PCOS/Insulin Resistance Support - Diet plan, weight loss? IBS/PCOS

Hello,

I have PCOS, I unfortunately also have IBS. I am having a terrible time with the IBS, I rarely feel good enough to exercise. Also the IBS diet says high in soluble fiber low in insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is pasta, potatoes... From what I have read with PCOS you need to eat low carb. Is this what is working for you?

Please post what is working for you. I need to lose over 100 pounds but I am having a hard time figuring out how to eat for both of my problems. Any ideas? Thanks.

BabySteps

Hi there,
I was diagnosed with PCOS about 2 years ago. Drs kept saying lose weight... but nothing worked for me. I have been doing SBD since the end of March. It has worked great for me. I have lost 40+ pounds, and I actually feel so good. I am exercising and enjoying it. Something unheard of for me (I was the girl who hated PE). I has got to be harder with IBS too. Something that has been key for me is having a good support network. My husband, my girl friend and I are all dieting together. I think that is a key reason that I have been successful. It is good to have someone who can keep encouraging you and telling you, you are on the right track.
I would think about talking to a nutritionist because you have IBS and PCOS, maybe they can point you in the best direction for your condition.
Good luck!
Stebby

You don't need to do a low-carb diet when you have an endocrine disorder like PCOS. I don't have it, I have a remarkably similar disorder with things added on top. I'm not doing low-carb: Atkins made me very sick. I would say that there are definite similarities in my diet to South Beach, because I try hard to get the "good carbs", from fresh fruit, wheat bread, etc. You can buy pasta made out of whole wheat. I eat potatoes, just not a lot of them, and I eat white rice. Brown rice does strange things to my already sensitive digestive system. But basically, I count calories and watch what I eat, and exercise. The exercise is important even if you don't lose weight while doing it (I sure don't: I spend 2 hours average at the gym daily), however I also don't have any of the associated disorders that doctors seem to think come from being overweight: asthma, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, etc.
There are people here in this part of the forum following all kinds of diets. Some are doing Atkins or South Beach, others are doing low-calorie, low fat, and others are doing things like Body for Life.

:mouse:

You don't have to do low carb, but it does help to do low glycemic (or low carb) on some individuals. If I were you, I'd try something that worked for your IBS and if that doesn't work, keep adjusting the carbs so you have good carbs like oatmeal, sweet potatoes, wheat bread, etc. Is oatmeal soluble fiber?

Some people have a terrible time losing weight on anything BUT lowcarb. When my insulin resistance was higher I couldn't lose weight with refined carbs. I gained weight on WW! Once my insulin resistance got under control it wasn't as important to control carbs. From what I have read, exercise is more important to IR than carbs.

I have to think you're right, Jennifer... I am definitely not doing low-carb. I can't do it. I wasn't kidding when I said it made me sick, although admittedly it could have been a forewarning of the digestive hormones starting to not work appropriately since I was either nauseated or had a headache. Hindsight is 20/20, you know...
But I couldn't do the glucophage, and my endocrinologist was really concerned. She's not as concerned now because I'm within 3 points of being really normal instead of high normal insulin. I was exercising before, but not anywhere near as much as I do now!
And the spironolactone shouldn't effect the insulin levels, nor should the anti-nausea meds and the birth control...

:mouse:

Ya know, I never thought of low carb making me sick, but I DO remember thinking soooo many times, if only I could have a grilled cheese sandwich, I'd feel better. I always ate those as a child when I was sick, so when I get sick now, that is the only food I really like to eat. So maybe I was sick more on low carb than I usually am.

I think in my case it was probably partially the start of the digestive issues, because it was 6 months before I was officially diagnosed, and a year before I did the glucophage and REALLY started throwing up everything. Since that point, I've thrown up off and on with it growing steadily worse in the last 6 months.
But, also, I just felt SICK...
:mouse:

:balloons: WELCOME, BABYSTEPS!! :balloons:

Pleased to meet you!! I would have replied sooner but I have been out of town. Feel free to join us in our monthly chat thread!! Just click on the link below to get there... Hope to see you in there soon! :D

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44341

Have a look at the Wild Rose D-tox Diet, don't do the actual Detox kit with the pills, but the diet is really good. I found a lot some weight with it, and I felt a lot better, I suspect I have IBS, and very possibly PCOS (I went to a doctor, and he told me to take Meridia even though I only eat two times a day, silly doctors). I know there is a website, it's worth checking out, just type in "Wild Rose D-tox", and go to that part of the website, and it'll give you a list of foods. :)

