any PCOS success stories?

gloryofthis

going out of my mind, been stuck for 4 weeks now no difference in inches and only upwards on the scales( up by 7lbs then back to 244 then back up). starting to think it might just not be possible. Any PCOS ladies out there getting somewhere? x

SassJess81

I am...it's going to take me a long time and I fluctuate up and down too. But it's going in the right direction...37 lbs since September.

mnj3092002

I have PCOS and I started trying to seriously lose weight about a month ago. In 3 weeks I lost 7 lbs. I was supposed to weigh myself this morning, but I am bloated due to my monthly friend so I did not. I do report what I eat to MFP and try to keep my calories in the limit. However, I am also somewhat falling a book called The Shred. I believe this book is helping with my PCOS because you eat multiple times a day and it is supposed to help your metabolism. I hope this helps some.

Jennisin1

Carb from grains.... cutting those out is the only thing that works for me... and it isn't even weight loss... it helps all of my symptoms. I feel so much better and have so much more energy without them. I eat carbs.. just from fruit and veggies and will have very small portions of oatmeal on occasion if I have a heavy training that afternoon.

kethry70

I am counting calories and exercising 3-5 times a week but suspect most of my limited success (10 lbs in 2 months) is due to limiting carb intake to fruits and veggies and a rare treat (one piece of dark chocolate) and eating smaller meals over the course of the day. I think that is serving to even out my blood sugar/insulin levels

ETA: Have not been able to go thru atkins induction in 12 years but actually found giving up grains pretty easy as long as I was allowed plenty of fruits and veggies

Cupcakehippiemommy

It IS possble Still a work in progress (48lbs to go from 132lbs when I started last year ) Cutting out soda all together and only drinking water helped cut back on my sugar intake,lowering my salt intake to 2,000mg or lower,I eat about 1500 cals a day and exercising 4x's a week min 45min- even if that means just walking Good luck doll!

Celeigh12

You can do it. You just have to find what works for you.

Some things I've found most helpful:

- Use a food scale. No one is a good estimator and measuring cups can lie.
- Keep your carbs in check. I try to eat 40% carbs, 30% fat, 30% protein. Some people do better with a lot fewer carbs. Depends on how insulin resistant you are.
- Be consistent and patient.
- I walk a lot.

deanabelle

My sister has PCOS and doesn't use MFP, but she has started running regularly and she's lost a lot (20-30 lbs) and looks great. For her, exercise got her farther than diet. Not sure if that's true for everyone with PCOS, but worth a try in conjunction with diet?

amysgotnuts

My PCOS has been the culprit for gaining 50 pounds over the last 4 years. I have been up and down a little then up more and down a little, etc. SO FRUSTRATING. Finally, I met some people on Facebook with PCOS that are clean eating (nothing processed, only whole foods outta the ground or off the tree) for the most part and they are losing. Slowly, but losing. I started eating clean last week Mon-Fri and I lost 2.5 pounds. So I am going to do it again this week and see if it continues. I find that the less processed food I eat, the better my whole body/mind feels too. I feel sharper mentally, happier, lighter, everything.

erin4455

I see lots of posts about this and know many people struggle with PCOS - I'm one of them. I began dieting on January 1st and have lost 16 pounds. I've had PCOS for many years and I really let it hold me back. The symptoms are cumbersome and I believe it really does take longer to lose weight with it, than the average person who doesn't suffer from it. That being said, I know that the more weight you can lose, the better the symptoms will become - they should actually lessen and the longer you're at it and the closer you get to your healthy weight, the better you'll feel and the easier it will become. That's my experience anyway and even though I have days I want to say forget it and blame chemistry for my weight issues, it's actually made me work harder to succeed. Good luck to you - I know how frustrating it can be!

