We have put a safeguard in place to help keep us from slacking or quitting our PCOS program. In many cases, it renews our dedication and expedites results in fighting PCOS.
We call it, ‘the 5-Day No BS Clause.’ It is a personal contract between you and yourself whereby you promise to yourself that you will give the program your utmost diligence for 5 complete days including all program portions, especially training and nutrition. If you still want to quit after those 5 days are up, you may. It looks something like this:
Date: ___________________________________
I __________________________________________________ do solemnly swear that before I quit the We the PCOS program, I will give it 5 full days of my very best effort. I will eat perfectly on plan and I will complete all of the training and cardio assigned. After these 5 days are completed, if I still want to quit the program, I can do so in good conscience.
Signed: __________________________________________
Does it work? In a lot of cases, yes. The top reason we quit programs is because we aren’t seeing any results. Another reason is that we aren’t motivated. We don’t FEEL like working out or meal prepping. Another reason is that we are cheating, either on the nutrition or the training and we don’t feel physically well, probably because we’re eating stuff that makes us feel crappy and our lack of movement is adding to the problem. It doesn’t matter why these things happen — lack of time, life events, poor prioritization, or a treat meal that turned into a treat week. It happens to the best of us.
No whining. If you made this contract with yourself, keep it & keep fighting PCOS.
On day 1 of your 5 days training, you may hate every second of your training session. You may groan and complain and not give it your best effort. But you committed, so you’ll do it. On day 2, you’ll probably hate it just as much. But you’ll be training and therefore drinking more water and the combination of these two will begin to help you feel a little better. Now, all the while you will be eating perfectly on plan. That means instead of whatever cheats you had allowed to creep into your life, you will only be eating foods that lend themselves to fat loss and you’ll be eating in a deficit with enough protein. (1500-1800 calories for most women, with 120-230g protein) You will feel better after one day eating on plan. After two days, you might even drop a tiny bit of weight. Especially if you’ve been cheating.
By day 3, the improved nutrition will have you feeling a bit better and while you may not be energetic in your workout yet, it will be a little easier than day 1 and 2. You may still feel fat or not like the reflection you see in spandex in the mirror, but you’ll begin to feel better about the workout. You may even be sore from the first 2 days.
The magic happens on days 4 & 5. You will begin to feel a little stronger. We’re not saying you ARE stronger, but there’s something unexplainable about the feeling you have after 5 days training. You just feel more vital. Maybe your cardio session will be a little more energetic. Maybe you’ll feel slightly fitter in your core. After eating on plan for 4-5 days, your body will feel better. Maybe you won’t have as much inflammation. Maybe your sugar levels will have begun to come down. Maybe your head feels a little clearer.
We would wager that after 5 days, the blahs you have about doing your training are gone. You are feeling good about moving your body. You’re a little sore and you’re proud of the effort you made. It may even be reflected in your measurements. Probably you’re feeling better inside. You’ve remembered how good eating healthy makes you feel. Maybe you realize that you fell off the wagon and you were ready to quit because, ironically, you don’t like how you feel when you’re off the wagon!
Did you finish your 5 days? If so, we are as proud of you as you should be. 🙂
We get into slumps. We have time periods where nothing but perfect diet compliance works for us and then we have times where we are willing to have a cheat every day. One thing we know is that we need mechanisms in place to help us get back in a position to achieve our most audacious fitness goals. When it comes to PCOS and insulin resistance, that means adhering as closely to perfection as possible. It’s not great, but there it is. No, we won’t be perfect all the time. But darn it, we will do our best. If you’ve ever fallen and pulled yourself back on the wagon, well done. You have done something hard and your effort is most beautiful. This is what we mean by, ‘letting your love light shine,’ You are the one who will pick yourself back up if you fall. Maybe the ‘5-Day No BS Contract’ will be a helping hand. Go you!
You can achieve your most audacious goals!
We’ve got lots of free recipes on our site. Peruse our Recipes. Want to eat on the We the PCOS plan for a whole day? Take a look at a sample daily meal plan and recipes.
As always, stay up to date with our YouTube Channel for supportive videos weekly on PCOS Nutrition, PCOS Inspiration, PCOS Training, PCOS Mental Health, and PCOS Accountability.