This makes no sense.

justonemorepound · 02-12-2011, 11:59 AM

Hi guys, I'm pretty newly diagnosed (around 4 months ago).

Before I got diagnosed my periods had been coming every 4-5 months and I'd been dieting for about 3-4 months.

For the majority of that time I was doing it healthy(2 pounds a week @ anywhere from 1500-1100 cals) but the month before diagnosis it was getting more difficult and slower so I would knock a few calories off/increase exercise every once in a while, before I stopped I was eating around 800-900 cals and exercising quite a lot (running) and either having no change in weight or would lose the odd pound.

I'd had no period during my diet phase and for around a month before.

When I realized that PCOS was making things more difficult I basically threw everything out the window and binged for about the past 3 months, like really eating a lot of rubbish! and gained back a lot of what I'd lost.

The thing that makes no sense is while I've been binging my periods have come like clockwork -THREE IN A ROW. I've never ever had 3 in a row other than when I was on the pill for 6 months.

I think it's weird that they wouldnt be there when i was eating healthy and then when i start eating horribly/ drinking diet cola like it's water my periods come back?

anyone else experienced anything like this?

mandalinn82 · 02-12-2011, 12:05 PM

You may have been eating so little before that your periods stopped. Not PCOS related, necessarily, but related to your very low calorie intake. So, for example, you had no period. Then you started losing weight with some pretty severe calorie restriction...your period might have restarted from the weight loss (as happens with PCOS patients), but you weren't eating enough calories to sustain fertility so your body shut it off. Then, when you started eating more again, your body took the weight loss + the increased calorie level and triggered ovulation.

If you're not getting results on fairly low calories, what are you eating? Some PCOS folks find that WHAT they eat is more important than how many calories they eat.

thelast20 · 02-12-2011, 12:29 PM

This happened to me many moons ago and I was on WW. My OBG sais that it was due to the very low fat content of my diet. I increased the fat and my periods came back!!! Interesting!

justonemorepound · 02-12-2011, 01:05 PM

Thanks mandalinn yeah that would make sense! I was eating basic things like porridge & yogurt for breakfast, boiled eggs with a slice of wholemeal bread for lunch, and chicken breast with a basic sauce and wholegrain rice for dinner. I was mainly cutting down on portion size. I knew myself that it wasn't working but was afraid of changing to another diet and gaining weight (stupid i know)

When the periods came back I convinced myself that I was better off eating even if i wasn't eating healthy
I'm back in the weight loss mentality and am going to try out G.I. Diet, and if that fails I'll move to lowering my carbs because I've learnt that calorie reductions alone won't work for me.

Thanks for your thoughts & congratulations on being at maintenance for so long, it's inspiring !

justonemorepound · 02-12-2011, 01:07 PM

Oh thelast that's interesting too! it cold be that, i'll play around with things and see what works best, I really want to find a way of dealing with PCOS through diet & not the contraceptive pill!

chouchoubou · 02-12-2011, 01:36 PM

The thing that stands out most for me is that you were on a 900 calorie a day diet. That is SO little food and sounds dangerous especially when it comes to combining exercise with it. Most professionals reccomend for women not to go under 1200 a day for healthy weight loss.

The only other thing I could say is that your body doesn't respond immediately to all your changes most of the time. For me it seems as if there is a delay at least. You have to give your body at least a month or two to respond to your change in habits. Maybe your body finally recognized your weight loss efforts and was functioning accordingly and you began to binge again. Monitor your periods and see if they are consistent for the next few months that willl be a pretty good indication.

Most of the time PCOSers dont need low fat as much as we need lower carbs. Not eliminating carbs but picking the right ones (ie whole grains). Good luck!