Advise needed

  • I am almost 17 years old (5'6") and was diagnosed with PCOS about a year ago.
    Currently my weight is still at a 175 lbs and i wish to lose weight and become fit.
    I've tried lowering my calorie intake from 1,000 to about 750 daily. I'm aware it's not a healthy amount, but i thinks its best. The amount of my portions have decreased for the better and I do take multivitamins as well.
    I often drink green tea about 5 cups daily and do some exercise.

    I need advise for my diet
  • It's been a long time since I was a teen!

    Over at http://youngwomenshealth.org/parents/pcos-parent/

    there is the link to the teen PCOS chat with a dietitian at the end of the article. Here is a direct link

    http://youngwomenshealth.org/online-health-chats/

    Maybe you could ask there and get more teen oriented advice?

    A.
  • Thanks for sharing!
  • I think you're making the problem worse by eating so few calories. You will end up slowing your metabolism too much, and it will end up affecting your thyroid. It's much healthier to eat at least 1200-1500 calories per day, and exercise a few times per week.

    Please try to look at the big picture and go for health and ignore the number on the scale. 175 can be a healthy weight depending on muscle mass, so please ignore the BMI. Maybe with your build and muscle structure, you cannot be a size small or medium, and that's OK.

    I am saying this because I am remembering when I was younger, and I wish someone would have told me to ignore the BMI because I was healthy, but I always looked at myself as 'fat'. I was active, and I naturally had more muscle than most of the girls my age, so I was bigger than them, but I wanted to be small and 'beautiful'.

    PCOS is linked to insulin resistance and hormonal imbalance, so focus on balancing your hormones and living a healthy lifestyle, and your weight will be what it is meant to be.
  • Go for a ketogenic diet. Don't worry about calories and look instead at eating as few carbs as you can and as much fat as you can.

    Meat, fish, veg, dairy, oils, nuts... go for it!
  • I'm not sure why you would admit your choice to drop your calories to 750 a day is unhealthy but also state that you think it's best. Would you tell your best friend to do something you know is unhealthy? Treat yourself at least as well as you would treat your best friend. You can't make your body the enemy and expect good results.

    I read an article the other day that indicated that women suffering from PCOS see improvements when they add carnitine. Here is a link to the article. PCOS is definitely a hurdle for you, but I think starving yourself is the wrong solution. Start looking at dietary changes you can make, and supplementation you can do, to improve your condition.

    For example- WHAT you eat can often matter more than how much you eat. What does your diet consist of? Do you eat all whole, nutritious foods that you prepare yourself at home? Or are you eating nutritionally deficient processed foods? Do you consume sugar of any type? Do you drink soda? Juice? Do you consume wheat products? Many of the things that society has brainwashed us into thinking is healthy, or at least not unhealthy, actually is horrible for you. Many foods as well as "food like products" (processed foods) that we consume are highly inflammatory.

    Check out the paleo or primal diets. Mark's Daily Apple (website) has some great info. Here are two success stories from women with PCOS that saw great improvement on the primal diet.
    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/five-...ive-ever-been/
    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/i-did...floor-with-it/

    Don't starve yourself. Nourish your body with the foods it needs, and cut out the crap that's hindering or hurting your journey to good health.