,
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in their teen years or early twenties because they doctors want to like
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jump start their period,
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but then they have a false sense because the period on birth control is not a true period.
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[00:02:02.13]
Um and all of the symptoms that are massed on birth
[00:02:06.23]

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control are still gonna be there once they're off birth control.
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And even for a lot of people um at a young age,
[00:02:14.00]

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they don't even get the Pcos diagnosis before being on birth control.
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So,
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you know,
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they come in at 16,
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they're not having a period or the period super irregular and they're just like,
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okay,
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we'll put you on birth control to regulate it.
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And then 10 years down the road,
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they are trying to start a family and they realize,
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oh,
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I've had Pcos this whole time and it's gonna take years to undo
[00:02:35.03]

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everything that the birth control did.
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So I'm not like obviously birth control has a lot of other important benefits
[00:02:41.02]

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for people.
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So it's definitely a personal choice,
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but I think it's hard for a lot of people when that is when there's no other
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digging into what's going on and they're just put on that right away.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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As kind of like you said,
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a band aid solution and like,
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you know what,
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this has nothing to do with the fact with anything except the fact that you have
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Pcos.
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So here you go,
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here's your candy.
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Yeah.
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And I have a lot of clients that are like,
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oh I have a period and I'm like,
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but you're on birth control.
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So unfortunately it's not a true period and it's not your body is not doing it on its own.
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[00:03:12.19]
Um And just a lot of the like testing like lab testing they do for Pcos
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or other things.
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You don't get a true indicator of where you're at if you're on birth control because it's affecting your hormones.
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Like that's the point.
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Um And so I think it's just it's a lot of it takes a lot of undoing
[00:03:30.03]

[00:03:30.03]
for a lot of people on birth control to if they're put on it for so long and not really addressing
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anything else.
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Yeah.
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And you bring up a point to when somebody's on birth control,
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it's hard to know if they're even having the symptoms of Pcos because it's
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there's false regulations.
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So what are some other symptoms that you feel like women
[00:03:51.04]

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can identify that could potentially be pointing to Pcos even if they're on birth control.
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[00:03:56.01]
Yeah.
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[00:03:57.09]
So a good um a lot of people with pcos experience like
[00:04:02.06]

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unwanted body hair.
[00:04:03.23]

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Um So like facial hair are or just like,
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you know on your side stomach just like more than you would expect.
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Um sometimes you know to the point where they need to shave their face.
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Um That can be a really big indicator that testosterone levels are higher than
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normal.
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Um Really unfortunate.
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Acne can be a big indicator.
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Um Then I mean obviously the
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irregular periods or what's gonna probably like flag them.
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Um And then if you had a,
[00:04:38.07]

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so a lot of women deal with a change in their body type like drastically,
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like nothing has really changed um in their life drastically.
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Something is changing with their body as as far as what it what it looks like and that can be an
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indicator.
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Um So um intense cravings for carbohydrates
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can be another kind of indicator.
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Um So there's actually several different things besides a miss period
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or irregular periods that can indicate something else is going on hormonally.
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Yeah.
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Yeah,
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that's really good.
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Um That was actually like kind of my clue was like I had gained a bunch of
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weight and I was like I don't know nothing about my life has changed.
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Like this is so confusing and then that was when they
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Um looked into it more and diagnosed me and everything.
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And so a natural um follow up to the birth
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control was so you just need to diet and exercise to lose the weight,
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right?
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Just just lose that £20. It's it's not lose,
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it's not like you know like if it was if you gained it you just need to lose it and so
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like and it's all it's always like it was your fault you gained it like you did something to do
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this so just undo it and you're like that is just so unhelpful
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right?
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And that's like the reason I came in the first place is because it wasn't anything I did different.
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You know so it can be really maddening for for women that feel like
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they're told to just diet and exercise and they and then that's it like they don't know what to
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do with that right?
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So being an expert in the pcos space and also having your
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understanding of like weight and health and disordered eating like for
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you what is it like to um take on a client that
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has this belief of like I just have to lose this weight in order to fix
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my P.
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C.
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O.
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S.
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Yeah it's it's really really hard.
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Um You know a lot of women like you said are told to just
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lose the weight and everything will be fine.
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Like you know somewhere even told like your pcos could be cured if you lose the weight
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which is a red flag if any health provider tells you that your pcos can be cured.
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Find a new one because there is no cure which I tell all my clients.
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Um But I feel like you know telling a woman that has pcos
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to lose weight and just go home and diet is like telling someone to climb
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Mount Everest with no training.
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It's just like it's it's not that simple and with how much our society
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values thinness and smaller bodies.
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Don't you think these women are working towards that because they know they'll be more accepted?
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Um And so they just come to me super defeated and super
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just they don't really listen to.
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There aren't a lot of resources for Pcos.
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And so for me it's working to redirect what
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health looks like for them.
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Um So if their body stayed the same or similar weight range
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but um they're prediabetes went away.
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Um They are sleeping better.
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They have no brain fall.
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They don't have intense cravings anymore.
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They are ovulating.
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Like if those things improved,
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would you be would you would you be happy and trying to show
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them that health is more than just one number and also that you could you
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know lose X amount of pounds and nothing change unfortunately.
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You know,
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especially if you're doing it in a restrictive way.
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I mean your body is not going to feel safe to reproduce if that's
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what you're you're you're looking for.
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So I think you know for all of my clients but especially with Pcos it's just redirecting
[00:08:20.17]

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what health looks like to them and what and that you can improve health
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regardless of your body size.
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Yeah.
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I think that's good and and the fact that there are so many women who have
[00:08:32.22]

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the thin body,
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that providers are telling them to work towards and still have
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pcos is proof in and of itself that like just losing weight isn't gonna
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care.
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Yeah.
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And I think also to women in smaller bodies that have Pcos have a harder
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time getting it diagnosed because providers believe if you're not in a larger body,
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there's no way you could you could have pcos.
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Um So it's also taking away that correlation and like
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looking at the whole person and all of their symptoms and like looking past that number because yeah,
[00:09:06.23]

[00:09:06.23]
you can have pcos in a small body,
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you can have pcos in a larger body.
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Um And yeah,
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like you said,
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if you have Pcos in a smaller body than weight loss isn't the answer?
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Yeah,
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absolutely.
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So for those who are maybe like not
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so familiar with Pcos or they are just in that confusion of
[00:09:28.04]

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like,
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[00:09:28.10]
why is this even a problem that I have,
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[00:09:31.18]
What do you think or what have you found is the latest research on what could be
[00:09:36.16]

[00:09:36.16]
a contributing factor or cause towards pcos.
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[00:09:40.08]
Yeah,
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that's a good question.
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And I would love if more research was done on this part
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really,
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Pcos,
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the funding for pcos research is very minimal,
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[00:09:52.18]
which is unfortunate because it affects so many women,
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[00:09:55.20]
like 10 to 15% of women and probably that's underdiagnosed.
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[00:09:59.18]
Um But I would say genetics is something
[00:10:04.12]

[00:10:04.12]
that we're kind of seeing a trend in.
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[00:10:06.11]
So um if mom's sister grandma,
[00:10:09.05]

[00:10:09.05]
aunt um had said issues like Pcos
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[00:10:14.03]
you know maybe you're in um increased risk.
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[00:10:16.18]
There are some environmental factors that some researchers kind of leaning towards.
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[00:10:21.01]
But unfortunately we don't have a great answer for why some women have PCOS and why some don't.
[00:10:26.01]

