Shari, 1.8 lbs is great! That's nearly 2 lbs and I think that's the max most people can lose a week without losing muscle. I know those scale fluctuations are annoying, though. Maybe next month avoid the scale for this week and the days surrounding it? Easier said than done, it's so hard to stay away from the scale when you're working so hard!

I am giving low carb another try. I was following low carb/paleo earlier this year, one month I lost 2 lbs and the other month I lost 0 lbs, despite going below 20 grams of total carb/day. I know I was eating well below my BMR, too. So, now that I'm on Metformin again, I want to retry low carb and see if it's more effective this time.

I am moving soon, so most of my exercise lately is packing and moving boxes! But I love CrossFit and am going to try to go a few times before the move!

I was diagnosed a while back and I take Metformin, but haven't tried to lose weight until now.

Anyone have ideas of low calorie foods that we CAN eat. I LOVE carbs. LOL! I cannot eat dairy products too much, so those are out. I HATE eggs and bananas (unless the eggs are cooked into a cake or on french toast - lol) and I MAY eat a piece of banana nut bread once a year. I try not to eat too much fruit (especially at work) because it lowers my blood sugar. I've been following a diabetic diet and am eating 100% whole wheat products when I eat my carbs, so that part is good. I'm slowly changing other things over too. I like salads, but when I eat the salad dressing, it either makes me sick (Ranch) or drops my sugar (French and Sweet and Sour dressing). I have tasted some kind of Italian type dressing that I do like, but I cannot seem to find it right now to save my life. I'm hoping to work this salad thing out soon. I keep trying.

Those energy bars and low cal bars always drop my sugar too low. I don't like a lot of meat, but I gag it down as much as I can. I'd LOVE to know what I could eat besides meat. I believe it is beans, but I don't know how to use them or flavor them (except to make bean soup - LOL). I LOVE peanut butter and will eat it on a whole wheat bagel, but get flack for eating it. It is probably my biggest source of protein for the day.

And to top it off, I'm a picky eater. There are lots of things I do not like and would never eat even if it was the last item on Earth to eat.

Dairy = sickness

Fruits/sugars = drop in blood sugars, foggy thinking, etc

There are only a few veggies that I like or have ever tasted - so it is kind of hard to eat corn (which is high in carbs) 5 times a day.

*sigh* - I need help! So what have YOU found you can eat and lose weight??? YOU = ANYONE.

Thanks for your help!!!

I wanted to mention that if your blood sugars are dropping from eating fruit (and I am assuming you are checking your sugars with a monitor?) then you may need to adjust your medications. Really, you shouldn't have lows like that. Also, when you do eat a carb, balance it with a protein. They help each other to regulate your blood sugars. For instance apple slices with peanut butter, fruit and a string cheese, a piece of toast and a scrambled egg. I like sugar free fudge pops or sugar free jello pudding to curb my chocolate cravings during my cycle. I like near feast from the east sesame dressing from costco. And a little goes a long way. Start trying new veggies and fruits. This just has to be a lifestyle change and takes commitment. Good luck! Keep us posted.

BTW - does anyone on here have really dark patches of skin?? My underarms, back and side of the neck and inner thighs are now so dark i feel so conscious of them all the time.

If anyone does have this - have you ever tried any herbal remedies or anything really that may work to get rid of this?

Good idea about starting a new thread! Thank you!

I was just diagnosed with PCOS in May, and am taking Metformin. I need to lose about 40-50 lbs...I have been here on MFP for a while, but recently just changed my diet to limit my carbs and sugars to try and lose weight. I workout every morning before I go to work. Right now, I am doing the Bikini Body Mommy Challenge on YouTube. Still struggling with the food choices, and get frustrated more often than not because I'm not losing weight. I'm not sure if it's because of my age or haven't been on the Metformin long enough to make a difference.

Hi! My name is Katrina. I'm 27, and was diagnosed when I was 15. I take 500 mg of Metformin daily and I just started Junel Fe for my birth control. Before that, I was on Tre-Previfem for seven months and was on Yaz for a few years before that. My doctor keeps changing it because my potassium levels have been high. As for the symptoms, hiruitism and skin tags are a mild concern, but my stomach is quite huge. My waist is currently 46 inches, and it was 41-43 inches earlier this year. It's disheartening.

I lived abroad for three years, and I had gained 30 pounds during that time. When I moved back to the United States, the weight just started coming off, which was great. Then when I went to grad school last year, I gained that weight back, plus a little more. I'm currently 210 lbs and aiming for 160. I'm really out of shape though - I started going back to a zumba class I attended before grad school, and I find I have to modify the steps to make it easier for me. Hopefully I'll get better though, and I'll be in better shape to take on more classes. I think I'm eating well now, but I do have cravings pretty often.

