My story is similar to a lot of people's with PCOS. I lost a bunch of weight, it stayed off for 18 months and then it slowly started creeping back on and now I can't get it off. Again. I eat the same stuff as my sister and she's tiny (tiny) and I'm almost 200lbs.

So I thought I'd poll those with PCOS who have lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off. How did you do it? What was the main thing you did/the top piece of advice you could give someone struggling to lose weight with PCOS?

Quality and type of food. And to know, that women with PCOS actually are very good at conserving calories, so if someone the same body size/height as you can lose weight at 1800 calories, you may have to be at 1400 calories.

I heard on NPR "Science Friday" that PCOS is actually a survival plan that our bodies have -- we survive famine just fine...

I see you are frustrated. *hug*

Know not to compare with nonPCOS people. Your friend has her own biochemistry. You have yours as a PCOS person.

Know that food and exercise is not enough.

Each time I blew up in weight it was hormones gone berserk.

The first time in my 20's it was dx the hypothyroid. After that? If my meds for that were not right, I would blow up. It happened twice more in the late 20's and again in the early 30's. I could be doing food and fitness perfectly but if I got a whoosh! kind of gain from nowhere I would schedule labs. And each time -- yep. Thyroid needed changing. I went from pink to yellow to blue ones. It chilled and my weight got back on track.

This latest "whoosh!" time as I creep to my 40th I thought maybe it was a combo thing of thyroid and perimenopause. Because I was also having hot flashes like crazy.

Did like always and the thyroid showed up perfect. So not that. So I went on a quest for a new OB/Gyn and yup -- perimenopause hormone crazy. Solving that now and seeing weight start to chill again.

So my suggestion is to get a check up. Go ahead and do what you can for fitness and food log/quality of nutrition. But don't miss out on seeing a doc to check on the other part of it.

Also examine your home and habits if any of that can be cleaned up.

Get good sleep. Wonky sleep messes up your hormones.

Reduce your environmental exposure -- like get rid of plastic food containers, nonstick cookware, use green cleaning methods to reduce chemistry in your home.

Buy less /organic meats, milk, eggs, and cheese. We don't need MORE hormones coming in on our food to wreck havoc. So make sure the animal foods you do have are the best quality you can buy.

Check your personal care products -- soap, shampoo, make up, etc.

PCOS may be named for one of the symptoms -- the ovarian cysts. But it is at heart an endocrine disorder. So keep an eye out for anything that is an endocrine disruptor.

A.

Mine was way out of order too. I saw a dietitian 1st to understand portion control. Then i saw a diet doc who weighed me weekly and administered B shots weekly and i also used some diet med to kick start my metabolism. Then I actually had energy to workout as well and eat less. Then I finally got a grip and lost 65 Lbs through very hard work and the help of a professional too.