Hi
I'm really not as experienced and knowledgeable as everyone else yet and I'm recently diagnosed, but I'm just following guidelines from a book called 'PCOS Diet Book' (funnily enough :dizzy: ) by Colette Harris. It's basically drink lots of water, eat five portions of fruit and veg (at least) each day, eat Low-Glycemic Index carbs, eat high fibre food and eat good quality protein (beans, lentils, lean meat) with every meal. It has meal plans which are really easy to adapt.
I am useless at following diets but this is really easy and it has a wide range of different foods.
I really wish you well and hope you feel better soon! :goodvibes

I posted the diet I was given when I was diagnosed with PCOS. It really helps with the IBS too...
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30503&highlight=cassandra

CASSANDRA!! :flow2: Long time no see!! Where ya been girl!! Come visit us in the chat thread sometime... :D Here's a quick link for you...

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44341

PS: The pet photos are adorable!! I just got a new kitten and need to post some pics of him. He's a little doll. It's so nice to have a baby in the house again...even if it is a kitten. :cool:

Thanks for that reminder, Cassandra! My mom was just diagnosed with IBS last week so I'll print this out. I thought IBS patients WERE supposed to have refined carbs. I don't know where I got that from. (Nice to see you again!)

aughh!! I know what you're going through, I also have both...in fact i never know if my stomach cramps are from diarrhea, my period, or my stupid metformin pills...bottom line is, it's not unusual for me to lay in bed with a heating pad, and i hate it.

whenever i get nervous or anxious, i also get diarriea and stomach cramps...it's fun to be people like us.

If I told any of my doctors half of what I feel half of the time, they'd either have me admitted as an in-patient at a nice psychiatric hospital or sign my death certificate. I never know if its because my hormones are screwed up; if I ate the wrong thing (hidden chicken products in something when I went out to eat?); I didn't eat enough before I took my meds; I really have the flu or a cold or some virus.

Its annoying: I get this reputation at work for being sick all the time, even when I'm really NOT... And there are people who are off way more than I ever am.
:mouse:

it's so nice to know there are other people who understand...i mean seriously we have to be such troopers. i was talking to my mom, and she told me that she couldn't remember the last time she felt "pukey"....i swear, i have morning sickness every day of my life!! having breakfast is very hard for me lately because i feel ill.

My endocrinologist yells at me for not eating breakfast... and she has fits when she gets my update and hears that half the time I don't eat anything until dinner... or that I skip breakfast and eat a 4 ounce container of yogurt for lunch.
But its that or throw up at work.

:mouse:

I have had IBS for about 15 years, and have been managing it by eating lots of soluble fiber (i.e. bread, oatmeal) and avoiding fatty foods.

I did the south beach diet earlier this year, and I lost some weight on it. But the thing I noticed before is that I had almost no IBS symptoms. I thought that I needed to eat lots of soluble fiber, and I had always thought fat was my trigger, so I was worried that phase 1 would make me sick. I felt better then than I had in a long time.

The only problem I had was with the veggies-there are a bunch I can't have because of the IBS, but I was able to adapt to that, even if I did get tired of having the same vegetables over and over.

I got off SB, but I want to get back on after reading how it has worked for so many people in this forum!

Hi everyone
well I first just want to say I am not a doctor so please ask your doctor before starting any medication. With that being said I have PCOS, IBS,Hypothyroidism and mild Endomitriosis. Pain is something I know but for the past year I have actually found a solution. My GI told me to drink an imodium pill daily in the morning & it has become my best friend since. I know can go places without worry have energy to exercise daily & I am loosing weight. Once again my life is mine & I control it not all my crazy symptoms. I do drink a combination of meds metformin, imodium, & sytheroid.

Good luck & I hope you find you solution, because I know what it feels like to suffer from both ibs and pcos at the same time. Ask your doctor about imodium. It has worked great for me with a good fiber diet & just simply eating health anything is good just learn to eat in moderation. Self control is my biggest goal accomplished. Oh if you try imodium rember drink plenty of water & increase ur fiber. I went from being 165 lb to 140 in the past 6 months. I have learn that loosing weight slow & steady & learning to eat slowly & smaller portion spread out through out the day is the best way to keep the weight off.