[00:10:26.01]
And something also interesting is that P.
[00:10:28.02]

[00:10:28.02]
C.
[00:10:28.06]

[00:10:28.06]
O.
[00:10:28.09]

[00:10:28.09]
S really just came about like the formal diagnosis and learning about it
[00:10:33.01]

[00:10:33.01]
in the last You know,
[00:10:34.10]

[00:10:34.10]
probably 28 years or so 2030.
[00:10:37.11]

[00:10:37.11]
And so you know our our parents generation may not even have known they have
[00:10:42.00]

[00:10:42.00]
pcos pcos or you know our grand grandparents generation,
[00:10:45.23]

[00:10:45.23]
they might have no idea because it wasn't really a thing.
[00:10:48.03]

[00:10:48.03]
So trying to see that genetic factor too can be hard because we don't have this formal
[00:10:52.01]

[00:10:52.01]
diagnoses in previous generations.
[00:10:55.01]

[00:10:55.10]
Yeah.
[00:10:56.03]

[00:10:56.03]
That's what I was gonna say too.
[00:10:57.07]

[00:10:57.07]
I think,
[00:10:57.02]

[00:10:57.22]
I can't remember if it was my grandma or somebody in my family tree had issues
[00:11:02.17]

[00:11:02.17]
with fertility and and just cycles and everything and I'm like well they
[00:11:07.07]

[00:11:07.07]
probably had it too and we just didn't know.
[00:11:09.14]

[00:11:09.14]
Yeah.
[00:11:10.01]

[00:11:10.01]
Yeah.
[00:11:10.18]

[00:11:10.18]
And I hear that,
[00:11:11.13]

[00:11:11.13]
you know from clients like well I mean my grandma like might have had some issues like
[00:11:16.01]

[00:11:16.10]
conceiving but like we don't know much more than that.
[00:11:19.14]

[00:11:19.14]
And so there definitely could be more of a genetic line but like you said it's just we just don't know.
[00:11:24.12]

[00:11:24.01]
Yeah,
[00:11:25.00]

[00:11:25.00]
it's really hard to at this point,
[00:11:26.16]

[00:11:26.16]
which it will be nice I guess like future generations.
[00:11:30.00]

[00:11:30.02]
So kids and grandkids might have,
[00:11:33.10]

[00:11:33.11]
which Yeah,
[00:11:34.17]

[00:11:34.17]
I mean that's probably one of,
[00:11:35.23]

[00:11:35.23]
you know,
[00:11:36.07]

[00:11:36.07]
the most frustrating things is like we just like for for clients is like,
[00:11:40.15]

[00:11:40.15]
why me?
[00:11:41.09]

[00:11:41.09]
Like why?
[00:11:43.01]

[00:11:43.01]
Like why is this affecting me and not?
[00:11:44.24]

[00:11:45.00]
You know,
[00:11:45.07]

[00:11:45.07]
my sister or my friends,
[00:11:47.03]

[00:11:47.03]
like what about me is different?
[00:11:49.03]

[00:11:49.03]
And we just really don't have a good answer,
[00:11:50.19]

[00:11:50.19]
which can be hard.
[00:11:51.18]

[00:11:52.00]
Absolutely.
[00:11:52.02]

[00:11:52.02]
That was one of the hardest part for me,
[00:11:54.03]

[00:11:54.03]
was like,
[00:11:54.18]

[00:11:54.18]
why?
[00:11:55.01]

[00:11:55.01]
What did I do?
[00:11:56.01]

[00:11:56.15]
That was a big thing.
[00:11:57.20]

[00:11:57.20]
What have I done to cause this and can I just
[00:12:02.18]

[00:12:02.18]
fix it?
[00:12:03.12]

[00:12:03.12]
Can I undo this?
[00:12:04.22]

[00:12:04.22]
Yeah.
[00:12:05.00]

[00:12:05.03]
Like can I change?
[00:12:05.20]

[00:12:05.20]
Yeah,
[00:12:06.06]

[00:12:06.06]
especially at a young age too.
[00:12:07.13]

[00:12:07.13]
Like you said you were diagnosed at 19.
[00:12:09.13]

[00:12:09.13]
I mean,
[00:12:10.05]

[00:12:10.06]
yeah,
[00:12:10.18]

[00:12:10.18]
that's just like you just really got out of high school.
[00:12:13.09]

[00:12:13.09]
Like what did I do to diagnose c totally.
[00:12:16.20]

[00:12:16.20]
Yeah,
[00:12:17.01]

[00:12:17.01]
I was a freshman in college.
[00:12:18.09]

[00:12:18.09]
It was it was scary.
[00:12:19.01]

[00:12:19.01]
And also the fertility aspect of it too because I knew I did want to have a family.
[00:12:23.02]

[00:12:23.02]
And um and that that can be scary as well.
[00:12:27.18]

[00:12:27.18]
So for you being a clinician in this space when you work with women
[00:12:32.15]

[00:12:32.15]
who are like not wanting to conceive yet,
[00:12:36.01]

[00:12:36.01]
but they get old,
[00:12:37.13]

[00:12:37.13]
they get dismissed by their provider come back when you're ready to conceive.
[00:12:41.15]

[00:12:41.23]
How did they end up finding you then?
[00:12:44.07]

[00:12:44.22]
Yeah.
[00:12:45.21]

[00:12:45.21]
Yeah.
[00:12:46.13]

[00:12:46.14]
I mean it's a good question because well into even at that point they
[00:12:51.05]

[00:12:51.05]
probably they might not even know they have pcos because like yeah they were dismissed.
[00:12:55.07]

[00:12:55.07]
You know they're 20 something and not having a family for a while.
[00:12:58.16]

[00:12:58.20]
Um I would say a lot of them search like women's
[00:13:03.01]

[00:13:03.01]
health or just um types of you know irregular
[00:13:08.00]

[00:13:08.00]
period or or they kind of just like google symptoms themselves and then they
[00:13:12.21]

[00:13:12.21]
see like,
[00:13:13.08]

[00:13:13.08]
oh you know,
[00:13:13.23]

[00:13:13.23]
you could have pcos and then they that kind of flows that way.
[00:13:17.22]

[00:13:17.22]
But a lot of clients come to me without a formal diagnosis.
[00:13:21.05]

[00:13:21.05]
E of us just because either they can't get one.
[00:13:25.03]

[00:13:25.03]
They're not in that stage of life.
[00:13:27.20]

[00:13:27.21]
Or you know,
[00:13:28.21]

[00:13:28.21]
they were told you might have Pcos but not like verified by a doctor.
[00:13:33.19]

[00:13:33.19]
Yeah.
[00:13:34.15]

[00:13:34.16]
Yeah,
[00:13:35.02]

[00:13:35.02]
that makes sense.
[00:13:36.01]

[00:13:36.01]
Um What is the link that you've been seeing
[00:13:39.22]

[00:13:39.23]
with?
[00:13:41.06]

[00:13:41.07]
You know,
[00:13:41.15]

[00:13:41.16]
because they talked about diet,
[00:13:42.17]

[00:13:42.17]
exercise all that which naturally can lead into disorder eating.
[00:13:47.01]

[00:13:47.15]
Um How is that kind of manifesting among your clients that link
[00:13:52.01]

[00:13:52.18]
disordered eating and Pcos?
[00:13:54.16]

