Advice would be much appreciated!

knelson095

Hello fellow PCOS ladies!

I have a issue I hope someone can shed some light on for me.

So I was diagnosed 5 years ago with PCOS with no IR and no confirmed cysts, they put me on bcp and sent me on my way. Between the bcp making me hungry and dealing with a stressful time, I gained about 30 lbs. I was already heavy to start, but that just put me way over at 246 lbs at 5'4.5". I managed to lose about twenty of that by just a change in circumstance, but then maintained at about 225 for three years. I went off the bcp when my prescription ran out, and I haven't been to the doctor since...bad, I know, but I had no insurance until recently. The three years since the bcp stopped forcing my TOM I have only had maybe 6 periods.

Anyways, I decided to take control of my weight at the end of July. I started just eating a deficit and the weight just started melting off of me. From then to the end of September I was losing about 1.75 lbs per week eating about 1500-1600 calories per day. Then I got my period. Which is great, I lost about 17 lbs and my body finally decided to do what it's supposed to, but ever since then my weight loss has slowed to less than 1 lb per week. I got my second period after about a 35 day cycle and I'm just coming off it now. I thought that the TOM water weight was just masking the weight loss, but now I'm worried that my settings are off or something else has changed in my body chemistry. My eating and activity levels haven't changed, except for the minor adjustments on calorie allowance as my weight went down.

I'm going to finally make an appointment with a doctor soon, but can anyone offer any suggestions for me?

Dragonwolf

There are a number of potential things going on:

1. It's a normal "break." Your body is fixing a lot of stuff, the weight loss was only one piece of it. Sometimes, it just needs a break, and that's okay. Keep doing what you're doing and it will pick back up.
2. As you get closer to your goal weight, the window for calorie restriction closes, leaving less and less room for margin of error. Additionally, calorie restriction can cause your metabolism to slow slightly to compensate. As a result, you may be burning less or eating more than the calculators say you should, resulting in slower weight loss.
3. Weight loss is not linear. If it's been 35 days from period to period since September, it's still possible it was masking your weight or even the hormones might be slowing it down in parts of the cycle. This is also normal. To compare, over the summer, I lost a fair bit of weight, but here's the catch -- the scale never actually moved (and in fact, would move up slightly) except for every 4th week or so, when it would drop about 5 pounds. The net result was consistent weight loss, but it was in a "stair-step" sort of pattern.

knelson095

Thank you! I know all this, but I guess I just need it reiterated to me occasionally... The drop off just seemed so drastic...I went from losing 1.5-1.75/week to 0.8/week pretty much overnight. I'm sticking to it, but it's getting frustrating. I thought I'd be less than 200 lbs by now.

I forgot that I also switched from smoking cigarettes to using a vapor device at that same time as well...I guess I just have to be more patient.

KnitOrMiss

Despite the "no sugars in vapes" stuff, anything that tastes sweet CAN trigger an insulin response. I found this to be horribly true for me. If you can, look at cutting down the sweet flavor (if you use one), getting a tobacco or less sweet blend, etc. I just say this because I know 85% of the folks who vape successfully tend to go for sweet, dessert, and fruit flavors. I'd hate to think that about vaping, but it could happen... I know I've isolated only one sweet type thing that doesn't trigger me, and my fiance vapes around me often, and I tend to hold my breath when clouds accidentally float my way. But I've had my mouth water at some of the aromas, so just be aware.

P.S. Adding that an insulin response could affect ANYONE, not just someone who is insulin resistant. If we don't take breaks from eating (at least 4-6 hours), our body never catches a break and releases the flip side of metabolism hormones, etc.

Dragonwolf

knelson095 wrote: »

Thank you! I know all this, but I guess I just need it reiterated to me occasionally... The drop off just seemed so drastic...I went from losing 1.5-1.75/week to 0.8/week pretty much overnight. I'm sticking to it, but it's getting frustrating. I thought I'd be less than 200 lbs by now.

I forgot that I also switched from smoking cigarettes to using a vapor device at that same time as well...I guess I just have to be more patient.

I understand your frustration! I would have been close, if not under, too, if I hadn't gotten derailed. Instead, I'm back up 10lbs, because I gain that easily when derailed.

knelson095

Dragonwolf wrote: »

knelson095 wrote: »

Thank you! I know all this, but I guess I just need it reiterated to me occasionally... The drop off just seemed so drastic...I went from losing 1.5-1.75/week to 0.8/week pretty much overnight. I'm sticking to it, but it's getting frustrating. I thought I'd be less than 200 lbs by now.

I forgot that I also switched from smoking cigarettes to using a vapor device at that same time as well...I guess I just have to be more patient.

I understand your frustration! I would have been close, if not under, too, if I hadn't gotten derailed. Instead, I'm back up 10lbs, because I gain that easily when derailed.

I'm soooo close...hovering at 201 lately.

It'll happen. Good luck and thank you!

knelson095

KnitOrMiss wrote: »

Despite the "no sugars in vapes" stuff, anything that tastes sweet CAN trigger an insulin response. I found this to be horribly true for me. If you can, look at cutting down the sweet flavor (if you use one), getting a tobacco or less sweet blend, etc. I just say this because I know 85% of the folks who vape successfully tend to go for sweet, dessert, and fruit flavors. I'd hate to think that about vaping, but it could happen... I know I've isolated only one sweet type thing that doesn't trigger me, and my fiance vapes around me often, and I tend to hold my breath when clouds accidentally float my way. But I've had my mouth water at some of the aromas, so just be aware.

P.S. Adding that an insulin response could affect ANYONE, not just someone who is insulin resistant. If we don't take breaks from eating (at least 4-6 hours), our body never catches a break and releases the flip side of metabolism hormones, etc.

Hmm...this may warrant consideration. I'll try a more neutral flavor for a bit and see what happens. Also, Google like crazy. Lol.

Thanks for the tip.