Supplements

nikki6_2002

Firstly an intro, I am 37 years old and was diagnosed PCOS when I was 16 with symptoms of elevated androgens, mild hirsutism, acne, in excess of 30 cysts on each ovary, very heavy long periods. I was never overweight but the last 5 years I have had a tendency to easily gain weight. I have 3 children. My third pregnancy was GD requiring very large amounts of insulin. I decided it was time to change my life when I tested borderline for type 2 diabetes earlier this year.

So I have been eating 1200 calories a day now for 4 months and been losing consistently around 500gms a week (a couple of stalled weeks in there) but not carefully watching my macros or exercising very consciously.

This month I have joined a gym and started doing 1 class every week and 2-3 cardio sessions. The classes I am doing are Les Mills BodyPump and CxWorx.

I have had 4 weeks of no weight loss and no (or very little) change to my measurements.

I have gotten to thinking that I have hit my plateau and it could have to do with insulin resistance. I am in my healthy weight range now but still about 6kgs above where I feel comfortable. I have been getting a lot of right sided ovary pain which is something I haven't had for years and years.

So I have decided to more carefully monitor my macros, aiming for 30%carbs, 30%fat and 40% protein. I struggle to eat that much protein!! I also just yesterday got myself some chromium and cinnamon supplements and I wonder if anyone else has seen success with supplements and if so which ones or even if not successful which ones. I hear a lot about inositol lately??

Plus I would love more cysters as friends, so please add me

leachjg

I started taking Chromium in August. I noticed it has bumped up my average monthly weight loss from 2 to 3 pounds. I try to eat cinnamon every day or almost every day. Also I am horrid at remembering to take the chromium since it is suppose to be taken with a meal. Out of a week I probably take it 4 times. I feel like it helps. I don't take another medication as all my levels test in the normal range although since I have nearly every symptom and I was obese I was diagnosed with it.

redhatorade

If it does have to do with IR, have you tried taking Metformin?

KnitOrMiss

nikki6_2002 wrote: »

Firstly an intro, I am 37 years old and was diagnosed PCOS when I was 16 with symptoms of elevated androgens, mild hirsutism, acne, in excess of 30 cysts on each ovary, very heavy long periods. I was never overweight but the last 5 years I have had a tendency to easily gain weight. I have 3 children. My third pregnancy was GD requiring very large amounts of insulin. I decided it was time to change my life when I tested borderline for type 2 diabetes earlier this year.

So I have been eating 1200 calories a day now for 4 months and been losing consistently around 500gms a week (a couple of stalled weeks in there) but not carefully watching my macros or exercising very consciously.

This month I have joined a gym and started doing 1 class every week and 2-3 cardio sessions. The classes I am doing are Les Mills BodyPump and CxWorx.

I have had 4 weeks of no weight loss and no (or very little) change to my measurements.

I have gotten to thinking that I have hit my plateau and it could have to do with insulin resistance. I am in my healthy weight range now but still about 6kgs above where I feel comfortable. I have been getting a lot of right sided ovary pain which is something I haven't had for years and years.

So I have decided to more carefully monitor my macros, aiming for 30%carbs, 30%fat and 40% protein. I struggle to eat that much protein!! I also just yesterday got myself some chromium and cinnamon supplements and I wonder if anyone else has seen success with supplements and if so which ones or even if not successful which ones. I hear a lot about inositol lately??

Plus I would love more cysters as friends, so please add me

Eating that much protein will actually aggravate the insulin resistance. Carbs affect it first, and if it doesn't get what it wants, or you eat too much protein, it will convert it to glucose, aggravating the IR reaction further. Personally, my protein level is at about 20%, and I can tell on the days I go way over that I start to have IR reactions.

For me, personally, to get my IR under control, I started taking Metformin, but I had all kinds of crazy side effects I wasn't willing to live with, so I talked with my endocrinologist, and he suggested going to 50 grams of carbs a day (flat, not a percentage) and adjusting up for down from there. I ended up having to go down even more to keep my carb/sugar cravings under control.

I'm doing pretty well, and I've got my fasting insulin levels down to the mid 5's, which is a huge improvement for me...

4 weeks after starting any workout program is about what it takes for your body to adapt and start letting go retained water (heals muscles) and all that. If after another 4-6 weeks on your program, you lost nothing, no weight, no inches, no picture improvement, then I'd worry about the rest.

For me, the first 50 pounds came off moderately easy - with just calorie restriction. I've made more progress since then, and since going low carb, I'm losing more belly fat, etc. And just a reminder, when you subtract carbs, you need to fill that in with fats. Fats and carbs are fuel, protein is building blocks. My theory always is that carbs are a limit (wherever that is for you), protein is a goal range based on maintaining lean body mass and supporting lifting, activity, etc., and fats fill in to satiety.

By going low carb, high fat, moderate protein, I've improved every single measured blood health marker I have. (I can send copies of labs or explain if you're curious about more details).

In 14 months, I lost 14 pounds, but I look like I lose 50 because of the decrease in belly size, etc. So it's not all about weight... It's so hard to remember that when it's the easiest thing to track - and therefore the measurement the health industry uses most often.

With my IR, any of the blood sugar balancing meds, cinnamon, chromium, etc., they all made me have rapid blood sugar drops, so I stopped all of them. Inositol worked for me in some regards, but interfered with my continuous BCP...so I stopped taking them...

The main supplements I find that help overall - D3 with K2, B Complex with B12, magnesium citrate, boron, and I've recently added MCT Oil (a concentrated derivative of coconut oil/medium chain triglycerides aka good fats), to mixed results. I do take an occasional sodium pill when my electrolytes drop significantly.

I am insulin resistant, have PCOS (obviously...lol), have hypothyroidism, pelvic organ prolapse, and as a side effect of a medication, I have medically triggered high blood pressure. I'm sure there are a few other messes in there.... LOL

I don't know if this helps or muddles things up more... Happy to answer any questions, though.

KnitOrMiss

Another group some of us are in that's far more active than this one is: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3070-p-c-o-sis