[00:13:54.16]
Yeah.
[00:13:55.05]

[00:13:55.05]
Unfortunately there is a big correlation between eating disorders,
[00:13:58.21]

[00:13:58.21]
disordered eating and pcos.
[00:14:00.01]

[00:14:00.10]
Um The late latest statistic is your six times more likely to have an eating disorder if you have
[00:14:05.09]

[00:14:05.09]
Pcos because of what we talked about before,
[00:14:08.13]

[00:14:08.13]
the recommendation is to go home and lose weight.
[00:14:10.20]

[00:14:10.21]
Um And obviously we know that there we don't have any long term
[00:14:15.02]

[00:14:15.02]
success with weight loss.
[00:14:17.00]

[00:14:17.00]
Even pcos aside and then you're telling somebody that already has insulin
[00:14:21.17]

[00:14:21.17]
resistance and hormone issues and things to go and fight even harder
[00:14:26.16]

[00:14:26.16]
against that.
[00:14:27.08]

[00:14:27.08]
And so usually they are just restricting.
[00:14:29.09]

[00:14:29.13]
Um And there's trying to basically starve themselves to cut calories and then that
[00:14:33.21]

[00:14:33.21]
leads a lot of times to binging at some point because of those intense cravings
[00:14:38.19]

[00:14:38.19]
that their body is needing and wanting.
[00:14:41.11]

[00:14:41.11]
They binge at some point and then it kind of just start that cycle over again.
[00:14:45.24]

[00:14:45.24]
So I see a lot with clients that restrict binge cycle because they're trying
[00:14:50.23]

[00:14:50.23]
to go against their body unfortunately.
[00:14:55.10]

[00:14:55.10]
And so really you know a lot of my clients we start with just simply eating
[00:14:59.23]

[00:14:59.23]
um and trying to just show them that like your body deserves food and your
[00:15:04.23]

[00:15:04.23]
body is going to function better if it's eating regularly.
[00:15:07.20]

[00:15:07.21]
Um And I'm sure like you've heard,
[00:15:10.05]

[00:15:10.00]
you know,
[00:15:10.16]

[00:15:10.16]
carbs are carbs are demonized regardless of pcos but especially
[00:15:15.16]

[00:15:15.16]
in the P.
[00:15:16.00]

[00:15:16.00]
C.
[00:15:16.04]

[00:15:16.04]
R.
[00:15:16.01]

[00:15:16.01]
S.
[00:15:16.11]

[00:15:16.11]
World,
[00:15:17.03]

[00:15:17.03]
I mean like eating a carbohydrate is the worst thing ever.
[00:15:20.21]

[00:15:20.21]
Um And so when I tell them like no your body prefers
[00:15:25.10]

[00:15:25.10]
carbs and your brain needs cards to function.
[00:15:28.08]

[00:15:28.08]
They're just like what no one's ever told me that I'm allowed to eat those types of foods
[00:15:33.05]

[00:15:33.05]
because I'm just told I need to lose weight.
[00:15:35.03]

[00:15:35.04]
Um And so really yeah it's just working through what
[00:15:39.02]

[00:15:39.22]
they've been told their whole diagnosis of do whatever you can to
[00:15:44.14]

[00:15:44.01]
lose the weight.
[00:15:45.15]

[00:15:45.15]
Yeah I think one of the most like like I want to pull my hair out moments
[00:15:50.01]

[00:15:50.01]
is when somebody tells me that they have pcos and then they're going to do keto to help it and I'm
[00:15:55.12]

[00:15:55.12]
like are you kidding me?
[00:15:58.12]

[00:15:59.03]
Really?
[00:15:59.18]

[00:15:59.18]
When someone says they're doing keto it's the work.
[00:16:01.17]

[00:16:01.17]
It's the worst period.
[00:16:03.09]

[00:16:03.09]
Yes.
[00:16:03.20]

[00:16:03.20]
Yeah.
[00:16:04.07]

[00:16:04.09]
Yeah.
[00:16:05.05]

[00:16:05.06]
But especially like in a P.
[00:16:07.01]

[00:16:07.01]
C.
[00:16:07.06]

[00:16:07.06]
O.
[00:16:07.08]

[00:16:07.08]
S.
[00:16:07.18]

[00:16:07.18]
Or like diabetes setting cut out carbs and I should be fine.
[00:16:12.09]

[00:16:12.13]
Yeah and then yeah it's just okay.
[00:16:14.20]

[00:16:14.20]
No.
[00:16:15.01]

[00:16:15.15]
Yeah like that doesn't fix the thing.
[00:16:18.16]

[00:16:18.16]
Like it just because you're not eating the nutrients you have difficulty processing doesn't mean
[00:16:23.01]

[00:16:23.01]
that you've magically know been able to process.
[00:16:26.00]

[00:16:26.00]
It just means you have to and now you're gonna have a lot of side effects That really
[00:16:30.11]

[00:16:30.11]
suck.
[00:16:31.04]

[00:16:31.04]
Yeah.
[00:16:31.16]

[00:16:31.17]
Yeah.
[00:16:32.01]

[00:16:32.01]
I mean the keto flu,
[00:16:33.16]

[00:16:33.16]
it's like why are you on a diet?
[00:16:34.22]

[00:16:34.22]
That makes me feel so terrible.
[00:16:36.22]

[00:16:36.22]
Abs.
[00:16:37.12]

[00:16:37.02]
But I feel like an interesting thing too is a lot of women with pcos
[00:16:42.03]

[00:16:42.03]
complain of brain fog and when we are depriving our
[00:16:46.21]

[00:16:46.21]
brain of carbohydrates then obviously it's not going to function at its peak.
[00:16:51.17]

[00:16:51.02]
And so when they implement carbs even for a few days or a week they feel so much
[00:16:56.10]

[00:16:56.10]
better and so much their mind is much more clear and they're like that just is
[00:17:01.10]

[00:17:01.10]
mind blowing to me that it was as simple as,
[00:17:03.13]

[00:17:03.13]
you know,
[00:17:03.24]

[00:17:03.24]
feeding your body the food that it's wanting.
[00:17:07.02]

[00:17:07.02]
I know it's not crazy.
[00:17:09.00]

[00:17:09.00]
It's usually when,
[00:17:11.06]

[00:17:11.06]
you know the first few sessions I'm like,
[00:17:13.01]

[00:17:13.01]
this isn't a sexy recommendation that I'm going to give them tell you to eat and there and it's
[00:17:17.22]

[00:17:17.22]
just like light bulb,
[00:17:19.00]

[00:17:19.00]
like,
[00:17:19.09]

[00:17:19.01]
okay,
[00:17:20.02]

[00:17:20.02]
that's all I need to do.
[00:17:21.07]

[00:17:21.01]
Yeah,
[00:17:22.05]

[00:17:22.06]
yeah.
[00:17:22.12]

[00:17:22.01]
And I love something that you said earlier too that they deserve to have food and that's
[00:17:27.08]

[00:17:27.08]
like,
[00:17:27.19]

[00:17:28.01]
again,
[00:17:28.12]

[00:17:28.12]
when we get into the rut of like,
[00:17:30.16]

[00:17:30.16]
why do I have this,
[00:17:31.18]

[00:17:31.18]
what did I do to deserve this?
[00:17:33.13]

[00:17:33.13]
Now?
[00:17:34.04]

