Is there anyone out there with a positive PCOS story?

I have had PCOS since my young teens, and I have lost over 100 lbs, and gone from a size 24 to a 12. It CAN be done. But unlike the doctors told me, it has not gone away with weight loss. That's ok, though. I know I am living such a healthier lifestyle. I have a lot of the unwanted symptoms and side effects unfortunately. Excess hair, especially on chin/neck; borderline fasting glucose but my A1C is normal; cysts (one found end of June is much bigger than any before, and complex cyst ; and the most dreaded carry my weight in belly typical of PCOS. I've been upped to 1000 mg 2x per day of metformin As of last week. I had taken 2x 500 mg a day for about 2 yrs until now.

The good news??? My doctors finally are trying to HELP me with my side effects. Like the hair, cysts, infertility. They blamed my weight before and said weight loss would make that stuff subside. They never did ultrasounds to look at my cysts...now they finally took it serious enough to check into it. I'm glad they did since they found a very large, solid, complex cyst. They also took my irregularity seriously and upped my metformin, to help in getting me to ovulate. I want to start trying to conceive in the next 2 years and before, when I mentioned my innovulatory cycles, again they would say lose weight. Now, they are offering to try metformin increase as well as adding clomid in the future. It was so frustrating that my weight was always their answer. Despite the fact if developed PCOS when I was young and thin. Now, they listen. That is such a breath of fresh air to me.

As far as how I've done it? Consistency. That is the magic way. We might have a lot working against us with PCOS, but I promise, if you are consistent and work hard, you will get results. Definitely take pics and measure. Bc of my body type, at first it was hard to see my progress in my stomach...especially at my top weight. I'd have to lose 30 lbs to drop a pant size. However, the pics and measuring helped me see the progress. Now, 10-20lbs is a size..but at first it wasn't, lol.

As far a food...be very consistent with your logging. The quality of food definitely played and still plays a part in how much I lose. I can't eat my allotted calories full of refined carbs and sugar and lose..some people can, with PCOS I can't. If I keep my carbs to mostly fruits, veggies, and whole grains I see much bigger losses, as well as feel better. I try and eat higher protein and healthy fats, and less of carbs when eating meals. I don't count fruit or veggies as carbs though in that sense. Lifting weights has been awesome for me. I've done it since I was at my top weight, and am soooo glad I did. I maintained and built a little muscle. My shoulder muscles now show and it's super sexy if you ask me, lol. I love in Zumba how my arms are nicer than the tiny girls. Even my size (pants-waist, butt, etc) is the same or smaller than friends that weigh 20-30 lbs less and are similar height. So, lift weights! It boosts your calorie burn- and you can eat more calories at the same weight as others bc ur muscle will burn more than their fat.

I work out 6 days a week. Sometimes I benefit from throwing in some lower impact stdf like walking. I go all out when I work out most of the time, so I think my body loves me for the lighter days haha. I try to mix it up, keep my body guessing and my mind engaged. I started replacing some days on gym cardio equipment with Zumba and I LOVE it. I burn just as much and more calories, and it is fun! It has really helped in my stomach with building some muscle which helps slim my waist some. I use muscles in Zumba senato that make me sore- when even heavy weight training doesn't even make me sore anymore! (deadlifts, barbell rows, bench press, squats, etc)

Believe me, I have many friends I've met on MFP with PCOS who have found success as well. It's nice to know I'm not alone. I don't really know people in person who have PCOS besides myself. So, I encourage you to find some others you can add on here for support and to trade tips with. Be patient, persevere, and be consistent. You WILL be an example of "Success with PCOS"!