My Skinny Fat Kid Challenge

Some of you may be gravitating toward my blog posts in search for answers to your own infertility. That's amazing, and I hope that you can find comfort knowing that you are not alone. As I learn more, question more, and dig deeper into my infertility, it is becoming clear that it is connected to so many other parts of my health. I am finding that it is bigger than just my reproductive failures. I have serious life changes that need to take place in order to ensure a happy, healthy life where I have the ability to keep up with my future children and my wild, man-child husband.

Disclaimer:  I am not a medical professional and what I discuss below is simply my own observation of my personal diagnosis and how I am combating it. Please do not use this information for your own health, but rather seek advice from your doctors. I do hope, however, that you may find something that you would like to take to your doctor for discussion.

Quite a while back, I wrote about the diagnosis that changed everything this year. It is the reason we pursued fertility treatment and why we ultimately have chosen to follow God's path to adoption. However, I never really followed up with details about how those results have changed my daily life forever. As mention previously, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) c677t heterozygous gene mutation. These items cause problems in the reproductive system, but also can affect your longevity due to other complications.

I changed parts of my diet, like no more coffee...ever, and began a crazy vitamin supplementation routine for the MTHFR. I also tried Clomid for the PCOS. These small changes were a great starting point as I learned more about what is going on in my body, but I knew it wasn't enough. We still were not pregnant. At the same time, I really didn't know where to go next for more information.

I stumbled upon a few more answers while visiting the doctor, imagine that. I needed to see my internist to get adoption papers filled out saying I'm in good enough health to raise a child. Crazy, right?! Anyway, while in the office they asked about new medication, new diagnosis, etc. I told them about all my supplements, and I updated them on my fertility trials. When I told them about the MTHFR, they questioned me, "who diagnosed this?" "Well my OB, of course. Who else would do that?" They were a little surprised.
It turns out, my internist office has been testing for and studying patients with this gene mutation because of its effects on the entire health of an individual. WOW! I should have gone to get a physical in the last four years...oops. So anyway, they added me to the list and ran a huge panel of tests to get a better picture of my health. I went back a couple weeks later for all the results.

Turns out....I'm morbidly obese, all 108 pounds of me (10 of which came from Clomid and won't go away). I know what you are thinking. There is no way. I don't think a typical doctor would say that either, but blood work doesn't lie....does it? When I was a teenager, a nurse told me I was what they called "a skinny fat kid." No, I guess the blood work doesn't lie.

Apparently, my insides are bad....very bad. In fact, the blood work is comparable to the results of an obese individual. It is all related to the MTHFR and PCOS. Now that part, not so surprising.

The panel tested for my cholesterol, lipids, triglycerides, homocysteine, insulin, glucose, and the list of medical terms went on and on. Three pages to be exact. Here is what I learned:

