"Eat to Live" and PCOS. It works!!
 

[Aug 2015 update: This is an OLD POST- I'm keto now and eat bloody meats, got my period back, losing all the weight! Check out Facebook below]

For the first time ever, I've got back to (near) veganism and haven't gained weight. I'm losing weight almost effortlessly (and I'm afraid to use that word 'effortless' b/c it sounds so weight-loss-advertisement-ish, but that's the best way I can describe it). I haven't been below 180lbs in years and I only spend 1 hour in the gym per week! I'd like to up that by adding cardio, but school and some other things have been getting in the way. I'm sure by adding cardio the weight would come off even faster.

But anyway, I've been vegan before but did it the wrong way. I totally went crazy with the soy products and processed vegan foods, and starchy carbs. I would always gain weight and felt that my PCOS symptoms were worse. So then I would go back to low carb type diets, thinking since I had PCOS high animal protein was something I HAD to do. But here's the thing... I KNEW deep down animal products are killing the environment, and me in the process. I know they are teeming with toxins, hormones, and carcinogens. I KNEW Dr. Fuhrman, the author of Eat to Live, was RIGHT. But this whole time I thought I could never succeed on ETL, or stick with it, because of PCOS.

Then my boyfriend joined the Army and went off to Basic training (he's still in training right now, but it's not bootcamp anymore, so we get to talk on the phone- yay!!!) and during those 2 months of almost zero contact with him I had lots of time for self-reflection and found that my letters to him were actually turning into mini-journals. I really knew deep down that a 'produce-heavy' diet is the key to disease prevention, optimum health, and a long healthy life. And I had to try it one more time.

So, that's that. I tried ETL for real this time- no cutting corners with fake vegan foods or tons of soy products. I bought organic vegetables and spent the extra $$. And I feel FABULOUS!!!! The best part is that I don't spend hours in the kitchen preparing meals. I actually think I spend less time in the kitchen, since nothing needs to be cooked for it to be edible. And despite the higher organic prices my food bills are actually lower. I think I spend $30-50 a week on food for myself, if that.

I pop out of bed without caffeine and have been staying out really late with my friends on the weekends. I could never do that before.

Here're my daily meals:

Breakfast (7am): Blended banana, strawberries, and So Delicious coconut milk.
(3 supplements taken with the smoothie: D3, two MSM, EPA-DHA)
** I'm bouncing with energy halfway through the smoothie.

2nd Breakfast (9:30am): 1 wheat-free waffle with organic jelly and a banana
(1 multi-vitamin)
** yup, I'm eating a TON of bananas!! :)

Lunch (12pm): salad greens, 1 whole tomato, sprouts, 1 can of beans, vinaigrette dressing
(2 more MSM, 1 more EPA-DHA, 1 more multivitamin)
** I'm ready to run 3 miles at this point.

or

Some sort of Asian veggie dish/sushi from any local Asian restaurant.

Dinner (6pm): Tomato pie made with wheat-free pizza crust and loaded with veggies

or

any type of beans/veggie dish I can get creative with. The possibilities are so abundant.

I'm actually eating grains and starch and the scale just keeps going down. I'm not counting calories and I'm not going hungry. I haven't given up all of my old favorite foods... because I don't WANT them anymore :)

... except for July 4. I was totally PMSing and ate a bacon cheeseburger. Could only finish half and dropped another pound the next day, lol. Haven't wanted meat since, even though on ETL 10% of your diet can be whatever you want. I don't even desire the bad food for that 10% allowance, though.