[00:17:34.04]
I have to diet and exercise,
[00:17:35.10]

[00:17:35.10]
I don't deserve carbohydrates or food in general.
[00:17:38.22]

[00:17:38.22]
It can sometimes be the most helpful thing to tell someone is just actually you are still a
[00:17:43.15]

[00:17:43.15]
human and you still deserve to eat just like any other human,
[00:17:46.23]

[00:17:46.24]
you know.
[00:17:47.06]

[00:17:47.06]
Exactly.
[00:17:47.21]

[00:17:47.21]
Ian you deserve to enjoy the food that you are eating.
[00:17:51.06]

[00:17:51.06]
You know,
[00:17:51.15]

[00:17:51.15]
you don't need to be,
[00:17:52.20]

[00:17:52.20]
you know,
[00:17:53.01]

[00:17:53.01]
eating chicken that has no seasoning and broccoli that has no
[00:17:58.00]

[00:17:58.00]
oil or butter because you're dieting and you can't have a side
[00:18:02.18]

[00:18:02.18]
of bread with it or you can't enjoy the birthday cake at your daughter's party
[00:18:07.09]

[00:18:07.09]
because you heaven forbid you have sugar and so I think too,
[00:18:11.08]

[00:18:11.08]
in this realm,
[00:18:12.00]

[00:18:12.00]
it's like the idea of enjoying our food or eating things that we actually desire
[00:18:16.21]

[00:18:16.21]
is foreign,
[00:18:17.16]

[00:18:17.17]
unfortunately.
[00:18:18.15]

[00:18:18.15]
Yeah,
[00:18:19.12]

[00:18:19.12]
absolutely.
[00:18:20.11]

[00:18:21.00]
Um so something that I've heard and that I personally don't know much about.
[00:18:24.19]

[00:18:24.19]
So I'd love to hear your thoughts on is that there's different types of P.
[00:18:28.09]

[00:18:28.09]
C.
[00:18:28.13]

[00:18:28.13]
O.
[00:18:28.15]

[00:18:28.15]
S.
[00:18:29.01]

[00:18:29.01]
Like a P.
[00:18:29.01]

[00:18:29.01]
C.
[00:18:29.16]

[00:18:29.16]
O.
[00:18:29.18]

[00:18:29.18]
S.
[00:18:30.00]

[00:18:30.00]
That's mostly triggered by like testosterone
[00:18:34.10]

[00:18:34.10]
versus whatever.
[00:18:36.06]

[00:18:36.06]
So I would love to kind of here,
[00:18:38.00]

[00:18:38.01]
is that is there any validity to that?
[00:18:40.12]

[00:18:40.12]
Yeah.
[00:18:41.01]

[00:18:41.01]
Yeah.
[00:18:41.08]

[00:18:41.08]
So actually,
[00:18:42.01]

[00:18:42.01]
yeah,
[00:18:42.06]

[00:18:42.06]
there is um we are learning more that there are different types um that
[00:18:47.01]

[00:18:47.01]
some women with Pcos don't suffer from insulin resistance.
[00:18:51.01]

[00:18:51.01]
Now I would say the majority do.
[00:18:53.01]

[00:18:53.07]
Um but a lot of times,
[00:18:55.06]

[00:18:55.06]
you know,
[00:18:55.11]

[00:18:55.11]
if we have lain PCOS which is a different type,
[00:18:57.16]

[00:18:57.16]
you know,
[00:18:57.21]

[00:18:57.21]
in a smaller body,
[00:18:58.20]

[00:18:58.21]
you may not be dealing with as much insulin resistance as somebody,
[00:19:02.19]

[00:19:02.19]
you know,
[00:19:03.04]

[00:19:03.04]
might be in a larger body that has PCOS.
[00:19:05.10]

[00:19:05.11]
Um like the testosterone,
[00:19:06.18]

[00:19:06.18]
like you said can be the driving factor for their symptoms where some women the driving
[00:19:11.17]

[00:19:11.17]
factor is the insulin resistance which is causing,
[00:19:14.07]

[00:19:14.07]
you know,
[00:19:14.13]

[00:19:14.13]
the inauguration which is causing the hormone changes.
[00:19:17.17]

[00:19:17.18]
Um So that is something to working with clients is trying to understand what type they're
[00:19:22.18]

[00:19:22.18]
working with because that can alter the interventions.
[00:19:25.07]

[00:19:25.07]
Um and I think that's,
[00:19:27.04]

[00:19:27.04]
you know,
[00:19:27.18]

[00:19:27.18]
there are a lot of common things that all women with PCOS can be doing.
[00:19:31.23]

[00:19:31.23]
But then there are also some things that we can,
[00:19:33.21]

[00:19:33.21]
you know,
[00:19:34.13]

[00:19:34.14]
or some supplements that you can gear towards if your Pcos is looking a little different than
[00:19:38.24]

[00:19:38.24]
somebody else's.
[00:19:40.06]

[00:19:40.06]
Which is also why.
[00:19:41.11]

[00:19:41.11]
And I'm sure like you know all clients but why googling symptoms and like finding a P.
[00:19:46.08]

[00:19:46.08]
C.
[00:19:46.12]

[00:19:46.12]
O.
[00:19:46.15]

[00:19:46.15]
S.
[00:19:46.21]

[00:19:46.21]
Blog of somebody that you know something worked for can be more harmful
[00:19:51.09]

[00:19:51.09]
because what what helps them may not even be correlated to something that you
[00:19:56.00]

[00:19:56.00]
need.
[00:19:56.10]

[00:19:56.10]
Um Or you know a lot of P.
[00:19:58.08]

[00:19:58.08]
C.
[00:19:58.13]

[00:19:58.13]
O.
[00:19:58.14]

[00:19:58.14]
S.
[00:19:58.18]

[00:19:58.18]
Blogs are like I went dairy and gluten free and I'm cured and
[00:20:03.10]

[00:20:03.10]
that doesn't help.
[00:20:05.01]

[00:20:05.01]
There's no like valid research that that is helping with Pcos and then they're just restricting more.
[00:20:09.22]

[00:20:09.22]
And then again like we talked about that cycle of disordered eating.
[00:20:13.05]

[00:20:13.05]
Yeah that was a tangent to your answer.
[00:20:16.04]

[00:20:16.04]
But no I love it.
[00:20:17.10]

[00:20:17.10]
I was actually gonna ask you about the dairy and gluten too because there are some influential people out there
[00:20:22.04]

[00:20:22.04]
that claim that to be the cure.
[00:20:26.04]

[00:20:27.03]
Um So in discussion of the different types,
[00:20:30.24]

[00:20:30.24]
do you think that it's possible that being dairy and gluten free for
[00:20:35.18]

[00:20:35.18]
somebody might help their symptoms.
[00:20:37.23]

[00:20:37.23]
Yeah.
[00:20:38.14]

[00:20:38.14]
So I truly believe in body autonomy.
[00:20:41.00]

[00:20:41.00]
So if you want to try that for yourself,
[00:20:44.13]

[00:20:44.13]
I am I will support you in that.
[00:20:47.00]

[00:20:47.00]
Um But there has not been significa can't large
[00:20:51.17]

[00:20:51.17]
scale research that going dairy or gluten free can help with Pcos
[00:20:56.15]

[00:20:56.15]
now there are some smaller studies that show that dairy can maybe help with acne.
[00:21:00.15]