My Name is Stacey.. I have had PCOS for probably 20+ years, I was diagnosed when I was about 20... I am 35 now. Always had issues with my period. I have never been tiny. In highschool.. I thought I was fat. (which, I would kill to weight that amount today) I was about a size 12-14. Which for HS is big considering most girls are like a size 6.

When I was 18 I got into a car accident and I had a hard time moving around.. and that's when the pounds really starting packing on. I couldn't lose weight for the life of me. Then I met my husband, got even more comfortable and continued gaining.

I had a hard time conceiving my one and only child. It took clomid for me to get pregnant. I was almost 303 when I got pregnant (yuck) and I deleivered a healthy kiddo. Thankfully I didn't gain any weight I actually lost weight and delivered my kiddo at 280, got sick with gall bladder issues and got down to 270. Then after I quit breastfeeding the weight came right back on..

When Ali was 4, I decided I wanted to try for another one. I haven't been on anything since she was about 1 year old. And never have had a pregnancy. We started trying and timing things, nothing.. tried clomid, and nothing was not ovulating.. then switched to femera and nothing.. yet again not ovulating. Decided to take a break, and I was still really heavy..

Last October a friend of mine got on the Omni train. So I decided to try it. Failed miserably the first round. Decided to re-try in January after the holidays. I successfully have lost 57 lbs since January. And this round I failed again miserably. I decided I needed a break. With the weight loss periods have started coming on their own. Still haven't been able to get pregnant.

So now I am trying the MFP calorie logging and exercise to try to get some more weight off, and I am hoping in November when I go to my annual I can go back on fertility meds and try again. I am frustrated though. I am a person that can gain 10 lbs over night and it takes me 2 months to lose it.

I am curious to see what works best for you guys food wise? I am trying to find things that help my weight loss. any insite would be great

I do take meteformin. 2000mg. It has never really helped with weight loss...

Hi, I'm so glad you joined this group. I'm interested in your story regarding metformin. I was just put on metformin 2 weeks ago for my PCOS because I'm trying to get pregnant. Right now I'm on 500mg/day, extended release.
If you don't mind me asking..

How many mg/day were you on when you conceived?
How much time(months) did it take after you started the metformin to conceive?

I'm trying to be patient, but I also don' t want to waste time (I'm almost 35). I'm debating whether to give the met a while to work or to go for a higher level of intervention right away.

Thanks!

I'd love to join! For now there's no determined ultimate weight loss goal, but I've got to get back to my original lowest. I'd like that. Starting out in 2011-2012 I'd lost about 104 pounds, but soon picked up 20 or so.. which seemed to happen overnight almost (most I'd say is contributed to the weight lifting. I'm still in the same size clothing that I was 20 pounds ago, and have picked up some muscle, but this is ... this is insane). To be safe I'll say that I've got another 30 to go.

As far as my story goes, I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2011, but had had abnormal cycles and strange symptoms for as long as I can remember. The doctor has prescribed me various BC pills. The names of most fail me because it has literally been that many. I've been combating high blood pressure for a while, which makes prescribing 'the pill' difficult. I was placed on progesterone first (as a precaution to the high blood pressure), then tried out the Mirena IUD for about a year after. My body didn't take to either very well really and the Mirena seemed to make things worse! As of two weeks ago, the doctors prescribed the low-estrogen bc pill Lomedia 24. Hopefully this is the cure all for my strange symptoms and it will also help me get my weight under control. No matter how hard I tried, I was unable to budge the scale during the Mirena era. Time to pick up the pieces and get to work!

Hi everyone...I'm new to this group. I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2006 when we were trying to get pregnant. However, I DO have monthly cycles...our infertility was ultimately caused by low sperm counts. I did an IVF in 2007 and it was BFN. My IVF in 2008 resulted in the birth of my daughter in 2009. I've since done 2 more IVF cycles and both of those have failed. But my daughter is my light.

I'm at 249 right now...having lost 5lbs this week (WAHOO!)...I was 220 10 days after my daughter was born. About 10 years ago I got down to around 175 and was really happy with how I looked. So that is my goal for now. When I get there, if I want to lose more...I'll see.

I'm not on any meds for my PCOS...and I have untreated Hashimoto's as well.

Hello,

I was diagnosed with PCOS at 16. I took BC for awhile but they effected my moods to the point of depression so I stopped. I went 10 years without a period and still don't get them without medication. I never took my PCOS seriously until I got married and wanted to start a family. My family doctor started me on Metformin and prenatal vitamins. When I went to a OB/GYN she gave me 3 months of BC which I hated but it was good after not having a period. She of course mentioned my weight and continued to tell me that if I didn't get this under control, listing a series of crazy scenarios, that my husband would leave me. She's insane to put it simply. Once I switched to a sane doctor, I was given Provera and Clomid. After 3 rounds of clomid not working and the fact that the nice, sane doctor quit and I was moving, I took a break from it all. Now I'm trying to get back on track and lose weight in the process. I have 136lbs to lose but I'm determined. I started walking and I'm up to 3 to 4 miles a day. I take some vitamins/supplements for my PCOS.

