PCOS/Insulin Resistance SupportSupport for us with any of the following: Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or other endocrine disorders.
Some advised that I come over there ask for suggestions on a diet for me. I have been on 1700 calories for 6 weeks with 5 days a week of intense workouts (cardio and weights) and I have lost nothing. I am 268 and I need to get down to about 190 (for my large frame)
I have had no success EVER and I am sick of it. I always maintained a generally decent diet. In the past few years, I have been going to the gym mostly 2 days a week. My dad had heart disease and diabetes as does my brother and cousin. I have always eaten the right foods. I started weigh watchers and it didn't even TOUCH my weight. I am in dang good shape for my weight and my heart rate is good, blood pressure great, etc but I need to lose this weight!!!
I have hypothyroidism, PCOS and insulin resistance. I haven't had any outward PCOS symptoms since the birth of my 2nd child. We had terrible infertillity with him and had to have IUI to have him. Once he was born, the crazy periods stopped and I ovulate every month and my periods are FINALLY normal, but I guess the insulin resistance is still cropping up???
I am so discouraged. I have heard from docs that I am lying about what I eat, or I don't really excersise the way I say I do, and I AM SICK AND TIRED of trying so freaking hard. I AM NOT LYING and I DO work my can off in the gym.
And I do "treat" myself over the weekend, like I have a slice of pizza (whole wheat) with no cheese on a friday night or have some edy's fat free or the like. THAT IS NOT GOING TO KEEP me the weight I am. Even if I plowed into McDonald's once a month (which I don't, thank you SUPERSIZE ME) I STILL wouldn't be this weight.
My husband and my friend's SEE what I eat everday. I am NOT full of crap, I am stuck and FRUSTRATED and don't know what else to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please please please any good book titles or programs?
Low carb is the way to go for PCOS. I do it by eating lots of veggies (low carb varieties) and a moderate amount of meat/protein. I have eggs and bacon for breakfast, chicken and 3 servings of veggies for lunch, and then, just not, I had a taco salad for dinner (I did use one taco shell.) '
Also, going on metformin could potentially be helpful, I've not found that it makes me lose weight without my restricting calories, but possibly it helps me be able to lose. I have lost 75 lbs so far. At first I limited myself to 50g of carbs per day, now I'll have more, but prefer to stay under 100.
If you have a lot of wheat, consider this article that suggests a lot of PCOS people have wheat issues. There's also a yeast connection.
Do you know which type of PCOS patient you are? There's at least 5. Check out the poll. The approach could vary on the type and what symptoms bother you the most.
Jenn -- that was me a few years ago!!!! Oh, the memories.... BF couldn't believe that I would be so hungry just half an hour after I ate.
It's probably the IR of the PCOS -- have you been to a endoc to talk about that? He/She may prescribe you some Metformin to start with and talk to you about going on a low-carb diet.
The thing about our foods today is that there is a lot of sugar hidden where you least expect it.
And to be honest, even COMPLEX carbs like whole wheat can wreck havoc on our bodies because we don't process insulin correctly, it's either too much or not enough and it causes our bodies to be ravenously hungry or convert everything we eat into fat.
A sample diet would help because maybe we can help you figure it out.
Also, I went down the exercise until my body collapses because I thought that was the way to do it, but in reality for me, my weight drops when I control my food, not when I exercise like crazy. Also, PCOS bodies tend to be more sensitive to cortisol, which is a stress hormone and if you are putting your body through the wringer, your body may not want to let go of any weight because it thinks it's under attack.
One thing I learned through this process is that I can't fight against my body, I have to fight with it to better health.
(I do exercise like crazy now but I really like it, so it's more like a de-stressor, rather than an obligation!)
I sympathize with you completely, and have also not been taken seriously by physicians, until I found the right ones at least. My experience was that physicians are not interested in my food logs. The good ones believe you, and the bad ones won't believe anything you say because they don't know what to do.
Before diagnosis, I trained for a year and completed an Ironman and the only weight I lost was 5 pounds when I got back on the pill. Post Ironman, I got off the pill to get pregnant, and gained 13 pounds in 3.5 weeks. 30 lbs over my usual weight, I tried low calorie- 1000 calories a day with 500-1000 calories of exercise per day for one month. No weight loss!
Next I tried higher protein lower carb for a month with 5 days a week of exercise on metformin. No weight loss.
Last, I tried 100+ grams of protein per day with 30 grams of carbs a day and exercise on metformin and made it 3.5 weeks, no weight loss.