[00:21:00.15]
Um But not directly to pcos symptoms or you know,
[00:21:05.04]

[00:21:05.04]
increasing fertility and things.
[00:21:07.02]

[00:21:07.02]
And what I,
[00:21:08.06]

[00:21:08.06]
you know what we talked about is the more that we're restricting,
[00:21:12.04]

[00:21:12.04]
so we're cutting out and we're cutting out dairy,
[00:21:14.18]

[00:21:14.18]
you know,
[00:21:15.05]

[00:21:15.06]
to gluten and everything and dairy is like the best food.
[00:21:19.07]

[00:21:19.07]
So you know,
[00:21:20.10]

[00:21:20.10]
when you lose both of those,
[00:21:21.20]

[00:21:21.20]
it can be really hard to find things that you enjoy eating,
[00:21:24.20]

[00:21:24.20]
which I think really just increases your risk of disordered eating.
[00:21:28.11]

[00:21:28.12]
Um So unless a client comes to me and it's like,
[00:21:31.04]

[00:21:31.04]
I absolutely want to try this,
[00:21:32.21]

[00:21:32.21]
like,
[00:21:33.10]

[00:21:33.10]
I need to see if it works,
[00:21:35.02]

[00:21:35.02]
then it's not a recommendation.
[00:21:36.18]

[00:21:36.24]
Yeah,
[00:21:37.17]

[00:21:37.18]
that's good.
[00:21:38.06]

[00:21:38.06]
That's really good.
[00:21:38.02]

[00:21:38.02]
I love that about just body autonomy to like,
[00:21:41.00]

[00:21:41.00]
you know what,
[00:21:41.21]

[00:21:41.21]
you know,
[00:21:42.13]

[00:21:42.13]
your body best at the end of the day.
[00:21:43.23]

[00:21:43.23]
So we're gonna try and you're gonna learn,
[00:21:45.24]

[00:21:46.00]
yeah,
[00:21:46.22]

[00:21:46.22]
I'm trying to help you.
[00:21:48.05]

[00:21:48.00]
But then if I see those red flags coming up,
[00:21:50.19]

[00:21:50.19]
then I will let you know that,
[00:21:51.21]

[00:21:51.21]
you know,
[00:21:52.02]

[00:21:52.02]
maybe this isn't going in the direction and especially if someone is coming to me with a
[00:21:56.19]

[00:21:56.19]
past diagnosis have been eating disorder,
[00:21:59.04]

[00:21:59.04]
then that might be a little bit more where I step in and say,
[00:22:01.18]

[00:22:01.18]
I don't think we should be restricting more food.
[00:22:04.11]

[00:22:04.15]
Yeah,
[00:22:05.01]

[00:22:05.01]
that's good because they can almost be a scapegoat to yes,
[00:22:08.03]

[00:22:08.03]
it can just be like a coping mechanism of like,
[00:22:10.11]

[00:22:10.11]
this is I'm actually just trying to improve my health,
[00:22:12.20]

[00:22:12.20]
but really I'm just engaging in disordered behaviors.
[00:22:15.13]

[00:22:15.13]
Yeah we see that a lot with like veganism and stuff too.
[00:22:18.08]

[00:22:18.08]
Like oh yeah using that as an escape goat.
[00:22:22.19]

[00:22:23.01]
Do you feel like there is a link for women with Pcos that
[00:22:27.24]

[00:22:27.24]
it's worsening their symptoms if they have a high amount of stress and
[00:22:32.18]

[00:22:32.18]
cortisol.
[00:22:33.18]

[00:22:33.18]
Yes that I think is definitely thing that
[00:22:38.10]

[00:22:38.10]
needs to be a heavy priority with pcos management is stress levels.
[00:22:42.15]

[00:22:42.16]
Um You are as one with P.
[00:22:46.02]

[00:22:46.02]
C.
[00:22:46.06]

[00:22:46.06]
O.
[00:22:46.08]

[00:22:46.08]
S.
[00:22:46.01]

[00:22:46.01]
You're going to have naturally higher cortisol levels which is your stress hormone and
[00:22:51.10]

[00:22:51.11]
the more emphasis that we just increase that stress,
[00:22:54.20]

[00:22:54.20]
the harder it is to manage things like the inflammation um or your hormones or your
[00:22:59.11]

[00:22:59.11]
cravings.
[00:23:00.06]

[00:23:00.06]
Um And I see that a lot with actually exercising pcos.
[00:23:04.05]

[00:23:04.05]
So you know getting back to what we've been talking about,
[00:23:07.10]

[00:23:07.10]
you're told to lose weight,
[00:23:08.11]

[00:23:08.11]
okay so that means I need to go do really intense exercise every single day of the
[00:23:13.01]

[00:23:13.01]
week.
[00:23:13.17]

[00:23:13.17]
And what we've seen with that is that exercise is a natural
[00:23:18.13]

[00:23:18.13]
stress razor for your body and that's normal and it's fine.
[00:23:21.21]

[00:23:21.21]
But with Pcos,
[00:23:23.15]

[00:23:23.15]
if you don't give your body time to come down from that stress and you're doing back to
[00:23:28.11]

[00:23:28.11]
back intense workouts on the daily it's actually causing more harm.
[00:23:32.02]

[00:23:32.02]
So I like to tell clients,
[00:23:33.21]

[00:23:33.21]
you know if you if you like the intensity of you know cycling running,
[00:23:37.20]

[00:23:37.21]
hit workouts that's great but let's give some days in between those,
[00:23:41.13]

[00:23:41.13]
So let's do like some yoga or some walking in between those days to let your cortisol come back
[00:23:46.06]

[00:23:46.06]
down because really that intense exercise or high stress
[00:23:51.01]

[00:23:51.02]
can actually be doing the opposite of what you're hoping for.
[00:23:54.05]

[00:23:54.00]
Um and so that goes to all areas of life,
[00:23:56.02]

[00:23:56.02]
you know,
[00:23:56.08]

[00:23:56.08]
like managing your stress at home in your stress at work.
[00:23:59.07]

[00:23:59.08]
Um That is one of the big factors that I don't think a lot of women
[00:24:03.11]

[00:24:03.12]
understand when coming to see me is that we're going to focus a lot on stress because that's really
[00:24:08.10]

[00:24:08.10]
going to domino effect to everything else.
[00:24:10.16]

[00:24:10.19]
That's one of my favorite things is like asking somebody how is,
[00:24:15.06]

[00:24:15.06]
has the stress in your life?
[00:24:16.17]

[00:24:16.17]
And they're like,
[00:24:17.12]

[00:24:18.02]
I mean,
[00:24:18.12]

[00:24:18.12]
it's horrible.
[00:24:19.03]

[00:24:19.03]
What do you expect?
[00:24:20.15]

[00:24:20.16]
Like,
[00:24:21.06]

[00:24:21.06]
my stress is always high,
[00:24:22.15]

[00:24:22.15]
but isn't that normal?
[00:24:24.02]

[00:24:24.02]
Like,
[00:24:24.21]

[00:24:24.21]
great,
[00:24:25.04]

[00:24:25.04]
we're gonna talk about that and I'm like,
[00:24:27.03]

[00:24:27.03]
I thought you were my dietitian and I am.
[00:24:29.18]

[00:24:29.18]
Yeah.
[00:24:30.12]

[00:24:30.12]
Yeah.
[00:24:30.23]

[00:24:30.23]
Well,
[00:24:31.03]

