PCOS and weight loss

I wouldn't worry about the time it takes to lose weight. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

If I'm not gaining weight, that's a win.

If I'm losing weight, that's 2 wins.

I too have PCOS when I was younger I lost 70 lbs with diet and exercise but unfortunately I let a knee injury keep me from being active and within the last 3 years I've gained 50 of it back. I let myself become lazy and a bit depressed but I'm now fighting it back off. It can be done but there is no short cut. Good luck. Feel free to add me.

I've only been recently diagnosed with PCOS but have struggled with it and the symptoms of it my entire life. I was very overweight for as long as I can remember, as early as middle school. I finally found the motivation/dedication to make a change about 4 years ago. Within roughly 10-12months I lost a total of 75 pounds by joining weight watchers (to track what I was eating) and working out 6 days a week. The weight came off super fast, I was consistently losing 2-3 pounds a week. This I believe happened because I was super strict about what I was eating and making sure I worked out 6 days a week. My work outs consisted of mainly cardio, running on the treadmill or using the elliptical. I was also a college student living on my own (8 hours from my family) so I controlled any food that I bought/had around my room. I also had a very active job, on my feet walking for the entire shift. That definitely helped.
Fast forward to 2 years ago when my lifestyle changed a lot (graduated from school, left the really active job for a very much sedentary job) I gained about 15 pounds within the year and have maintained at that 15 pound gain.
Fast forward to now and I am trying to get that final 15 back off. Within the 2 years I've managed to go down, but then back up always plateauing at the 15pounds gained point. But I finally put my foot down and joined MFP to track my food and have actively gotten back into working out. I now make sure I do cardio 5 days out of the week and cross training the other two. I've lost about 7 pounds and have about 8 pounds left to get back to my "happy" weight.
It's definitely coming off more slowly than it did 4 years ago, I have been losing around 1lb a week. It can be a bit discouraging when I remember seeing those 3lb weight losses and not understanding why it's taking longer now. But I've come to accept that things are very different now than they were 4 years ago, so I am happy that I am just finally getting back control over my body.
As far as the stomach issues, I have the same problem. My stomach (and thighs too) is my main trouble area. It definitely doesn't come off that area in ways that I want it to. Don't get my wrong, my stomach is smaller than it ever was 4 years ago, but I definitely have awkward pudge around the belly button that actually causes my belly button to almost get lost in the pudge. My two younger sisters have both always been super skinny and they have that "typical flat stomach" and I've always been jealous of it. I've come to accept the fact that I will most likely never see a naturally flat stomach.

I'm down 19lbs in a little over 3 months. I have never really been overweight as I have lean PCOS, but I put a little too much weight on with my son and kept it on for more than a year. I had another miscarriage (two before my son in 2013 and one in early October of last year), and it made me want to change. So I decided to get healthy and part of that meant getting back in shape and losing the 15lbs of baby weight I was hanging on to.

I eat about 30% carbs, 35% protein and 35% fat. It varies from day to day but it's pretty close to that.

I try to eat whole grains and veggies for carbs, and a little bit of fruit. And I always part carbs with protein so they don't raise my blood sugar so much.

On the day of my miscarriage I was 130lbs. I'm 110.8lbs today. Going to stop losing once I get around 107 to 108lbs...then switch to maintenence and probably put back a couple pounds from getting back my stored glycogen....and hopefully be around 110lbs when I concieve the next one.

I have pcos as well... I'm wondering what calorie range others go for. Mfp suggests 2620 for me but I do not lose weight at that... Even 2000 seems like too much. The scale does not move

diwijo13 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I knew that it would take me longer; it just seemed to take too long. Lol 20 lbs in 11 or so months was crazy (after 10 lbs the first month). I was even lifting weights. I'm in it for the long run now. I just want to make sure that I'm doing everything I can. I bought a scale last time but it wasn't digital. So to Walmart I go today to get me one. Is anyone taking metformin or any other type of PCOS medication? If so, did it help? Thanks again.

My girlfriend with PCOS had good success with metformin and eating low carb. She loves her endocrinologist.

The suggestions from MFP are all based on the average person. So there are no adjustments for your medical condition. You need to identify what your baseline TDEE is (what you would normally spend in calories throughout the day or week) and subtract an adequate number of calories to be in deficit to lose weight. From the forums I've heard that women with PCOS will need less calories than an average healthy woman without PCOS. So if 2000 calories is what MFP allowed (without adjustments), then you should shoot for lower than that and figure this number is your maintenance number (at the best case and hope you don't gain on that number). Everyone is different and will expend more or less energy. Please carefully consider these things. You definitely don't want to starve, but try a little of each of the methods. Low carb (so you feel fuller on less calories), exercise a little, and keep strict track of your calories. You should be able to lose the weight. Metformin is one way to go, but it is a crutch that you will have to keep taking if you don't change the other factors in your life.

