PCOS and The South Beach Diet
 

I was diagnosed with PCOS this Spring and started on Met in May. I have been tremendously sick since then. My dr. has switched me to XR, but I started getting sick immediately when he increased my dosage from 1500 mg to 2000 mg per day.

My dr. thinks a low carb diet might help with the nausea and "other stuff." I've read a lot about the SB Diet and it seems the most attractive to me.

I'd love to hear from those of you who have started SB. Is it working? Is the weight coming off? Are you hungry? Is it hard to find things to cook and eat?

Also, since SB was written to address insulin resistance, is it possible that the diet will address my issues so that I can discontinue the met? I would love to be able to address my PCOS symptoms and discontinue this hellish drug!

Hi There! I am on South Beach Diet and I love it. When I cut carbs while taking Gluc XR, my stomach was much more settled.

The first two weeks are more strict, and although the food list seemed pretty big, I sure ate the same stuff all the time! However, it was healthy, and with all the snacks, I was never hungry. I'm on Phase 2 now and yes it is easy to cook. You pretty much eat lean meats, good-carb veggies and whole grains. The recipes in the book aren't really my style, but if you stick to the food list, you can make LOADS of things. The important thing is to not add too many carby foods at once. I lost about 11 pounds this past month on SBD. That is a record for me. I normally have an extremely slow weight loss.

One thing you will have to remember is that exercise is VITAL for an insulin resistant person to lose weight. You might lose some in the beginning, but you will need exercise to maintain that loss. It seems to be more important for IR people.

I quit my meds and started taking Alpha Lipoic Acid, an antioxidant that apparently helps with insulin utilization. This was not my doctor's advice, I did it on my own and I don't recommend anybody else not listen to their doctor. Some doctors say that with weight loss, insulin resistance can correct itself, and that is what I am hoping for.

[size=large]WELCOME VA boilermaker!! :grouphug:[/size]

Glad to see you here!! :D

I take alpha Lipoic Acid...I think it has made a difference...I take that and L-Argnine along with a few other things..Flax Oil...multi vitamin..Vitamin B compplex, Milk Thistle..and some others..Cant remember them all right now but I swear to you I can feel the difference in when and when I dont take my meds. Guess they must be doing something right..:)

Hi there,

I just found this board today and joined. Thank you for providing a place for support for people who are often misunderstood even by health care professionals. I have PCOS and endometriosis and just started the South Beach Diet. I am on Day 3 of Phase One. I am also working with a nutritionist for insulin resistance and high cholesterol (I am not on any medications). So, I had already cut out major carbs and dairy. Even after losing 30 lbs, my cholesterol went up. Glad to hear you are having good success with SBD. When you started the diet, did you feel hungry? I have been feeling really hungry, getting headaches and low on energy, but I figure it's possibly because of detox phase. Also, do you know of any snacks or desserts alternatives that don't include dairy? I have about 35 lbs to go. Thank you for any advice you have, and I hope to offer some useful in return.

Congratulations on your weight loss! Will your doctor not even allow low fat or fat free dairy? I had quite a few cheesesticks in Phase 1. I also snacked on almonds, V-8 Juice, broccoli and cauliflower dipped in salad dressing, boiled eggs on occasion, lean deli meat with mustard (watch the sugars and fillers in the meat) and I also had spoons of peanut butter if I didn't eat nuts.

A good place for you to go is to the Fat Chicks on the Beach forum here at 3FC. You can get loads of answers from other SBD dieters.

Here's a link in case you don't know where it is:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=113

Good luck!

Welcome Divetta!!:wave:

Glad to see you here!! I am not on the South Beach...Jennifer is the one to talk too about that but feel free to post around the other threads and hop on in! :D

I think the SBD is wonderful. I just restarted SB today and feel great. I have been doing LC off and on for the last year and need to stick to something and I decided SBD is the one for me. Plus DH & I joined the YMCA and we are exercising every other day.....so I hope to see the lbs come off soon.

Welcome Tiggerfan!! :wave:

You're on the right track there. Keep up the good work!! I am going to finally join the gym. I have a work out buddy now who keeps pestering me and I know if I join, I will want my $$ worth so I'll stick to it plus I wouldn't want to let her down either. I have to wait until after March though, cause I am getting eye surgery and I need to have time to let the eye sockets heal before I go bouncing around everywhere. Heheehehehe :D

Divetta, I have no idea why I never saw your post! Gosh, I feel like I am in a time warp! Almonds and SF jello are two good snacks. You're not on Phase 1 by now, but they are still good snacks for Phase 2.

South Beach Diet
 

Hi Jennifer,

I have PCOS & (TTC) and recently my infertility specialist put me on a low carb diet. Before that I had been having all kinds of high carb food while I was on metformin...no wonder the med wasn't doing anything for me! My question is, since I am vegetarian do you think the book has enough recipes for a vegetarian person? Also, I am underweight and my doc wants me to put on atleast 10 lbs! I am finding it very hard to do that while being on a low carb diet....Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi, Nids. If your doctor wants you on a low carb diet, you don't want the South Beach recipes. Those are low glycemic carbohydrates, but it isn't low carb at all, beyond the first 2 week phase.

Does your doctor want specifically low carb? If so, you should look into other books. Doing low carb on a vegetarian diet isn't too easy, but it can be done. Trying to gain weight while doing it might be harder. I would suggest protein shakes between meals to add calories, and eating as much cheese and eggs and nuts as possible. You can find quite a few good recipes on the Low Carb Forum.

If your doctor is ok with low glycemic 'good carbs' then you might get a few good recipes from the South Beach Diet book, but probably not enough to buy the book. I would go to Barnes and Noble and look through the cookbooks there. The Good Carb Cookbook is good. Also, you can modify most vegetarian recipes by substituting with Splenda, black soy beans, brown rice and whole wheat bread.

I hope this helps!

HI Jennifer,

Thanks a heap for all the great ideas. I am not too sure about the low glycemic carbs, but will definitely check with my doc. Also, could you paste the link to the Low Carb Forum? Since I am new to the board I am still trying to figure my way around. I think the protein shakes between meals is a great idea...I hadn't thought of that at all.

Here ya go!

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=4

Just look at the forum as an outline. You just have to back up and go to another header to see something different. Good luck!