CICO and PCOS
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Krby13
Posts: 63 Member
I'm starting to think that the principles behind CICO in terms of losing weight do not apply the same way to people with PCOS and hypothyroid. Supposedly if you eat under your calorie goal for the day, no matter what you eat, you will lose weight, right? Then how come this does not work for me? I have been eating under my daily calorie goal by anywhere from 100-300+ calories each day and I'm not losing. And yes, I weigh everything, scan all packages, etc. I don't guess. I've heard that it's common for people with PCOS and hypothyroid to have a harder time losing weight and that's why most are very overweight and gain weight very easily. Its been suggested to me that I not only pay attention to my caloric intake but also try a low-glycemic diet for my PCOS. I'm also currently not on any medication for either. While I've had PCOS for a long time now, I've just started really looking into this and am trying to understand how having PCOS might be thwarting my weight loss goals. Anyone else have more knowledge of this and know anything that works? I just don't think I can JUST practice CICO and lose weight. Does low glycemic work with PCOS?
I'm just getting very frustrated with feeling like I'm doing really good each day and then when I weigh myself at the end of the week and there is little to no progress, I feel like it was all a waste.
I'm just getting very frustrated with feeling like I'm doing really good each day and then when I weigh myself at the end of the week and there is little to no progress, I feel like it was all a waste.
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Replies
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The thing is, CICO still applies (it's physics) but PCOS affects your CO so the calculators will potentially be wrong. The theory is sound, you just have a whacky variable.6
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little progress is still progress...
i have a few pals who do better on lower crabs, you just need to find out what your best macros are, but at the end of the day its your calorie deficit that counts.1 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »The thing is, CICO still applies (it's physics) but PCOS affects your CO so the calculators will potentially be wrong. The theory is sound, you just have a whacky variable.
Agreed. I have PCOS and this meshes with my experience. I find everything comes together for me if I eat at a solid deficit (1-1.5lbs/wk), eat moderate carbs (150-200g), and exercise vigorously most days. I could exercise less if I ate fewer carbs, but I like both exercise and carbs, and I enjoy the extra calories, so it works for me. I'm at 195 lbs now; started at 248. Other people handle it differently.
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I think it is hard to say this is true for everyone with PCOS. I can't speak to the thyroid issue.
I have PCOS and I pretty much eat whatever I want within my calories (approx. 1600-1700 a day). I do try to meet my protein goals every day and I try to link any carbs I eat with about 50% protein (so, 30g carbs, I try to eat at least 15g protein). I still eat sugar, white flour, bread, etc.
What really boosted things for me was adding in exercise. I do both cardio and strength training. I also don't really eat back any of my exercise calories (maybe 400-500 a week out of 2800 earned).
I agree with @TmacMMM that a solid deficit is most important.1 -
CICO still applies. If you are hypothyroid and unmedicated, you have more serious problems to worry about than losing weight. Why aren't you on meds? Hypothyroidism is in the modern world considered no big deal because there is medication for it, it was a disabling and finally terminal illness before meds.
Treat your thyroid, count calories, and as you lose the weight, this will help with PCOS too.2 -
The thing about PCOS is that it (sometimes) messes with your metabolism, insulin, etc. CICO still applies, but like others have said the calculations may be off. Your BMR could be off by as much as 400 calories a day, so if MFP has you eating 1600 you *could* be burning only 1200. Play around with your calories and see what yields results and you'll know more about your body. I'm moderately active but I have sedentary down as my activity level. I go to the gym 5 or 6 days a week and do 45 minutes of cardio plus 30-60 minutes of weights each visit. I take my exercise calories with a grain of salt, and only eat a small portion of them back. I've lost 21 pounds since February, and I'm not sure about inches but they've gone down as well.
If you're accurately logging everything you eat, staying in your calorie range and still not losing you may want to discuss it with your Dr. because there could be more going on than you realize.0 -
Agree with the above. CICO is the "secret" to losing weight, but PCOS may be messing with calories out. Hormones can make things wacky. Maybe experiment a bit with lowering your calorie goal? I have PCOS, but also have been blessed with a higher than normal metabolism (I'm guessing). So for me to lose weight, I have to eat the most satiating foods as I can to stay within my calorie goals (currently netting 1400). Lean protein, appropriate fats, whole grains, and veggies, veggies, veggies. Make your calories count to stay within your goal. Look up foods with high satiation and put those in your house. Don't give up. Everyday you stick to it you are healthier and fitter than the day before.2
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I have PCOS. I lost 52 lbs over the course of 2014 by eating fewer calories than I burned. I have no doubt in my mind that the calorie deficit (aka "CICO") is what led to the weight loss. I moved more and ate less. I went from slug-like sedentary to pretty active and still ate a good amount of food (never averaged below 1750 calories eaten per day) while being in a deficit.3
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CICO does not work for me at all and I have PCOS. PCOS affects every woman differently. Some have a milder form and may not be insulin sensitive. I have noticed that if eat carb heavy I gain weight rapidly. So even at a healthy weight I have to watch it. Low carb works just as good as Metformin for me without the side effects of the drug. Also, I really don't mind eating low carb as I feel better physically and emotionally.2
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CICO not working means basic physical laws no longer apply. Which is not very probable.
And I have PCOS, I am insulin resistant and I am also hypothyroid.1 -
CICO does not work for me at all and I have PCOS. PCOS affects every woman differently. Some have a milder form and may not be insulin sensitive. I have noticed that if eat carb heavy I gain weight rapidly. So even at a healthy weight I have to watch it. Low carb works just as good as Metformin for me without the side effects of the drug. Also, I really don't mind eating low carb as I feel better physically and emotionally.
