A Gazelle is Tony Little's version of an eliptical trainer. You might have seen infomercials with him on it. Short guy, blond hair in a pony tail and a baseball cap? Really muscular, built like a fire hydrant? Anyway, you stand on it and glide your legs back and forth and it is similar to cross country skiing. Your feet never leave the pedals, so it doesn't put shock/stress on the joints, other than stretching your legs out while they swing. I bought my more basic model at WalMart for $100. They have fancier, heavier ones on TV. It is completely manual, so you get out of it what you put in. The stronger you pump, the more workout you get.

Good luck with the referral!

If you have it to spend in your budget, going to places like the YMCA, and doing "Power Waves" or "Aqua-sizing" is really great too. It is vertually no impact on joints....and with the resistance the water offers....it sheds pounds fairly quickly too.
I have yet to get to do this....but my best friend lost ALOT of weight doing it.....and she in the same boat we all are. You might try it~

HI, I am new to this forum, actually I've been reading it for over a month but just joined recently. I was diagnosed with polysic ovarian syndrome 21 years ago at the age of 23 and have been on birth control pills for treatment.

Went off pills in my 20's, conceived, miscarried a few times, had to take clomid, became pregnant and had first child at age of 29, and another child to follow nearly 2 years later. I have been on BC pills since then and presently.

I have a history of hypoglycemia, not sure if I offically have it but it is recorded as history. My father was a type 2 diabetic, Aunt on my mothers side was diabetic, Grandmother (father's side) was hypoglycemic. So, anyways, I am and have been always hungry for at least the last 25 years. Some of my weight gain was of course emotional eatting and the other just plain old hungry and craving breads, sweets, peanut butter. I have been tested years back (1976 & 1991) with the 3 hr and 5 hr GTT came out in normal range.

I have read that insulin resistance and PCOS can go hand in hand. I never knew this. I have never been told this and I am not taking anything for it. I have been on WW for almost 2 yrs. & whenever I tried to be extra good with doing low fat to no fat I would gain. Since 4/18/03 I have been on Atkins and failed to lose anything for 1 1/2 months so I decided to count calories and carbs. Still constantly hungry but cravings are gone, just plain old hungry most of the time. Managed to lose about 4 pounds, 3 that I had put on while on Atkins when I wasn't counting calories along with the carbs..

So what test is the best test to ask for to check my blood sugar, etc? What if it is normal and I am still always hungry?

Thanks for reading this.

Karen

Karen:

Have you tried taking GTF (Glucose Tolerance Factor) Chromium supplements? Among the many things they are purported to do is even out blood sugar and assist with weightloss. I've found when I take them, I don't get the "starving hungries" anymore.

Karen, sorry I didn't see this post before now! The blood test you need is fasting insulin. If you go to a gyno or an endocrinologist then they will probably know what to do. If you want to give low carb a try again, post your daily menus on the low carb forum and people will be glad to give you advice on what might be hindering the weight loss. I'm a SLOW loser too. However, slow loss is better than no loss! If I don't watch what I eat, I gain. Reeeal easy.

Jennifer, I'd been on Atkins since Oct, 2002 and lost 80# when Suddenly all weight loss stopped. Not gained but had been dizzy and feeling weird when I asked doc to do a fasting sugar test. It was 126, not terribly high, but followed w/fasting blood sugar and it showed normal but glucose intolerant. I've done quite a bid or reading and decided to change to SB to get everything under control and to have more choices to continue losing weight. I'm starting the diet next Monday after going to the grocery store over the weekend. I'm disabled and can't do much exercise but do have a Gizelle Air Walker that I use daily which helps some. I hope this will work for me. Also thyroid has shut down so have taken .25 pill for a month and now waiting to see if doc will increase dosage. Still no energy so probably will be yes. I'm totally off sugar so shouldn't have too much trouble switching to the different way of eating. Any pointers will be welcomed. Kriket

Hi Kriket, are you referring to SugarBusters or South Beach diet?

this thread has been very interesting to me..a cardiologist several years ago told me i had syndrome X but I didn't really understand what that meant. When I was 23 I was told that I had insulin resistance but not to worry..I have struggled with my weight for years only to find out now that my insulin resistance was defeating me. I always knew I wasn't eating junk food or huge portions despite what people thought. Understanding now that my body simply is going to take longer than average to lose weight and I have to work with what I have instead of competing with people who are not insulin resistance has made a great deal of difference in my approach to weight loss. No longer do I feel guilty about not losing

Glad to hear it! It's nice to find explanations. What kind of plan are you following?

I have two friends with pcos and one is been following teh special diet. I am watching to see how she does'

she said she lost some weight. i hope this continues for her.