PCOS

I also have pcos and it's been horrible. I have had two miscariages and a failed IVF attempt. Have you tried giving up starches. I for the most part don't eat starches and watch the sugar. You really should follow a diabetic diet. For me that is the lifestyle change I have made. I also work out at least five times a week. I have lost 15 pounds since the first of this month.

Do you see a nutritionist? He/She may be able to advise you on foods you can have Best wishes!!

Approximately 1 of 10 women have PCOS.
wow there are a lot of posts on this. But the many that I actually read through, none of them mentioned high testosterone (facial hair comes from this). I'm still doing a lot of research and I'm about 2 months into trying to lose weight. I started at 200 and right now I'm at 183. What I've done so far is try to eat as close to 1200 calories as possible without going under and getting a minimum of 4 days a week working out (At least one hour cardio). I don't eat the calories earned from exercise. With my latest research I found that weight training increases testosterone. So we with PCOS should mainly focus on aerobic and cardio exercises. Also more stress reducing exercises like yoga and pilates (you can still gain muscle from these). There are also certain foods and herbs that raise or lower testosterone or estrogen. I was eating a lot of broccolli, until I found out it raises testosterone. I have also read a book dedicated to PCOS, it really didn't help me any. All I really got from it was eat less, eat healthier, and get more exercise. By counting calories alone I've lost almost as much in 2 months as I did in 6 months working with a trainer at LA Fitness (not counting calories but eating healthier).
Also something to keep in mind. You typically lose a lot in your first week of eating healthier (water weight). What to go by is what you lose after that each week. The number of pounds per week that is considered healthy depends somewhat on your BMI.
I just heard about the HCG diet. It's a hormone that helps you shed fat faster. The hard part is that while you're taking it you should only have 500 calories a day (not much...). I still haven't figured out if you should or should not exercise with this diet or if exercising affects calories you should take in. But thought I would mention it because it has (supposedly) been known to regulate menstrual cycles (A problem for people with PCOS).

Bumping to read and reply later.

Hey, just curious. Does anybody here not get their periods at all??

This is an awesome inspiration as I will be getting married this year and will be TTC right away. Thanks for sharing your story.

Welcome! There areloads of PCOS girls hete on MFP and we have a group. Feel free to add me, i'm a long tem sufferer but am losing consistently

I just heard about the HCG diet. It's a hormone that helps you shed fat faster. The hard part is that while you're taking it you should only have 500 calories a day (not much...). I still haven't figured out if you should or should not exercise with this diet or if exercising affects calories you should take in. But thought I would mention it because it has (supposedly) been known to regulate menstrual cycles (A problem for people with PCOS).

This is not an HCG friendly site... But you willfind supporting groups for it if you search. Pregnant pee is not for me, especially when a co sistently low carb, low cal diet with exercise and balancing supplements make a world of difference. Because lets face it, whether you're ingesting pregnant pee or not, any 500 calorie diet is (a) not going to be balanced, and (b) going to be effe tive shoprt term, but screw your bdy in the long run.

Can I have an invite too??? Thanks...PCOS and thyroid disease. Sucks

I have pcos and diabetes both back in 2009, i attribute to some weight gain especially my midsection carries practically all my extra weight, the rest of my body is pretty normal, people think i just eat all day like a crazy person, and i never have. past year ive had soo many problems with the pcos. i have menragia (yeh spelled wrong likely) excessive extreme menstrual bleeding yet i dont always have them for long periods in between , i had to go to the e.r. aug"11 i had 3 blood clots that caused me extreme pain for a week before i decided to go because no type of heavy med was helping - the clots were lodged in there. i was trying to find an endocrinologist because my obgyn started becoming to seem less concerned because i have to pay out of pocket, at if because i no longer have health insurance meant i dont care about my health - he sure didnt mind the money i was shelling out goin to hime 3 or 4 times with in 2 months. so..presently i tough it out unfortunately, but no period since sept "11 when i completed the 30day rx the hospital gave me.

im eating better and drinking water and going to start exercising more and see if i can get my weight down to see if it help, as ive been told. ive been using the app for about a week at least 7 days and ive lost 4lbs. ive been drinking only water with lemon slices, besides juice or milk with whatever meal, but no sodas period.

ive been reading about diets and things but im not sure about them. im gona try to do it the simple way "watch what you eat and exercise" i guess.

if this group is private id like an invite.