PCOS and the 5:2 diet

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annabellwho
annabellwho Posts: 4
edited March 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys, I have read on various forums and different websites that if you have PCOS your TDEE and BMR is generally lower than the answer which it gives you on the calculators. I have been told that it is best to take away 200 calories off your TDEE; so for instance I calculated my TDEE to be 1896 and take away 200 will be 1696. I believe this is true as I always eat between 1800 - 2000 calories while doing the 5:2 diet on normal days and on the fast days I have ate 500 calories and not lost any weight (i done this for two months).

I wanted to know whether it is possible to do 1200 on my non fast days and 500 on fast days and whether it would work? I can eat 1200 calories and be full for the whole day as I have been doing in the last month or so.

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  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
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    Maybe 1200 is too low. Maybe go up to 14 or 15. I know I was unable to.lose because I was eating too low then too high I had to go between the 14 to 15 range to lose. Also may depend on what you are eating. I don't do the 5:2 although I did try something like it and messed up my metabolism eating too low cal but now I am carb cycling and seeing results finally. I have pcos too.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    I've been told that people with metabolic disorders should not fast. Ask your endocrinologist if it is appropriate for you.

    My TDEE is MUCH lower than 200 calories below the standard formula, but I have other issues in addition to PCOS. My strategy is to make up for it with regular exercise.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    If you are insulin resistant on top of PCOS, then you might need to adapt your diet, but if thsi is the case, interminant fasting is not going to be applicable to you. If you are not insulin resistant, having PCOS does not change anything, you lose weight just like everyone else. Are you sure your logging is accurate? Do you use a food scale?
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    aggelikik wrote: »
    If you are insulin resistant on top of PCOS, then you might need to adapt your diet, but if thsi is the case, interminant fasting is not going to be applicable to you. If you are not insulin resistant, having PCOS does not change anything, you lose weight just like everyone else. Are you sure your logging is accurate? Do you use a food scale?

    Intermittent fasting is often credited with improving insulin response.

    One of intermittent fasting's main effects seems to be increasing the body's responsiveness to insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar. Decreased sensitivity to insulin often accompanies obesity and has been linked to diabetes and heart failure; long-lived animals and people tend to have unusually low insulin, presumably because their cells are more sensitive to the hormone and therefore need less of it. A recent study at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., showed that mice that feasted on fatty foods for eight hours a day and subsequently fasted for the rest of each day did not become obese or show dangerously high insulin levels.

    http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-intermittent-fasting-might-help-you-live-longer-healthier-life/?page=2

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