Please tell me how to lose two stone (PCOS)

[Crayay]

Just that really. At my wits end. Get so much conflicting advice. A friend told me I have to cut out all highly carby food. I saw online to cut dairy but A2 dairy is less inflammatory so that’s fine. I’ve always been of the opinion that cutting out entire food groups is extreme.

It’s not a ridiculous amount to lose. But I am just at a complete loss. Lost next to nothing despite trying to

Any advice would be immensely appreciated.

Size 12/14 5 foot 7 here. Don’t have PCOS though. I’m doing 1200 a day (when I’m disciplined) and it’s still taking time. 1800 is probably too much. Try 1500 if you can. Get lots of protein, that’s been my saving grace as it definitely fills you up for longer. I wouldn’t focus on your pre-kids size. I’ve realised that my body shape has changed and my metabolism has slowed as I’ve aged and I’m never realistically going to be a size 8 again unless I seriously restrict forever.

I also have PCOS. Literally nothing works for me unless I’m in keto basically. Even mounjaro doesn’t work unless I’m basically on no carbs.

I try to make the keto as luxurious as possible when I am doing it so I eat lots of cream, cheese, nuts etc. as well as steak and chicken and masses of green veg.

If I combine it with intermittent fasting 16:8 I have good consistent results but my body doesn’t like to shed weight. I lost 4 stone on MJ in a year and many here will tell you how they have lost twice that in the same time.

PCOS is all about insulin resistance and lines to T2D so it’s helpful to look at methods that help reduce insulin resistance. The Fasting Method podcast was great.

Also you don’t need to count calories if you are strict - I lived on streaky bacon, avocados and eggs and was full up very fast.

Ahh might be a good idea then.

Also probably a good idea in general to not eat unless you're actually hungry.

O and I'm 50 so it's bollocks your metabolism slows with age. You just need muscle. If i can lose a 1 stone in 6 weeks at 10st 3 start weight then anyone can.

Working out with weights.
I have PMOS and endo, and it's the only thing that works. Slow progress on the belly, but I do change quicker elsewhere on my body

so much amazing advice. Thank you all! I have been told off by friends and colleagues for not eating enough but that just seems to be the way to go for pcos. Husband thought 1500 was ludicrous.

Don’t drop any food groups, carbs and dairy are fine

Calculate your calorie target on the James smith academy free calculator. Eat within your calorie deficit, prioritising protein and fruit and veg, but eat everything, even the odd treat

Get your steps up if you need to and weight training will help: get a couple of pt sessions to get you started if you can

The Fitness Chef, Jordan Syatt and Ben Carpenter are all worth following for proper sensible advice, no fads or cutting out “bad” foods or other nonsense

Try the slow-release version, take it in the evening, sukkarto x

I will look into this. Thank you for the suggestion.

Unfortunately people bang on about "starvation mode" and "you need to eat more" when people aren't losing weight but it's been debunked and people think 1200 calories is ludicrous but it's shocking how little food we actually need to live. We've just got used to eating as much as we want so it seems like not enough.

As above, keto best for pcos, my fitness pal will work out your macros etc, if you eat meat and like dairy your laughing, take the time to understand it properly. Nothing processed, you can eat root veg is small amounts. I have pcos and lost weight whilst following diet, also help with inflammation

I don't have any answers except to say that I have PCOS and the standard weight loss advice doesn't seem to work for those of us with the condition. I went into calorie deficit every day one summer for about 8 weeks (1,200 calories a day), along with increasing exercise, and the calories I did consume were from healthy whole foods, but after the end of the 8 weeks I hadn't lost any weight or reduced my waist measurement (I think at the end of it I had actually gained a pound). It made me feel like utter shit, I was exhausted, and I couldn't understand how my body was essentially defying the laws of physics.

About a year later, having only gained weight, I ended up drastically reducing my calories to the point I was feeling painful hunger pangs daily (I went down to 900 calories a day). After about 3 weeks of that my weight dropped by about 3 pounds, but I don't recommend it because it was neither sustainable or good for my health and returned back to baseline very quickly.

I'm now back to being overweight and just accept that there's nothing I can do.

If you find that you are doing everything right, following all the advice and it still isn't working, you aren't going mad, PCOS is just a weird condition. Non-PCOS people will never truly understand, though from my experience a lot of them will not believe you and think you must be lying about your diet because they know from their experience that the same diet would cause them to lose weight, and all bodies are the same, right?

For PCOS the best thing is insulin control and with friends and family the best way to do this has been low carb or keto.
You could also combine this with intermittent fasting eating in a 16:8 pattern which once you are in ketosis, will make this easier. So I would say spend a week eating in a keto way and once in ketosis, eat in an 8 hour eating window. Combining those should be enough.

I have a couple friends who have struggled for years and using wegovy has made a huge difference, so might be worth considering this too as its really helpful with PCOS

I have PCOS and have just lost 2 stone over 5 months (1 more to lose). Just calorie counting & eating whatever food I want but just in smaller quantities (I find if I cut out the things I love I can't stick to it). I just use the Nutracheck app, and previously lost 3.5 stone on it after my second child. My job is quite active as well, so I always walk between 10,000 & 15,000 steps a day. I'm planning to carry on using the app on the maintenance program once I've lost all the weight again, so it doesn't creep back on again.

I'm PCOS and I agree I only noticed weight loss when my calorie intake is closer to 1300.

I make it easier for myself by sticking to the same foods and have lots of protein and veg:

• fage yoghurt or fage yoghurt and berry smoothie with a small amount of milk if I'm bored of the yoghurt
• omlette for lunch
• half portion of the family main for dinner and half plate salad or veges

Snacks: apple, oat cake and cheese, berries and a small amount of nuts

Intermittent fasting was disastrous for me - I lost no weight and became a real grump as my blood sugar was all over the place

PCOS responds best to a lower carb diet. Which means LOW and not NO!

So you should be eating plenty of salad and vegetables and (some) fruit. Avoid bread/flour/pastry/potatoes/pasta and rice. Even brown versions.

I have pcos. Metformun helps. You can get the slow release version to help with side effects. Mediterranean diet is great. Used mfp to count carbs. Lowering my carbs to maybe 100 a day works for me. Lose it slowly to avoid gallstones developing and to avoid your liver storing fat. Resistence training and any kind of moving - walking, swimming, whatever you enjoy. I have tried all sorts of diets over the years and the above is what works for me. Also i take vitamin supplements vit d, vit b12 (because on metformin you cant absorb it so easily) and some others. Just also to say i found lowering my calories drastically wasnt sustainable for me and prob not v healthy either. Aim for eating like this 80% of the time dont think you have to be perfect all the time. Good luck 💐 also there is a pcos charity called verity and a facebook group for support which is good xx