[00:24:31.03]
and that's,
[00:24:31.14]

[00:24:31.14]
I think that's too,
[00:24:32.09]

[00:24:32.09]
it's like,
[00:24:32.20]

[00:24:32.20]
you know,
[00:24:33.11]

[00:24:33.12]
at the dietician,
[00:24:34.14]

[00:24:34.14]
I,
[00:24:35.06]

[00:24:35.06]
people kind of expect I'm going to come to you,
[00:24:37.10]

[00:24:37.10]
you're going to give me a calorie count and a meal plan and you're gonna tell me to not eat X,
[00:24:41.22]

[00:24:41.22]
Y and Z.
[00:24:42.01]

[00:24:42.15]
And I am like,
[00:24:43.10]

[00:24:43.11]
well I'm actually opposite of that dietician,
[00:24:45.19]

[00:24:45.19]
we're going to look at everything else,
[00:24:47.04]

[00:24:47.04]
sleep movement stress,
[00:24:50.05]

[00:24:50.06]
We will look at nutrition,
[00:24:51.14]

[00:24:51.14]
but I will not be giving you any type of restrictions or calories or things to follow.
[00:24:56.00]

[00:24:56.03]
So they're like oh okay.
[00:24:58.08]

[00:24:58.08]
Yeah isn't that so fun to see that like you're not going to put me on a
[00:25:03.06]

[00:25:03.06]
1200 calories.
[00:25:04.01]

[00:25:04.02]
Maybe I will come back then.
[00:25:05.09]

[00:25:05.09]
Yeah exactly,
[00:25:07.00]

[00:25:07.00]
exactly.
[00:25:08.00]

[00:25:08.09]
Um So you mentioned supplements before um what
[00:25:12.19]

[00:25:12.19]
is kind of your favorite supplements to recommend for your clients?
[00:25:17.10]

[00:25:17.10]
Yeah.
[00:25:18.09]

[00:25:18.09]
Um So I always recommend getting some baseline labs done
[00:25:22.16]

[00:25:22.16]
with something to note.
[00:25:24.11]

[00:25:24.12]
Like we talked about if you're on birth control then I recommend getting off birth control if if
[00:25:29.08]

[00:25:29.08]
you're obviously in a space you can do that and then getting labs done because the labs will not
[00:25:34.07]

[00:25:34.07]
be valid.
[00:25:35.15]

[00:25:35.16]
You know are true with on birth control.
[00:25:38.10]

[00:25:38.10]
So I recommend getting those done.
[00:25:40.00]

[00:25:40.00]
Especially like vitamin B.
[00:25:41.13]

[00:25:41.13]
12,
[00:25:42.03]

[00:25:42.03]
vitamin D.
[00:25:42.24]

[00:25:42.24]
Or big ones,
[00:25:43.18]

[00:25:43.18]
your thyroid panel um your lipid panel,
[00:25:47.01]

[00:25:47.01]
things like that.
[00:25:47.18]

[00:25:47.18]
Just to get a baseline.
[00:25:49.02]

[00:25:49.02]
Um Because also being on birth control depletes vitamin B.
[00:25:52.13]

[00:25:52.13]
12.
[00:25:53.04]

[00:25:53.04]
So that there's a big correlation there.
[00:25:55.14]

[00:25:55.14]
So that's something to note if you're on birth control long term that you definitely want to know your B.
[00:25:59.13]

[00:25:59.13]
12 levels and that also correlates with energy.
[00:26:01.24]

[00:26:01.24]
So you always complain about low energy.
[00:26:04.22]

[00:26:04.23]
So B.
[00:26:05.01]

[00:26:05.01]
12 is a really common one.
[00:26:06.19]

[00:26:07.02]
Another common one is vitamin D.
[00:26:09.05]

[00:26:09.05]
Because I mean most women in general are deficient in vitamin D.
[00:26:13.21]

[00:26:13.21]
But especially with pcos and the thing that's interesting is the
[00:26:18.11]

[00:26:18.11]
normal range for vitamin D.
[00:26:20.03]

[00:26:20.03]
Is 30 to 100 which is so large.
[00:26:23.01]

[00:26:23.12]
And so you could be normal but your level is 32 when
[00:26:28.10]

[00:26:28.10]
we want to be optimal like over 50 you know to like 60 70 80.
[00:26:33.01]

[00:26:33.07]
So I love getting a vitamin D.
[00:26:34.19]

[00:26:34.19]
Panel done just because being in that can directly correlate with like
[00:26:39.02]

[00:26:39.17]
mental health improvements.
[00:26:41.00]

[00:26:41.00]
You know things that a lot of women with Pcos struggle with.
[00:26:44.11]

[00:26:44.11]
Um And so supplement wise I always look at those two um nervous
[00:26:49.05]

[00:26:49.05]
it'll or is a really really great only Pcos
[00:26:54.01]

[00:26:54.01]
marketed supplement that I found it's a powder and it is
[00:26:58.08]

[00:26:58.08]
a perfect combination of 40 to 1 Myrow and Hospital to
[00:27:03.02]

[00:27:03.02]
de Cairo and hospital.
[00:27:04.18]

[00:27:04.18]
Um And you can put it in coffee,
[00:27:06.18]

[00:27:06.18]
water,
[00:27:07.07]

[00:27:07.07]
oatmeal.
[00:27:08.01]

[00:27:08.01]
Um But it just helps with all of the things that women struggle with with Pcos so can improve
[00:27:12.23]

[00:27:12.23]
ovulation.
[00:27:13.15]

[00:27:13.15]
It can prove equality,
[00:27:14.18]

[00:27:14.18]
intense cravings insulin resistance.
[00:27:16.22]

[00:27:16.23]
So that is one that I usually recommend to clients um Kind of from the beginning like
[00:27:21.18]

[00:27:21.19]
if you're looking for something um Let's start with that and then kind of go from
[00:27:26.06]

[00:27:26.06]
there because I'm sure you've seen to a lot of women come to me
[00:27:30.20]

[00:27:30.20]
on 15 different supplements and some of them are doing the same
[00:27:35.10]

[00:27:35.10]
thing or they will have the same thing in them either just different variations of it.
[00:27:39.02]

[00:27:39.22]
And so telling them like you don't need to be taking 10 supplements a day,
[00:27:43.18]

[00:27:43.18]
let's like tone this down and save you some money and time.
[00:27:46.01]

[00:27:46.21]
Um And like look at the ones that actually are going to benefit you.
[00:27:50.10]

[00:27:50.10]
Zinc and magnesium are also two big ones that have seen improvement.
[00:27:54.15]

[00:27:54.16]
Um because so women with Pcos are also increased risk for sleep
[00:27:59.09]

[00:27:59.09]
disorders.
[00:28:00.04]

[00:28:00.04]
Um So magnesium can help with sleep.
[00:28:02.17]

[00:28:02.17]
Um So things like really you know telling me your symptoms and then let's
[00:28:07.15]

[00:28:07.15]
go from there to see what can actually help them,
[00:28:10.15]

[00:28:10.15]
what do you need to be on?
[00:28:11.02]

[00:28:11.22]
Yeah that's good.
[00:28:13.03]

[00:28:13.03]
I actually when I was pregnant both times had restless legs,
[00:28:17.12]

[00:28:17.13]
anybody out there that struggles with that.
[00:28:19.02]

[00:28:19.02]
Magnesium was like a lifesaver.
[00:28:22.05]

