Tips for PCOS

High protein is key! I also have PCOS and im still able to kick that weights *kitten*. Slowly, but you have to be patient and focus on the fact that your living a healthier life style and stay off that stupid scale. Its the devil. I know people with PCOS preach the low carb thing, but i really try to focus more on high protein, well balanced meals. There is also plenty of support groups here to help if you need it

Hey ...I try and watch my carbs as much as possible and definately cut out soda or if too hard go for the sugar free versions ! Other than that i just watched my intake and portion sizes and the weight started coming off ! Obviously once weight reduces you will see symptons ease ..

As for exercise i started with zumba and then gillians 30 day shred and its worked for me ! you can't spot reduce where it comes off i am afraid which sucks lol !!

Good luck u can do it !!!

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I was diagnosed with PCOS (along with severe endometriosis, but that’s a whole other beast) in my late teens. At that time I was at a very healthy weight, but over the last several years I packed on the pounds. A couple years ago after a surgery to remove one of my ovaries that was badly destroyed from the constant cysts, my doctor put me on Metformin. I was on it for about a year without any diet change and stayed at a consistent weight, which was good since before I was just gaining. Since April I’ve been reducing my caloric intake and have had great success with losing weight. I have reduced my sugar intake, but as you can see if you look at my food diary, I still eat some sugars and carbs- normally a sweet or two throughout the day. I cut out soda which I think made a big deal- there’s so much sugar in there and it was relatively easy for me to leave behind. If I want something bubbly, I will put a splash of reduced or no sugar juice in some carbonated water.
You can follow some sort of strict low gi diet, but I think the first step is just to reduce your calories. When you’re watching your calories and really stick to it, you’ll make a choice to eat a larger portion protein rather than a tiny portion of something sugary. In turn, you will naturally reduce your sugar intake. In my opinion, at least at first, there is no reason to stick to any specific diet- just eat healthily.
The most helpful thing I do is exercise. Cardio is key to burn excess glucose in your bloodstream, as excess glucose is a big contributor to PCOS and weight gain. My doctor told me that you have to do cardio for at least an hour to burn that glucose (before I was doing ½ an hour to 45 minutes or so), so that’s what I do. Every day. It’s made a huge difference in the severity of my symptoms too, I’m typically always in pain and I noticed a month or so ago that I’ve been going days without using heat packs and vicodin- which was a daily necessity for me before. My doctor even asked me during my last routine visit in a worried way why I hadn’t refilled my vicodin prescription in a while. It was awesome.
Good luck!

There are a bunch of PCOS support groups, go check em' out! You'll find all sorts of women with similar issues and TONS of support for all of your questions! Good luck on your journey, Im right there with ya! I've had my best success doing Atkins DANDR(if interested reading the book is a must) and working out both strength training and cardio at least 5 times a week. Add me if you'd like, Im here everday if you ever need anything!:flowerforyou:

Cutting sugar without weaning helps a lot more than weaning off. I lost 22 pounds so far since Feb 23, I cut my calorie intake to 1200cals, no sugar, NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS. AND I STARTED RUNNING!!!!

Yes it was and is very hard but if you want it bad enough the sugary stuff will not matter. And treating yourself to ONE sugary food at a certain point like every week or every month can and should be allowed. When I did that I realized I didn't like the taste!

Do lots of cardio workouts, and please drink your water, add lemon or orange to the water if you need to, BUT lemon helps much more.

I have PCOS too! I think it's great that they seem to be diagnosing earlier now. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 33 and was into my second round of fertility problems. That was almost 33 years of battling weight issues and trying my hardest to exercise and diet - and still losing nothing. And gaining sometimes. I am on Metformin now and it has helped me. Logging on MFP is so great - it helps so much. Try to hook up with some other PCOS ladies - a lot (but not all) of my friends have it. It can make it easier when you see posts where people are like "I've lost 100 lbs. in two months!" or whatever. You start to think Why can't I do it too? We have a group called PCOS Ladies Support Group. We do monthly challenges to just lose 5-7 lbs. a month. I made it in June but not July... That's okay, everyone is really great.

Thanks so much - it's crazy just how many other women have PCOS. I wonder what the numbers/statistics are?

My doc said between 10 and 20% of women have it to some extent.

No, it's cool that's why I made it, for everyone to come together and if anyone else had questions to take from it. lol. I've struggled with my weight all my life - my doctor even signed a permission note when I was 10 for me to do weight watchers with my mom. It's been a gradual thing but mostly within the last few years is when I really got big-big. I'm a stress eater so senior year of high school and my freshman year of college (this past year) really packed a punch. @__@ Going into it with a positive attitude now though - and congratulations on getting from 340 to 210 that in itself is a feat you should be proud of!

Thanks , I don't feel like I accomplished much tho . That's the pity in me coming thro I think lol . I'm an everything eater . I eat when I'm bored , stressed , happy , sad , social . My OH doesn't understand why I eat , and TBH I don't know why I do .
I just eat all the time . :-( even if I eat a full meal , straight after I'll eat .
I think PCOS is something I personally have hidden behind . If people ask me why I'm fat , I say "oh I have PCOS its hard to lose weight blah blah " I use it as a cover for my lazy *kitten* .

I was diagnosed with PCOS about 4 yrs ago. I gained about 50 or 60 lbs in 3 yrs. I was prescribed Metformin and it kind of worked but all it really did was make me feel sick to my stomach always to the point where I thought I couldn't hold food in so it was pointless to eat. It made me feel like a zombie. I stopped taking it and instantly felt better but of course gained the little bit of weight I had lost back. After college I started playing tennis consistently. I now play about 5 or 6 times a week for an hour and a half or two hours at a time. Even with that huge amount of exercise I still couldn't drop the weight. I went to a dietitian and he prescribed me Phentermine. Yes I realize it's bad and has unsafe side effects but what doesn't?? In the first month I dropped 15 lbs and the weight loss has slowed down since then but it's still been a consistent loss. I really think it helped kick start my metabolism and it helps curb my appetite (or it's all in my head which is all good to me lol). I went off of it for 3 months or so because of a loss of job and when I went back I expected my weight to have gone back up but I had actually lost a pound! hahaha I didn't really eat that bad or too much before but I decided to start counting calories so that maybe it will speed up my weight loss and I'm doing Zumba on the days I don't play tennis. I know it won't be instant gratification but I've been working hard and I'm really hoping it will pay off as long as I stick with it and don't get frustrated. I've never been a small girl and PCOS runs in my family (grandma, mom and sister) even though none of us knew. If anyone has any suggestions for better or more weight loss PLEASE let me know!

I switched to a diabetic diet. I try to eat low/med on the GI(glucose index), I eat more veggies now than I ever have! I struggle with cutting out the carbs, I'm a pastaholic! I take cinnamon pills, mega-red, multivitamin, and a packet of emergen-C daily.

Low glycemic index diet!!!! And if your body requires it, go gluten free too!