Maybe it's glandular??

I always used to say I had a large frame. I was just a bigger girl than most and by god, my bones must weigh a ton. That was until I learned how to find out if you are "big boned" by measuring your wrist circumference. Turns out, I have a small frame. A small frame carrying a heavy load. I have spent a lot of my life looking for reasons (beyond the food) for my weight problem. These include:

1. Environment: Can't blame that! Grew up in a very healthy home.
2. Genetics: Well there is something to that in my predisposition to be overweight but that said, my mother has always remained thin.
3. Thyroid: Not an issue
4. Metabolism: Maybe a little out of whack from years of yo-yo dieting but not enough to justify the size I am at.
5. Immobility: Nope. I don't have an inability to exercise, I have just chosen not to in recent years.
6. Hormones: Ding Ding Ding we have a winner! I have some issues with my hormones that certainly don't help my situation. Let's look at this a little further.

I started going to specialists when I was 6 years old because I was already showing signs of puberty. I began menstruating at 9 and was fully developed by 11. Precocious puberty it was called. Not unusual by today's standards but back in the day, I was a rarity. At the age of 13 I was finally diagnosed with something called Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome, PCOS for short. This is something I will definitely explore deeper in another post since 1 in 9 women may have PCOS. It goes largely undiagnosed because people show symptoms in so many different ways. For example, I have PCOS and I have issues with my period, hair growth in places a lady doesn't want it (thank god for waxing!) and obesity. The singer Jewel also has PCOS and her major problem was with infertility but no issues with weight.

I have researched this disorder for years and will share the conventional and natural treatment options when I post about it in a few weeks. PCOS creates a body that is more likely to store fat but it doesn't make it impossible to lose it. In my twenties, my doctor made me feel so hopeless about my prospects to lose weight and ever have children due to my PCOS that I kind of gave up on myself. If this blog only helps one other woman to see the possibilities for herself, even with PCOS, then I am a happy woman!

The last 10 posts have been all about looking back. Tomorrow on New Years Eve 2012, I begin looking forward. I will share my goals (I refuse to call them resolutions!) for the next 12 months and on January 1st I will share my plan to get there. I want to thank you all again for reading and sending me so much positivity. I am so excited to share this next chapter of my life with you all!