I don't know about the rest of you ladies, but after reading all the articles etc. and being told how difficult it is to lose weight with PCOS I had this niggling feeling that it wouldn't matter how hard I tried to lose weight, it would be impossible.

I've only just started, however I have to say it's certainly encouraging to see the significant weight loss some of you guys have made - this tells me it's definitely possible!

Yes it is possible!!
You can lose weight as easily as anyone else, it just takes a different approach with pcos. It took me a long time and a lot of yoyo-ing before figuring out the perfect formula to control my insulin and keep the weight off.
Your formula may be different, but when you discover it, it will make all the difference. Good luck!

And feel free to ask lots of questions.

It is definitely possible. Harder, sure, but DEFINITELY POSSIBLE.

You can do this!

You have to ask yourself, "how bad do I want to change"? How bad do you want it? If you want it bad enough, you will find a way to MAKE IT HAPPEN. Tell yourself nothing is getting in your way, nothing! And do it! You can....if you want it badly enough to make it a reality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXqlTdfgcD4

Not necessarily harder. I lose weight pretty easily when I apply myself, but losing weight is a challenge for everyone with a lot of weight to lose. I know that for some PCOS sufferers it is a true struggle. But I also think that there are some people (not saying there are any here, but in the general PCOS population) who too easily assume they aren't losing because of the PCOS, when they really aren't losing because they are not being honest with themselves about how hard they are trying. In fact, I know a lot of non-PCOS people with the same "problem"! My advice is don't view it as an excuse, view it as a reason to get the weight off.

I am most successful when I follow a diet that is closer to a diabetic plan, even though I am not diabetic. It's not low carb necessarily, just "smart carb." I get my carbohydrates mainly from veggies and whole fruits and the rare whole grain. And when I do have something sugary like fruit, I throw in something with protein like nuts or an egg or a small piece of cheese. My calories are between 1300 and 1700 a day and I try to do at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. And the weight definitely comes off.

Anyway, don't be discouraged! Just be diligent and honest with yourself and you will see progress.

Thyme,
I don't bother looking or reading articles about how hard it is to lose weight. Of course it's hard. If it were easy, we'd all be thin! Having said that, Water25 is right: it took a lot of yo-yoing (losing some, gaining back, losing some, gaining back) to find what I have to do to get the weight off. I lose very slowly, but I reckon that a loss is a loss and it adds up. So far, it's added up to 17kg- that's about 37.5 pounds.

I've got to eat between 1300 and 1600 calories a day: 1600 if I exercise hard out- which I haven't been doing due to time constraints, 1300 if I just take an hour's walk with the dog. The best way is to count calories, IMO. Then you know exactly what you're eating- and you get to be a food label expert too.

I just gotta say, until recently I thought my PCOS was making it impossible to lose weight. Now, after losing 20lbs in just 7 weeks, I realize we just have to lose weight differently.

My BIGGEST factors that have brought about my success, to the point where I can count on a pound every few days to a week now, are:
1) JOURNALING, JOURNALING, JOURNALING
2) Organic, low calorie foods
3) Circuit training with weights, and running

Here's a brief recap of what happened to change my weight loss journey for the better:

My boyfriend joined the Army and left for Basic Training on April 20. All of the sudden I went from having 24/7 contact with him to getting one phone call a week from him. I was completely numb with grief those first 3 weeks, couldn't eat or work out. I was a zombie, and I lost 7lbs (understandably). Now, this is in no way healthy. But surprisingly, something great happened...

I started madly writing to him. Every single thought in my head, every single thing I was doing at that moment, I put on paper. And I always told him everything anyway so this was no different. 7pm after work and alone in my apartment, missing him to the point where I don't feel alive anymore? I got out the notebook and wrote him until 11pm. Friday night when we're supposed to have a date? Turned the TV off, wrote him in silence in my room. It was the only thing I had to hold on to- those letters. After weeks of this, I realized there was a shift in me. I no longer craved as much sugar, I no longer craved as many carbs, and the quantity of food my body wanted went WAY down. When I was feeling anxious, I was no longer reaching for more food- I was reaching for my notebook!