I agree with the part of PCOS effecting every woman differently. And I think what you're saying is that you can't just practice CICO alone to lose weight. You have to keep other things in mind when dieting if you expect to lose like being low Carb. I would love to be able to stay off Metformin and still lose weight too. The Metformin just makes me feel sick all the time.
I know CICO still applies, but I guess what I'm experiencing myself and reading here from others is that I'm not going to be able to lose and still be able to eat whatever I want as long as I stay under my daily caloric intake. I have to stay under that goal but also need to find out what else I have to be possibly stay away from or eat minimally to assist the process. I might see if low carb works for me in conjunction with CICO. Or maybe try a low glycemic diet.
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CICO not working means basic physical laws no longer apply. Which is not very probable.
And I have PCOS, I am insulin resistant and I am also hypothyroid.
So do you still eat whatever you want while being mindful of your daily caloric intake and still lose weight? Or are there any food types you stay away from? Or are you on any medications?
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CICO still applies. If you are hypothyroid and unmedicated, you have more serious problems to worry about than losing weight. Why aren't you on meds? Hypothyroidism is in the modern world considered no big deal because there is medication for it, it was a disabling and finally terminal illness before meds.
Treat your thyroid, count calories, and as you lose the weight, this will help with PCOS too.
I was just diagnosed. And who knows how long I had it before I finally got diagnosed. I don't go to the doctor very often unless I'm actually sick with something I can't treat at home.0 -
CICO not working means basic physical laws no longer apply. Which is not very probable.
And I have PCOS, I am insulin resistant and I am also hypothyroid.
So do you still eat whatever you want while being mindful of your daily caloric intake and still lose weight? Or are there any food types you stay away from? Or are you on any medications?
Yes, I eat without restrictions, other than monitoring calories and I try to be physically active. I am pretty sure my base metabolism is lower than normal, as is usually the case with PCOS, but still, if I eat less, I lose, if I eat more I gain, regardless of what I am eating.1 -
CICO not working means basic physical laws no longer apply. Which is not very probable.
And I have PCOS, I am insulin resistant and I am also hypothyroid.
So do you still eat whatever you want while being mindful of your daily caloric intake and still lose weight? Or are there any food types you stay away from? Or are you on any medications?
Yes, I eat without restrictions, other than monitoring calories and I try to be physically active. I am pretty sure my base metabolism is lower than normal, as is usually the case with PCOS, but still, if I eat less, I lose, if I eat more I gain, regardless of what I am eating.
I'm glad that it works for you. But it's clearly not working for me in terms of just counting calories. Is your PCOS treated with some sort of medication?
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CICO still applies. If you are hypothyroid and unmedicated, you have more serious problems to worry about than losing weight. Why aren't you on meds? Hypothyroidism is in the modern world considered no big deal because there is medication for it, it was a disabling and finally terminal illness before meds.
Treat your thyroid, count calories, and as you lose the weight, this will help with PCOS too.
The thresholds for medication vary. The threshold for medication is considerably lower in the UK than in the US, for example. It is very common for people to be hypothyroid by the definitions of one healthcare system and not for another.0 -
CICO not working means basic physical laws no longer apply. Which is not very probable.
And I have PCOS, I am insulin resistant and I am also hypothyroid.
So do you still eat whatever you want while being mindful of your daily caloric intake and still lose weight? Or are there any food types you stay away from? Or are you on any medications?
Yes, I eat without restrictions, other than monitoring calories and I try to be physically active. I am pretty sure my base metabolism is lower than normal, as is usually the case with PCOS, but still, if I eat less, I lose, if I eat more I gain, regardless of what I am eating.
I'm glad that it works for you. But it's clearly not working for me in terms of just counting calories. Is your PCOS treated with some sort of medication?
No, just diet and exercise0 -
tiny_clanger wrote: »CICO still applies. If you are hypothyroid and unmedicated, you have more serious problems to worry about than losing weight. Why aren't you on meds? Hypothyroidism is in the modern world considered no big deal because there is medication for it, it was a disabling and finally terminal illness before meds.
Treat your thyroid, count calories, and as you lose the weight, this will help with PCOS too.
The thresholds for medication vary. The threshold for medication is considerably lower in the UK than in the US, for example. It is very common for people to be hypothyroid by the definitions of one healthcare system and not for another.
Perhaps, but for hypothyroidism to significantly affect weight, one would have to be seriously hypothyroid, with several other far more serious symptoms. Sub-clinical hypothyroidism, which I am guessing is where different healthcare symptoms differ, does not cause weight gain.0 -
PCOS also comes in different levels of severity. There are people with PCOS with no insulin issues, while others have full-blown diabetes.
I think self-experimentation is the only way to determine what works and what you're willing to do. I'm unwilling to be medicated for PCOS. I think my lifestyle changes are staving off insulin issues but have no evidence of that. All I know is that I'm losing weight, and it's not a struggle. So I'll keep doing what I'm doing until/unless it stops working.0 -
tiny_clanger wrote: »CICO still applies. If you are hypothyroid and unmedicated, you have more serious problems to worry about than losing weight. Why aren't you on meds? Hypothyroidism is in the modern world considered no big deal because there is medication for it, it was a disabling and finally terminal illness before meds.
Treat your thyroid, count calories, and as you lose the weight, this will help with PCOS too.
The thresholds for medication vary. The threshold for medication is considerably lower in the UK than in the US, for example. It is very common for people to be hypothyroid by the definitions of one healthcare system and not for another.
Perhaps, but for hypothyroidism to significantly affect weight, one would have to be seriously hypothyroid, with several other far more serious symptoms. Sub-clinical hypothyroidism, which I am guessing is where different healthcare symptoms differ, does not cause weight gain.
If you look up the side effects of hypothyroidism one them is weight gain. I've seen that listed on every side effects list on multiple sites.
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