[00:28:22.00]
I mean magnesium is kind of like an undercover amazing supplement that kind of
[00:28:27.01]

[00:28:27.01]
gets looked over for many great things agreed agreed
[00:28:31.08]

[00:28:31.08]
I've seen on the social needs some
[00:28:35.23]

[00:28:35.23]
marketing an androgen blocker.
[00:28:39.18]

[00:28:39.18]
Um What are your thoughts on that?
[00:28:42.00]

[00:28:42.05]
Yeah,
[00:28:42.24]

[00:28:42.24]
I mean I think if you you have have your labs drawn and done and
[00:28:47.22]

[00:28:47.22]
you get you know a panel done of um you find out your
[00:28:52.04]

[00:28:52.04]
testosterone and things like that are super high.
[00:28:54.12]

[00:28:54.13]
I definitely think it's it's worth a shot.
[00:28:57.04]

[00:28:57.04]
I mean you can definitely try it again,
[00:28:58.22]

[00:28:58.22]
body autonomy.
[00:28:59.01]

[00:28:59.01]
Like we know that this is something you struggle with.
[00:29:01.19]

[00:29:01.19]
Let's try it.
[00:29:02.18]

[00:29:02.18]
Um But I definitely would recommend from a reputable source because
[00:29:07.17]

[00:29:07.17]
there are tons on the market.
[00:29:09.06]

[00:29:09.06]
You know our supplement industry is not regulated.
[00:29:11.21]

[00:29:11.21]
Um And so you just want to make sure that the supplement any supplement you're taking is third party
[00:29:16.02]

[00:29:16.02]
tested.
[00:29:17.12]

[00:29:17.01]
Um It's coming from a reputable brand.
[00:29:20.05]

[00:29:20.06]
Um Just things that to make sure that you're getting what you pay for
[00:29:24.15]

[00:29:24.15]
basically.
[00:29:25.11]

[00:29:25.11]
Um So I think it's definitely something that you know,
[00:29:28.17]

[00:29:28.17]
as research evolves,
[00:29:29.19]

[00:29:29.19]
it's getting more and more prevalent.
[00:29:31.07]

[00:29:31.07]
Um But just making sure the brand you're taking is reputable as well.
[00:29:35.16]

[00:29:38.02]
Um Cool.
[00:29:39.17]

[00:29:39.17]
So I feel like we talked about some really good stuff here today.
[00:29:43.10]

[00:29:43.11]
Um Anything else that you would want to say?
[00:29:46.18]

[00:29:46.18]
I mean this is like kind of a big question but anything you would want to say to somebody who
[00:29:51.01]

[00:29:51.01]
is struggling with Pcos and they're just told to diet and
[00:29:55.10]

[00:29:55.10]
exercise and that their weight is the issue and they feel really lost and really
[00:30:00.02]

[00:30:00.02]
defeated.
[00:30:01.00]

[00:30:02.03]
I would say give yourself some grace first to start.
[00:30:05.02]

[00:30:05.02]
I mean this is a heavy diagnosis that comes with a lot of you know emotions
[00:30:10.16]

[00:30:10.16]
and it comes with a lot of symptoms that a lot of people don't have to deal with.
[00:30:13.23]

[00:30:13.23]
So just first off like giving yourself some grace to feel that and and to be
[00:30:18.21]

[00:30:18.21]
you know to try to accept it,
[00:30:20.15]

[00:30:20.15]
but also to find providers that are gonna
[00:30:25.09]

[00:30:25.16]
work for you not against you.
[00:30:27.02]

[00:30:27.19]
So try to find an O.
[00:30:29.10]

[00:30:29.10]
B.
[00:30:29.12]

[00:30:29.12]
G.
[00:30:29.02]

[00:30:29.02]
Y.
[00:30:29.20]

[00:30:29.20]
N.
[00:30:30.06]

[00:30:30.06]
That is going to help you regardless of your fertility status.
[00:30:34.16]

[00:30:34.16]
Um seek out a dietitian that is weight inclusive,
[00:30:38.15]

[00:30:38.15]
specializes in pcos seek out a therapist um to help with some of the body
[00:30:43.04]

[00:30:43.04]
image stuff.
[00:30:44.01]

[00:30:44.10]
Um Try to just find a support team to advocate for you and if you can't find one,
[00:30:49.05]

[00:30:49.05]
keep advocating for yourself,
[00:30:50.20]

[00:30:50.21]
find providers that,
[00:30:53.01]

[00:30:53.01]
I mean,
[00:30:53.16]

[00:30:53.16]
you know,
[00:30:53.24]

[00:30:53.24]
there are there are there are some out there.
[00:30:55.16]

[00:30:55.16]
There might be few and far between but find doctors and care teams that
[00:31:00.01]

[00:31:00.01]
are going to help look past one number or
[00:31:03.23]

[00:31:03.23]
11 parameter of health that um and you deserve
[00:31:08.21]

[00:31:08.21]
to have care regardless if you're ever going to have a family.
[00:31:12.20]

[00:31:12.20]
Um So I think that's something to that.
[00:31:14.15]

[00:31:14.15]
I would just like want to hone in on is P.
[00:31:17.23]

[00:31:17.23]
C.
[00:31:18.03]

[00:31:18.03]
O.
[00:31:18.06]

[00:31:18.06]
S.
[00:31:18.02]

[00:31:18.17]
Is important to manage regardless of your fertility status
[00:31:23.00]

[00:31:23.05]
and that you deserve care regardless of the fertility status as
[00:31:27.19]

[00:31:27.19]
well.
[00:31:28.06]

[00:31:28.11]
Yeah.
[00:31:29.03]

[00:31:29.03]
And then when you if and when you do you want to start a family then it's just like butter from
[00:31:34.02]

[00:31:34.02]
there,
[00:31:34.15]

[00:31:34.15]
you know?
[00:31:35.06]

[00:31:35.06]
Yeah,
[00:31:35.16]

[00:31:35.16]
exactly.
[00:31:36.23]

[00:31:36.23]
Yeah.
[00:31:37.01]

[00:31:37.12]
Like you can yeah,
[00:31:38.23]

[00:31:38.23]
start like start whenever you get the diagnosis,
[00:31:41.20]

[00:31:41.20]
don't start when you know,
[00:31:43.03]

[00:31:43.03]
you have to deal with it for 5,
[00:31:44.06]

[00:31:44.06]
10 years.
[00:31:44.18]

[00:31:44.18]
And then when you're ready to start a family,
[00:31:46.10]

[00:31:46.11]
deal with all of that on top of starting a family because I can really do the way the
[00:31:51.01]

[00:31:51.01]
family as well.
[00:31:52.00]

[00:31:52.00]
Yeah.
[00:31:53.05]

[00:31:53.00]
When you're if you're waiting until then to actually start correcting the hormone
[00:31:58.04]

[00:31:58.04]
imbalances.
[00:31:59.01]

[00:31:59.01]
I think that's like the worst advice ever that a doctor can give.
[00:32:03.00]

[00:32:03.01]
Yes because you're really I mean a lot of times too you have to like try to naturally
[00:32:07.15]

[00:32:07.15]
conceived for a year.
[00:32:09.03]

[00:32:09.03]
So if you don't even know you have pcos because you've been on birth control and you've been dismissed
[00:32:13.23]

[00:32:13.23]
okay that's a year and then you find out okay why am I not conceiving?
[00:32:17.08]

