PCOS

A page dedicated to articles I have written for PCOS. If you would like any more information please email gemmamagnusson@gmail.com


I am one of the lucky ones who realized having PCOS was actually a fantastic reason to attract great health

I discovered that I had polycystic ovary syndrome when I was 16 (1996) and like nearly every other woman I know, had no clue what it was! (Neither did my doctor!) I was told to take the contraceptive pill and left to find out what PCOS was for myself. This, at the time, seemed terrible, but now, I have learned, was the best thing that could have happened to me.

At 18 years old I found myself training in a gym. Training made me feel good and I had realized that I was burning fat and getting really fit – which in turn was making me happy and balanced!

I paid a personal trainer to take me through the ropes – 3 hours a week. He was amazed (as was everyone else in the gym) at how strong I was. This didn‘t faze me at all, strength was something I had had all of my life and I always saw it as an added bonus!!

It was when I was 19 that I pursued my strength career and set my goal on becoming Britain’s Strongest Woman. I knew before I had started training for the competition that this was my title and I believed it every day. After attracting all the right people on my strength journey I had a wonderful time and won many national and international trophies and titles.

In 2006 I was injured in a competition that meant I couldn’t train for a few months and this is when I realised how valuable my training had become to control my PCOS as in these months I gained fat and reverted back to "pre-18 years old Gemma".

I believe now, that this was all in a good cause. It was this push that really gave me the drive to become a Personal Trainer and help others with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

I knew that it was my mental state after my injury that had set me back and through excellent training, delicious nutrition and positive thinking my body was back on track.


After giving birth to two wonderful boys it is time to regain control of my body once again. You can follow me on my journey getting my body back into perfect health once more!


Stay tuned!

How exercise can help PCOS

We are abundant with information about how exercise can help women with PCOS. You can read about scientific studies and lots of statistics and now, through little old me ... here is the “how to ... exercise!!” If you want to start exercising at home, in the gym, in the park, at work or just fit exercise into your daily lifestyle, I can teach you how! Read on

Let us quickly cover the basic "sciency" bit first. We all know that exercise can benefit women with PCOS as it improves insulin resistance and can help you maintain a steady weight, make you feel great, protect your heart and so on.

When you exercise (amongst so many other amazing things) you help your insulin metabolism work effectively which in turn will reduce your testosterone levels and all the PCOS symptoms associated with a high testosterone level.

It also is the greatest way to burn off belly fat, have awesome looking skin, balance hormones, feel on top of the world and live the life of your dreams! The most important thing that I have noticed is exercise helps make you into a positive person!

Exercise is fun and exhilarating. You have to find exercises that you like, that way you will unconsciously add them into your lifestyle. Personally, I love to go to the gym, but that is me -- everyone is different!! I have trained for years and it is my "hobby". But I also love to walk my gorgeous puppy, go bicycling with my hubby to be and occasionally go for a jog! Exercise is my life and it can be yours too!

The most significant thing I can tell you about exercise is your attitude towards it. So many people enjoy mountains of exercise on a daily basis -- so what makes you different? Everyone can exercise. How? -- By using your mind.

Do you realize how powerful you are? We are the most powerful magnets in the world, all instilled with the ability to have everything we want through positive thinking.

If your opinion of exercise used to be negative – say out loud, “I love to exercise!” The more you say it and believe it, the more you will want to go for a walk, jog, bicycle ride, etc. The more you say it and do it, the more you realize that you DO enjoy it. When you exercise, you release a whole load of happy hormones that in turn make you feel great and get fit!

Whatever it is that you are doing right now (other than reading this...) get up and do "something!" Whatever it is ... just move!! If you add "something" for thirty minutes each day to your daily routine, that can add up to 500 calories that you can burn off each day without even stepping into a gym car park!!

How good posture can help your PCOS

I would like to ask you some questions:

• Would you like an easy way to instantly improve your health?
• Would you like to be more confident?
• Would you like to prevent back pain?
• Would you like to feel good?

If you answered, “Oh my, YES PLEASE!” (or words to that effect), then this article is for YOU!

