By Nidhi Singh, ‘PCOS Club India’
‘PCOS Club India’ is an Instagram based community started by Nidhi Singh to create awareness about this widely spread but less talked about disorder in women.
Till date women shy away to talk about in open about this disorder probably because of the so called “stigma” attached with it. Ignorance & neglect makes it worse and women find themselves in catch 22 situation.
PCOS Club India, aims to empower women & bring all the resources- research backed PCOS educative content, Trusted hormone friendly products, and & PCOS health experts that could together enable women to Reverse their PCOS naturally without depending on just a hormonal pill.
In her interview with Women Fitness Nidhi shares her struggle & journey with PCOS, read on..
When did you first come to know about PCOS and what was your reaction?
I was diagnosed about 8 years back in 2013 through a gynaecologist check-up due to my delayed mensuration. I did not know what was PCOS and instantly googled what that meant!
Reading all the information on google I was even more depressed and lost. Back then I had assumed, that I will not have a normal mensuration anymore!
At what age you did you develop PCOS. Share your family reaction to it.
I was 23 when I was diagnosed, Now when I think about it I always had symptoms even a few years earlier when I was in college . High chance that my PCOS diagnosis could have been late due to the lack of education and awareness about PCOS at that time.
My Mother herself had come across the term PCOS for the first time, she was as clueless as me.
I felt quite alone in my journey with the birth control pill being handed over to me by my gyane as the ONLY solution to get back my periods!
Diet & exercise routine you presently follow. Number of days and duration.
I had always been a “couch potato” but PCOS has turned me in to a Health & Fitness enthusiast! Through my in-depth research and with help of my knowledge of the Holistic Nutrition course I am pursuing, I am able to manage my symptoms well and have been having a normal mensuration for over three years now!
- I do a mix of 45-minute HIIT OR
- Power Yoga on alternate days for at least 5 days a week!
- I always start my workout with a 15-minute breath work- Kapalbharti & Pranayama!
- On the days when I am busy to work out, I manage to take out 20 minutes for a quick run outdoors and some stretching and relaxation yoga!
Diet
- I mostly eat a Whole foods plant- based diet and stick to “ghar ka khana”!
- I avoid anything that is processed and love to scan the labels of the “acclaimed health products”.
- Switching to high fibre millets and avoiding dairy products has helped me a lot.
- Additionally, regular fasting of 12-13 hours b/w Dinner & breakfast really helps to fix your digestive powers!
However, I do believe that though the PCOS symptoms could be similar but each woman is different and one must keep their unique health profile in mind before changing their Dietary habits!
Did you take medication for PCOS. If yes, for how long?
I did take birth control pills for over 4-5 months unknowingly about its adverse effects. Supplements such as Inositol, Vitamin D3, and B12 helped tremendously! In my practice I have seen majority of women deficient in D3, B12 and iron levels! I also took herbs natural herbs such as Spearmint, Stinging Nettle, Ashwagandha and Ashoka and prescribe to my clients too in conjunction with a Holistic Lifestyle change!!
Girls are still unaware of PCOS and tend to ignore it, what message you have for them?
Its unfortunate that In India 1 in every 10 person has diabetes and there is so much education around this subject. While PCOS is even rampant with 1 in every 5 women in urban areas now having this disorder but there is not enough education and awareness around it!
I would like to say that please don’t ignore your symptoms!
- Please just do not run after a FAD diet you saw on social media! Rather work on your LIFESTYLE i.e. the way you LIVE to reverse your PCOS.
- PCOS requires a holistic approach of physical movement that works for you , Daily routine that keep you connected with the nature,
- Change of dietary habits that suits your unique health profile and stress management to keep your hormones in check!
Please educate yourself ONLY through RIGHT mediums on how to include a lifestyle change and work with an experienced health professional ( Exercise trainer, Nutritionist, Therapist or a combination as your condition requires) for some time until you have fixed your root cause!
Please share your physical and emotional journey with PCOS.
For me managing PCOS naturally was a long road of struggle. I experienced PCOS symptoms such as delayed mensuration, fatigue, unexplained weight gain just after I finished college in 2009. But I never paid heed to these symptoms, never did I know the term PCOS. My major symptom constantly remained acne & hair fall, and my derma would give me some medications which would help these symptoms subside. Till now I am not sure if those medications he prescribed to me were hormones or not! I did not ask my derma the questions I should have and just kept popping the medications in a hope for some magic to happen!!
In 2013 my symptoms were back with a bang! I was told I did not exercise enough; I did try to be more active and managed to get my periods once in two months, but my periods only became absent. I was prescribed oral contraceptives by my gynae and Due to its side effects, I could not continue the pill for a long time. My struggle to correct my mensuration continued! IT just got WORSE when you had absolutely no one who could understand my symptoms including my loved ones.
I hit a point when I was at my unhealthiest state. I had poor lipids, vitamin deficiencies, extremely high visceral fat & triglycerides, perpetual feeling of bloating, gut issues & frequent allergies. Every health practitioner I went to, told me to change my lifestyle and honestly, I did not know what that meant apart from changing my diet.
Your Weight loss Journey.
That is when I took Health in my hands and started my own research on what means to change a hormone friendly lifestyle. I started my journey with identifying my stress factors- for me it was predominantly my super hectic work schedule and absolutely no time for workout with really bad eating habits!
With a step by step approach I started switching to a plant based diet and managed my stress levels through daily Yoga! I worked on my sleeping routine to align it with my circadian rhythm and took help of natural supplements for some time under the guidance of my Gynae!
Slowly my body started to heal. I realised my body never liked that animal meat and was responding very well to the plant-based diet. I felt more energetic, lost weight yes, but most importantly I felt healthier stronger and happier.
All my symptoms started to disappear once
- I included an overall lifestyle change rather than addressing one PCOS symptom. I honestly believe that our body is magical, and it heals once you start listening to it! It has been a couple of years- I have not had Acne, my periods are regular, I feel healthier, and I know what works for my body!
A thought that I would leave you with – try understanding what makes you happy! Probably losing all that weight still might not fix your period.
Since PCOS is largely stress induced try introspecting where is that stress coming from and how can you eliminate it- it could be stress from your late-night working, unbalanced diet, unhealthy personal relationships, or body image issues. Work towards those elements that induce stress in your life and its okay to take Professional help!!
Hope my journey could motivate you and you could relate with me at some bits. Learning from my own experiences and from my current nutrition course that I am pursuing, I find it gratifying to help women reverse their PCOS naturally through Lifestyle changes. I hope to educate and create even more awareness about natural healing of this disorder!