1. Don't worry about my cholesterol. Hot dog! At 243, it is actually lower than when I was 12, but the cool thing is my good versus bad is okay. I certainly need to consider it in order to make sure it doesn't get bad, but I'm okay right now. This is a little different than what doctors were saying a few years ago. They are learning that genetics plays a bigger role in this than diet for a lot of patients, and they have to consider the little details not just the big number. This is becoming a little more common thought these days.
2. Don't eat hot dogs. Boo! I really am not a huge hot dog eater. Really, I have to make sure that I stick to healthy fats and skip the rest. This is because my body doesn't metabolize fats. I know that sounds yucky. I'm still not 100% understanding this one, but I'll go with it for now. I do know that low fat pre-made foods aren't the correct way to attack this.
3. Stay away from high homocysteine foods. Homocysteine is the amino acid that my body cannot break down due to the gene mutation. Foods high in homocysteine are mostly those high in animal protein. Red meats, poultry, dairy, fish. One of the worst items....COFFEE. Not sure why, but its extremely high. Lucky me, I didn't have a coffee addiction. For others, this could be rough. Now my levels are normal so I can eat animal protein, but it will be limited and mostly fish because I need my omegas.
4. Go back on Vitamin D. I went off Vitamin D3 supplements when I was trying to get pregnant (the bottle says to), but I need it again. Unless you like to lay buck naked in the snow through the winter to get it naturally, you should take it too. Almost everyone is deficient. I also read that it may help lower your bad cholesterol....couldn't hurt.
5. Never take Plavix. This one is random, but I'm glad I know. This will cause me to bleed to death in a matter of minutes. CRAZY!! I had to tell my family, and I might as well share with the entire world. Please don't kill let the doctors kill me if I'm ever incapacitated and in need of blood thinners. This is a little scary because the gene mutation cause me to be prone to blood clots and so I could need blood thinners (other than the baby aspirin I take daily) someday.
6. I'm obese. This is based on a combination of my free fatty acid level (.88) and a Apolipoprotein E Genotype of 3/4. Basically, I don't metabolize fat too well. Again, avoid the bad fat.
7. Don't quite my supplements. My nutritionist put me on massive doses. I take 3 huge fish oil pills a day, a regular multivitamin (prenatal are not beneficial because my body doesn't absorb the folic acid), B-12, B-150 (complex Bs), baby aspirin, and a special ordered 5-MTHF active folic acid (the only kind my body can absorb.) When I go off these vitamins, my brain gets dumb. I can't think straight. I'm fatigued all the time. It's just yucky. I have to take most of this because my body doesn't absorb high enough levels from the food I eat all because of the MTHFR. Fun. Please seek the advice of your doctor and nutritionist before beginning any supplementation.
8. Don't eat pasta like I'm prepping for a marathon. Okay now my PA was just getting plain mean. I'm a have my carbs and eat them too kinda gal. I grew up a swimmer and carbohydrates were the main food group. Maybe that's my problem.

This part is a little complicated. My insulin is high at 11. Not too terrible, but not good. Your insulin levels have to increase in order to combat too many carbohydrates. Many of you probably understand the basic connection between carbs and diabetics. Diabetics can't eat carbs because as they are burned, the glucose in their bodies goes through the roof. In my case, my glucose is fine right now, though at times, it has been crazy low (hypoglycemic.) My insulin is too high from constant eating of carbs. I'm still not fully understanding how the insulin is high and glucose is low. What I do know is with PCOS, high levels of insulin leads to Type II diabetes down the road. In fact, some people theorize that the increased levels of insulin could be the cause of PCOS altogether. This is not proven, but I'd like to test the theory. 

So I'm going to cut the carbs starting January 1. I guess you could call it a New Year's Resolution. I want to stick to a super low carb, healthy fat diet for three months and then retest everything. I want to see if my diet can change my obese insides. I'm also going to retest my ovulation and see if there is any change there too. I will continue all my supplements adding the vitamin D3. If it works, this will be my new life. If it doesn't, this will probably be my new life anyway. The simple fact is, I don't want to become a diabetic or develop heart disease if avoiding sweets and pasta will prevent it. It may not be easy, but I've got good motivation.

My skinny fat kid challenge = The Paleo Diet

I'm not a huge fan of diets or of New Year's Resolutions. It probably stems from my distaste for failing. If I don't try, I won't fail. Not the most optimistic logic. However, this year I'm going for it. Full Paleo beginning January 1. I will blog my challenge (its only 90 days), but I promise not to turn this into a Paleo blog. There are plenty out there already. I will share links and cool observations along the way.

If you have a great reason to join me, that would be way cool. Do you have fertility issues that can be improved by diet, possibly? Bad skin? A hereditary risk for heart disease? Oh, how about a few extra pounds from the holidays? All of these could be great reasons to join me for a 3 month challenge. Just a little sneak peak, I lost a couple pounds over the holidays just by kinda trying to avoid the Paleo no, nos. I wasn't trying to lose the weight, but I love the idea of kicking Clomid's butt to the curb for good. Those two pounds made for a great start.

Please comment below if you accept the challenge and tell me why!!