How does your monthly cycle affect your weight loss?
I have PCOS and normally don't have a cycle. Since being on the proper meds and losing weight my cycles have started up. I'm just curious as to how it affects weight loss. Thanks in advance.
It doesn't affect true weight loss -- FAT loss -- in and of itself. It can affect what the scale says, because the vast majority of women retain water at some point during their cycle. Of course this is temporary, as it is just water and has nothing to do with how much fat you are losing or gaining. Naturally, if you have food cravings during your period and you give in to them, your fat loss will slow because you are eating more calories. In the long term, though, having periods does not affect your true weight and body composition.
PCOS is polycystic ovary syndrome, and it isn't fun. It causes little (and big cysts) on the ovarys and sometimes fallopian tubes. Symptoms vary from woman to woman, it usually causes insulin resistance, so it is quite difficult to lose weight, some researchers say weight loss can be up to four times slower in women with PCOS. It often causes infertility. It makes the hormones go haywire and can cause absence of periods, hirsutism (excessive hair growth - ask me how I know!!) darkening patches of skin on the face and neck (my hairdresser thought she had spilled dye on my neck once!), little skin tags under the arms and back....amongst other symptoms.
Not all women with PCOS have all symptoms, there are skinny as well as overweight women who have it, and not all women have difficulty conceiving. It is quite a baffling condition in many respects as they symptoms can vary so much, and no one really knows why.
Good to know that I am not the only one with PCOS, I was recently diagnosed. they finally figured it out after I gained 30lbs in 3 months for no reason...most of it being around the abs, waist, hips, boobs.
My doc isn't putting me on meds yet because it isn't serious enough....
HELLO weight gain, hormones off balance, excessive hair-growth,
but my cholesterol and blood sugar are good so no meds yet.
I was just wondering how hard it was for you to lose your weight?
My doc told me that I could gain more weight so just to make sure I exercise.
I have PCOS and I lose somewhat slowly but not abnormally slow. If I stick to my program I lose; if I don't, I don't. I lost about 40 pounds on my own, THEN went on meds (which we've recently cut back). Taking the meds did not seem to affect the rate at which I lost.
There is an entire board here for PCOS, in the "dieting with obstacles" section, you might want to check it out.
kykaree I couldn't have explained PCOS better myself.
89fan It actually wasn't that hard at all for me to lose weight. But it's due to being on 2000mg of metformin a day that enables me to lose. Without met I have a very hard time losing weight because I am insulin resistant. I had three Dr's tell me that I didn't need metformin and that it wouldn't help me anyway. After three years of fighting I was finally started on met and was able to lose weight and conceive my son. I started back on met in May after my ds had quit nursing and have since lost 34lbs.
Actually, I've lost 170 total -- those 40 were just what I'd lost before starting metformin!
So, it IS possible for someone with PCOS to lose, and lose a lot. As I said, the metformin didn't help me in that regard, but it does help some people.
Good to know that I am not the only one with PCOS, I was recently diagnosed. they finally figured it out after I gained 30lbs in 3 months for no reason...most of it being around the abs, waist, hips, boobs.
My doc isn't putting me on meds yet because it isn't serious enough....
HELLO weight gain, hormones off balance, excessive hair-growth,
but my cholesterol and blood sugar are good so no meds yet.
I was just wondering how hard it was for you to lose your weight?
My doc told me that I could gain more weight so just to make sure I exercise.
What...you haven't checked out our PCOS board yet?!? Get down there right now, young lady!!
My doctor told me anyone overweight is insulin resistant. I'm going in for bloodwork in September (had to wait a month because I had ordered and taken Thyrocare - with awful side effects and a six pound weight GAIN) but he said I didn't need that test as I would have it being overweight. ?????
I am starting to wonder if i have this, i have no hair growth i can speak of (im blonde maybe its not noticeable?) but i do get a dar patch on the back of my neck which i have tried to scrub and scrub until i bleed that never goes and my periods are very messed up, i used to have them once a month for like 14 days, then they got really heavy and i didnt stop bleeding for almost 3 mos straight...i went to a gyno and she did a check up and put me on birth control which i stopped taking after a week because it made me violently ill, and i just now am haveing a period after not having one since january.....
It sounds like you certainly could have PCOS. You might want to visit this web site: www.pcosupport.org. There's all kinds of information there, a quiz you can take, etc. The fact is that even though PCOS has been "known" since the 1920s, and is more visible in the last 5 years or so, there are still a lot of doctors who either don't know anything about it or for some reason tend to think it doesn't apply to most people who actually have it. It IS a little slippery to diagnose sometimes because not all symptoms apply to all women. It's not a disease so much as a collection of symptoms and hormonal issues -- no one knows what causes it, or even if it's something you're born with or develop. So, sometimes it takes doing a little "doctor shopping" to find a doctor who is up on the latest and takes your symptoms seriously. The web site I referenced can help a lot in learning about the syndrome and how to talk to doctors about it.
How does your monthly cycle affect your weight loss?
