PCOS, Metformin, and fat that just won't quit

lcmorris
lcmorris Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been a MFP member for awhile, but have just recently gotten more serious about using the site. Two years ago, I had my first child. After she was born, BFing helped me to lose weight down beyond my pre-pregnancy weight, yet once that stopped it all came back and then some. As of January 1st, I was at 193 lbs (5'6"), my heaviest not-pregnant.

Since that weigh-in, I have significantly reduced my calorie intake to between 1200-1400 per day, tracking my foods and making much better choices (lower GI, much more veggies and protein). I have also started working out every day, combining JCORE with treadmill work, along with running after a toddler and taking care of 6 horses on our farm. All in all, I definitely feel like I get a good amount of strenuous and varied exercise in, each day. Alas, the scale isn't moving so much. I am down to 187 as of yesterday (3/5).

I was diagnosed with PCOS at 15 and was immediately put on BCP to regulate my cycles. From that point on, I have steadily gained weight in an almost perfectly linear trajectory. Some dieting and exercise has helped me to shed a few pounds here and there, but nothing has been lasting. Over the past 13 years, I have gained about 50 lbs. My goal is to be somewhere in the 140-145 lbs range, as that is where I felt my best.

Yesterday, my GP started me on Metformin (1 x 500mg/day). She seemed alarmed that no one had tried it for me previously. I am also off the BCP (since December), because I just felt out of sorts, bloated, and cloudy headed. Those symptoms have cleared up off the pill. It was explained that the Metformin may also help with weight loss, as my system has essentially been fighting itself, which is certainly what this feels like.

Does anyone have experience with when they saw/felt results? Obviously, I'm not expecting an overnight miracle, but I am not scheduled to see my doctor for a month and am curious if Metformin has a long loading period (weeks to take effect) or if it is more fast acting. It would be such a dream to lose the PCOS symptoms, along with some of this weight!

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    My first question is do you weigh your food on a kitchen scale.

    I know that it is difficult to lose weight when PCOS is a factor but it's not impossible.

    You just need to be more diligent with accuracy of intake and burns and more patient with the amount of time it takes. By that I mean you need to weigh your food to be sure you are eating the calories you think you are...instead of "guessing" which often leads to eating more than you think.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think


    When you are breast feeding you are burning calories usually 300-500 but if you don't change your eating habits once you are done BFing to account for those extra calories burned you will stop losing or gain.
  • bec_232
    bec_232 Posts: 32 Member
    I've been diagnosed with PCOS since the age of 9 and I completely get what you are going thru. The BCP worked for years with me and then all of a sudden it stopped. I got bloated, emotional and brain fogged. BCP never helped me lose weight either. I've been on metformin since the age of 12, I'm now 32 and I find it's still helpful.

    People think just go on a diet if you want to lose weight and exercise and it will happen. Yeah not for me! I can be on a super strict diet and exercise 5 days a week and some how gain weight if my hormone levels are not right. That's the number formula for me and weight loss = hormone balancing and sugar levels. Then my hormones and sugars are in check and I eat right and exercise I get results.
    BFing helps drop the pounds for PCOS women because yes the calorie burn but also your hormones are different. The hormones are flowing were they need to go for your body to produce milk and not free floating around in your body doing damage. Then you stop the BFing and your body goes back to still over producing some hormones and then hormones have to no where to go up mess with your sugars, testosterone, and estrogen. My results in weight, excess hair and dark body patches. Fun I know.

    Metformin should help! It will regulate your sugar so that you don't have spikes. I've known a lot of people who even without dieting lost 5-10 lbs on it. It may cause you to have an upset stomach at first but your body will get use to it. Also, the less processed sugar you have while taking metformin the better.

    Best of luck.
  • lcmorris
    lcmorris Posts: 2
    Wow, thanks!

    I have not been weighing my foods, but will definitely look more closely at that to ensure better accuracy.

    Bec_232, I'll PM you.
  • obmckenzie
    obmckenzie Posts: 75 Member
    I was diagnosed with PCOS about 2 years ago..maybe longer.. anyway. That first year I busted my *kitten* on Metformin to lose the weight and maybe lost about 10lbs, which was all probably water weight. I trained for a marathon, I was unemployeed and spend about 2 hours at the gym just doing cardio, because EVERYONE said that if I just decrease my caloric intake and increase my exercise I would lose weight. I did that for 11 months in training for the marathon and didn't lose a pound beyond the first 10.

