I have the belly also. I'm very much an apple shape (which I've heard most women with PCOS are). I'm working on losing the weight and adding muscle to my lower body to balance out my proportions.

Tagging this thread for future reference. I totally have the "capital B" shaped PCOS belly, and it drives me insane. I lose fat from everywhere but the gut.

A personal trainer that I saw wanted me to go completely keto for at least 2 weeks to see if that would help shrink my stomach. I told him no way was that going to happen. I can do 100 carbs or less without TOO much difficulty, and easily 125 carbs or less. 0-25? No way. I need to find a way to reduce the size without causing me to have a mental snap and doing something that would put me behind bars Also, I'm always up for friends with open diaries who don't mind me stealing some meal ideas!

I have PCOS and a fatty lower belly, but I never felt they were related.

The metformin will not necessarily help you to lose any fat, it just helps your body to better metabolize the sugar/carbs you consume. So in essence, it will help you not to gain more than to help you lose.

I've been losing quite steadily just by watching my calorie intake (I don't do low carb, it's too hard for me since I'm not a fan of most meat, although I do limit my added sugar and refined carbohydrates and most doctors have suggested low carb diets), taking metformin, and exercising at least an hour a day (at least an hour every day is key to burning excess glucose in your system, any less than an hour is not effective in that regard.)

Since you said you're already at a healthy weight, I would just up your exercise and slightly limit your caloric intake and I imagine you'll see results.

I'm curious...I've heard this "at least 1 hour a day" thing before. SO, my question is 1 hour of cardio? or cardio combined with resistance? Do you practice this? Curious what you do I'm currently worked up to 40 mins of cardio 5x a week but i want to make a difference with my "pcos belly" too

I use to do one hour of aerobic (cardio, if you will) exercises a day and recently switched it up to 20-30 minutes most days as I don't always have the time to give up an hour plus time for strength training/lifting. I've never read the "at least 1 hour a day" thing, I've read that to maximize glucose burning you need to do aerobic exercise 3-5 days a week for 30 minutes. Funny enough, my belly still continued to reduce at the same rate at a reduced time so maybe there is some truth to that. Oh, and when I say aerobic exercise, I mean 30 minutes at 75%-85% of my maximum heart rate. In addition, I lift and do resistance training (squats/planks/push-ups/band work/wall sits) 3 times a week for 30 or so minutes at a 70%-75% HR.

Everyone is different and requires different eating/exercise needs so you may need to play around with it a bit, consistently log, and then analyze your data. Adding weight-lifting to my routine (no, not 10lb dumbbells) and core/resistance training (with my pt) is where I've seen the biggest difference.

I have the same issue! My stomach is the place where I tend to gain weight, followed by my hips. I've noticed that my stomach feels extra bloated/large after eating gluten.

I'm new to the group-feel free to add me on here!

I have the same issue! My stomach is the place where I tend to gain weight, followed by my hips. I've noticed that my stomach feels extra bloated/large after eating gluten.

I'm new to the group-feel free to add me on here!

same thing for me too! I was literally just talking to my coworker about maybe trying this whole gluten free thing. i hear its a little tough though and the motivation to not cheat....sheesh idk if I have that yet lol. Do you follow gluten free?

Gluten-free is hell. I have a cousin with Celiacs disease, and it took her a couple years to adjust to GF eating. I've heard that Paleo is essentially gluten-free, so you could try that. My partner and I might be going gluten-free next year once our new insurance kicks in and he can get tested, because he's showing a lot of signs of gluten intolerance (inflammation and joint pain, namely). How it affects the belly, I'm honestly not sure. I'll be interested in what KatyAverill says, too.

From what I have been told by a naturalistic doctor the gluten affects the intestines making them inflamed thus causing them to enlarge and since those are in the abdominal cavity they also cause the belly to expand. The collection of fat or weight gain around the belly, I have been told by both natural med doctor and an MD is due to the fact that our body is much like a diabetic in that we gain weight first in the belly before anywhere else.

edit.....tried to quote someone but it didn't work right

I've been trying to eat gluten free/paleo as much as possible-in the first week I lost 9 lbs by not counting my calories but just sticking with mostly veggies, fish, nuts and almond milk instead of regular dairy. I felt wayyy better too. I fell into my old eating habits on Thanksgiving and I'm trying to go back to eating gluten free this week.

