[futureskinnygirl10]

Hi Calorie Counters,

I was wondering if anybody else here had PCOS and counted calories. I do and I keep my calories to around 1100 to 1200 a day. How about yall?

[Eliana]

Yep! And I've lost nearly 70 pounds doing it. I never would have guessed it would actually work. I thought I had to eat only a low carb diet to lose.

My calories include very few processed calories and mostly good quality complex carbs, but it has worked for me. I didn't do anything special, really, except make sure that my calories were packed with nutrition.

[futureskinnygirl10]

wow - thats awesome. I have given south beach a try but the no carb/low carb thing is really hard for me so want to do something that works for me.

[Shmead]

I do, and have lost 135 lbs, but while my diet is not low-carb per se, I do limit carbs, especially refined carbs. I don't eat white flour or rice or pasta and have only recently reintroduced whole wheat bread. I do eat a lot of veggies and wheat bran and dairy.

Everyone is different, but for me I found it was very-low calorie diets that made it impossible for me to lose weight. I would get so, so hungry--my ob/gyn said PCOS can be like perpetual PMS, and I had the PMS hunger for 20 years. When I tried 900-1200 calories a day, my hunger was overwhelming and after 2-10 months, I'd collapse and go back to my old ways. I just couldn't be tough any longer. Eating more (at least 1500) allowed me to stay perfectly on plan forever.

My PCOS has basically disappeared, though I am sure it would come back if I gained gain. But my testosterone and insulin levels are both on the low end of normal, when they used to be off the charts high. I have regular spontaneous periods, and I feel about a thousand times more even-keeled. It's been a miracle.

[ap90]

I have PCOS and calorie count. Like shmead I don't eat low carb but I do limit carbs. I have lost almost 70 lbs now. My PCOS is definitely getting better but it's not completely gone. My doctor has told me once I'm in a healthy weight range it should be all gone.

[kkazz123]

I have PCOS too and have lost 128 pounds to date. I cycle my calories and average 1750 calories per day. I mostly focus on non processed foods...avoid low fat products and low sodium and I also exercise a lot...and it has worked a treat for me - good luck!

kazz =]

[futureskinnygirl10]

Thank you all for your input. How many calories are yall eating? I am trying to keep to around 1100-1200 a day.

[thepapillon]

Question about PCOS, as I suspect I could have it...

Once you are a normal weight, does that "stop" or end PCOS?

Side note, I also eat 1100-1200 calories a day.

[ElizabethG]

Me! I have a calorie cap at 2050 (based on Livestrong losing 1 lb per week goal) but I usually eat between 1500 and 1700.

I broke my plateau recently so I am losing at that calorie range. Are you very hungry at 1200 calories? I would be ravenous.

Someone here once said to start with as much as you can and still lose weight so you can go 'down' in calories when you plateau. 1200 should be your lowest.

[mandalinn82]

Question about PCOS, as I suspect I could have it...

Once you are a normal weight, does that "stop" or end PCOS?

No. This is a huge misconception, as doctors will tell people that if they lose weight, their symptoms will disappear. The fact is, it is HIGHLY individual. Some people see a complete elimination of symptoms, some people see a reduction in symptoms, and some have all of their symptoms regardless (um, me).

My personal experience - when I was losing weight, from around 280 lbs all the way down to 1 year maintenance, my symptoms basically vanished. Normal cycles, less of the acne/hair growth/etc.

Then at that one year mark, ALL of my symptoms started coming back. Weight maintenance became more challenging, despite increasing exercise. Hair growth and cycle absences became standard again. My eating habits stayed the same, but they were no longer sufficient for me to maintain, and I had to add in even more exercise.

I'm not trying to be a downer here. I just was told by my doctor that I'd eliminate my symptoms with weight loss, then lost weight and was SO EXCITED when it seemed to be coming true (no symptoms), but then HORRIBLY CRUSHED when I realized that, no matter what I did, my PCOS would be sticking around. As in, "what was the point of doing all this work if I'm still going to be diabetic and struggle getting pregnant and have hairs on my chin??".

I'm not saying this will be everyone's experience and have no idea if it's typical (though I know at least one other PCOS maintainer had a return of symptoms at maintenance), just wanted to put it out there to try to prevent people from getting that same "Haha! I beat PCOS!" excitement and then have it crushed like mine was. And it makes me upset that doctors are still telling people, "Lose weight and your symptoms will go away!", when that isn't necessarily true. Not that the weight loss wasn't worth it for other reasons, and heaven knows where my PCOS symptoms would be if I hadn't lost weight. But if PCOS went away when you lost weight, there would be no thin people with PCOS, and they exist. So just be aware!

[thepapillon]

Mandalinn, thanks for that information. I'm going to have to find out if I have PCOS or not. I'm terrified to find out. I really don't want to struggle with getting pregnant when I want to! Thanks for the advice!

[kkazz123]

I do 1750 calories on average ( I cycle my calories) I have found as ive lost weight my cycle has got regular (29-30 days now) but i still have some of the other symptoms