My Success & Thoughts on PCOS, Gluten, and Vegetarian/Vegan(No photos, sorry :()

pacwoman92

Hi guys just wanted to share a little bit of my story so far on here. March 3 of 2014 I went vegan for three months and lost about 42 pounds which was phenomenal to me. I was about a half a pound from being 300 pounds, which is what provoked the change in me. After about three months my dairy cravings came back, so I returned to dairy for about a year. The weight loss stopped. I didn't gain anything, but I also didn't lose anymore. After that year was up I found out that I have PCOS, and that dairy is one of the worst things that you can eat when you have that. I also have sleep apnea (because of the PCOS) and dairy can irritate that and make it worse as well. I stopped dairy again. Within a week the sleep apnea was completely gone, and some of my hormone problems because of the PCOS began to level out. Then I started pretty hard on soy, bread, and pasta. Bad idea... To much soy can really hurt a person with PCOS, so I began to have horrible hormonal problems, and found myself irritable and angry all the time. So, I now only eat soy on occasion, which has eliminated the hormone problems once and for all. I also started taking a regular supplement of folic acid each day for the PCOS and it has helped more than just about anything.

A few weeks ago, I ordered pizza delivery for the first time in at least a year. I got it dairy free, but it was chalked full of gluten. After about three slices I began to get sick and took a nap. When I woke up I reheated another slice and ate it. Then my throat began to swell and I had to go to the hospital for it. I am scheduled for an allergy test in a few weeks so I'm not sure if I have a wheat allergy or celiac disease or what. One this is for sure, gluten has always made me really bad sick and tired all the time, and this time it was just ten times worse, so whatever it is, its definitely the gluten. Anyways, I've been stuck at this same weight since about 2 August's ago, even though I eat fairly healthy.

So, I've been vegetarian for a year and a half, and I saw no real change with my weight because of that. I've been vegan since November of last year, saw no weight change but a lot of improvement in other areas. I've been gluten free for a little over a week now, and I've saw my weight drop 6 pounds. Thats insane to me. I've been stuck at the same exact weight for over a year, and just like that it dropped. It was just crazy. I'm very excited and happy about it.

jessicaloves7

Thanks for sharing!!! I have PCOS and was vegan for a year also (mainly just out of curiosity and ethical reasons). I think eating so many soy based and grain based products hurt me in the long run tho. I'm now a few days into a Paleo diet, and from everything I read and the success stories I've heard, it seems to be right on.

I think it's great you've been able to figure out what works for you and what doesn't. Best of luck with your gluten free approach!