Slow Loss - Confused - PCOS

The first law requires a closed system and the body is not a closed system.

You can do 1st law analysis over any system boundaries. Energy in = Energy out + Accumulation.

It's just a question of definitions.

But don't you need a way to capture/measure all of that energy? For example, we certainly give off energy in the form of body heat -- and some of that is captured by the calories burned/expended to heat the body, but is it all captured that way? I don't know, but I thought that was why a closed system was important. Perhaps someone with greater physics skills than me can explain -- I may be off on this.

The definition of the law - closed system or otherwise - is a different thing to how you go about measuring a particular case.

A metabolic chamber study does indeed allow you to determine all of the energy flows from a body within that chamber, as the airflows in/out can be measured and analysed, but it isn't a "closed system" but a contained system with flows in and out - an open system. http://www.learnengineering.org/2013/03/frist-law-of-thermodynamics-open-system.html may help.

From all the reading I have done in recent months I have come to realise PCOS and many other health issues like CF, FM Diabetes, IBS, are probable the result of hormonal imbalance. Sugar absorption is a problem in part because there is so much more available to us, but also because all foods break down into many different sugars to be absorbed at their own specific point in the digestive tract. This is a very complicated subject.

My personal issue is with salicylate. Most plants use this substance to protect themselves from moulds and mildews. We use it as aspirin. We know too much of it is toxic but what we are never told is that it is present in every day foods. Too much in a persons system will cause many different problems, breathing issues, joint pain,(I was on walking sticks and am now pain free) Skin rashes, mood issues can all be contributed to by this substance to a greater or lesser extent depending on how sensitive you have become. Many doctors have never heard of Salicylate Sensitivity, it is very real. I never have olive oil, fruit juices, vanilla, or tomato purée,cornflour and much much more because I have learned what it helps to avoid. I am healthier at 64 than I was at 44, and I'm not through yet.

I read on a national thyroid support site that salicylate sensitivity can over time make the thyroid work less well which can then back up the general system to different seeming less related systems. This as I was told is at the cutting edge of science as I was told by an immunologist. Thyroid issues are often at the base of menstrual problems though patients are told there thyroid hormones are in the normal range. Please read all you can on the thyroid. The national thyroid support sites are good. "Stop the thyroid madness", "STTM" is very good you can read how to understand the numbers and how many doctors are less knowledgeable than they could be, but they do have so much to know about these days. Thyroid issues are regularly under diagnosed as is diabetes.

There is a salicylate sensitive site too I would recommend reducing ones intake, rather than the try for total elimination and add back, there is a fairly good list of problem foods taken from the work of the Australian Dietitian whose name escapes me for the moment. She is Ann Swane with colleagues.

All the best

PCOS is a medical condition. It helps to look at what you are eating at a more complex level not just any old calorie being worth the same as any other, it is a question of gaining the right nutrition for your body's situation. In other words Do what is right for You and this may be for you alone in any one thread.

if CICO is BS then how did you lose 5 pounds in a month?

Obviously, you have a medical condition so you are going to have to work hard to create a calorie deficit then "normal" people. This does no mean that calories in vs calories out does not apply. With moderate calorie deficit and some kind of work out regimen you can and will lose weight.

And at the end of the day what is wrong with 1 pound per week loss?

No one here is saying the CICO is bullsh*t. People with PCOS, like myself, the OP and others that are posting here know that it's not JUST calories in and calories out that make weight loss work with this condition. The majority of people with PCOS HAVE TO CONSIDER MACRONUTRIENTS. I got NOWHERE with a typical high-carb, low calorie diet, but my weight did start to budge with a low-carb, high fat, moderate caloric deficit. This isn't hard to understand why this works better if you understand insulin resistance at all.

Yes, but some think all calories are the same. A calorie is a calorie.

Not sure if ndj falls in that category or not, but I've certainly read many posts by people that do -- and they often take it as an attack on the general concepts of CICO.

Instead of focusing on calories in calories out try focusing on what type of calories your getting. I'll share some tips that have given me great results so far. I was actually at 218 2 months ago and am down to 199 at the moment.

I got most of my advice from an acupunturist in South Korea where I currently reside.

1.) Only drink water, lemon water or green tea.
One whole lemon squeezed into a liter of water has done miracles fo rme since I started. My trips to the washroom are more frequent but my liver and kidney I feel are operating so much better. My Doctor here said if your urine isnt clear drink a cup of water every 15 minutes until it is.

2.) Spinach, kale, brocolli as much as you want whenever you want. I eat spinach like chips in fron of the t.v.
3.) No fruit after 4 pm. He said the sugar is good in the morning to get you going but in the evening it can keep you up at night and be stored as fat if not used as feul.
4.) Find foods that make you feel good and stick to eating the same stuff as long as it satisfies your daily requirements and appetite.
5.) Weight train to increase metabolism. Preferably before the afternoon.
Walk everywhere.
6.) Make ginger tea with organic honey to help your liver and kidney.
7.) If you get a huge hunger urge eat a couple of almonds. They have the perfect fats for you.
8.) TIPS****adjust yoru calories as you begin to lose weight. When your weight drops more than 5 pounds you should reduce your caloric intake since your body now needs less calories.
9.) Dont go well under you caloric intake because yoru body may go into starvation mode and store fat.
10.) you mentioned youve lost littl ebut are exercising often???You quite frankly have gained some decent muscle and definition under your fat stores that weigh more than the fat burned dont focus too much on the scale.
11.) massage your stomach for 5 minutes 1 hour after every meal it does wonders. Aids in digestion.
12.) Try intermittent fasting to give your liver and kidneys a break from processing foods and give them a chance to break down the toxins trapped in yoru fat stores. You cant lose the fat until the toxiins in yoru fat are removed, since the fat is storing the toxins. Look into detoxing yoru liver and kidneys.
13. Go to the sauna on an empty stomach 3 times a week.

I have felt better now then ever before. the sauna lemon tea intermittent fasting truly did wonders for my body, clarity and digestion. Good luck hang in there.