PCOS/Insulin Resistance SupportSupport for us with any of the following: Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or other endocrine disorders.
I'm a little bit down, not too much, but that's okay. As long as the weight comes down!
Sadly, I'm also finding that coffee -- with sugar or without -- makes my blood glucose levels go up.
I also have an appointment with my Endo sometime around the start of August and I am going to ask him if I can get on Metformin. I still have the old prescription (staring at me right now) but I never refilled it and I think seeing that I have been around this weight for a year or longer, I really need to do something else.
Restricting my calories even more (I'm eating an average of 1500/day) with all the exercise I do seems like it would put too much strain on my body. And I actually LOVE the exercise I do and I don't want to stop just to lower my calories.
But I am still tweaking the diet, because I am not perfect. I've stopped buying nuts because they were too easy to grab and eat them and suddenly I ate 200 calories without really thinking about it. I also stopped getting Kind bars for the same reason. I'm making smoothies too with fruit, leaving the fiber in (no milk or yogurt) to get those 5 a day in... and I also stopped buying yogurt and string cheese. I have ezcema and I noticed that I went approximately 2 weeks with a reduced dairy diet (without planning it) and my ezcema was gone. It came back as soon as I started eating it again... so, it's out of my diet for now.
I also have an appointment in about 10 days to see my general practioner who is worried about my A1C results from last March... which means I have to find time to get my A1C tested next week.
How about if you post a sample of your daily menu?
Also, little things that you may or may not be doing:
- Are you weighing/measuring your food?
- How much water are you drinking?
- What are your macros (ratio of carbs/protein/fat)?
And YES, actually, for PCOS women, losing weight can be a struggle, but usually it's a question of finding out what works for your body type. That's the hard part because what works for one, maybe not work for someone else -- our physical chemistry is different and our psychological make up is different.
I went through a period where I also exercised my little body off and didn't lose weight. It took a while to figure out that exercising my calories off wasn't going to work, it had to be the food more than exercise.
Also, depending on what kind of PCOS patient you are, other things may work or not work for you.
She writes about PCOS and becoming healthy eating a paleo diet. She, differently that what many people think about paleo, claims that women need to eat "healthy" carbs in order to have a healthy reproductive system. She explains how our endocrine system is much more complex than that of a man's and there are too many studies that only support certain diets/fasts for men... and that doesn't work for women.
She is also another that is finding a connection between stress/adrenal system/PCOS and how overstressing ourselves can actually make our PCOS symptoms worse and stop weight loss.
You sounded a little bit stressed out... maybe you need to rethink how you're approaching this. Rather than focusing on how much weight you're losing, maybe you need to focus on how HEALTHY you're becoming, regardless of the weight.
Thanks for the reply! It's funny you mention the paleo diet because I have been reading about it all morning and pondering trying it out.
So far today, I ate
1/2 cup cabot Greek yogurt strawberry
1/8 cup bear naked granola
3 slices hormel deli style turkey slices
1 slice home made wheat and oats bread
1 cup veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower)
1 tbsp peanut butter
So I think what I will do is try to ease I to a paleo diet. Maybe do strict paleo 6 days and have 1 day not so strict. We will see how it goes.
I do measure and weigh food 99% of the time. I have a nice weight watchers scale that I use. I have been lax about it recently because I'm so darned frustrated I figured what is the sense in weighing food I'm not losing anyhow. I do agree whole heatedly with you about stress. My personal trainer had a long talk with me yesterday about this very subject. She tells me very time I see her to not be so stressed out about losing weight. I can't seem to stop obsessing over it. I think it's really raising my cortisol or something and maybe making my body go against me.
Just a couple of comments on what you've eaten so far -- the yogurt might be high in sugars, which if you ate with the turkey, it may not be a problem. The issue is when you have refined carbs only without the protein to balance it, because of your IR.
Also, just a reminder, which is that for PCOS women, quantity, in terms of calories, does matter. The Paleo community many times doesn't stress that portion of their diet (it's all about eating like our ancestors did) but the reality is that calories do matter for our bodies. So, as you change your diet, keep counting calories and keep measuring and weighing your food.
And sadly, really make sure you're measuring and weighing. We -- PCOS women -- have a problem that those calories REALLY add up. Because of PCOS/IR, we already have slower metabolisms that someone who is "normal". Other people may get away with cheating here or there, but I really think that we're more likely to stall weight loss when we do that.
I definitely see that in my own diet/weight-loss efforts.
How are you?
Finally feel like I have the PCOS under control for the first time in ten years Have been following a Primal eating plan and it's the first time which has worked to improve both the physical and mental. The first week was a bit tough with the sugar cravings, but all good once they had gone
What are you going to work on in July?
Exercise! I've been doing crossfit at the local gym but now I feel I have my eating under control I want to work towards fitness
Starting paleo diet today. So far had eggs with some turkey thrown in there...really need to go to the store and stock up on paleo friendly foods. Headed there tonight. Found some great sites for recipes. Can't wait to see what my weight loss looks like on this diet.
Who is here this month?
I am even though I'm a little late posting this update.
How are you?
I am doing good overall. The weight issue could be better, but at least I'm working on it.
How was last month?
