How to lose weight with PCOS??

I have PCOS (severe enough to warrant a cystectomy and removal of left ovary and fallopian tube about 15 years ago. Mild hirsutism. No periods at all. I'd maybe have 2 days of light spotting once every 14-16 months). I assume I'm now post-menopausal (age 56), but having never had periods it's difficult to tell. My last spotting was 26 months ago, so I assume it's pretty safe to say I'm post-menopausal. I have high insulin resistance and am borderline pre-diabetic. I've never taken Metformin.

I've never had any difficulty in losing weight.

I've found that if I run a calorie deficit by being mildly active (e.g. walking for a couple of miles a day) and following a balanced diet with plenty of fibre, good fats, complex carbs and the recommended amount of protein for my body weight I can consistently lose 1.5 - 2lbs a week.

E.g. in 2013 I lost 78lbs in 50 weeks to reach my goal weight of 132lbs (1.5lbs a week average for a whole year).

Since getting back on the wagon 12 weeks ago I've lost 24lbs (still have 56lbs to go, but it's a good start).

I've never done anything 'faddy' to lose weight. Just plugged away with a healthy diet. I focus on limiting sugar more than fats and carbs, even naturally occuring ones such as fructose, because of the insulin resistance, and I gravitate to unprocessed, natural whole foods because I think they're better for me than heavily processed ones, but other than it's essentially CICO (calories in/calories out).

In my own personal experience, PCOS has not prevented weight loss. If I was stranded in the middle of the Sahara desert next to a water hole I'd be just as skinny when I was rescued after six months as someone without PCOS and insulin resistance. If you consistently run a calorie deficit you WILL lose weight. PCOS or no PCOS.

Keeping the weight off is a different matter entirely, but that's a topic for a different post!

In my experience, losing weight reduces PCOS symptoms if you're obese. If you're obese with PCOS you should definitely try to lose weight if you're hoping to get pregnant.

Magic_Chicken wrote: »

Ladies with PCOS, what has worked for you??

I have been eating at a defecit and regularly exercising but the weight just doesn't want to shift. My Doc has now put me on a low does of Metformin for last 3 months but it hasn't made any difference to the scales either. I'm now waiting for a dietian referal.

I have read a lot about cutting out gluten for pcos, anyone had any succuess with this? Or what else have you tried that worked?

I took a look at your diary and noticed two things:
1. You mostly don't log your food.
2. On June 4, while you did have some foods in weights, others were in "slice," "small," etc.

Step 1 regardless of any medical condition is to tighten up your logging - log everything in weights and log every day. Try that for a month and report back

With PCOS, many women burn significantly less than average for their height, weight, and age. One study I checked suggested that if the average woman maintains at 1850, the average woman with PCOS with the same stats otherwise will maintain at 1450. You will lose at a deficit but it is obviously harder to create a deficit with a slower metabolism. It is still about calories. You will lose if you eat less and burn more calories with exercise although this is harder because creating the deficit is harder. The good news is that once you do lose weight, you may reverse your PCOS!