I have concluded that my issue is not diet or exercise. I will tell you that in the first and second trimester of my pregnancy, my metabolism is NORMAL. My hunger is normal, it has been very enjoyable.
I saw a specialist in Houston that recommended the Hcg diet for his PCOS patients. I do plan to try it post breast-feeding. I have also heard different opinions on which form of Metformin and dose to take to be effective and hope to learn more about that.
I use south beach. I lost 15 pounds in the first two weeks and ive been losing about half a pound a day on week three, which is the first week of phase two. I love it and I never feel hungry. Good luck!
I could have written most of your post - I am hypothyroid, have PCOS and my insulin resistance had progressed to diabetes when I have a vertical sleeve gastrectomy (weight loss surgery to remove most of my stomach) in 2009.
Highly successful operation (I still have a limit to the food I can eat) - but stuffin my face with food was never my problem - neither was lack of excercise (spent a year excercising 5 hours per day to prove it. It wasn't until I had my stomach removed that I found a doctor who finally acknowledged that food was not my issue and changed me to T3 (Tertroxin/Cytomel) only medication.
That combined with the 2000mg Metformin, high protein diet (low carb from low GI vegies and fruits) and daily excercise is the only way that I am able to lose weight, even though it is extremely slow process....and its been alot of trial and error to find out what works for me (low fat high carb even good carb diets as recommended by most Drs most definitely does not work for me at all).
1500mg Metformin gives me gastric upset and I can't lose weight, 2000mg makes a difference...but only in conjunction with the T3 thryoid medication.
I'm sorry that I can't offer any real advice other than it is a bit of trial and error to see what works for you, but without the correct medication it is extremely difficult, if not impossible and after experiencing it myself, I can really feel you pain.
There is a book called 'PCOS Diet Plan: A natural approach tp health for women with polycycstic ovary syndrome' by Hilary Wright.
It is a very informative book. It also talks a great deal about insulin resistance as well And it outlines a good plan for improving PCOS.
Jenn -- that was me a few years ago!!!! Oh, the memories.... BF couldn't believe that I would be so hungry just half an hour after I ate.
It's probably the IR of the PCOS -- have you been to a endoc to talk about that? He/She may prescribe you some Metformin to start with and talk to you about going on a low-carb diet.
The thing about our foods today is that there is a lot of sugar hidden where you least expect it.
And to be honest, even COMPLEX carbs like whole wheat can wreck havoc on our bodies because we don't process insulin correctly, it's either too much or not enough and it causes our bodies to be ravenously hungry or convert everything we eat into fat.
A sample diet would help because maybe we can help you figure it out.
Also, I went down the exercise until my body collapses because I thought that was the way to do it, but in reality for me, my weight drops when I control my food, not when I exercise like crazy. Also, PCOS bodies tend to be more sensitive to cortisol, which is a stress hormone and if you are putting your body through the wringer, your body may not want to let go of any weight because it thinks it's under attack.
One thing I learned through this process is that I can't fight against my body, I have to fight with it to better health.
(I do exercise like crazy now but I really like it, so it's more like a de-stressor, rather than an obligation!)
That's some good advice there. Thanks Rana.
I think this is me too " but in reality for me, my weight drops when I control my food, not when I exercise like crazy."
There is a book called 'PCOS Diet Plan: A natural approach tp health for women with polycycstic ovary syndrome' by Hilary Wright.
It is a very informative book. It also talks a great deal about insulin resistance as well And it outlines a good plan for improving PCOS.
here is the amazon link to the book.
One of the reviewers on amazon said the author suggested to cut out root vegetable, eg: potatoes, carrots, onions.
Omgawd I can give up potatoes but not onions!
Last edited by susiederkins; 02-21-2012 at 01:57 AM.
One of the reviewers on amazon said the author suggested to cut out root vegetable, eg: potatoes, carrots, onions.
Omgawd I can give up potatoes but not onions!
Actually, it was a reviewer who said that they cut out potatoes, carrots & onions. The author makes it very clear in a comment-thread (tied to that reviewer) that she, the author, would never make such a recommendation to cut out root vegetables. HTH
I have had the most success on south beach. I lost 40 pounds on it pretty quickly. Counting calories does not work for me. Exercise does nothing...for me it is all about eating healthy carbs and cutting out sugar.
Insulin Resistance/PCOS diet
. It wasn't until I had my stomach removed that I found a doctor who finally acknowledged that food was not my issue and changed me to T3 (Tertroxin/Cytomel) only medication. 
