I have PCOS and this is my third round to lose weight - maybe fourth actually - in the last 20 years. I have found that this woe works better for me than any other although I lost on strict CICO also (Weight Watchers) so my body is pretty good at losing weight. I've now stuck to it for a year and lost 70 lbs. I'm still about 10-20 above where I think I should probably be but periods are normal (for a 46 year old) and weight loss has slowed down a lot.

I do think this is the best woe for PCOS - or at least it has been for me.

I exercise some, but not a lot and I don't see exercise as critical to weight loss and it actually led to my recent plateau. I struggle with being a perfectionist so I gave myself a pass on working out but not diet...how I eat is "sacred space" for me that no one and nothing gets to touch. I think going back to basics is an excellent idea...and commit to that one thing and don't worry about anything else. Life is complicated enough!

I also have PCOS, with insulin resistance, as well as hypothyroid. Weight loss has always been extremely difficult for me; the only times I've lost are when a) I was working so much I literally didn't have time to eat, and b) immediately after giving birth, when I was breastfeeding. I just started on a LCHF way of eating recently, and I have to say that while the pounds haven't started melting off yet, I feel full much more easily and am really enjoying the meals I make. I was always a carbaholic--the idea of going low-carb was overwhelming and a total turnoff.

Starting this WOE, however, I'm able to indulge in things I really enjoy (meat, cheese, avocado) and feel like I'm doing something good for my body. And best of all--I DON'T MISS CARBS AT ALL. I never in a million years thought I'd go for almost two weeks without bread, grains, rice, pasta, and not miss them in the slightest. I'm still working on getting my macros right and will continue to play with it until I see weight loss, but I feel like I'm at least on the right track.

Feel free to friend me, even though I'm also new on this journey of eating LCHF. So far I feel much better on it than I've felt in any other way of eating, to the point where I think my metformin may no longer be needed in the near future. Hopefully it also pays off in weight loss soon. Best of luck to you and all of us Cysters.

My life has been such an up and down! I have PCOS, but I'm sure that isn't the main cause of all the weight I've gained and lost throughout the years. First major weight spike was in my early 20's when I was going through multiple rounds of back surgeries. Got my weight back down going low carb, and major increase in activity (20 mile bike rides, etc).

Got married, back went out yet again, weight went up in the most serious fashion. I was closing in on 400 pounds. Started Jenny Craig (major expense), but when my marriage fell apart, I couldn't afford it any more. So I switched back to low carb. Got back down to a weight that was around my first major 'holy crap I can't believe I weigh this much' and then got into another relationship.

Maintained for a long time, but between stress, grad school, a blown knee and other things, combined with a hubby that doesn't (correction, didn't) believe that low carb was any kind of necessity for me to lose weight and would try to push treats on me when I tried to lose weight in the past few years, I've had that creep again. Got almost all the way back up to that pre Jenny Craig 'holy crap wtf am I doing to myself' weight.

Then we decided we wanted a family. Did all the testing and the doctor told me we were going to have to do IVF if we wanted to do this. Then point blank told me I had to get down below a specific BMI before we could even start. So. I'm back on low carb since March.

I've always done Atkin's in the past, and would get through the first couple weeks, fantastic. Then as I read through the website, and his damn ladders, I would get lost in carb creep and the next thing I knew... well I just wasn't low carb anymore. So this time I'm not playing that game. I'm sticking to meat, low carb veggies, high fat dairy (cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, eggs). I'm not adding in sweet potatoes or beans, or plain greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or even hummus like I have in the past. And a very few nuts/seeds here and there. Very few.

Because of headache issues, I'm now carefully watching my nitrite and sugar alcohol intake, thanks to all the lovely people in this group who were able to provide input and convince me I didn't need to add carbs back in to mitigate the problem.

Other items. I do drink alcohol. Dry wines, light beer (miller lite), or straight liquor. I don't really exercise yet. See above reference to blown knee. I had surgery and my knee doesn't respond favorably to lots of activity. Once I lose about 30 more pounds, I'm hoping the reduced pressure on my knee will make a big difference in what I can do, so I can up my activity.

