Weight loss with PCOS - can it be done?

Hi all ladies with Polycystic ovaries syndrome who are trying to lose, or have lost weight!

I am 27years old, 5'6" and 182. I am really keen to get down to 150s, I'm quite a curvy girl so expect to ever be 'skinny' so think 150s about right for me.

However, despite regular excersice and eating pretty well, the weight loss is painfully slow, have managed about 3lbs in the last three months.

Are there any success stories or advice out there to inspire me on??

As I'm sure you know, a component of PCOS is insulin resistance and this can make weight loss more of a challenge, but not an impossibility.  Try researching food plans, such as South Beach Diet,  that focus on the glycemic index.  A visit to a Regestered Dietician would also be a wise step. Poke around on this forum and I'm sure you'll come across other threads dealing with PCOS and the posters here often have good advice and offer great support!  Best wishes!

Yes it can!  I am 31 years old and have known I have had PCOS for about 8 or more years now.  I have lost about 80lbs over the past two years with about 50 more to go.

The bad news is that yes,  weight loss with PCOS is slower than it is in other people.  This is the prime reason why I never set myself 'I will drop so many pounds in two weeks' type targets because I will only end up feeling rubbish about myself.

 

The good news is..that we absolutely can lose weight.  It took me years and years of not being able to get past losing the same 20 lbs and then , as mentioned above, I finally took controlling my insulin seriously (I am not diabetic but like many with PCOS I am insulin resistant) and it was only then that the weight started to come off at a good rate.  By good, I mean that I usually lose about a pound or so a week which is safe and steady.

For me, controlling my insulin has meant eating a Low GI sort of lifestyle.  I don't follow a particular diet because I have also learned that if I go on something like the South Beach diet or any 'diet' at all I will follow it for a bit and then gradually go off it.  By simply focusing on making pretty much everything that goes into my mouth Low Gi (slow burn foods that help to control your insulin levels) it has simply become the way that I eat rather than being a diet.

I agree with seeing a dietitian.  That is what I did at first and she has helped me set my daily calorie and fat grams intake.  I am currently (after my 80lbs loss) about 227 pounds and I eat between 1500 and 1800 calories a day and try to eat less than 40grams of fat a day.  I also exercise about 30 minutes a day. 

In all honesty, by following a low GI diet I usually get no where near 40 grams of fat a day but am usually more at 25 and it is all good fats.  I very rarely feel hungry when I am following low gi either.  The best thing for me aside from the weight loss is the when I eat low GI my PCOS symptoms are controlled.  Of course, as I have lost weight they have lessened too.

So, yes you can do it but don't judge yourself against the weight loss of others and particularly those that don't have PCOS.

 

I'd recommend reading a very good book called the 'Low GI Guide to Managing PCOS' by Jennie Brand-Miller.   As the previous poster says... losing weight is slow but not impossible with PCOS and a Low GI Diet (which I've followed personally for the last 4 years) will help both your weight and your symptoms.  Best of luck

I suffer from the same.  I'm "starting" again today.  I am 261.5 lbs. and so tired of all the messy symptoms of having pcos (those of you who have it will know what I mean).  I really really and I mean REALLY want to lose weight and get a handle on this.  I am 35 and have one child and really want another - which pretty much my only shot of doing that is to lose some weight.  I will look into the low glycemic book.  Thanks for the tip!

I was diagnosed with PCOS about three years ago and was put on medication( Metformin). Now 50lbs later almost all symptoms are gone!!just be patient and slowly but surely you'll get there!! I'm still trying to get the hang of the glycemic index i'm def going to look into getting that book Gi Jane Thanks!!Good luck and keep us posted!!

I am on metformin too and have been for a number of years now.  Nearly every member of my family on both sides is diabetic and my doctor appears to think that the combo of metformin and my weight loss through an insulin controlled diet has kept me at just insulin resistant rather than full blown Type 2.  Who knows if she is right but it can't hurt.