I can also let you know I'm striving to lose about 50-55 pounds and I currently eat 1,500 calories per day. I exercise daily anywhere from 30-90 minutes. The exercise has really been key to my weight loss.

toscarthearmada

I have PCOS and insulin resistance. My doctor put me on the Insulin Resistance diet and I lost 10 pounds a month. It's a low carb high protein diet that really taught me how to portion control. I was losing until I stopped working out. Exercise is key!

boxem180

I've lost almost 30 pounds since August and that's with the help of Metformin, exercising heavy 4-5 times a week, and a low carb diet. I hope to go off the Met after my April check-up so fingers crossed.

whatascene

When I started my weight loss journey, I was 192lbs (my healthy BMI: 155lbs). I had been gaining weight at ridiculous amounts and couldn't lose, so I was very discouraged at this time. Later, after many blood tests, I was diagnosed with insulin resistance and put on Metformin. In the first two months on Metformin, I dropped 10 lbs without doing anything. After, my friend told me about MFP and encouraged my to take control over my body.

I'm now 157lbs, and still going (there was about a 4 month break since I was out of the country) She lost faster than me, either it was because of the PCOS or it was because I cheated more, I don't know. I thought I'd never get the body I wanted back and I'm so grateful. You can do it, I did it, and I know that hopeless feeling. You couldn't help or fight the weight gain, and now you have the diagnosis you might have already lost all faith like I did. But wow this site proved me wrong.

I do 45 min cardio 4x a week. I eat hothead burrito and chinese and Indian, I just limit my eating out to about twice a week and try to watch where I can. I enjoy my lifestyle because I still get to eat the good stuff while also losing. Hang in there. When I started it took about 3-4 weeks to even drop 1 lb. Then after a month or so it started to fall off. Give your body time to adjust. My friend also told me to drink obnoxious amounts of water for about 4 days then weigh again. When you start working out, your body is more likely to try and hold that water in. It will sometimes do that throughout your journey. I did, and I kid you not, in 4 days I pissed out 4 lbs.

committowalk

PCOS makes it harder. You just do have to find what works for you and KEEP TRYING. You can do it. I'm down 19 pounds, but it has taken me 5 months. Of course, I am only trying for maybe 1 lb a week. I am not on Metformin (I can't afford the copay for the prescription) and I think it would be faster for me if I was on it. I am also not disciplined enough to do a low carb diet. However, I have cut out most added sugar and only eat whole wheat, high fiber bread products, so the net carbs not from fruit/milk is pretty low. I have added a lot of exercise and that seems to help a lot. I read an article that said for every 500 calories of excercise you do in a week, you increase your insulin sensitivity by 7%. Honestly, just keep trying. It may take you longer, but you can do it!

gloryofthis

wow so many people to be inspired by! well done to all of you and thanks for sharing.

question about low-carbing, i stick as close as i can to vegetarian, i dont like meat very much, or milk, it makes me feel sick. so i find it really hard to eat low carb, any suggestions?
x

Dauntlessness

Its so funny how people keep talking about grains. I will explain later

I have PCOS and it was really tough to lose the weight I have so far. I have been at this for 2 years and lost 90% of my weight the first year but the last one has been terrible. I work out 6 days a week at the gym, 2-3 hours each workout and sometimes double workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I eat around 1700-2k calories a day and usually burn an average of 1000-1200 HRM calories per workout. So, you would think the weight would fall right off, right? Nope. Really? What could I possibly being doing wrong. I tried eating more, I gained weight...

So, 4 weeks ago I was sick and I ate a ton of stuff I shouldnt have and gained 8lbs...yup 8 of them. Then 2 weeks ago I was researching alternative treatments for my psoriasis and found out that it could be caused by a gluten sensitivity. I thought why not? Ill try it. I mean, I can still have rice and potatoes.
I lost 7lbs in a week and I was eating normal foods and a lot of them. My psoriasis is almost gone now. I did eat pizza one night and the next day I gained 3lbs and I was soo itchy and bloated!!! I never was itchy before... I guess I just ignored it. It has made a HUGE difference in the way I feel too!