Last month was not so great. I wasn't tracking my calories as much as I should be. Exercise was not intense, but it was more regular than before. My endo was mad at me for not losing more weight. Truth be told I was mad at myself too, but all I can do is mover forward and keep trying.
How is your PCOS management last month?
I took the Spiro religiously. It helped a little with the facial hair, but still no periods. The doctor said I should double my dose of Spiro, but I can't because I have to constantly pee as it is. I'm afraid if I take it twice a day, I will not be able to sleep at night. Does anybody else have this problem? She also said my Vitamin D was still low, so I'm taking that.
What are you going to work on in July?
I am working on exercising more. I think the dark patches around my neck are improving thanks to the walks I've been taking. I am also working on my issues with food. I have been asking myself what drives me to overeat, but I can't seem to come up with an answer. Maybe I just like food more than beautiful clothes? I don't know. All I know is that I want to be healthy and strong, so I'm working towards that goal.
My endo had mw go back on full dose of steroids since my stress is thru the roof (attending classes to learn about stress) & she wont ween & test until I am less stressed
Astrophe - did you have a great grocery shopping trip? I have to do one of my own... my fridge is bare!
PrettyMom09.... you know, finding out what's going on is really key to getting on a path for the long term. For me, the motivation wasn't pretty clothes or a hot body. It wasn't 100% health, either, although it is a big portion of why I want to be healthy and lose weight.
For me, I discovered (it took a while!) that my issue was that I didn't want to take care of myself. It was too much work. I wanted my body/PCOS to just be like everyone else. I didn't want to put the time and energy into cooking healthier or exercising or controlling what I ate. No one else around me did.... why should I?!?!?
It turns out that kind of thinking was actually wrong. I did take care of myself -- I brushed my teeth, showered, did laundry, and all of that kind of stuff. Obviously I was taking care of myself. I just needed to add "cooking at home", "counting calories", "reducing/eliminating crappy foods" as part of my list of chores that I simply do and not think about it twice.
It's not fair I have to brush my teeth too. It's not fair that I have to do laundry every week. But, I do it. And my teeth thank me for it and my friends and family thank me for it too!
I had to realize that cooking, picking healthy foods, and exercising, was part of that package of taking care of myself that I already did X number of things. When it just became part of the package deal and I made time for it in my day, then the weight came off a lot easier and with a lot less resistance and aggro associated with it.
It's a chore. I do it. But that's just what being a grown up is about. Sometimes we don't like it, but we do it anyway.
With some of the weight lost, then the other stuff comes kicking in -- I can move better, faster, easier; I look better in clothes, and my vanity kicks in; people compliment me... and on it goes.
But take the time to figure it out. It's something and won't be just to get into a bikini. We're much more complex creatures than that!
I had an ultrasound and they checked my ovaries and the string of pearls is gone! My ovaries look like there was never PCOS ever!!!!
I think if you take my blood tests and this stuff, I really can pass as "normal" except for the fact that I haven't reached my goal weight and I know it's all in there... it's just under control!
Rana -- hi thanks for checking in! I tried paleo for about a week and find it very difficult... Sooooo... I decided instead on an insuline resistance diet which has been much better for me. I find that my major problem is that when it comes to grocery shopping, I get so overwhelmed and don't always have creativity when meal planning so I get stuck on what to eat. Then I sink back into habits I shouldn't have like eating too many carbs.
Can anyone recommend any good insuline resistance diet cook books?
Hi CLmiller, I'm sorry the Paleo didn't work out for you. There are recipe Paleo sites out there, did you look for any?
I'm doing good, just doing my thing. Had my A1C tested again and it came back down from the prediabetic range, so YAY. Damn that stupid nutritionist from earlier in the year... she really didn't know what she was doing. My doctor is happy that my own diet is actually working and is what brought it down.
I am indeed home, and I have beautiful organic produce in fridge. Kid and I got in, spent 3 days home washing things, and then kid took off to aunt's house so DH and I could take off for mini break a as a couple ourselves for four days.
I'm back again for sure now, done with all 3 legs of my vacation and the kid has been collected and brought back.
Now scrambling to pull house back together. And I lost 4 lbs while in vacation. Hee hee. Yay eating clean for the 2 weeks I was out.
I'll regroup later but wanted to wish you PCOS babes well!
Another update from me... The scale is finally responding to my efforts. I've also been looking at the IF stuff (here on this site and others too) and I've been "accidentally" trying it and when it's good, it's really good.
I'm liking it because it really forces me to think about what real hunger is, versus my blood sugar crashing (which means I can't eat whatever I ate 2 hours previous) versus my blood sugar spiking up high (from really strenuous exercise) with no food (and then having to eat something to bring it back down).
It has also had a positive impact on my blood sugar levels in the evening and in the morning. My doctor wants me to start testing after meals, but my insurance won't pay for more additional strips... so, I don't know what I'm going to do. I might ask my endo to give me a prescription of the strips and then I'll have two prescriptions -- will the insurance company notice?!???!!!
Have been following a Primal eating plan and it's the first time which has worked to improve both the physical and mental. The first week was a bit tough with the sugar cravings, but all good once they had gone
Diet
Congratulations on the 4 lbs of weightloss!!!