How do you get all of the above? ... Stand up straight!! Yes my friends, that is all that you need to do! This article is all to do with your posture!!

In the past a great emphasis was based on posture and it is my mission to remind people that it is really important for your health!

When you have a deviation in your posture, it is usually due to a lack of strength of particular muscles that hold the body in its needed position. For example, weak erector spinae muscles in the back are the main culprits of not being able to maintain an erect trunk (mid section) in standing, walking or jogging! This would mean difficulty performing these activities!

Good posture is important for good health! It is needed to keep all the organs in place and allows them to work efficiently and effectively.

For example if you have “rounded shoulders” and an excessively “rounded upper back”, there is a constriction in the chest cage. Because of this, it becomes difficult to fill the lungs with air – this being vital when you are exercising!! So making slight adjustments to your posture will instantly improve your health!

When you have your head up, shoulders back and a strong and sturdy torso, you find that you instantly feel good! You have put your body in a positive stance and feel in control and instantly more confident. Try it: Chest out – Shoulders back.

A good posture can help prevent back pains. If you have tight or weak muscles surrounding your pelvis and spine, this can cause a pain in the back. Strengthening and stretching the necessary muscles to create a good posture is sometimes all that is needed to relieve a back pain. A painful back pain during your period for example can be eased with a correct posture. Email me for more details.

A good posture makes you feel great! Because of its many benefits such as ease of movement, good balance of muscle strength and flexibility, proper positioning of the spine and proper functioning of the internal organs, your body feels good and YOU feel good! You feel full of energy, alive, ready to go and most importantly PROUD AND CONFIDENT!!!

How to check you posture: The Door Test!

• Stand with your back against the door.
• Your heels, backs of the calves, buttocks, upper back, and head should comfortably touch the wall.
• If you have to strain to make all points of contact, then you probably have some deviations.

How to train your posture:

• Stick out your boobs!
• Hold up both of your thumbs as if hitching a ride.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together.
• Lift your head up and SMILE!!
• Stay like this for 30 seconds and do this 10 times a day.

So remember, walk tall and confidently –this is my first step to a perfectly working body!

 

How correct breathing can help PCOS

In and out... Is it really that simple??

Correct breathing plays a really important role not only during exercise but also in relaxation. When you have strong respiratory muscles, you are capable of taking in and processing more oxygen per breath.

As a result you can get greater amounts of oxygen which the body needs not only for the production of energy but to also help your recovery after exercise. Strong respiratory muscles can contribute to a great feeling of well being!

It is important that while you are exercising you develop a breathing program. Before you start to exercise, exercise your breathing.

Here’s how:

Firstly, drink a glass of water. Then take a deep breath for the count of 4, hold for 2 seconds, slowly exhale to the count of 4, hold for 2 seconds and repeat 4 times.

Once you start your exercise, become totally conscious of your breathing. You may even find that breathing in for 4 counts and out for 4 counts may be helpful when performing an exercise such as walking, running or jogging.

When/if you are someone who has ever reached a “sticking point” during exercising (when your breathing becomes faster, and you are just about to give up), this is when utilizing your breathing will help you get over this hurdle so that you can continue happily.

Let your body go onto auto pilot and continuing doing the exercise you are doing for example fast walking. Then become totally in control and highly conscious of your breathing. Breathe in deeply – count slowly to the rhythm of your exercising pace 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and out 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

The sticking point will pass within a minute when you have delivered oxygen to the part of your body making the “sticking” happen!

If a minute has past and you are in any pain – SLOW DOWN! Remember when you exercise, to HAVE FUN!! Over training can be as less effective as under training!! Do what feels good ?

By becoming able to control your breathing, you will build up strength in your respiratory muscles and within 3/4 weeks of 3/4 times a week exercise, your new breathing technique will become automatic. Any sticking point you come across will be easily dealt with. A good reason that you should build up your exercise intensity slowly is that your breathing muscles have time to catch up with the rest of your body!! ?

