Hi, ladies.

I'm at a Plateau (with a capital "P"). I've been trying everything and need some advice. I've read a ton of things on PCOS. But, it is difficult to understand how to mix calories and work-outs. I've been running/walking (3 days a week) and also incorporating body pump (3 days a week). How much are you ladies eating when doing hard workouts? It seems I only lose when I drop my calories LOW. I know that isn't good in the long run as I don't want to lose muscle. However, 1500 calories and hard workouts and I don't lose a thing! I've tried eating more and that is WORSE. So, I thought I would see what is working for everyone else.

I've been trying to keep my carbs under 100 (avg 75-85). But, my fat is really high on those days. Any suggestions?

1200 - 1300.

I cant do hard workouts. If I did I'd probably go to 1400-1500.
I'm very short, lightly active and sometimes sedentary (student so usually sitting). I take spironolactone which may be helping.

Loss is about 1 or 2 pounds a week.

I don't lose because of exercise. I lose when my calories are low.

I've been on a plateau for a long time now because I don't want to lower my calories more because I exercise so much.

Exercise helps balance my IR, but not much else.

Is Body Pump a relatively new addition for you? Sometimes when you add in weights, you can stall out for a little while.

ETA: Just realized this is PCOS/IR related. I don't have any advice specific to that, but still think the addition of weights could be contributing if it's a new activity.

Hi everyone:

I finally had to go see a nutrionist who worked with pcos patients and diabetic patients. the things I was eating (example: cherrios, skim milk, and bananna for breakfast) I thougt was a good breakfast but for someone who has pcos it was too many carbs for me. she reduced my carb intake to 45grams per meal and since last june i have lost 30 pounds. I was taking 4 metformin per day my hba1c was 6.7. I went to the doctor last month and she reduced my metformin to 1 per day and my hba1c has dropped to 5.4. When i return to see her in August if my numbers still look good she thinks that i can have a normal period!!! So try to work on your carb intake and see if that helps. Also i have noticed if i eat fatty foods some times I lose more weight..Good luck to you in your journey!!!

@Blueberries I started Bodypump to break the plateau. I've been doing it for a couple of months. I stopped this week and focused on running. Im going to aim for 1300 cals with 3-4 runs per week and see what happens. I'm completely sedentary (office job). So, I don't think I'm over-exerting and burning too many calories.

Thanks for the info, ladies! I lost more weight when not exercising. But, my skin looked horrible (visualize me melting). Exercise is necessary...it's just so hard to account for it calorie-wise. All of the calculators say I should eat 2100 calories and that DID NOT work. So, I'm going to go back to what was working!

Crystal101 - What dose of spiro are you taking? I just started taking 25mg, but I don't even feel the diuretic side effect. I'm wondering if my does is too low.

Poet - I don't really have any advice since I'm struggling to lose myself, but I wanted to congratulate you on your 60 lb loss!!!

@PrettyMom09--Thanks! I really need to see appreciate how far I've come more. It's so hard to do that sometimes. Keep up the good work yourself!

My calories are always really low. I'd say around 1000 somedays less, I just listen to my body, and I still work out 1 hr a day on the treadmill, trying to become a full runner. couch 2 5k kinda thing.

I been hitting plateaus as well, and it's like you gotta shock your system, eat less or eat even healthier(way more veggies is what I do), and then really push yourself at your workouts or even add a day. Sometimes I even shock by going to a buffet and eating more than I would but still exercising that day. It's about confusing the bodies set routine I think.

I can now run longer than I ever could in my life and it feels awesome.
I actually like running, and I like eating low carb.
The weight will come off the way I'm living now, it's a permanent change for me, just takes time and a little thought.

I guess I'm different from everyone else here - I eat between 1400-1600 daily, and sometimes a little more if I do a big workout.

My doctor told me that if you're working out for 60 minutes and burning 800ish calories, which I do about 5x week, you shouldn't be eating 1200 calories or less because ultimately your body will go into starvation mode.

I've consistently been losing 2-3 pounds per week (when giving full effort), but I shake things up every few days with regard to the types of foods I eat to what types of exercises I do. Sometimes your body needs to calibrate itself or rest.

Try shaking things up and test out different foods/routines. Eventually the scale will move. In the meantime, maybe try to focus on exercising as a way to be healthy rather than thinner. Just my two cents.

I do P90X 5 times a week, interspersed with 1-2 times of Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. Sometimes I allow myself a day off, usually not. My calories are about 1500 per day. I'm not losing though, so I'll have to reevaluate.

I seem to be a bit of a anomally....when i eat low 1200-1300 cals it just sends me into a bad binge cycle. I have lost 203 pounds to date with another 15-20 pounds to lose to get to my ultimate weight. I have been doing weights 1-2 times per week so I know especially on my upper body i do have quite a bit of muscle. I am currently eating 1700 calories which I cycle and I try and avoid carbs at dinner most nights. As a general rule my exercise routine is:

mon - 30 mins boxing + 45 mins body combat
tues - 1 hour cardio PT session (interval running. stair climbing etc)
wed - 30 min weight PT session + 45 mins cycle class
thurs - rest day
friday - 45 mins body pump
saturday - outdoor strength training PT session + 60 mins body pump + 60 mins body balance

This works for me altho i have been gaining and regaining the same 5 or so pounds for several months...but ive decided at this point to just try and maintain...my bodys lost a lot (over 5 years) and it may just need a break

kazz =]

I stay under 1650 calories BUT my endo put me on a strict diet and I am not allowed to have over 50 carbs per day. If I go over that, I gain weight.. or rather, I do not lose weight at all. No matter how much I work out or decrease calories, the scale will not budge if I go over by more than a few carbs. I could eat 2000 calories and lose, as long as the carbs are spot on. The endo told me the fat doesnt really matter but of course "healthy" fat is better.

I follow the IR diet which recommends no more than 30g carbs per meal and a minimum of 15g protein at the same time. I lose steadily (but kinda slowly!) eating around 1300 a day on that plan with little/no exercise. Now that I've started to 'melt' (great term!) I've added in some exercise but it's not affecting my number losses one way or the other. I cycle up to about 1500/1600 every few days and find that kickstarts things again if I flatline.