Women with PCOS and BMR
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Errrica91
Posts: 122 Member
yes, I'm one of those lucky girls diagnosed with PCOS and IR.
Long story short: I'm 23, 5'6 and about 141lbs. I'm a celiac - on a gluten-free diet for about a year straight. I'm on KETO or LOW-CARB diet since I was 16. But the real problem for me is to calculate HOW MANY calories EXACTLY should I be eating with this "condition" (PCOS+IR). Because If I eat at my BMR/eat at TDEE and exercise/or whatever I GAIN.
Even though 1200kcal seemed like the right amount of calories for me most of my life since I was losing weight AND not feeling hungry I started to eat at my BMR (1400kcal) or TDEE (1800-2000kcal) about a year ago creating the deficit with regular exercise (HIIT, Pilates, etc.) thinking that would break the plateau - since that's how it works, right? You eat more to lose more.
But the thing is it just DOESN'T WORK for me unlike 1200kcal. So I looked more into PCOS + IR and losing weight stuff and found out that since PCOS and IR causes slow metabolism WOMEN suffering from this condition NEED way LESS calories then healhy women.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18678372
https://losingwithpcos.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/bmr-and-pcos/
Before I decrease my calorie intake I would LOVE to know how many kcal/a day do you girls with PCOS and/or IR (and similar height) eat a day to lose weight?
*I take betablockers for my arrythmia too.
Long story short: I'm 23, 5'6 and about 141lbs. I'm a celiac - on a gluten-free diet for about a year straight. I'm on KETO or LOW-CARB diet since I was 16. But the real problem for me is to calculate HOW MANY calories EXACTLY should I be eating with this "condition" (PCOS+IR). Because If I eat at my BMR/eat at TDEE and exercise/or whatever I GAIN.
Even though 1200kcal seemed like the right amount of calories for me most of my life since I was losing weight AND not feeling hungry I started to eat at my BMR (1400kcal) or TDEE (1800-2000kcal) about a year ago creating the deficit with regular exercise (HIIT, Pilates, etc.) thinking that would break the plateau - since that's how it works, right? You eat more to lose more.
But the thing is it just DOESN'T WORK for me unlike 1200kcal. So I looked more into PCOS + IR and losing weight stuff and found out that since PCOS and IR causes slow metabolism WOMEN suffering from this condition NEED way LESS calories then healhy women.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18678372
https://losingwithpcos.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/bmr-and-pcos/
Before I decrease my calorie intake I would LOVE to know how many kcal/a day do you girls with PCOS and/or IR (and similar height) eat a day to lose weight?
*I take betablockers for my arrythmia too.
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Replies
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My suggestion is to dump the HIIT and instead do 40-45 minutes of LISS (low impact steady state) cardio like walking four times a week, in addition to lifting weights 2-3x/wk. Keep the pilates if you would like, for stretching once a week but don't count on it as a great calorie burner.
I'd probably start at 1650 calories per day, stick with it for four weeks of good solid logging, and then analyze the results.0 -
My suggestion is to dump the HIIT and instead do 40-45 minutes of LISS (low impact steady state) cardio like walking four times a week, in addition to lifting weights 2-3x/wk. Keep the pilates if you would like, for stretching once a week but don't count on it as a great calorie burner.
I'd probably start at 1650 calories per day, stick with it for four weeks of good solid logging, and then analyze the results.
Been there, done that. LISS doesn't change my weight loss either:( And my Pilates is advance so it's really not to be considered just "stretch" - I burn about 300kcal in a session. And I track EVERYTHING (kcal, carbs, protein, fat, kcal burn through exercise) - I'm no newbie to this.
And ARE you suffering from PCOS, TOO?
But THANKS anyway.0 -
How are you logging food...do you weigh everything on a digital scale?
How are you estimating your calorie burn during exercise?
Unless your Pilates is 2 hours long, you probably aren't burning 300 calories a session0 -
Your logging is off or you are overestimating your burns.
PCOS and IR have little to do with it.
I also seriously doubt you are burning 300 calories per hour doing pilates. ( I do pilates BTW. As advanced as it gets for an amateur. Love it, awesome strength exercise, works wonders for reshaping body, but does not burn many calories)0 -
My suggestion is to dump the HIIT and instead do 40-45 minutes of LISS (low impact steady state) cardio like walking four times a week, in addition to lifting weights 2-3x/wk. Keep the pilates if you would like, for stretching once a week but don't count on it as a great calorie burner.
I'd probably start at 1650 calories per day, stick with it for four weeks of good solid logging, and then analyze the results.
Been there, done that. LISS doesn't change my weight loss either:( And my Pilates is advance so it's really not to be considered just "stretch" - I burn about 300kcal in a session. And I track EVERYTHING (kcal, carbs, protein, fat, kcal burn through exercise) - I'm no newbie to this.
And ARE you suffering from PCOS, TOO?
But THANKS anyway.
Yes, I have PCOS. I don't consider myself to be suffering from it. Even when I was 50+ pounds heavier and experiencing PCOS-related infertility I didn't consider myself to be suffering.
