PCOS and not losing weight

FearlessFitFabulous

Hey all
I know many if not most of us girls with PCOS find it challenging to lose weight, however I am really at a road block and need some help because it is starting to effect my mental health. I am 20 years old and 5'7 and have never been over weight by definition and have always been active. However I would like to lose about 10-15 pounds. I have been trying to lose weight since middle school and nothing ever worked. I was calorie counting, working out lifting and running, I tried the dukan diet and atkins and went through a strict clean eating phase. Before I was diagnosed with PCOS i developed EDNOS from my failed healthy attempts at weight loss. I have recovered from ednos and am currently on Metaforin and BC to help with PCOS.
I literally have not lost one pound since starting my treatment in the summer. However I workout and have been counting calories. I have been seeing a doctor for help but have no luck. Is there anything I can do? Should I get my bmr tested? maybe a pcos nutrition specialist. I really am at like the end of the rope with this.. I feel like it is honestly depressing me and break down sometimes. I know I should be happy that I have been diagnosed and blah blah blah but its so disheartening to dedicate your life to something and have zero results.

Dragonwolf

Without knowing your weight or diary, it's really hard to provide much info, but here are my general thoughts:

1. Judging by your picture, you don't have 10-15lb to lose. Even if you do, it's going to be very slow going for anyone.

2. At the normal weight range, the scale is next to useless. Instead, use it to help measure body fat. Get a tape measure from your local sewing store and measure your chest, waist, hips, thighs, and calves, and anything else you want to measure. With the ones I mentioned specifically, you can use it in calculators like this one - http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home-body-fat-test-2774-143.html - to calculate your body fat percentage (if you have access to a Bod Pod or Dexa Scanner, then you can get that, too, so you can gauge the accuracy of your calculated measurement). With weight lifting, and some forms of running (namely, sprinting and HIIT), you will build muscle if you're eating around maintenance. The muscle building can mask the loss of fat on the scale, but because muscle is more dense than fat, the tape measure will show changes not found on the scale.

3. Watch the carbs. Most women with PCOS have insulin resistance and high insulin levels (as evidenced by the use and efficacy of Metformin), and therefore benefit from a low-carb/low-GI/GL diet. If your doctor put you on Metformin without checking your fasting insulin level, then get a new doctor, pronto. Metformin only really works if you have insulin resistance, and if they're not running the necessary blood tests, then they don't understand PCOS. I recommend checking out whole foods based diets that allow for more fat and less carbs (and no, fat is not bad, even if your cholesterol numbers aren't great - it can actually improve those numbers).

4. Change your birth control. Most birth controls are actually conterproductive, because they add estrogen to our already usually overloaded system (because our estrogen runs high, typically). If you're on the standard pill, or on one that doesn't include progesterone, then get a different birth control. If your doctor doesn't think you need to change and you're on a heavy-estrogen birth control (and haven't been tested to confirm your estrogen levels), then get a new doctor. Unfortunately, most doctors don't understand PCOS and end up leading women down a frustrating, fruitless, path.

5. Stop counting calories. This is also where the low-carb/high-fat diet can help, because fats are satiating, so you can stay in maintenance or a slight deficit without really counting. Counting calories can be mentally detrimental (I've dealt with that issue, as well, and stopped counting, because it was making me neurotic and probably on my way to an ED as well). Instead, find a structured eating framework (I'm personally partial to Paleo/Primal) and use it as your guide to make decisions about the types of foods you eat. Focus on health instead of calories, and if your body wants to lean out more, it will, and if it doesn't, then you won't drive yourself insane trying to reach an unrealistic goal.

MeepleMuppet

Ditto everything Dragonwolf says - she's a smart lady. I really really want to emphasize item number 1 - why do you think you need to lose any weight at all? Maybe try switching your meters to "maintain" and finally allow yourself to revel in your success! You also have the added benefit of knowing about the PCOS early in life. Many of us didn't and never made the appropriate adjustments until later stages in life. Once you reach a certain age, your body completely changes on you. THEN you have to do more to maintain. I hope you fine the confidence you need to be happy.

ChelleSC

I agree that you look beautiful the way you are! However, I understand wanting to look more tone. Not that I am anywhere close to that point! My suggestion would be to drink a ton of water each day. Eat veggies at every meal. For snacks pair fruits with healthy nuts. And make sure you are alternating your workouts. Strength training and cardio are both important. My mom has been in the fitness world for a long time and she recommends that for fat burning you need to keep your heart rate up, but not too high. It should be on the lower end of the training zone. Also, true fat burning begins after 35 min in that zone, so a workout should be around 50 min including warm up and cool down. Your body can get really efficient and start burning less if you do the same things all of the time. That's the secret behind cross fit, p90x, etc. If you're already in decent shape I know a lot of friends who have gotten results with cross fit. You probably don't have much fat to lose. Focusing on toning muscles will probably have you feeling so much better even if the scale doesn't move.