I, too, have PCOS and take Loestrin 1/20 Fe.  I'd been gaining steadily since age 6.  By sixth grade, I weighed 190.  I tried every diet and had short-term success from time to time.  I peaked at 305 last summer at 35 years of age and that was my turning point.  I knew if I didn't change my life I would doom myself to a very poor quality of life as I got older.  I joined WW last September and lost 15 lbs in ten weeks and then went on my own.  I discovered CC in December and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!  I have now lost a total of 84 lbs and feel so much better.  I am not done losing, but I will tell you what has helped - I will only speak for myself and what has worked for me:

1. Calorie intake based on CC's tools.

2. I aim for about 50% carbs, 25% fat, 25% protein in my daily analysis.

3. Minimizing refined carb intake - they make my losses much slower.

4. Aiming for a minimum of 35 g fiber daily.

5. I don't ban ANY food - but if it's not fruits/veggies, I measure or weigh my portions.  I love pita chips and eat them almost every day, but I weigh out ONE serving and that's all I get!  At the points I lost the most, it's because I logged and analyzed my meals the night before, packed all my food (snacks and lunch) for the day in a big purple lunchbag, and didn't eat anything that wasn't on my food log.  I didn't need to stray b/c I had all my food with me already!

I've been taking WAAAAAAY too many free days and free meals lately, but when I reached 80 lbs lost in June, I decided to maintain for awhile and am okay with slow/no losses.  Best wishes to you - it takes commitment, but once you find what works for YOU, it becomes your new lifestyle!  We can do it!!!!!  

Hi all!

Thank you so much for your feedback - I can't tell you how encouraging it is to hear your success stories, especially after going to see my GP yesterday and her kind of saying it's 'tough luck' if you're trying to lose weight and have PCOS.

GI Jane - have just ordered that GI book - so thank you for telling me about it.

Also ladies , thanks for the tip about the dietician - I will look into this too.

I'll keep you posted with how I get on.

Good luck everyone and thanks for making me feel much more positive.

 

 

Hi everyone.  I was also diagnosed with PCOS last week and have a resistance to insulin.  I was feeling really down, but with all the above advice and stories I am feeling better.  Going to amazon now to find the GI book.  Thanks and good luck to everyone

Hi all!

Thank you for the tip about the GI book, have read it from cover to cover - and was shocked to see many of the things I've been eating that I thought were good for me actually aren't - esp bran flakes, microwave porridge and parsnips (which I love).

Am going to give this a really good go, it was great to see that they suggest alternatives to the thing you shouldnt really have - i,e, sweet potato instead of normal white potato.

 

Hope to get back to you soon with some weight loss update!

How is everyone else doing?

 

It also isn't that you can't have something like parsnips at all (which *are* good for you in other ways but just are high gi) but that you need to have them less often and balance them out with other low gi stuff.

It is amazing to me how quickly I simply adapted to making sure the bulk of the foods in my diet were low gi.  I think you just quickly get used to enjoying the feeling of being full most of the time.

 

 

Hi Sarah_jayne - you're so right - last two days i've been waiting for my 2.30/3pm snack cravings to kick in - which is when I usually make for the office biscuit tin - or worse the chocolate machine! But today I resisted a fabulous chocolate cake! I am very proud of this as i'd usually end up just going for it!!

Fingers crossed it will last!

 

newlook08! Don't get discouraged! Weight loss is possible just really really slow... I've been having problems with PCOS since I was 16! Its never fun and its always a challenge.  I weighed 240lbs at 14 and no one could figure out why, so finally I started cutting calories (using calorie count.com) and then I started exercising.  I dropped 85lbs in about two years.  Then just six months ago I started to gain again.  This time I put on 24lbs of fat in that time, while training for a marathon.  Physically it has been a great challenge, but the true challenge is mentally, because you have to be able to stay on track all the time.  I haven't taken metaformin in the past, but I have to start now.  Weight loss can be accomplished without the aid of prescriptions but its very hard as you get older.  Have hope that you can change your lifestyle and keep it that way.  There are always ladies out there who feel the same frustrations you do!

Swooniegirl,

thanks for your feedback. wow- 85lbs in 2 years is amazing!

I really hope I can get there. Two weeks in an not much happening yet, although am feeling fuller for longer on GI, just got to knock the drink on the head (wine is my weakness) and then hopefully the time spent at the gym with start to pay off.

Good luck - please let us know how you're getting on.

 

Hi all!

Hows it all going?

Any weight losses?

Am still around the same but have increased my gyming inthe last couple fo weeks so am hoping to see some results soon!