I have the same issue! My stomach is the place where I tend to gain weight, followed by my hips. I've noticed that my stomach feels extra bloated/large after eating gluten.

I'm new to the group-feel free to add me on here!

same thing for me too! I was literally just talking to my coworker about maybe trying this whole gluten free thing. i hear its a little tough though and the motivation to not cheat....sheesh idk if I have that yet lol. Do you follow gluten free?

Gluten-free is hell. I have a cousin with Celiacs disease, and it took her a couple years to adjust to GF eating. I've heard that Paleo is essentially gluten-free, so you could try that. My partner and I might be going gluten-free next year once our new insurance kicks in and he can get tested, because he's showing a lot of signs of gluten intolerance (inflammation and joint pain, namely). How it affects the belly, I'm honestly not sure. I'll be interested in what KatyAverill says, too.

I have the same issue! My stomach is the place where I tend to gain weight, followed by my hips. I've noticed that my stomach feels extra bloated/large after eating gluten.

I'm new to the group-feel free to add me on here!

same thing for me too! I was literally just talking to my coworker about maybe trying this whole gluten free thing. i hear its a little tough though and the motivation to not cheat....sheesh idk if I have that yet lol. Do you follow gluten free?

Gluten-free is hell. I have a cousin with Celiacs disease, and it took her a couple years to adjust to GF eating. I've heard that Paleo is essentially gluten-free, so you could try that. My partner and I might be going gluten-free next year once our new insurance kicks in and he can get tested, because he's showing a lot of signs of gluten intolerance (inflammation and joint pain, namely). How it affects the belly, I'm honestly not sure. I'll be interested in what KatyAverill says, too.

It can be hell, if you expect it to be so. ("Whether you think you can, or you think you can't - you're probably right.")

Paleo is gluten free (there's no "essentially" about it - it's a grain-free diet at it's base), and in my opinion, it (and similar whole-food based dietary frameworks) is one of the best ways to go about gluten free. That way, you're less likely to fall into the trap of "gluten-free!" products (ie - gluten food replacements), which tend to be counterproductive, and instead, switch to a diet that is gluten-free by nature.

It can be difficult, yes, especially if you're not keen on cooking. However, with a little planning and a willingness to cook at least some, going gluten free doesn't have to be hell.

How it affects the belly depends in part on what's causing the belly. For those that are gluten intolerant and get GI issues or an autoimmune response, the belly can be due to inflammation and gas. For those that aren't, a whole-foods based gluten-free diet is often by nature lower carb than a typical Western diet. That reduction in carbs alone may be enough to drop the body's insulin level enough to prompt the body to pull some of its fat from the abdominal stores. For those with both...well, they may have gotten "lucky" in solving their belly dilemma and the combination of fixing both potential causes may compound the effect.

So glad to see this. Many people don't understand how much PCOS affects women.
I am currently 5'7" and 183lbs. I am down from 200 but I don't lose anything in my belly. Last month was 7lbs and 7inches. None from my belly.
It is frustrating to keep being asked how far along I am because of my belly. I am desperately trying to get pregnant with no success. My sugars are not under enough control for metformin and I had a bad reaction to prometrium.
My OB/GYN has set the goal to get down to 150lbs. If I can make that he will attempt a surgery to help rid my ovaries of all the current cysts in attempt to reset them. And prescribe the metformin to help with insulin resistance.

Heres to all of us trying to lose weight while dealing with PCOS. Good luck to everyone!

I identify with this so much. I've lost weight and am relatively thin now (5'7" and 133 lbs) but I still look 5 months pregnant. That darn belly is what kept me going with weight loss after I hit my initial goal weight of 139. My arms, face and legs definitely got thinner especially as I got below 139 but I still feel like I'm 'all belly' ... which is not such a compliment when you're not pregnant. And yes, my hips and thighs are easily a size smaller than my waist measurement. So frustrating! I also hate reading all the stuff about how an apple shape/belly fat is so bad for your health ... I know it is; if only I could do something more about it!

It is so discouraging! I cry almost every day at the SIZE of my stomach... I would love to have a baby and can't and the worst part is that I look like I am ready to give birth. I've been on a LCKD for a little while now and I'm losing weight but most days it feels like my stomach is getting bigger...

There is some comfort in knowing that I am not alone in this. Thanks for all of your stories, ladies!