I guess people cant lose much weight when they have a gluten issue because no matter what they do because the body wont process the food right. I also read that more people have a gluten allergy than we think and that's why Adkins is the only diet that works for them. Its not about the carbs, its about the wheat.
I highly suggest eating less gluten. I have been experimenting with alternative flours and its much easier than I expected. You might pay a little extra for them but its worth it.

I am now thinking that maybe gluten issues are related to PCOS too...It seems like everyone I talk to that have pcos only have success with low carb diets. If I were you Id try to cut out the bread and wheat products and see what happens! Good luck!

Dauntlessness

Oh go on pinterest and get recipes for gluten free or low carb recipes.

The biggest substitutes for gluten for me are: (if you choose to go gluten free instead of carb free)

Cauliflower -you can make a ton of ways

Spaghetti squash instead of pasta

Rice noodles

Rice

I have green bean casserole as the main side to dinner all the time

Rice cakes

Rice bread

There are a ton of gluten free pastas, baked goods, flours, etc out there

Cornmeal

Salads

Stuffed peppers

Cabbage, cabbage rolls, cabbage casserole

Broccoli or green veggie casseroles

I count corn as a starch for my meals

Oatmeal is a different grain than wheat so anything oatmeal

My pinterest isn't all gluten free or even healthy but here it is

http://pinterest.com/trichas/

MacDHH

Fellow PCOS'er here: I am having success, little by little (2st to reach my goal). It's slower going with PCOS for sure. The only thing that really helps me is to combine calorie control with exercise (even though I eat my exercise calories back, which means mathematically, it should be the same as not exercising, but somehow, it isn't). Oddly, going low carb helps in controlling other PCOS symptoms (like my periods and skin) but doesn't seem to do much for my weight loss. My exercise isn't super extreme like you see some people on here (walk and bike around as much as possible, and wake up early 3-4x per week to walk or bike purely for exercise), but it seems to just do something for me.

From your photo, it looks like you have a little one: be thankful for that...infertility is the really awful part for PCOS ladies, I think. So, you've already got it half beat (and, I don't know about you, but ironically, a lot of my symptoms, especially my skin, improved once I had my kiddies).

Hang in there!

grward612

bump

threeohtwo

I know that its controversial, I know...but I can't explain to you how much Metformin changed my life. I literally busted my butt from October - January 31 and stayed the same with my weight. I did Zumba, I stopped eating fast food, soda, etc I did EVERYTHING I could think of and I reduced my calories. NOTHING.

I went on Metformin and the weight started falling off. It sucks at first. I was bloated, I felt nasty, I was always in the bathroom but slowly those symptoms went away and I just kept losing. It takes work, and Metformin alone won't make the weight fall off but with a good healthy eating routine and exercise it will make a big difference.

Celeigh12

wow so many people to be inspired by! well done to all of you and thanks for sharing.

question about low-carbing, i stick as close as i can to vegetarian, i dont like meat very much, or milk, it makes me feel sick. so i find it really hard to eat low carb, any suggestions?
x

Look up "low glycemic" instead of low carb. Not all carbs are created equal and you may find there are more things you can eat than you thought.

skaimee

When i wad having trouble getting pregnant I started taking metformin years ago and lost a little weight, started exercising and lost a little more. Now I've decided strength training and
Lost 2% body fat in a month with zero wight loss . zumba is my fun exercise but i think building muscle is really what helps! Good luck!

LauraDotts

a low carb, moderate protein, high fat diet works for me.

skaimee

When i wad having trouble getting pregnant I started taking metformin years ago and lost a little weight, started exercising and lost a little more. Now I've decided strength training and
Lost 2% body fat in a month with zero wight loss . zumba is my fun exercise but i think building muscle is really what helps! Good luck!

kazzsjourney

I think I could call myself a PCOS success story Check out my story/pics here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/880990-180-pounds-down-with-pcos

Dauntlessness

Oh yeah! I forgot, metformin is a must! That and birth control saved me...especially from all those hormone fluctuations PCOS causes. haha