Paleo, Low carb - slow carb (food combining to minimize the GI effects of higher carb foods)
Inositol
Moderate exercise

Following those 3 things, first 30 pounds (of about 60 to lose) came off pretty much 'by the numbers' it's been vv slow going since. I'm losing a few pounds a month currently, and I'm ok with the slower pace atm, as long as I'm not gaining.

MsBeverleyH wrote: »

Loving the replies!

Re: Carbs/Macros = I've got mine set to (I believe) 25% carbs, 40% protein, and 35% fat. Sometimes I go a tiny bit over the carbs, but I don't think that's so crazy since it's already only at 25%!

Inositol? = What does it do? Do I need a prescription? Can anyone vouch for it doing...anything? Hahaha. I don't really want to drop money on something if it's not going to do anything for me.

Paleo = I recently found out I'm allergic to dairy, so I'm already halfway there, I suppose!

Exercising = I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing with that. For a while I'd been doing calisthenics (sit-ups, push-ups, squats, etc) and I wasn't budging on the scale or even in measurements. I'm going to try more cardio stuff now to see if that helps?

I'm personally a fan of the higher fat/ketogenic way of eating - 60-70% fat, 20-25% protein, 5-10% carbs. It's worked the best for me for not continuing to gain weight (still working on the "losing weight" part).

Inositol is a vitamin (B8, to be precise) supplement. You can get it over the counter for about $15 per half pound in powdered form from Amazon. It can help with insulin resistance, hormone balance, and cycle regularity. The effective dose is anywhere from about 2g on up (so the half-pound canister will last you about two months), and it has pretty much no side effects.

As for exercise, I'm a big fan of heavy lifting programs and similar progressive, challenging strength training. Strong Lifts, Starting Strength, and New Rules of Lifting for Women are awesome resources for heavy lifting, and You Are Your Own Gym and Convict Conditioning are the usual go-tos for bodyweight training. The thing with these programs is that they help improve hormone balance, as well. Heavy lifting and Inositol are the only two things that have allowed me to have my period more frequently than once a year or so.

Cardio is hit or miss with PCOS. Interval training is okay, but sustained endurance cardio is counterproductive, due to the hormonal effects it has (increased cortisol being the biggest one). If you want to do "cardio," far be it from me to stop you, but favor high intensity intervals over sustained mid-level intensity. Or, as Mark Sisson (author of The Primal Blueprint; great read, by the way) puts it -- move frequently at a slow pace (ie - walk a lot), lift heavy things, and sprint once in a while.

Also forgot to add, i take a few other suppliments for insulin and hormone balance. I take cinnamon, chromium, magnesium, Vitex and Evening Primrose Oil. All help with either insulin or hormone balance.

rowclic wrote: »

Hi ladies. In most of the studies I read they require folic acid be taken with the Inositol. I'm taking both along with Omega3 and vitamin D. For this using Inositol - are you taking folic as well?

I take it in a prenatal vitamin I take. I take GNC's prenatals because it is in 3 liquigels so i digest it easier and it doesnt upset my tummy. The prenatals have the higher doses of things i am low in, calcium, d3, b12, folic acid, etc. I also have to suppliment d3, b12 and fish oil in addition to the prenatals.

So i actually take a lot of pills, but most of them ive tested low in and was recommended by the doctor to take.

Nice idea for a thread! I started using MFP and taking Spironolactone for PCOS at roughly the same time, 4 and 3 months ago respectively (wow feels like it's been longer). I started at a 100mg dose of spiro, and increased it to 200mg about a month ago as I've read that this is an optimal dosage, and my endo agreed. Both have brought about significant improvements in my life, physically and mentally. I've lost about 12 pounds in that time which I think can be attributed to both (one of the effects of Spiro is that it seems to have reduced my appetite to what feels like a more "normal" level, making it easier to follow the calorie deficit needed to help me lose those pounds through tracking on mfp) and am very close to what I think is my ideal weight at this point.

I used to eat more erratically, before using MFP and tracking my meals, I would often eat past the point of fullness which would lead to feeling bloated and tired and I think sometimes even depressed after those meals. I've figured out generally what the right amount of food is for me to have at a meal, to where I feel satisfied without that 'uugh' feeling afterwards. Some days I'm hungrier than others, and I use snacks to bridge the gaps between meals to greater or lesser degrees depending on my hunger level (which is usually related to my cycle). I was already getting better at ensuring that I was eating enough protein throughout the day, now I'm working on reducing carb intake as low as I can, and increasing healthy fats. Most days I'm coming in under 100 net carbs, would like to get it down to around 50 or less on a consistent basis eventually. I do have insulin resistance which I wasn't really formally aware of before, and this knowledge is helping me stay committed to a sustainable low carb lifestyle. This is hard because like many people I grew up on bread and a carb heavy diet (my dad could live entirely off of carbs and peanut butter, I think), my favourite foods are things like pizza and sandwiches really, but maintaining as high a level of physical and mental wellness as possible needs to take priority.

Fortunately I've been learning that there are some pretty good carb substitutes out there - I made cauliflower crust pizza the other day and it was way better than I had anticipated, and I'm looking forward to trying some low cab friendly bread recipes soon, most seems to have almond flour, coconut flour or flax meal as a base. Making egg muffins loaded with vegetables and eating lots of cottage cheese has been a staple. Drinking less beer and wine has helped I'm sure too, that mostly came about when I started tracking calories because I never really gave much thought to how many calories they had in them! (and they also would usually lead to an uncontrollable urge to eat way too much late night pizza)

From reading about it on this forum, I recently started taking myo-inositol in powder form, only started about a week and can't tell if it's helping yet, but I haven't noticed any negative effects, and it tastes surprisingly delicious!I Sometimes I take a multivitamin, but not consistently since I take Spiro twice a day with food and Inositol once a day with food, and am not always sure if I should have a multivitamin along side any of those, need to look into that with my doctor or pharmacist (also if anyone has any input, that's definitely welcome as well)

I was thinking about trying Whole30, but the PCOS list is so incredibly restrictive that I'm not sure I'd mentally be able to yet.

I do a 40% carb, 30% fats and protein and it works for me. I'm not insulin resistant, though. Most of my carbs come from fresh fruits and veggies, not the starchy kind.. those are limited to once or twice a day, but a serving on my plan is around 1/2c, so I try to stick with that. -9lbs and -13.75in in 2 weeks. We are all different though

There are foods we aren't supposed to be eating? (Besides watching carbs, I mean.)

Some people may think it's cheating, but Metformin has been exceedingly helpful for me. My ob gyn put me on it when I was diagnosed with PCOS/insulin resistance three years ago. I started losing weight like I never have (1 lb a week or so), and my periods became regular for the first time in my life. I was already exercising daily and eating a balanced diet, and the medication seemed to make a big difference.

I was just recently diagnosed with PCOS and will soon be starting spironolactone in a few days. I have read a lot about the benefits of losing weight with PCOS and have about 30 pounds to loose. I'm looking for some MFP friends who share in the same struggle that I am about to embark upon. Not only the struggle of loosing weight but also struggling with the idea of having yet another health problem like PCOS and all the random systemic side effects that aren't exactly in the name :-)

Thanks I guess I'm around a lot of people who think "natural remedies" are the way to go, so I felt a little guilty when taking the medication made such a drastic improvement. Crazy, I know!