low carb or high carb what's better for us with pcos?
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I've low carbed for over a decade at about 100 carbs day, but that only kept me at maintenance when I was lucky, but I still gained weight gradually over the years. Went to 50 carbs Jan 2014, then 25 in August. Still was losing less than 3 lbs a month, so I decided to go ketogenic.
My keto macros are 5% carb/20% protein/ 75% fat. FINALLY... I'm losing weight. Lost only 35 pounds in a whole year in 2015, and went through a three month stall from Thanksgiving till Feb, and I've already lost 10 since mid-Feb. That's about double, give or take a few ounces.0 -
This is so inspiring! I am going to adjust my numbers and try again b/c the low fat isn't working.
1 more question-Are you finding this success with Diet change only or is it diet change + meds (i.e. metformin, inositol etc.)0 -
This is so inspiring! I am going to adjust my numbers and try again b/c the low fat isn't working.
1 more question-Are you finding this success with Diet change only or is it diet change + meds (i.e. metformin, inositol etc.)
I personally need to do Diet AND met AND inositol to lose any weight and my insulin numbers are still on the high side. But as I lose the visceral fat, my IR should get better, I hope.
But my heartburn is better, my sleep is better, my energy is better, my shark weeks is better by FAR! my acne is better, my hair loss is less, etc.0 -
Thank youKnitOrMiss wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »For those whom have had success with low carb, how many Net Carbs are you consuming a day?
**warning, my numbers are more extreme than some**
Endocrinologist said maximum 25% carbs. Start there and adjust down. He said, Low Carb, High Fats, Moderate Protein. Took me nearly a year of research and following progress of others to buy into the idea.
I finally jumped in, targeting below 100 grams at first, noticed by doing this I was sticking below 50 grams, usually 35 grams. After a month, I made the commitment to try Keto. I usually aim for 25 grams - total if I don't have veggies, net if I'm having a lot of veggies. I could NOT control my carb cravings at 100 grams daily, so I kept dropping them until I could... (35-50 grams).
My protein is about 90 grams as my target area (about halfway between lowest recommended and highest, based on my lean body mass.
So I'm under 25 grams of carbs, between 65-130 grams of protein (if I go a little over, no biggie), and filling in the rest to satiety with fat (usually 120-180 grams).
I started LCHF (under 50 g) on 1/15, and I switched to Keto (under 25 g) on 2/18. My dark skin spots have faded almost completely, my energy and mental clarity are awesome, my cravings are 95% gone - and what isn't got is more easily managed (and I was a ridiculous sugaraholic and carboholic that could have gone in the record books), and just, well, I feel better than I remember feeling in my whole adult life. I've lost between 15-20 pounds, and almost as many inches. I'm down one full pants size and well on my way to another one.
Sticking to this new way of eating is the easiest thing I've ever done. I can eat bacon, cheese, sausage, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, and all the good things I was told I had to give up. I should be getting bloodwork in the next month or so to show the improvements in all of my numbers!
I find this hugely inspiring, thank you for sharing
Do you have any favourite low carb meals? I'm struggling to figure out what to eat some meals (but I've always been that way) while still fitting into my calories
@Jennym93 I sent you a friend request. Feel free to bounce around my diary and ask any questions you have. Mostly, I don't do "low carb meals." I make lower carb versions of food I already loved and ate. Taco salad? Lose the bowl, add sour cream, guacamole, and cut down on the salsa quantity or any added carbs. Chicken cordon blue? Coat in parmesan, crumbled pork rinds, or low carb friendly flour alternatives. Steak? No subs needed. Chicken legs/thighs/drumsticks? Leave the skin on, bake, roast, fry, your choice. Pudding or coffee - use Heavy Whipping Cream, cut the sugar (use substitutes as needed, Pure Via Stevia being my personal choice), and/or use coconut milk. Add bacon to everything! Coffee/tea - make it bulletproof (add one or more sources of fat for a major energy boost). Add salt to everything (ketosis makes your body dump the excess water it held onto to process carbs - fats don't need that), so sodium levels, potassium, and magnesium, too, often need to be supplemented during adaptation. Put cheese or creamy sauce and/or butter on meats, veggies. Stick to leafy green veggies and not carby veggies (greens and any non root veggies are good). With fruit, stick to berries and stone fruits (peaches, etc.). Pair with a fat of some kind so your body knows how to process them (whipped heavy cream, sour cream, butter if baked with a little cinnamon, etc.).
Google. Almost any fave carb recipe can be modified or taste copied to kill cravings or make you feel less left out of old favorites. I've found tons of new favorite recipes this way...
Let me know if you have specific questions, and I'll suggest what I can.