Then I realized that I was journaling without even realizing it. All of these letters I was sending to him were also really a journal entries for me! And I had never been consistent with journaling before. And now, today, when we are down to only a few weeks left and I'm feeling happy, normal, and optimistic, the old appetite of mine still hasn't come back, and I keep writing the letters. I am working out more, making healthier choices, and literally have almost no desire to touch sweets or alcohol (even though I've been having 4 Hershey kisses per day and still losing weight). And this morning I hit 180lbs, and I'm a very muscular 180lbs at that! I've also taken up running, and my TV is almost NEVER on. When he is out of Basic Training and I can see him again regularly I have actually vowed to never stop writing him. It's been way too therapeutic for me, and I figure he won't mind getting handwritten letters even when we can visit and talk over the phone and email again.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know this is the epiphany I've come to over the last 7 weeks after years of struggling with PCOS and weight. I still haven't gotten a normal period yet but I'm sure that will come as I go through the 170's, then 160's, then 150's, etc. And I can't believe after all this time journaling was the key to everything else falling into place.

Right now this is what I've done:
~ 1200-1400 calories per day.
~ Heavy circuit training 2x/week.
~ Running 1-2x/week.
~ Journaling (writing to him) wherever I am- at work, standing on the train platform, having coffee in the morning.
~ Turning OFF the TV.

I hope this helps! I'm completely amazed at these results. I never thought this would finally happen. Good luck!!

Michelle

How fantastic that you've started doing this. I find writing is very therapeutic for anything that ails you. I write as an escape mechanism (I write novels; none are finished) and it lags off around exam time- end of May to mid-June and end of October to mid-November for the last 2 years. And as silly as it sounds, I have long conversations with my characters in my head when I have free time.

When your mind is engaged in any activity, the need and thought of food goes down and doesn't pick up again until you feel hungry. I figured this out when I was at the gym 5 days a week and at my martial arts classes 4 days a week (plus an hour's training with a higher belt once a week); I didn't want food either.

I'm getting back into the mindset of working out, getting fit, losing weight- it left temporarily while I was doing full-time work- but I know how happy I felt doing those things.

I don't understand running, but it's not my cup of tea. Hiking is: I love to hike some of the trails we have around here. I just can't get into running. But the best of luck to you-- and post your best times. It's great to have a chart of where you stand so others can see your sucess!

It's more than possible to lose weight quickly (and healthily- 2lbs/week) with PCOS. If you want more help with it, ask your OB/GYN for metformin (they gave it to me if you have PCOS even if you don't have Insulin resistance)

I think that often only the goal weight is seen as any significant measure of success. I know it's how I tended to look at weight loss for most of my life (I'm 43 and have been obese and dieting since age 5), only reaching goal weight counted for anything.

I think looking at weight that way, tends to result in a lot more failure than success.

I look at weight loss a lot differently now. Every pound lost is success, maintenance is success. I've "succeeded" in losing more than 70 lbs. I am succeeding in maintaining that loss. I want and am trying to lose more, but if I don't lose any weight this or any particular week, it doesn't mean I'm failing.

When I first started trying to lose weight, I wasn't sure that I could make it to my ultimate goal (150 lbs). I'm still not convinced that I can. I have insulin resistance, borderline low thyroid, fibromyalgia, arthritis, COPD, autoimmune disease destroying my connective tissue and cartilage in my lungs, nose and sinuses (and perhaps eventually kidneys).... a lot of factors that make dieting, exercise, and weight loss challenging. From the beginning I've thought that getting to 150 lbs may truly be impossible, but the next 5 lbs have always seemed (and turned out to be) doable. How many more "5 lbs" are possible? Maybe all the way to 150, maybe at some point before then I will decide that I can't or am not willing to lose more. That isn't failure, because even if I have already lost all of the weight that I "can," I've had some pretty amazing health benefits from losing what I have.

So you don't really have to worry about getting to goal, you just need to work on the next 5 lbs (or one pound, or half a pound).

In some ways, I'm shocked that I've come as far as I have. It's surpassed any amount I've ever lost before, and I've been on a downward trend for longer than ever before. Redefining success made all the difference for me.

I've found the complete opposite. Metformin's slowed my weight loss down considerably and I'm getting to the point where I don't want to take it anymore because I've got to eat every 3-4 hours, otherwise I get nauseated and the shakes really bad. My blood sugar is low enough as it is without having to drop it any further.

Ugh, battling the nausea right now.

Of course, you can! Victoria Beckham has PCOS, and she`s hardly fat!

I'm not going to say what I think of Victoria Beckham, other than I wouldn't mind a visit from David in the middle of the night.

haha, that made me giggle :P

I didn't know Victoria had PCOS! The only celebrity I knew of was Emma Thompson o.O

Love this post!

This is exactly the way that I lost most of my weight and I admit to being guilty of being diagnosed with PCOS and then freaking OUT rather than just continuing to eat in a way that had always worked and made me feel good.

Love the good energy here.