Supplements I take:
B12
Cinnamon
Pregnitude
Prenatal
Super B Complex
Vitamin D

If any of you take anything else that seems to help let me know!

I'm not convinced I'll actually post much for various reasons (much more likely to lurk), but I'll put my story out here, at least (sorry if it's too long! I tried to break it into sections).

I think I was diagnosed with PCOS in like, mid/late high school, but it's kind of a blurry experience: went to some lady once with my mom, got checked out and got an ultrasound, no cysts; lady wanted to give me birth control so I'd have a period, but mom wanted a more "natural" solution.. That was the only time we tried to do anything about it. I'm almost 23 now, just graduated college in May, and I still haven't done anything about it. I know I have it, as I have some of the symptoms, but it kinda freaks me out to take the necessary steps to do something about it, I guess. :frown:

I had started recording any signs of period activity in late 2010, during my first year of college. As far as I can recall, it was pretty much completely absent before that throughout high school. I might have had it like 5 times in that time (can't remember for sure, only that I was happy I didn't tend to have it--one less thing to worry about). I had 5 normal-ish periods Dec('10)-April('11), then it became largely absent again with only an occasional day of seeing a touch of blood like /once/ per occurrence (10 recorded days of this from April '11 to Oct '12). In late Oct.-early Nov. '12 I had a normal period, but since then, NOTHING.

:indifferent: I honestly don't want to start having a period regularly.. I can't help but see it as annoying and pointless, as I'm never going to be in a relationship or have kids (not my scene as an aromantic asexual person--not interested), so on that topic I seem to differ from most/all of you. Ideally I'd just treat the symptoms like hair growth/loss, acne, and weight issues.. But I guess it can't be that simple, huh? :ohwell:

I was 184 lbs when I started MFP in June '13 and blindly followed the recommended 1200 cal (as I'd never dieted/tracked cals before) until August of this year, when I discovered that BMR and TDEE were things. Supposedly my BMR is around 1470 cal (at my current weight of about 140).. So although I'd managed to lose around 44 lbs since I started, I'm hit with the distinct feeling I did it horribly wrong and haven't been getting what my body needs (probably at the expense of the little muscle mass I do have). Since the beginning of August, I've been eating at my BMR but /maintaining/ at around 140 lbs, fluctuating up/down 2 lbs.. Which honestly vexes me, as everything I've read says to eat at LEAST your BMR and you'll lose weight because you're at a deficit from your TDEE (with mine supposedly being around 1725).. So why am I maintaining on my base calorie needs when I should be losing? Why was I able to lose weight eating at 1200 cal for about a year then started to plateau? I'm not sure if any of it is related to PCOS or if it's simply that the BMR and TDEE calculations are off (though I've tried a bunch of different formulas and they all come out pretty similar)..

The past couple days I've started to make an effort to do cardio (via Just Dance 3) for an hour or so, but I don't feel that's ultimately sustainable since waving a wiimote around for days in a row ends up giving me a really sore right shoulder.. But that's the only thing that motivates me to do anything physical, since it's a game--otherwise I'll just sit in front of the computer all day, if I'm honest. :ohwell: It's a good workout, since I try to copy all the dance moves and not just the arm movements, and I'm very sweaty by the end of it. I eat back my exercise calories so I still net my BMR amount. I guess I'll keep this up for a few weeks and see if it makes a difference with my current plateau at all.

I guess I should mention I'm also a notoriously picky eater. Smells, tastes, textures, etc really put me off from a lot of foods. I tend to eat stuff like cheese pizza, cereal/granola, pasta, cookies, burgers (with just cheese+ketchup), boneless chicken, pretzels, apples... I've slowly been trying more foods though, so I've come to like almonds&walnuts, scrambled eggs, raw baby spinach, whole grain/wheat breads, bananas, fried fish... But I feel like most of what I've started to include in my diet still aren't "good", so I'm sort of at a loss? :frown: Most food suggestions people make seem too fancy/complex flavor-wise, or have a key component of something I don't like (peanut butter and hummus come to mind).. For example, my version of a salad is simply spinach/lettuce, chicken, and a bit of cheese--no dressing or anything fancy. I often wonder when I see recipes/dishes with a good bit of ingredients if they all serve a purpose beyond taste? Because if not, I'd prefer to do without most of it. :ohwell:

I just want to lose 10 more lbs so I'll be at 130, but it's proving difficult/impossible. I feel like I need to get like, full blood work done, see a nutritionist/dietician, somehow find healthy foods I'd like, etc etc to even figure out what to do, and it's overwhelming.