Try using this breathing technique when you have some quiet time to yourself – or make some quiet time for yourself! Sit or lay in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and use this breathing technique to relax your mind and your muscles. Think happy thoughts whilst you are controlling your breathing. Think thoughts of good health and wellness.

Try and do this every day for about 5 – 10 minutes. I always perform my breathing techniques just before I get out of bed on a morning, as it always sets me on a good note for the day ahead!

Before entering into an exercise program I always advise my clients to visit their doctor for a medical examination.

Water and your PCOS

When we say we should keep ourselves hydrated, what and how much does this actually mean?

Well, it is quite simple when you have a chart in front of you, but knowing how much each body needs on a day-to-day basis depends on how much activity you are wanting your body to do.

I am sure you all know that although your body can survive weeks without food (I am NOT recommending this), your body is only able to survive for a few days without water; if you are in a hot environment this may be reduced to only a few hours!!

There have been studies done that conclude having a fully hydrated body (in other words, people who drink more water) appears to confer as much benefit to heart health as stopping smoking or lowering cholesterol!

Dehydration is the loss of water from the body, and a depletion of electrolyte levels. When you become even slightly dehydrated your body fights back by slowing down the elimination of water.

If you ever feel thirsty you are already dehydrated, the most common cause being simply just forgetting to drink water! Dehydration for everyone can cause the body to act differently, but for those people who exercise, it is so, so, so important that we keep our body hydrated.

From a cosmetic point of view, being dehydrated can cause us to look puffy in the face and swollen. It can affect ones ankles and makes them also look swollen and sometimes cause discomfort. It can also induce unnecessary headaches and irritability, all of which those suffering with PCOS will know a lot about.

So by drinking enough water for your body and activity level – can all these problems be reduced? Well… I am no doctor, but I know from my own body research, the answer to that is "yes". When I drink water, I feel great. I constantly have a water bottle with me everywhere I go (I actually carry that instead of a handbag haha!!)

What many people try to do is substitute water with other soft drinks, fruit juices, tea, coffee etc. What these beverages actually do is INCREASE your need for even MORE water, so wean yourself onto Mother Nature’s very own clear stuff and start enjoying the benefits that come along with a fantastically hydrated body!

Let us look at a list of a few benefits of increased water intake:

• Higher amount of energy
• Less headaches
• Lubricated joints
• Aided digestion system
• Correctly functioning kidneys and liver
• Quicker recovery from exercise
• Increased fat burning.

How Much Water Do I Need?

Here is a simple way to find out how much water your own body needs.

Need Factor:

• 0.5 – Sedentary, no sports or training
• 0.6 – Jogger or light fitness training
• 0.7 – Sports participation or moderate training 3 times a week
• 0.8 – Moderate daily weight training and aerobic training
• 0.9 – Heavy weight training daily
• 1.0 – Heavy weight training daily plus sports training 

Take your body weight in pounds and multiply your weight by the appropriate need factor to arrive at the recommended water intake in ounces per day.

Example 1: 120 pounds x 0.6 = 72 ounces per day

Example 2: 200 pounds x 0.7 = 140 ounces per day

It is advised that you drink this amount of water eight to twelve times per day and not all at the same time!!

Example 1: 72 ounces per day divided by 10 glasses = 7.2 ounces per glass

Example 2: 140 ounces per day divided by 12 glasses = 11.7 ounces per glass

Beating your PCOS blues with exercise

Drum roll please...... Scientists are studying that exercise may be just as effective as anti-depressants!!

Exercise has already given us so many positive effects on the body, simply because movement is what our body is made to do, but as I have talked about in a previous article, exercise is so effective on the mind also!

PCOS peeps, I am sure, will all be able to sympathize and appreciate how depression can cause a lot of discomfort. Not just to ourselves but to those around us. I know from my own experience negative thinking was my main cause of depression, which I believe stemmed from missing out on exercise!

The craziest feeling for me was that the “gloomy bug” came at times of "happiness" -- for everyone else. Christmas, family gatherings etc… but it was at these times I wasn’t exercising my body which made me realize that exercise or even just movement of any sort is so very much important to include in everyday life!!

