Hi All,

I am new to the boards and looking for others who might be in similar shoes. I am 31 years old. I had always tended towards being slightly overweight my whole life. About 6 years ago, I gained 80 lbs in 8 mths, despite working out 5 days a week (cardio and weights). Since then, I have done Atkins (gained weight), BFL, Carb addicts, calorie counting, you name it, I have done them all with little to no success. I am hypothyroid and am on meds for that. My new dr is testing for PCOS, Cushings, and other metabolic problems. I am just so frustrated when I see people doing these plans that work and nothing does for me. I am faithful when I try them and don't cheat and give them several months before getting frustrated. Anyone else in this boat? Any ideas for weight loss, motivation to exercise when no weight comes off as a result? I love to work out but get bummed and feel what is the point when no weight budges. Sorry to gripe...I just am hoping to meet some kindred souls for support. Thanks.

Welcome, Eichic!!!

You've come to the right place. I think all of us PCOS'ers have experienced "that fast weight gain then it never comes off" syndrome. It drove me nuts!! Nothing I did exercise wise/eating wise helped. When I finally got treatment for PCOS is when things started to get back to normal. My advice would be to wait and see what your doctor has to say regarding what your ailment is, and in the meantime just keep doing what you are doing exercise wise to keep your body healthy. Once you get the proper treatment for whatever it is that is causing you to not lose weight, you will already be toned and in shape and you won't have to start from scratch like most of us do. You'll see the weight drop off dramatically easier than most of us did because you are already conditioned body-wise. I had to start from scratch and so I was flappy for a while. Heck I'm still flappy but I'm an in shape flappy now where as before it was blubber flap. So hang in there!! And feel free to come and join us in the PCOS monthly chat. That's where most of us girls hang out. Here is a quick link for ya...

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40089

Hope to see ya soon!!

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I am glad to hear from someone else who can relate. All my friends can do South Beach or WW and have it melt off...so it is a little lonely sometimes. Thanks again.

Eichic,
I was exactly where you were 3 years ago. In Feb 2001, I changed primary care doctors because I moved to a new state for a job. I don't typically go to a doctor unless I'm sick or its a requirement, so I didn't meet my new doctor until a few months after I moved. I walked into her office, and she asked if I'd ever heard of PCOS, and did I have it. I was already speechless (I was seeing her for a really nasty case of laryngitis!), but that really threw me.
I've also had a tendancy toward overweight, but never anything significant. Definitely overweight, but not in a huge way. Then, I fell at work and was in a cast/brace/crutches/cane for more than a year. I had been walking a lot and swimming during the summer, but couldn't do either: the pool wasn't accessible and walking hurt from the injury. I put off the weight gain that occured from 1999 to late 2000 (over 150 pounds!) as lack of exercise and change in diet due to the fall.
In Nov 1998, I wore a size 20 dress to my best friend's wedding. Formals are much tighter fitting than other clothes.
Anyway, I also tried all the diets out there. Atkins didn't cause any weight loss for me, but it did make me very irritable and headachy. After my primary care doctor suggested that to me, she and I went through 4 endocrinologists and a medical doctor who specialized in weight loss before I found the doctor I see now. While seeing her, I knocked another medical endocrinologist off the list and a reproductive endocrinologist at Hopkins.
They haven't officially diagnosed me with PCOS: I am apparently unique enough that the doctor at Hopkins actually presented my case to the endocrine and OB/GYN department. But I've also been tested for Cushing's, tumors, and a lot of other endocrine disorders.
Tried the glucophage, which made me incredibly sick... Am now on contraceptives (alesse/aviane) and spironolactone. Once they added the spirolactone to the mix, I finally started to lose weight.
If I can believe the scale at the orthopedist's office (its hard to, because I lost my balance due to yet another cast on that left ankle, so I was only on the scale long enough for it to start out at one, and then flash the final weight), I've lost nearly 50 pounds since last August. I am not at all sure I believe it.

Hi Anonymouse,

Congrats on the loss. Can I ask how much spiro you are on? My current meds are Armour thyroid 120mg, sprio 50mg, and Yasmin bc pill. I am really glad to get some support from people who have been there or are where I am now. I think I am just in a funk due to some other issues going on right now personally which magnify the health stuff. Thanks for the kind words.

Hi Noodles,

When do you hold the monthly chats? I would love to join in. Thanks again for the help and being so welcoming.

Eichic,
I'm on 50 mg of spirolactone. Earlier, I was on 25 mg of that and 25 mg HCTZ as aldactazide, but it made me sick. Not as sick as the glucophage, but sick.
I'm happy with the Alesse, but not the week that I'm off it every month. But I think I'd feel that way in any medication.
Despite an additional diagnosis of Thyroid Dysfunction NOS (Not Otherwise Specified), I am not on any thyroid meds. I think that my endo keeps it there because there is something abnormal, and she wants to continue to monitor it.

I recently had my Armour increased which made me ravenous!!! So, I am now taking it at night which I hope will help with some of that. Can't afford to put more weight on. What kind of exercises do you all do? I had a gym membership which I had to cancel due to financial obligations..hope to resume in a month or two. I have walk away the pounds tapes I do, some tae bo, etc. Any suggestions from people would be nice.

I swim and do water aerobics. I have been very antsy because I had my leg in another cast, and was out of the gym for 6 weeks. The good news today is that since I'm doing my PT at the office in the gym, and the PT agreed, I can go back to swimming... starting as early as tomorrow!!!
I'm so happy. The one instructor there is fantastic at modifying stuff and agreed to work with me, so I'm hoping to get to her class first so that I know what to do for the other class. Because, despite perceptions, there is impact in water aerobics. And I can't have that right now... my ankle is still swelling. I'll only be able to take 2 classes a week until June 18th, then I can go back to 3. I can go other times, but I never think I'm doing as much work when I'm on my own as I do when I'm doing a class for some reason.
As far as meds go, I'm content not to be on anything additional. I already take more than enough between tylenol for the ankle, benedryl for an insect allergy, vitamins, spiro, contraceptives... ARRRRGH!
Lately, though, eveyrthing I eat has disagreed with me. I'm not at all hungry: I'm pretty much forcing myself to eat. I don't even want chinese food, which is my favorite.

Swimming is probably one of the best forms of exercise out there, and I'm not just saying that because I love it. But it gets every muscle in your body, depending on what stroke you do of course. Do you do laps at all? Because they have this thing, totally can't remember what it's called, but you put it between your legs and you swim like that, not using your legs, or possibly your ankle.
eichic: some of the best workouts are the ones not done at the gym. If you have free weights, try doing a "mini circuit", like curves, but at home. Free weights work more muscles too. Tae-bo is an excellent workout, I do that, and boy do I feel the burn. And try walking, that always helps, just get a really good CD. I personally walk, do tae-bo, pilates, jump rope (burns an amazing amount of calories), and do weights. If you mix it up, your body doesn't get used to it, and you burn more calories and lose more weight. Hope part of this was helpful