[00:32:17.08]
And then you have to find out you have pcos?
[00:32:19.05]

[00:32:19.06]
Okay then you have to take the time to try to manage the P.
[00:32:21.21]

[00:32:21.21]
C.
[00:32:22.01]

[00:32:22.01]
O.
[00:32:22.04]

[00:32:22.04]
S.
[00:32:22.07]

[00:32:22.01]
Yeah it's like it can delay it for years so definitely
[00:32:27.03]

[00:32:27.03]
hone in on starting
[00:32:29.06]

[00:32:29.06]
now.
[00:32:32.00]

[00:32:32.12]
Well Megan what is it what is something you're excited about?
[00:32:35.15]

[00:32:35.15]
Something that you're involved with your clients with?
[00:32:39.08]

[00:32:39.08]
Like what is something that people can reach out to you about to get help from
[00:32:44.02]

[00:32:44.02]
you?
[00:32:44.16]

[00:32:44.16]
Yeah so I did this um we did a P.
[00:32:48.03]

[00:32:48.03]
C.
[00:32:48.08]

[00:32:48.08]
O.
[00:32:48.11]

[00:32:48.11]
S.
[00:32:48.22]

[00:32:48.22]
And intuitive eating virtual group where we went through the book together.
[00:32:53.15]

[00:32:53.15]
Um And then also helped with pcos specific questions and symptoms and
[00:32:58.12]

[00:32:58.12]
management.
[00:32:59.06]

[00:32:59.06]
Um And that was a really fun group.
[00:33:00.19]

[00:33:00.02]
So I'm really hoping to do that again maybe next year.
[00:33:03.17]

[00:33:03.18]
Um So if anybody would be interested in something like that or being part of the group it can be across the
[00:33:08.15]

[00:33:08.15]
country because it's virtual.
[00:33:10.06]

[00:33:10.06]
Um We met in the evenings too so like after bedtime.
[00:33:14.03]

[00:33:14.03]
So it was really helpful for working parents but that is
[00:33:18.22]

[00:33:18.22]
something that is kind of on my radar to do again.
[00:33:21.18]

[00:33:21.18]
Um,
[00:33:22.02]

[00:33:22.02]
So if that sounds intriguing,
[00:33:24.06]

[00:33:24.06]
um,
[00:33:24.17]

[00:33:24.17]
you can send me an email.
[00:33:26.15]

[00:33:26.15]
Um,
[00:33:27.02]

[00:33:27.02]
and I just,
[00:33:28.13]

[00:33:28.13]
whenever that comes out again,
[00:33:30.00]

[00:33:30.00]
I love that.
[00:33:30.20]

[00:33:30.20]
I love that.
[00:33:31.01]

[00:33:31.01]
I'll be sure to grab your email and put it in the show notes for everybody.
[00:33:34.12]

[00:33:34.13]
Um,
[00:33:35.08]

[00:33:35.08]
so they reach out to you.
[00:33:36.01]

[00:33:36.01]
But I think that's so important to have that support system.
[00:33:38.21]

[00:33:38.21]
And so I love working in the group setting with my
[00:33:43.09]

[00:33:43.09]
clients.
[00:33:43.22]

[00:33:43.22]
Is that like having that support is so have it all and you know,
[00:33:48.22]

[00:33:48.22]
especially with Pcos,
[00:33:50.04]

[00:33:50.04]
I can feel really,
[00:33:51.01]

[00:33:52.04]
um,
[00:33:52.02]

[00:33:52.19]
well shameful.
[00:33:54.00]

[00:33:54.00]
A part of it can feel shameful,
[00:33:55.01]

[00:33:55.01]
especially if you have disordered eating mixed in there.
[00:33:58.11]

[00:33:58.12]
Um,
[00:33:59.02]

[00:33:59.02]
and yeah,
[00:33:59.21]

[00:33:59.21]
I can feel like I'm broken,
[00:34:01.18]

[00:34:01.18]
Nobody gets it.
[00:34:03.08]

[00:34:03.08]
The only person that struggles with this sort of have a whole support,
[00:34:05.23]

[00:34:05.23]
I mean like you said dead and 15% of women struggle with this,
[00:34:10.01]

[00:34:10.10]
but there are plenty out there who know what you're going through and that can be a
[00:34:15.09]

[00:34:15.09]
part of your story.
[00:34:16.12]

[00:34:16.01]
Exactly.
[00:34:17.05]

[00:34:17.05]
And I feel like a lot of people in the group said it was nice to come to a group where I knew the
[00:34:21.22]

[00:34:21.22]
information was valid and research based.
[00:34:24.23]

[00:34:24.23]
You know,
[00:34:25.05]

[00:34:25.05]
there's a lot of,
[00:34:25.21]

[00:34:25.21]
I'm sure support groups like on,
[00:34:27.02]

[00:34:27.17]
you know,
[00:34:28.01]

[00:34:28.01]
social media platforms.
[00:34:29.10]

[00:34:29.11]
Um,
[00:34:29.24]

[00:34:29.24]
but we don't always know that the information we're getting is correct.
[00:34:34.09]

[00:34:34.01]
And so I think a lot of people in the group just appreciated that like it was a safe space to talk about all the things.
[00:34:39.03]

[00:34:39.04]
But also we knew they knew the information was research based.
[00:34:43.07]

[00:34:43.01]
Yeah.
[00:34:43.24]

[00:34:43.24]
Which is so important,
[00:34:45.12]

[00:34:45.13]
especially in the Pcos world because there's a lot of misinformation out there.
[00:34:49.11]

[00:34:49.11]
Yeah.
[00:34:50.06]

[00:34:50.06]
Yeah.
[00:34:50.15]

[00:34:50.15]
And we want to ultimately be helping instead of harming.
[00:34:53.02]

[00:34:53.00]
So that's good.
[00:34:54.13]

[00:34:54.13]
I love it.
[00:34:55.01]

[00:34:55.07]
Megan.
[00:34:55.18]

[00:34:55.18]
This was so helpful.
[00:34:56.18]

[00:34:56.18]
I already know that.
[00:34:57.11]

[00:34:57.11]
I'm gonna get so many responses.
[00:34:59.02]

[00:34:59.02]
I needed this.
[00:35:00.23]

[00:35:01.08]
Yeah.
[00:35:01.23]

[00:35:01.23]
Yeah.
[00:35:02.20]

[00:35:02.20]
I'm glad it was,
[00:35:03.15]

[00:35:03.15]
it was a really good conversation.
[00:35:05.07]

[00:35:05.07]
And I just think the more we can hear about Pcos and like we said,
[00:35:08.06]

[00:35:08.06]
normalize it that this happens to a lot of women.
[00:35:10.16]

[00:35:10.16]
Um the more help they can get.
[00:35:13.09]

[00:35:13.09]
Yeah,
[00:35:14.03]

[00:35:14.03]
I love it.
[00:35:14.18]

[00:35:14.18]
Thank you so much for coming on.
[00:35:16.11]

[00:35:16.11]
I appreciate your time and I will drop your information in the show notes for anybody that wants to reach
[00:35:20.20]

[00:35:20.20]
out.
[00:35:21.12]

[00:35:21.01]
Awesome.
[00:35:21.24]

[00:35:21.24]
Thank you.
[00:35:22.21]

[00:35:22.21]
Thank you.
[00:35:24.12]