Best of luck in starting out again. It's pretty common to come back to this again and again. I'm hoping that this is the time that sticks for me, and hopefully for you too!

I have PCOS. This WOE really helps A LOT with fertility issues tied to PCOS. Without sugar, the cysts cannot grow, so without sugar they either reduce a bit or go away altogether. There's studies that show this can apply to cancer as well but I'll leave the more serious subjects to the experts.

I've been pregnant twice and both happened when I severely reduced my sugar intake and ate a healthier diet of mostly veggies, protein and healthy fats.

My TOP tip for ladies struggling is to make sure you have snacks on hand. I have two buckets of Breyers carb smart low carb ice cream in my freezer, sugar free hot fudge topping (smuckers) and 5 bars of 90% dark chocolate (Lindt) stashed away for snacks. Blue diamond makes a lot of different flavors of almonds, habanero BBQ and smokehouse are my favorites. I also like Quest bars, they are yummy and help me hit my macros. Of course you can have celery or broccoli for snacking as well.

I need to have all of these because when hubby has ice cream for example, it's torture thinking I can't have any myself. Having someone sit there eating your favorite food in front of you when you're on a diet is the worst feeling. If he's eating chips I eat parsnip chips. If he's having ice cream cake I make myself a low carb sundae with the sugar free hot fudge and some low carb whipped topping. It's important that you have snacks available for when these times hit!

Sarahb29 wrote: »

My TOP tip for ladies struggling is to make sure you have snacks on hand...It's important that you have snacks available for when these times hit!

Yes! Ditto to this. I think I was able to stay on track because of snacks. I've outlined a few of my favorite "snack replacements" below, since you had specifically asked about foods. Mine might look a little different than others, because I have intolerances/allergies to most artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes, with the exception of stevia....So I can't do most of the "no sugar added" or "sugar free" pre-made products.

Snack suggestions:

• Nuts! Different varieties. It's amazing once you start eliminating carbs/sugar from your diet how naturally sweet some nuts begin to taste (i.e. macadamias or cashews). Best prices I have found to date are at club stores like Costco or Sam's Club (if you don't have a membership, see if you can arrange a quarterly "shopping date" with a friend/relative...that's what I did before I got my own membership. Keep small baggies in your purse/bag for when cravings arise.
• Cheese crisps instead of chips. You can buy pre-made ones (i.e. Whisps brand Parmesan cheese chips), or bake them yourself. Love them.
• I make "cream shakes" instead of having ice cream. Basically I blend ice with heavy cream + some water (or low carb milk substitute), adding cocoa powder or unsweetened peanut butter, or a small handful berries...whatever sounds good that night. Again, once your palate adjusts to lower sugar, you'll start noticing the natural sweetness in "unsweet" items. But you could totally add artificial sweetener to taste for these. Drink them with a straw or eat them with a spoon...I didn't miss ice cream.
• Ditto the Lindt 90% dark chocolate bars. Best thing for PMS, ever. lol. If a really bad day, smear a little unsweetened peanut or almond butter on a square. Ah-mazing.
• Meat sticks or beef jerky. But watch the carbs in store-bought beef jerky, some can be really high.
• String Cheese. Low carb, & if you take a LOT of time to slowly pull it into tiny strings, you might be surprised at how filling 1 cheese stick can be by the time you are done.
• Deli Meat + cheese + mayo rolled up in iceburg lettuce. I can't wait until I can eat cold deli meat again...this was a regular thing for me & I loved it.
• Pepperoni or salami crisps: Buy sliced pepperoni or salami, pan fry until crisp. Delicious crispy snack that really fills a salt craving. Stays crispy even in the fridge.
• Caramelized bacon (we call these "meat treats" in our house...lol). Cut thick-cut bacon into 2-3" pieces. Bake in the oven, turning occasionally until done, right at the end, brush the tops with a TINY bit of real maple syrup & put under the low broiler for a second until the sugar caramelizes. Sweet, salty, greasy heaven...

I can keep going if you want