Tips for PCOS

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!

Also, I see a lot of people talking about Gillian's 30-day Shred where can I find it? Like, do they sell it at Wal-Mart?

You can do the 30 Day Shred on youtube! Just search for 30 Day Shred level 1 and it will come up. After 10 days, move onto level 2, then onto level 3 after a further 10 days. They are all on youtube.

Hello Everyone,

I also have PCOS. My fertility doctor is so frustrated with my slow weight loss (lost 30 pounds over the last year) that she is recommending gastric sleeve surgery.

I don't want to do that because I am capable of eating what I choose to eat, and I feel like I can do this. I'm thinking if she thinks that would work, maybe I should just lower my calorie intake more. MFP tells me to eat 1490 calories per day, so I do that. I do not eat back the 300 or so calories I get from exercise each day. Should I lower my daily calorie goal to 1200 and also not eat back exercise calories? Everybody says eat back your exercise calories, but it seems with PCOS we are just super efficient food utilizers.

If there's a famine, I guess we'll be the ones to survive at least.

I've had PCOS since puberty but didn't get diagnosed until my early 20's. I started having trouble with the weight in my mid 20s but my doctor never fully explained that it was because of the insulin resistance. Had my first child at 35 and developed gestational diabetes, had the second at 38 got gestational diabetes again only worse and within months had full blown diabetes. The one good thing is that the second baby magically jump started my cycles so I could drop the birth control but once I had added diabetes to my list of PCOS complications I knew I needed to do something serious since dieting and exercise hadn't worked and the diabetes was likely due to the weight plus pre existing insulin resistance. I have been eating low carb since December, I gave up sugar and all forms of carbonated drinks in May. I'm actually exercising less now (3-4 x per week) then I was before (6-7 x per week) and getting more out of it. So I guess my tips would be:

1) eat low carb high protein
2) be active even if not "exercising"
and/or
3) talk to a endocrynologist and nutritionist about the best plan for your symptoms.

I'm 26 and was diagnosed with PCOS at 18, although I'd had the symptoms for years prior to that. I became a vegetarian at 14 and then a vegan at 19 and that helped loads. I've never been over the healthy BMI range, although going vegan helped me cut out crap like chocolate bars and cakes and quick fixes you see while waiting in queues and so on.

Edited to say that I only ever eat wholemeal bread. I'll have white rice or white pasta once in a while if someone else made it, but I don't go out of my way to eat it. I DO have a sweet tooth though, so I'll have a milkshake with unsweetened soya milk and banana or milkshake powder once in a while, or a bit of dark chocolate.

Diet coke and pepsi are my one vice. They sort out my sweet cravings, but I know they're bad for my teeth so I'm trying to give them up.

Another note- My endocrinologist suggested I stay away from any soy products, which I was insanely bummed about because I LOVE LOVE LOVE tofu and edamame, but after doing some independent research I decided to follow his advice. There are tons of studies out there that focus on soy and other forms of environmental estrogen and its effects on reproductive health. I was in and out of veganism and vegetarianism for about 10 years as a teenager/young adult and my primary protein source was soy, I ate it constantly, and I wonder now if it had any effect on my issues now.