It's so difficult because the 'eat lots of fats' part is so different to what we grow up with I'm resisting it mentally, my parents eat low fat so I have to make do with some of the lower fat produce ie milk and butter, I wonder if this LCHF approach would work for them too as they are trying to lose weight.
Yep, it will very likely help them lose weight. Have them check out the book Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson (or his website, Mark's Daily Apple), or Christine Cronau's work or her Facebook. Both have tons of testimonies of people who have lost weight pretty much effortlessly by switching to LCHF.
If you can, challenge them to a 21 or 30 day bet -- they have to eat LCHF for a month. If they don't lose weight or see improvements in non-scale stuff, then they can go back to what they were doing. (Whole 30 is a good structured program for this kind of thing, though Mark has a 21 Day Primal Blueprint Challenge you can use, too.)0 -
This is so inspiring! I am going to adjust my numbers and try again b/c the low fat isn't working.
1 more question-Are you finding this success with Diet change only or is it diet change + meds (i.e. metformin, inositol etc.)
Depends on how you define success.
I can eat a sane amount of food (around 2000 calories) without gaining weight. I have this maintaining weight thing mastered! So, while I'm still working on the whole "losing weight" thing (which I'm pretty certain isn't happening due to elevated insulin that is being stubborn), I consider maintaining a win in itself. Also, my weight doesn't swing 10+lbs on a daily basis anymore.
My acne cleared up almost entirely. It's not perfect, but there's a vast improvement from what it used to be.
I don't get crazy cravings and I'm not starving and miserable all the time.
I no longer get daily headaches that I have to medicate to keep from turning into migraines.
That said, diet alone has not been enough for years for me to get my cycles. For that, I've found that either Inositol or regular heavy lifting are required. Like I said, my hyperinsulinemia (which I'm pretty sure is what's hindering my weight loss efforts) has so far been resistant to all of my efforts (including inositol and metformin), so I'm still working on that. If/when I ever find something that breaks through that, I'll be sure to write about it.0 -
This is so inspiring! I am going to adjust my numbers and try again b/c the low fat isn't working.
1 more question-Are you finding this success with Diet change only or is it diet change + meds (i.e. metformin, inositol etc.)
My short answer is both. I started on meds, but I have stopped them now. I had an adjustment period of about a week on both those meds listed above. So feeling great, eating to satiety foods I love, and still gaining health in some form - yeah, that's success to me. LOL
But, to be fair, I have been working on this PCOS thing for years, now, and I wouldn't say i'm out of the woods in any way yet at all, but my health has improved so much since I started LCHF (1/15) and switched to Keto (2/18) that even if I never lose another pound or inch or gain any measurable health benefit, this way of life is great for me!0 -
Dragonwolf wrote: »
Thank youKnitOrMiss wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »For those whom have had success with low carb, how many Net Carbs are you consuming a day?
**warning, my numbers are more extreme than some**
Endocrinologist said maximum 25% carbs. Start there and adjust down. He said, Low Carb, High Fats, Moderate Protein. Took me nearly a year of research and following progress of others to buy into the idea.
I finally jumped in, targeting below 100 grams at first, noticed by doing this I was sticking below 50 grams, usually 35 grams. After a month, I made the commitment to try Keto. I usually aim for 25 grams - total if I don't have veggies, net if I'm having a lot of veggies. I could NOT control my carb cravings at 100 grams daily, so I kept dropping them until I could... (35-50 grams).
My protein is about 90 grams as my target area (about halfway between lowest recommended and highest, based on my lean body mass.
So I'm under 25 grams of carbs, between 65-130 grams of protein (if I go a little over, no biggie), and filling in the rest to satiety with fat (usually 120-180 grams).
I started LCHF (under 50 g) on 1/15, and I switched to Keto (under 25 g) on 2/18. My dark skin spots have faded almost completely, my energy and mental clarity are awesome, my cravings are 95% gone - and what isn't got is more easily managed (and I was a ridiculous sugaraholic and carboholic that could have gone in the record books), and just, well, I feel better than I remember feeling in my whole adult life. I've lost between 15-20 pounds, and almost as many inches. I'm down one full pants size and well on my way to another one.
Sticking to this new way of eating is the easiest thing I've ever done. I can eat bacon, cheese, sausage, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, and all the good things I was told I had to give up. I should be getting bloodwork in the next month or so to show the improvements in all of my numbers!