I had always read articles during my Fitness Training regarding exercise being beneficial in treating mild depression, this I had already personally experienced, but felt that it did a lot more than be just beneficial!! But … now those super-duper guys at Duke University have shown that exercise IS ON PAR with drugs for treating depression.

Investigators found that adults treated with group-based exercise did just as well as those treated with antidepressant drugs.

Dr Blumenthal from Duke says "There is growing evidence that exercise may be a viable alternative to medication." Although they are still some more tests until they decided to tell to tell their patients to throw their pills off a cliff and run back home!!

Also, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre said in a study solely dedicated to looking at how exercise reduces depression, that people who exercise for 30 minutes 3-5 times a week showed a 50% drop in depression. Even those who exercised moderately registered a 30% decline. This is great news for women with PCOS.

Being a fan of "the natural way" I am pretty glad that pharmaceutical companies are unable to patent exercise!!

So here are some of my tips on exercising the blues away:

• Write exercise into your daily routine, look upon it as essential as eating!
• Write down how you feel after you have exercised and put it on your fridge, when you look at each day it will remind you that it makes you feel good!
• Exercise for 30 -35 minutes per day -- a brisk walk is great!
• Just get out there and do it; it isn’t a chore!!

Finding the right Personal Trainer

I often get asked a lot about personal training, how do I choose the right trainer for me? Why do I need one? What is a good fee? Where do I find one? What will a training session be like?

Being a Personal Trainer (PT) is an amazingly rewarding job – so if you see any miserable Personal Trainers then STAY AWAY from them!! When you are able to help someone achieve their goal it is can be as satisfying as achieving a goal for yourself! There are so many great Personal Trainers out there that really show a passion for what they do and most importantly; being passionate about helping YOU reach your target!

As a personal trainer myself – I am here to answer those questions above!

How do I choose the right trainer for me?

Choosing the right PT is so important when you have PCOS. After all YOU are going to be paying for a service - so give them an INTERVIEW! The more experienced and qualified the trainer the better. YOU MUST mention before you even go through your fitness assessment that you are a PCOS sufferer and ask if they: (1) know what it is, and (2) know how to help ease the symptoms. If they say no then swiftly move onto someone else!

Always ask to see their qualification certification and ask them what they had to learn to get it. Make sure it is up to date and that they have a valid CPR/First Aid certificate. Do some extra research into PT qualifications just to be on the safe side. Of course these qualifications vary from country to country - but any PT with an “ISSA” qualification has gone through excellent and highly scientific studying.

Why do I need one?

There are so many reasons to hire a PT, but I have found the main ones are: inspiration; motivation and education. Whether your PT is online or 1-on-1, these three reasons are the most important. To be inspired by your trainer will help you achieve, keep you motivated – as will their words of support and wisdom which will of course help you become educated.

Hiring a PT should help you gain knowledge of the “fitness lifestyle” so that when you feel you want to “go it alone” you will be prepared to train in a safe and effective way.

What is a good fee?

A highly trained trainer charges what they are worth. (Most of the time!!) You can pay in the USA something around $35 - $50 each hour for a trainer who is highly qualified and experienced. But remember if you are going to pay this amount of money make sure they know: (1) what PCOS is, and (2) how to help ease your symptoms!!

What will a training session be like?

Your initial meeting with your new PT should be an assessment of your body and fitness. Any good PT will document every session so that you are both able to see your progress. They should always ask about your medical history and work closely with your doctor if necessary.

You should be taken through a fitness assessment to record your current fitness level, and a body assessment that may include taking your waist measurement, fat percentage and body weight. Your PT should then write a personalized program for you and help you understand how you will achieve your goal.

All information your PT has about you should ALWAYS be confidential.

After these assessments (that should be done every 4/6 weeks) you should be ready to start a training session. Your trainer should always explain to you in full what you are doing and demonstrate each exercise showing correct posture, movement and which muscle groups you are training.

You should always feel comfortable around your PT. Remember you are going to be spending a lot of time and money with this person so getting along well with them is off great importance. If after the first session together, you feel that you may be happier with a different PT – then change