Women with PCOS and BMR

Errrica91
Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
edited November 26 in Health and Weight Loss
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.
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Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    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.
  • Errrica91
    Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    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.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited November 2015
    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 session
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    edited November 2015
    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)
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Errrica91 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    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.
  • mz_getskinny
    mz_getskinny Posts: 258 Member
    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.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited November 2015
    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
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    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.
  • Errrica91
    Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    Errrica91 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    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.
  • Errrica91
    Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
    aggelikik wrote: »
    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 ;)
  • Errrica91
    Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    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.
  • kcn2bluesky
    kcn2bluesky Posts: 187 Member
    edited November 2015
    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.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    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?
  • wrenak
    wrenak Posts: 144 Member
    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.

    +1
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    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
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    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.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    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?

    After reading the replies, I'm going to go with ^this.
  • mz_getskinny
    mz_getskinny Posts: 258 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    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?

    Precisely!!!
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    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.)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Errrica91 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    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.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    Try lower carb. For IR it can help with weight loss, and it certainly helps with the blood sugar problems, which is important to try to avoid IR going to diabetes.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    Is internet aggressiveness a symptom of PCOS? Asking for a friend.
  • Errrica91
    Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
    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.

    I'm not being snarky. As you may know I didn't come here to ask for fitness or diet advice. I ASKED GIRLS AND WOMEN W/ PCOS AND/OR PCOS WHAT THEIR DAILY CALORIC INTAKE IS. Only few ppl answered what was ASKED. The others are just being "smart"... And you didn't answer either sooo...you pretty much just made my point;-)
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    Erica, perhaps you don't understand that these women are trying to help you. Caloric intakes are relative to each person's individual data/stats. Finding out what other women with your condition have for their caloric intake isn't going to help you because they're not necessarily your age, not necessarily your height, and don't necessarily have the exact same activity level you do.

    You can't make direct comparisons to other people here. The only useful data you can have is for yourself.
  • Errrica91
    Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
    Try lower carb. For IR it can help with weight loss, and it certainly helps with the blood sugar problems, which is important to try to avoid IR going to diabetes.

    I ALREADY EAT UNDER 15g of carbs a day but I'll try to lower it even more for a few weeks and see what happens :* THANK YOU <3
    * and how many kcals do you eat a day w/ PCOS and how tall are you? Just wondering o:)
  • Errrica91
    Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
    Is internet aggressiveness a symptom of PCOS? Asking for a friend.

    Ask your friend ;):*
  • Errrica91
    Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Errrica91 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    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.

    Ofc yoga burns calories just depends what kind of yoga you're doing B) I use heart monitor btw:*
  • Errrica91
    Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
    jofjltncb6 wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    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.)

    Aaaand...WHAT ABOUT YOUR OPINION, HMMMMM???
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    edited November 2015
    Errrica91 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Errrica91 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    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.

    Ofc yoga burns calories just depends what kind of yoga you're doing B) I use heart monitor btw:*

    But HRMs are for steady state cardio. Using it for other activities like yoga, aerobics, strength training, etc will end up giving you exaggerated burn.
  • Errrica91
    Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    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?

    AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T ANSWERED THE ONLY QUESTION I WAS ASKING ... I'll give you a hint...it's the one where I'm asking HOW MANY CALORIES DO GIRLS WITH PCOS here CONSUME A DAY.
This discussion has been closed.