So anyway, I've seen a lot of girls think they can't be vegetarian/vegan with PCOS. Just wanted to share my results so far. It can be done! I almost still can't believe it. Have to clean out my closet this weekend and toss almost everything in it. It just doesn't fit and looks ridiculously huge. And I can see the 160's in plain sight, and hopefully a normal cycle/reduced facial hair growth in the near future. :)

I am glad that you're having such success with the "Eat to Live" program! I tried it myself and it did terrible things with my blood sugar and I got shaky. It's not for me but I wish you the best of luck :-)

Thank you very much for this post, I really needed it. I have tried an almost all vegan diet before and it did make me feel wonderful. I ate about 90% fruits and veggies only, with some sprouted grains thrown in. I have since lost my inspiration, but you have helped me to find it. This post is older, so I hope you eventually see this. Thanks for the motivation and inspiration to do what I know feels best for me. If you can do this with your health challenges, I can certainly do it with mine. Your menu sounds delish! Thanks again! :hug::carrot:

I'm really noticing things I can't do with my body because I have PCOS. For instance, nuts put weight on me VERY FAST! Same with fruit!! I avoid nuts like the plague and can only have fruit in the morning... after that first meal forget it. But I've found Asian food and my homemade veggie tomato pies are just so life-changing. I check my weight every morning diligently because I want to see how my diet the day before has affected the number (taking into account any water weight).

I've also cut out gluten and find that my mood and stomach behave better. So I buy rice everything- rice bread, pasta, pizza dough mix... and I find that it doesn't hinder my weight loss.

HOWEVER right now I've hit a plateau because last week was my birthday and I drank a lot of wine, ate a lot of nuts, and had a lot of cake! Definitely bad, but a learning experience! I could have been smarter and just had my family and friends make more ETL friendly desserts for my bday. The cake was vegan from Whole Foods and so crazily delicious and high in fat, lol. But it was awesome.

I love Eat to Live as a program. There are a lot of good programs for helping control blood sugar and deal with PCOS. Dr Neal Barnard's program is really good as well.

For me, right now I'm doing a slight switch, eating less fruit, eating more grains and it is working so far.

Interesting.
 

Sounds really healthy. Unfortunately , I couldn't do it due to my pre-diabetic state.


Lots of fruits and rice, etc.

thanks!
 

Thanks so much for posting this! I know I'm late in reading this, but I'm happy to have found it.

I too have always felt that veganism was the way for me, but I have PCOS and keep hearing about how high protein is the only way, yadda yadda yadda. I've been mostly vegan for quite a while, but also doing the processed soy thing--now I know that may be the problem.

I am totally inspired and am going to buy the Eat for Life book tonight!

I know this is old but...
 

...I've just recommitted to Eat to Live and I'm blogging about my experiences! I'm hoping a little reader-induced accountability will help me, so please feel free to check it out at caitlineats [dot] wordpress [dot] com.

I'm excited to be back on the bandwagon. Things seem to be going well so far, minus a few slip-ups here and there. I am learning to love having veggies at every single meal!

Even more exciting, I lost 3.5 lbs last week (with another weigh-in coming tomorrow)!!!

Update: I've since gone Paleo after still not getting a period or not losing any more weight, and I've gotten my period back, my hair is growing in thick, and my mood is amazing. It's sort of 'Eat to Leave' but with animal fat. It's veggie-based, limits fruit, eliminates grains, and adds grass-fed animal protein (full fat). I'm floored my cycle is back after only a few weeks!

Pcos
 

Michelle125...

I'm found some old posts of yours from when you began Insulite. How did that work for you? Was it a good tool to get you started or was it not helpful at all?

Thanks,

RoryMichele

Hi RoryMichelle, I didn't stick with Insulite long enough to see results.

PCOS Question
 

My daughter has been struggling for years with PCOS. Her doctors have put her on metforeman but the side effects are too much for her. I read on a previous thread about you starting a program with insulite. Did it help at all? I am worried about her depression, hair issues, and lack of energy. She is on medication for depression and it helped for 3 years, but it has started to become ineffective. She starves herself in comparrison to what a regular woman would eat and sheds little if any weight. I read about the water intake increasing the way a person feels as well. What are your thoughts?
BTW I just joined so I am a newbe.

Clarification
 

How long were you on the Insulite? I did read that it takes a while for it to work.

When I was on ETL for the first time, I lost 26 pounds in 6 weeks. Unfortunately I could not stay on it for long.

Now I'm on it again. In two weeks I've lost 5 pounds. I'm determined to lose more!