    So I gave up and gained 20 lbs.

    This year I finally decided to try a died called KETO. Its a Low Carb/High Fat diet, and it's working. Slow but working.

    So far I've almost lost 20 lbs in 2 months (I've adding in some weight training stuff and my muscles are retaining water atm) and I haven't been hungry once. My cravings (after the first 2 weeks) have been manageable and almost completely ignorable. I also don't exercise nearly as much as I used too. my cardio is some playing with our dog, maybe a walk, and some lifting of dumbells.

    You might also want to join some PCOS communities on here, they are usually very helpful.
  • FruityLoops
    FruityLoops Posts: 138 Member
    You're definitely not alone :-) It's not easy and it's not quick but it's doable.

    I was diagnosed with PCOS about 16 years ago and was initially just put on the contraceptive pill to control symptoms but that made my blood pressure shoot upwards, so then I was put on metformin. My doctor sent me to a dietician who recommended I go on a 1000 calorie per day diet which basically cut out all enjoyable food, so you can imagine how long I lasted on that!! Anyways eventually about 9 years ago I decided to take my weight into my own hands and deal with it, I lost just under 100 lbs over 2 years, so it wasn't quick by any means (and I still wasn't quite at target at that point) but I felt great and also felt like the side effects had definitely lessened. It was a hard slog, I was doing a lot of exercise by the end (so much so that I felt it was ruling my life), I found I had to eat less than WLR (my precursor to MFP) allocated me or I wouldn't lose anything (and keep my carbs lower than allocated too), and the slightest slip up and I'd gain at least a couple of pounds back!

    The downfall is that I then got complacent and thought that since I was close to goal I didn't have be quite as careful, and over the next few years I gained back 105 lbs :-( It was gutting when it finally dawned on me what I'd done (even though it may seem odd that it took that long!), and that I now have to lose it [and more] all over again, but what I do take from it, and you should too, is that it definitely is possible but you have to be patient and stick with it!!

    I'm no longer able to take metformin, initially I didn't have any side effects but eventually they built up so that I couldn't even take the lowest dose, and I have the added hindrance that I now also have an auto-immune arthritis so I can't exercise as much as I used to, but I am over half way again and determined to lose the rest :-) What I've learnt from last time is that I can never stop counting calories, even when I reach target, I'm always going to have to keep a very close eye on what I eat and what the scales say but I think it's a small price to pay in the long run!

    Oh and I do agree with Stef, definitely weigh your foods, be as accurate as possible, don't rely on eyeballing stuff or going by cup measures. I weigh everything that passes my lips pretty much, unless of course I'm out and then it's guesswork if they don't have nutritional info!
  • mellym_m
    mellym_m Posts: 2
    I was diagnose about 4 years ago with PCOS and I am on day 2 of metformin... Other than a rumbly tummy and the runs(sorry:-/) its been ok thus far. I'm blogging about my experience taking it, so feel free to read about it if you'd like. I'm about 196lbs- the heaviest I've ever been, and I'm hoping to get down to 140. Hopefully the metformin (along with no sugar, limited carbs and plenty of activity) does the trick.
    All the best x
  • ArielFit
    ArielFit Posts: 1 Member
    I've been trying to get diagnosed with PCOS since I was 16, but only recently was diagnosed about a year and a half ago. They immediately put me on 500 mg of Metformin at night. After about 3 months of eating low glycemic and low carb , I lost 30 pounds. It makes you sick initially, but keep with it because the results are good and it makes you feel so much better. At my heaviest I was 190 pounds, but now I'm 165 (I gained 5ish pounds back during the holidays :-/).

    Guys, PCOS sucks and I feel like we're somewhat overlooked in the medical community. I had so many health related issues since I was 9 years old and it sucks. I read FruityLoops story and it really resonated. If you're not 100% diligent with dieting on PCOS...it doesn't work. It is SO easy to slip and just give up hope. If I eat like a "regular" person, I get sick. It's unfair, but a reality I've been facing.

    A friend of mine who also has PCOS was recently put on Progesterone, does anyone know anything about that in relation to PCOS?

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