PCOS and weight loss stories please

[Elakiya]

Hi,

If you have PCOS can you please tell me about your weight loss journey and the diet that you followed.

I am just so confused by all the information I read, some people say PCOS is no different just eat at a calorie deficit and you'll lose weight and the weight loss will control the symptoms. Others say go vegan?

No dairy
No meat
No carbs
900 calorie diets
Intermittent fasting

I've read everything and I am just entirely lost. I'm really struggling to shift the weight this time. Last time I managed to shift it with intermittent fasting but found that eating 8-4 was not something I could maintain when I started working in central London.

Any advice on supplements and diets would really be appreciated.

No advice from me OP, except that I am in the same boat and at a loss of where to start. Got 30kg to lose, which seems insurmountable.

For me, it was a mixture of taking metformin and going low carb as much as possible - and cutting out sugar left, right and centre. The main issue with PCOS is insulin resistance, and so that’s why low carb is often recommended. It worked for me and I felt so much better but it was hard work! PCOS is a shitter in that regard

😩😩
I love carbs so much.. I find it really hard to be low carb, just never seem to get full!

It is good to hear it works though; how did you beat the hunger pangs @OliverBabish ?

Honestly - I was losing the weight to get pregnant (was absolutely desperate to get pregnant) so I just forced myself through it! Drank water and just persisted. I remember when I’d get really desperate I’d let myself have a plain digestive with a smidgen of honey on

@OliverBabish Exactly the same reason I need to lose the weight.

Can you give us an idea of the sorts of things you ate? I mean when anyone says low carb to me I just think of salad lol

@ZombiePara We can do this we just need focus. This lockdown is not helping at all is it.

So basically, if I ate bread it would be granary and generally one slice. If I had rice, it would be basmati rice. I kept everything as low GI as possible - for me, pasta was just a no-no but other people do have it, just in small portions. Nothing out of a packet - it was depressing if I’m honest! Nothing processed/pre made generally meant I could have it. There are lovely low GI recipes online, it’s just a bit of a faff getting started and getting your head around it but it is totally worth it. I’m low GI now as I’m pregnant with gestational diabetes and the first two weeks are a slog getting used to things but it gets easier!

@Elakiya lockdown definitely isn't helping! The only thing it has helped is the weight gain!

@OliverBabish thank you - will definitely keep that in mind.. think I need a day off work to sit and make a list of what I'm allowed!

Hello! I have PCOS and insulin resistance, diagnosed via blood tests, hormone panel and ultrasound, I've been obese since primary school, first attended weight watchers when I was 11.

I tried last March to lose weight but then lockdown happened and it all fell apart and Danish pastries became part of my daily diet 😂Then in August I decided enough was enough and knuckled down properly.

I use MyFitnessPal to tell me how many calories I should eat and to track my food, I track everything, everyday, even if I eat crap and go way over my calorie limit I track it. As of today I've tracked everything 235 days in a row according to my profile page.

I have reduced but not cut out carbs, mainly because they're high calorie and I can eat more and feel fuller by swapping bread and potatoes for greenbeans, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, asparagus, broccoli, babycorn, garden peas and so on. I don't snack in the evening unless I'm starving, I find I lose more weight if I don't eat after my dinner which is usually about 6pm.

I have also added in 3 x 30 min workouts a week, either a brisk walk/slow jog or a video like

I've lost 58lbs in 8 months, gone from BMI of 35.4 (obese) to 26.6 (overweight). I have 11 lb to go to get into healthy BMI and 1lb till I've lost 25% of my starting weight.

It's not easily, it takes ages, sometimes it's boring, sometimes I eat way too much of the wrong stuff, sometimes it seems really easy and the weight falls off. Everyday I wake up and just try to stick to the plan, if I end up eating cake then the next day I try not to.

Oh and my calorie limit started at 1690 when I was 233lb, now it's 1420 at 175lb. It has not been at all necessary to cut to 1000 calories or less like some diets suggest to lose the weight.

I've lost just over 30kgs, another 20kg to go.

I've significantly cut carbs, almost but not quite keto as I'm concerned about the long term health risks of keto. With PCOS and if you're insulin resistant, cutting carbs is really the only option. I'm also fasting between 8pm and 11am.

Simple carbs I allow once a week - so one meal with pasta, rice, or potato. Veggies, lots of greens. A lot of salad. Mainly fish and chicken for protein. Red meat once a week (steak).

Fairly common daily food intake,

Breakfast - protein smoothie (1/2 banana, strawberries, greek yoghurt, protein powder, unsweetened almond milk, ice)
Lunch - tuna salad (lettuce, carrot, cucumber, cheese, beetroot, tuna, red capsicum)
Dinner - oven baked salmon with lemon slices and stir fry greens (broccoli, spinach, green beans)

I'm also exercising a lot - classes plus at least one 10km hike a week.

3 x HIT classes
3 x spin classes
2 x weights sessions

I lost over 2 stone a few years ago by following a Low GI diet.... and kept it off even after I stopped following it.

PCOS here, low carb was advised to me by the fertility doctors because of the insulin resistance.

I fast from 8pm to 12pm and in the morning I exercise. Eat pretty much whatever during my eating window. Only thing that's worked for me.