Good luck.0 -
I do not know what IR is. I do have PCOS, but I have lost steadily using MFP's recommendation. I've gone from 298 to 183 with no issues as long as I log as accurately as possible and track my calories burned with a heart rate monitor.0
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IR is insulin resistance, can be caused by being overweight, or at least overweight around the belly and can be reversed by dropping weight...IR can be a precursor to developing type 2 diabetes (there are other causes including genetics, pregnancy etc)
PCOS can make it more difficult for some people to drop weight, some find it easier to reduce carbs, but many just need to focus on accurate calories
The issue with both IR and PCOS is they can be reasons that it might be more difficult to lose weight but when they start to become excuses it certainly is more difficult
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I think 141 is probably a good weight to maintain at... so collect some data. Start at 1800 kcal and track for at least a month. See if your weight stabilizes after the first couple of weeks (whenever you increase calories or carb intake you can expect the scale to increase due to water weight, so ignore the changes you see at first as they don't give you useful information about your actual calorie needs). If you are gaining at the end of the month you can cut back modestly, if you are losing you can increase your kcals modestly.0
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My suggestion is to dump the HIIT and instead do 40-45 minutes of LISS (low impact steady state) cardio like walking four times a week, in addition to lifting weights 2-3x/wk. Keep the pilates if you would like, for stretching once a week but don't count on it as a great calorie burner.
I'd probably start at 1650 calories per day, stick with it for four weeks of good solid logging, and then analyze the results.
Been there, done that. LISS doesn't change my weight loss either:( And my Pilates is advance so it's really not to be considered just "stretch" - I burn about 300kcal in a session. And I track EVERYTHING (kcal, carbs, protein, fat, kcal burn through exercise) - I'm no newbie to this.
And ARE you suffering from PCOS, TOO?
But THANKS anyway.
Yes, I have PCOS. I don't consider myself to be suffering from it. Even when I was 50+ pounds heavier and experiencing PCOS-related infertility I didn't consider myself to be suffering.
Good luck.
WOW, you're a HERO.0 -
Your logging is off or you are overestimating your burns.
PCOS and IR have little to do with it.
I also seriously doubt you are burning 300 calories per hour doing pilates. ( I do pilates BTW. As advanced as it gets for an amateur. Love it, awesome strength exercise, works wonders for reshaping body, but does not burn many calories)
Define "advance" when it comes to YOU... Maybe you're just not doing it right
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IR is insulin resistance, can be caused by being overweight, or at least overweight around the belly and can be reversed by dropping weight...IR can be a precursor to developing type 2 diabetes (there are other causes including genetics, pregnancy etc)
PCOS can make it more difficult for some people to drop weight, some find it easier to reduce carbs, but many just need to focus on accurate calories
The issue with both IR and PCOS is they can be reasons that it might be more difficult to lose weight but when they start to become excuses it certainly is more difficult
I don't see "PCOS" as my excuse to "gain" but I certainly DO see it as a problem and I WANT to solve it. If you ARE suffering from PCOS and losing weight is not such a problem - GOOD for YOU, you're ONE of FEW. I would LOVE to see if you'd feel that way if you did everything right and still gained.0 -
Is there a REASON you are being extremely SNARKY in all your replies to people that are trying to HELP you?
Just wondering.
You may not realize that is how you are coming across, but I see posters genuinely trying to offer helpful advice, and you aren't being very kind in your responses back to them.0 -
Actually, I changed my mind. My advice is to give up on losing anymore weight. Clearly nothing you do is going to work so why waste your time trying. #YOLO, right?0
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kcn2bluesky wrote: »Is there a REASON you are being extremely SNARKY in all your replies to people that are trying to HELP you?
Just wondering.
You may not realize that is how you are coming across, but I see posters genuinely trying to offer helpful advice, and you aren't being very kind in your responses back to them.
+10 -
She is not being snarky ...she is being frustrated because she truly honestly believes that she is doing everything right and her medical conditions are destroying her efforts
I happen to believe she is mistaken and is not logging properly. I think she isn't accurately logging her food or is overestimating her exercise but more likely it's both
But until she is open to addressing her logging honestly she will continue to have her reasons why it is so difficult
I think that's human nature
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Eh, I think she's snarky and reveling in PCOS victimhood, which is tiring. The random capitalization to add stress looks like sarcasm. She's of an age where she likely grew up communicating online so I don't believe for a minute that there's no snarky undertone.0
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She is not being snarky ...she is being frustrated because she truly honestly believes that she is doing everything right and her medical conditions are destroying her efforts
I happen to believe she is mistaken and is not logging properly. I think she isn't accurately logging her food or is overestimating her exercise but more likely it's both
But until she is open to addressing her logging honestly she will continue to have her reasons why it is so difficult
I think that's human nature
As an impartial viewer who was invited here to share my unbiased opinion on this matter...
...I'm on team snarky*.
Maybe if you dial it back *just a little*, OP, you might find more people willing to try to help you find a solution.
(* and I know snarky having gotten my PhD in it in 1998.)0 -
My suggestion is to dump the HIIT and instead do 40-45 minutes of LISS (low impact steady state) cardio like walking four times a week, in addition to lifting weights 2-3x/wk. Keep the pilates if you would like, for stretching once a week but don't count on it as a great calorie burner.
I'd probably start at 1650 calories per day, stick with it for four weeks of good solid logging, and then analyze the results.
Been there, done that. LISS doesn't change my weight loss either:( And my Pilates is advance so it's really not to be considered just "stretch" - I burn about 300kcal in a session. And I track EVERYTHING (kcal, carbs, protein, fat, kcal burn through exercise) - I'm no newbie to this.
And ARE you suffering from PCOS, TOO?
But THANKS anyway.
I always jump in when people say yoga doesn't burn many calories, but can't speak to Pilates. How are you getting the 300 cal/session burn? If from the database, those burns are considered inflated and many people suggest you just eat 50% of the calories you've earned from them back.
Someone else (I wish I remember who) said burns for her are more accurate when she says she is an inch shorter than she really is and I am trying that at the moment cuz it's easier than always adjusting the burn.0
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