Newbie from Melbourne, Australia :)
 

Hi everyone,

My name is nothing2lose. I live in Melbourne, Australia and I am a carb addict :(

I am 40 years old and I was diagnosed with PCOS in my mid-20s. I also have adenomyosis (bit like endometriosis). My blood sugar has always been pretty good (it is 4.2 at the moment) but my recent fasting insulin level was 15 (up from nine a year ago).

I have one daughter, aged nine, and I am desperate to have another child. I have been undergoing assisted conception for 12 months now. This has included six months using Clomid and four rounds of IVF. In that time, I have put on seven kilos (about 15 pounds) :(

I desperately need to lose weight as my biological clock is ticking very loudly.

For the past week I have been following Phase One of the South Beach diet to pretty much detox my body of carbs. I have lost two kilos so far (4.4 pounds). I really, really, really want to lose at least a total of 12.7 kilos within the next couple of months.

I am not on metformin but I will be speaking to my reproductive endocrinologist about it.

Anyway, as I said, I am a carb addict but I don't mind eating low GI. I just need to get into the right headspace. I find the mental game very tough...

Oh, and I really can't stand artificial sweeteners (yuck taste and soooo unhealthy) so right now I am struggling having nothing sweet at all for this fortnight.

Looking forward to chatting to you all as we beat this together :)

take care x

n2l

:wel3fc: and welcome to this forum!

How are you liking South Beach? I tried it around 2005, but I didn't care much for it. I was thinking of checking it out again, though, 'cause I am also a huge carb lover. The mental game is pretty tough, but you'll find that there are a LOT of supportive people on this forum! :hug:

Good luck on this journey :) You've found a great place for support!

Hi Torn

Thanks for the welcome :)

South Beach isn't too hard so far. It just involves planning. Although, having said that, I think more than two weeks on phase one would be difficult. I really am looking forward to being able to introduce some complex carbs.

Ask me again how I like it in a week or so :lol:

LOL will do! I remember it was really expensive to buy all the ingredients for the meals, but I didn't think to just pick and choose at the time.

Hey N2L - I'm in melbourne too. Am a low Gi kinda girl - but I nornally hang out in the 100+club - but saw you're from around my way so thought I'd sat hello!

Hi nothing2lose,

I am Aussie as well (country NSW) saw your post and thought I would say hello and welcome. :)

Congrats on your power start on SB. The difficulty with SB is that you have to watch very carefully as you reintroduce carbs. I tried the paln several times and gained what I had lost each time I went to the second phase. But it seems to work well for many people.

Welcome!

I was (am?) a carb addict myself and I helped it with the chromium polynicolinate and changing my diet (less refined carbs, more complex carbs, but limited).

Good luck with the SBD, I also recommend trying something like the chromium or the metformin....... it was a life saver for me.

I used to think the problem was ME, my "addiction" or my own failure with will power.... but if you're IR, then it's a biological issue that CAN be fixed.

Good luck on your journey and I hope you get pregnant soon!

Hi N2L, I'm from Melbourne too, I have PCOS and a similar starting/goal weight. The first diet I tried on 3FC was South Beach. The forum was really helpful for menu ideas, even more so than the books. I had a really successful Phase 1, lost 6kg in two weeks, but when I started Phase 2 I had a really hard time letting carbs back in moderation without going overboard and only lost 500g in that week. After that I moved house and it was too hard to plan my meals within that hectic environment so I gave it up.
I just started Weight Watchers the other week, since I have had two obese friends enjoy great success on the plan - although neither have PCOS. I'm finding it much easier to work with in my lifestyle, I dont have to plan so thoroughly. I am thinking of adopting some South Beach style methods into the WW framework though as its definitely carbs that sets off my weight.

Welcome to the forums and good luck!