I find this hugely inspiring, thank you for sharing
Do you have any favourite low carb meals? I'm struggling to figure out what to eat some meals (but I've always been that way) while still fitting into my calories
@Jennym93 I sent you a friend request. Feel free to bounce around my diary and ask any questions you have. Mostly, I don't do "low carb meals." I make lower carb versions of food I already loved and ate. Taco salad? Lose the bowl, add sour cream, guacamole, and cut down on the salsa quantity or any added carbs. Chicken cordon blue? Coat in parmesan, crumbled pork rinds, or low carb friendly flour alternatives. Steak? No subs needed. Chicken legs/thighs/drumsticks? Leave the skin on, bake, roast, fry, your choice. Pudding or coffee - use Heavy Whipping Cream, cut the sugar (use substitutes as needed, Pure Via Stevia being my personal choice), and/or use coconut milk. Add bacon to everything! Coffee/tea - make it bulletproof (add one or more sources of fat for a major energy boost). Add salt to everything (ketosis makes your body dump the excess water it held onto to process carbs - fats don't need that), so sodium levels, potassium, and magnesium, too, often need to be supplemented during adaptation. Put cheese or creamy sauce and/or butter on meats, veggies. Stick to leafy green veggies and not carby veggies (greens and any non root veggies are good). With fruit, stick to berries and stone fruits (peaches, etc.). Pair with a fat of some kind so your body knows how to process them (whipped heavy cream, sour cream, butter if baked with a little cinnamon, etc.).
Google. Almost any fave carb recipe can be modified or taste copied to kill cravings or make you feel less left out of old favorites. I've found tons of new favorite recipes this way...
Let me know if you have specific questions, and I'll suggest what I can.
It's so difficult because the 'eat lots of fats' part is so different to what we grow up with I'm resisting it mentally, my parents eat low fat so I have to make do with some of the lower fat produce ie milk and butter, I wonder if this LCHF approach would work for them too as they are trying to lose weight.
Yep, it will very likely help them lose weight. Have them check out the book Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson (or his website, Mark's Daily Apple), or Christine Cronau's work or her Facebook. Both have tons of testimonies of people who have lost weight pretty much effortlessly by switching to LCHF.
If you can, challenge them to a 21 or 30 day bet -- they have to eat LCHF for a month. If they don't lose weight or see improvements in non-scale stuff, then they can go back to what they were doing. (Whole 30 is a good structured program for this kind of thing, though Mark has a 21 Day Primal Blueprint Challenge you can use, too.)
ooo thank you
I'll check it out and suggest it to them0 -
Has anyone tried The MD Factor Diet? It is alleged to be specifically designed for insulin resistance. I am just starting out with it and am curious about anyone else's results.0
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apiechocki wrote: »Has anyone tried The MD Factor Diet? It is alleged to be specifically designed for insulin resistance. I am just starting out with it and am curious about anyone else's results.
I'd never heard of it, so I looked it up. Took the quiz and am looking at their plan (the free download after the quiz). It's a nice idea, but the food numbers throw red flags for me. The "reclaim days" are at most 990 calories for women, while the stabilization days top out at only 1440 calories. The big variant is carbohydrates, which seems to run counter to insulin-based metabolic dysfunction (which it explicitly addresses). This doesn't strike me as sustainable in the long run for most women, but might be useful for a short term thing (one or two of the cycles) or for smaller women, for whom 900-1400 calories is a feasible/healthy intake range. Aside from that, the big factor in effectiveness, as far as I can tell, is the very low calorie nature of the "reclaim" and "transformative" days, moreso than just about anything else (though keeping the carb count under 150g helps marginally, though only a small part of the time is spent any lower than 100g).0 -
I am only 5'0" tall, so tend to try to stay around 1200 or under on calories anyway. I have some heart issues so my cardiologist recommends at least 30 grams of fiber a day, which is nearly impossible if trying to do super low carbs. I also have to watch saturated fat, which is why I thought the MD Factor Diet might be a way to go vs. Atkins or some of the others that advocate lots of fat. I was diagnosed with PCOS many years ago when I was TTC my son, but the only major symptom of it that I have is the insulin resistance which I think was a contributing factor in my heart issues. I am on Reclaim day 3 and have lost 1.8lbs so far. I plan to stick to the lower end of the carb range. Guess I'll see what happens and drop the carbs lower if need be. Thanks for taking the time to check it out and give me your feedback.0
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apiechocki wrote: »I am only 5'0" tall, so tend to try to stay around 1200 or under on calories anyway. I have some heart issues so my cardiologist recommends at least 30 grams of fiber a day, which is nearly impossible if trying to do super low carbs. I also have to watch saturated fat, which is why I thought the MD Factor Diet might be a way to go vs. Atkins or some of the others that advocate lots of fat. I was diagnosed with PCOS many years ago when I was TTC my son, but the only major symptom of it that I have is the insulin resistance which I think was a contributing factor in my heart issues. I am on Reclaim day 3 and have lost 1.8lbs so far. I plan to stick to the lower end of the carb range. Guess I'll see what happens and drop the carbs lower if need be. Thanks for taking the time to check it out and give me your feedback.
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