@jessicaloves7

Metformin helps balance other hormones than just the insulin, so I don't think it's a crutch even if you do lose weight (when needed), go low carb and exercise. One of the worst effects of PCOS is male-pattern facial hair problems (not to mention infertility), so I wish I'd taken the metformin way, way back when it was first suggested to me. It does help balance the androgens (although I also need Prometrium to further cut down the extra estrogen from PCOS).

For me, that's also aside from the fact that it might have prevented my worsening IR problem I did not have to lose weight (was quite skinny for most of those early years) and my yearly fasting blood glucose didn't show diabetes, so I did not take the metformin back then. Now I definitely do --after the facial hair growth and hyperglycemia, dammit. I never tried to have kids.

The side effects of Metformin go much, much better if you wean on slowly and take the met with food. Mine does great now. I dropped weight really quickly for no reason for a few months when I first started, too, so that was pretty cool since I was trying to lose the last few lbs of a 30-lb weight gain.

ETA: Oh, and Metformin made a change in how I finally lost my lower tummy pooch! I never, ever lose this certain amount of pooch, yet I did last year after getting on Metformin and losing those last lbs. I've been at this weight before, often, and the composition was different. The only problem was that I have a teeny bit of loose skin at the bottom because I've had that little pooch since puberty, lol. It's not many inches at all, but I swear I did nothing different except for met and lower carbs (for the hyperglycemia I now have).

I have PCOS as well as 4 other metabolic diseases.

I eat a lower-carb diet (75G/day seems to be my sweet spot...100G/day is my upper limit for maintenance) and I exercise a lot--generally 90-120 minutes/day, generally 6 days/week. About half of my exercise is low-intensity (walking) and the rest is higher intensity. I tend to alternate high- and low-impact exercises so that I don't need to take many rest days.

I've not kept track of speed of weight loss, but I have been able to lose 90 pounds and maintain it. I would like to lose 20 more pounds, but serious medical issues mean that it might not be physically possible for me.

It's going to take you longer than a healthy person and it will be more difficult. Do it anyhow. You can make a HUGE difference in your A1C and that translates to a lifetime of improved health and feeling better. It is worth it.

diwijo13 wrote: »

cafeaulait7 wrote: »

One of the worst effects of PCOS is male-pattern facial hair problems (not to mention infertility), so I wish I'd taken the metformin way, way back when it was first suggested to me. It does help balance the androgens (although I also need Prometrium to further cut down the extra estrogen from PCOS).

For me, that's also aside from the fact that it might have prevented my worsening IR problem I did not have to lose weight (was quite skinny for most of those early years) and my yearly fasting blood glucose didn't show diabetes, so I did not take the metformin back then. Now I definitely do --after the facial hair growth and hyperglycemia, dammit. I never tried to have kids.

The side effects of Metformin go much, much better if you wean on slowly and take the met with food. Mine does great now. I dropped weight really quickly for no reason for a few months when I first started, too, so that was pretty cool since I was trying to lose the last few lbs of a 30-lb weight gain.

ETA: Oh, and Metformin made a change in how I finally lost my lower tummy pooch! I never, ever lose this certain amount of pooch, yet I did last year after getting on Metformin and losing those last lbs. I've been at this weight before, often, and the composition was different. The only problem was that I have a teeny bit of loose skin at the bottom because I've had that little pooch since puberty, lol. It's not many inches at all, but I swear I did nothing different except for met and lower carbs (for the hyperglycemia I now have).

Yes! The facial hair. I hate it! I've taken spirolactone (sp) to help with that, but it takes a while to work and once you stop taking it the hair just comes back. I've even thought about laser treatments but heard that it's not guaranteed for people with PCOS and that the hair can just come back.

I've never heard of Prometrium. I'll have to look into that. And I too was very skinny when I was young. Oh how I wish I could get back to those days. Lol

My next step is to go back to my endocrinologist for the metformin. I hear that the XR pills lessen the side effects.

I started laser treatment about a year ago and it has definitely improved the hair situation for me; however, mine was not super extreme to begin with.. it was mostly my chin area. I still have a few strays that grow back in every now and then but they're not thick and dark like they used to be.