PCOS and weight loss

sarahmccracken87 · February 2018

Anyone have any PCOS weight loss success stories? How long did it take to achieve your goal? What dietary changes did you make? How much harder did you have to strive than your peers? I have so many questions after my diagnosis.

LizPalen412 · February 2018

Hi there - sorry you've been thrown into the PCOS club, but there are a lot of us here

I'm not a success story yet, so all I can add is that you are not alone and this doesn't have to rule your life, even though it may feel like that at times. Many women with PCOS find success following a low carb diet, mainly because insulin resistance can accompany PCOS. However, not everyone with PCOS has insulin resistance issues, so low carb is not necessarily the "only" or "magic" diet for PCOS weight loss. I, personally, am doing nothing but counting calories and am so far losing weight just fine. Exercise is important though, and HIIT-type exercise can be especially beneficial to women with PCOS, but any exercise is a good thing. Feel free to add me if you like, and there are also a couple PCOS groups here on MFP if you care to search for them. If you are also on Reddit, there is a great subreddit specifically for PCOS - lots of great women sharing awesome information over there, so I'd recommend checking that out as well. Good luck and you've got this!

joelchmielak1 · February 2018

My wife has it. She’s lost 50 pounds in the last 8 months. Low calorie healthier eating. Going along with my diet geared towards keeping diabetes in check. Whole grains. No pasta. Brown rice. Fruit and veggie centric. Lean meats. 45-60 carbs per meal. 15-30 carbs at snacks. She’s probably around 1500-1800 cals a day.

me0231 · February 2018

I have PCOS. Started my weight loss last April and have dropped 45 pounds so far with just a couple to go to goal weight. It's been slow, but it works just the same for us, although I've found that I have to go lower in calories than what's expected for my height to lose.

When I started I just counted calories and nothing else. Over time I've added formal exercise, trying to be more active during the day, getting my 10k steps in and eventually went low carb. I'm not strictly keto and I don't do pee stix or whatever, but I do feel much, much better with fewer carbs, although they don't need to be ultra low for me to feel the benefits. Plus turns out I really enjoy lifting, so that's a big plus.

If I could give myself advice at the beginning again, I'd say start lifting from day 1 and cut back on the carbs for a couple of weeks and see how you feel. Some pcos women do great on low carbs others don't, but I'd highly recommend to give it a shot and see how you feel.

kabrina30 · February 2018

I also have PCOS and have been told it's "harder" for us to lose weight. But I find when I eat at a deficit and exercise, I lose just fine. I attend weight loss meetings at work weekly which are awesome for accountability and we have to share our weight change for the week ... Except the weeks I knew I hadn't stuck to my plan, I've always been one of the top losers. Down around 40 pounds since October.

So don't let your diagnosis intimidate you. You can still lose weight. It's a process. PCOS may make you more hungry and it can certainly make you have less energy but don't use it as a crutch to say, "i can't lose weight because of my diagnosis." That only leads to more weight gain. I know because I've been there and done that.

One thing that is true about PCOS is that weight loss will lead to less symptoms.

You got this! Use this site, go slow and trust the process.

kq1981 · February 2018

I have pcos. I lost 15kg in 10 months of being on mfp and have maintained for 3. (Back into losing now). Its hard but totally achievable. Log everything on here, weigh your foods and be 100% honest with yourself, dont restrict foods just be cautious. You got this!

ruqayyahsmum · February 2018

I have Pcos, diagnosed 18 years ago at age 18
I'm down 150lb so far and I gained a baby!
I was told I was infertile due to the Pcos which I completely believed but seems the shift in weight helped a lot

I lose slower than my deficit would suggest but I still lose so long as I weigh and count everything and exercise

ama3387 · February 2018

I was diagnosed with pcos in January. I immediately came here to start trying to lose the 100 lbs I have to lose. The doctor put me on metformin because I’m trending towards pre diabetes as well. I’ve been losing some weight hoping as I continue to do so it’ll be easy for me to start exercising more purposely.

sexisurfer88 · February 2018

Recently diagnosed after gaining 70 pounds in under 6 months. Now I need loads of help to lose the weight and the emotional side affects

JessieSpath · February 2018

Hello I was I was recently diagnosed with PCOS after me and me husband decided we would TTC (try to conceive)
I've been struggling for the past 2 years with my weight I'm 5'3 and 236.6 pounds and so I finally saw a endocrinologist today she suggested this app *kitten* well as a couple other things to help and I was hopping to get some good insight on a really good way to start losing weight and recipes for dinners and snacks, breakfasts ect. and just some help in general I was just put on metformin as well and im nervous about all of this my goal weight would be 160 at the most

thanks so much for any help!!

Leannep2201 · February 2018

I also have PCOS, and have struggled with my weight since being a teenager. I don’t have any insulin issues that I know of. I can lose weight if I really put my mind to it, but it’s not something I find particularly easy. I’ve been back on here since the beginning of Jan, and have lost 6.6kg so far. What’s working for me this time is tracking accurately (weighing and measuring EVERYTHING and making sure I use the correct entries, to the best of my knowledge), making sure I get enough protein to help with hunger, and trying to do a little exercise. I also usually try to go slightly under my daily calorie allowance (but I’m set at 1600, so it’s not too low I feel), purely because I want to make sure I lose and I’ve struggled so much with weight loss in the past.

Not saying to do these things, but this is what is working for me so far!
Good luck.

theneweva1 · February 2018

ruqayyahsmum wrote: »

I have Pcos, diagnosed 18 years ago at age 18
I'm down 150lb so far and I gained a baby!
I was told I was infertile due to the Pcos which I completely believed but seems the shift in weight helped a lot

I lose slower than my deficit would suggest but I still lose so long as I weigh and count everything and exercise

Congratulations on the weight lose and having a baby!

theneweva1 · February 2018

I was diagnosed with pcos over 10 years ago and struggling with being overweight since i was a preteen. I've lost weight and then gained some back. I'm trying to lose the weight again and hopefully be able to have a baby.

PCOS and weight loss

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