Anyone with PCOS ( Polycystic ovary syndrome ) ?

[laurenashleyftw.livejournal.com]

I hope it's okay for me to post this here, it's really been bugging me and I figured I could get answers here.


How are you dealing with losing weight, and/or what have you done to lose weight? I've been pretty depressed lately because I just can't lose weight. I've lost A LOT of weight since April, but I also started a pill to help regulate my hormones/periods so I think that's what's doing it. I mean Since July 20 I've worked out 5 days a week... for 2 and a half weeks during the summer I did 8 hours a day of non-stop moving around/dancing in the heat. Once August hit and school started I worked out for 10 hours a week. But now that I'm done dancing around on the football field (season is over :{ )I'm not sure WHAT to do and it's depressing me, it took ALL of that hard work to even lose like 15 pounds and now I'm scared I'm going to gain it back. I mean 3 weeks of exercise for me is equiv to one week of exercise for a normal person. I know 15 lbs sounds like a lot, but I'm a senior and I literally went from a size 5-7 in jeans my sophmore year to a size 15 my junior year. And I literally didn't do anything different in my diet... =[.... I'm back down to a 11-13 now. I look smaller than my size though, it's just that I have a nice big butt and hips.

So basically, what are you doing in your diet, working out, etc, that you notice is making a difference?


thanks

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I have been overweight my entire life. Back in 2003 I put myself on a diet - I weighed 260 - I just cut back on my meal portions. I still ate anything I wanted to, just moderately. I ate between 900-1200 cals a day. (I did however stop drinking any kind of soda) I also exercised 2-2.5 hours per day. By 2004 I weighed 180. I have since gained it all back. At that time, I didn't know I had pcos. I was just diagnosed with it a few weeks ago. I've also started dieting again recently and have gone from 257 to 231. I'm not doing it in a healthy way though. I only eat up to 500 cals a day. Haven't done any exercise yet either. I think it varies for each person since our bodies are different.

Perhaps you could start with your food, limiting how many cals you eat and what you eat. Cut out any soda. You have to kind of trick your metbolism sometimes. Your body gets used to a certain routine so switching it up can help. Same goes for exercise. You may have just built muscle during all that exercising, which isn't bad because it helps burn fat. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. But i'm extremely scatterbrained right now.

[laurenashleyftw.livejournal.com]

Yeah. To be quite honest I unhealthy-dieted a few years ago. I can't bare to do it again, esp. with my current boyfriend. He would literally break down if I were to and if he were to find out. He tells me EVERY DAY he loves my body... even before I admitted I hated it. But yeah, I'm going to have to do A LOT of cutting back.

[dindin.livejournal.com]

I don't have PCOS, but I've gone from a size 16/??? to a 6/10. :)

A few tips/tricks - I made lots of little changes, and I continue to look for ways to make little changes. You'd be amazed at how much they add up. Walk everywhere you possibly can. Stairs are your friend - avoid escalators and elevators like the plague. If you drive, don't waste your time looking for a good parking spot, take a bad one - far, far away! If you have to take an escalator - walk up it! Take a trip to the mall with your friends and walk around for hours. You'd be surprised how tired you can get.

Avoid sodas, and diet sodas too, if you can. If you want something sweet drink real iced tea (never the bottled stuff). Otherwise, water. Lookout for "fat free" stuff, which can kill you with sugar instead of fat. Try to eat as much "real" food as you can. Do your parents cook dinner? Can you? Try to figure out quick and easy healthy things you can make (last night I had whole wheat spaghetti, with organic tomato sauce and a cut up grilled chicken breast).

Don't deny yourself stuff or you'll want to binge; have something in moderation if you really want it. But do you really want it? Or is it just there? Learn to listen to when you're hungry and when you're bored/anxious/etc. That's HARD but will get you so far!

Ask questions when you eat out! There are so many hidden bad things for you at restaurants. Stick to simple stuff grilled meat and veggies if you can.

Can you keep practicing your dance even though the season is over? Maybe other girls in your school would want to if you asked around? If you can find space, it wouldn't cost you anything.

Be creative, and don't give up! Be proud of little victories!

[laurenashleyftw.livejournal.com]

I make at leeeast 10 circles around my school a day... lol. I don't drink sodas, only water/sweet tea so I'm doing something right. My parents cook most of the time.

Ty for the advice. =)

[dindin.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! But sweet tea? Like from restaurants? Ack! That's loaaaaaaded with sugar! It's probably worse for you than soda.

Make a gallon of your own iced tea. :)

[laurenashleyftw.livejournal.com]

Yessss. Sadly I'm from the great southern state of Mississippi. I can't get away from it :{

[dindin.livejournal.com]

Oh, now surely even in the great southern state of Mississippi (*spells in her head*) you can order unsweetened iced tea.

They might look at you a little funny down there, but consider yourself a trend-setter! ;)

[laurenashleyftw.livejournal.com]

I almost cringed at the thought of UN...sweet-tea! Hahaha.
Yeah, I don't drink it often... like once a week honestly.. at home I drink water/milk.

[uozlulu.livejournal.com]

Remember that your body is also changing right now so it's possible your increase in pants size is your hips naturally widening. As for me, I find walking with a weight in my backpack helps me keep my weight down. I put a 5lb weight in my bag and it helps. I also walk if I can wherever I can. Like in college I could take a bus to class or to the strip mall about 30 minutes walking away, but I walk and that helps.

Keep track of your sugar and salt, sometimes something with few callories can have too much salt or too much sugar. When you bake, cut the sugar in half - it still tastes good, but is better for you :D and try to cut down on your salt, but remember cutting salt out completely isn't good for you either since your body needs salt.

Depression could be comming from your birth control pill. Sometimes, even after being on a pill for years, you have to change pills because it might not be right for you as you get older and your hormone levels change.

[laurenashleyftw.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's a bit of that too. Like... I say I'm a size 13, but it's mainly in my butt and hips...

[uozlulu.livejournal.com]

I'm a size 8 in my hips always even when I'm thin >_> My bones are just set there, so if I were you, I'd figure out your right weight range and work to get into that range instead of aiming for sizes that might not even fit your skeleton any longer.

Oh and if you do the weighted backpack thing, remember to use both straps of your backpack so that it evenly distributes the weight. This is not something to do if you wear on eof those single strap bookbags or a double strap on one side.

[laurenashleyftw.livejournal.com]

I carry a bunch of books around at least 2 times a week anyways, ty for the advice.. and your first paragraph made me feel quite a lot better about myself. How do you think I'd go about finding my ACTUAL weight range?

[uozlulu.livejournal.com]

There are websites that you can use. A good one is http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm because they give you a realistic weight. For example, a chart says I should be 117, but I know with my body I start looking too thin and feel sick if I get around 130. This calculator puts a good weight for me to aim for to be about 140, which is actually a really good weight for me when I can manage it.

[laurenashleyftw.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much. =)

[laurenashleyftw.livejournal.com]

TY so much, would grapes/oranges be bad? What would be "legal" to eat in this situation?

[laurenashleyftw.livejournal.com]

Well this sucks, I LOVEEE fruit. Gah. :[ lol!

[psykiblue.livejournal.com]

Losing weight with a PCOS diagnosis can be incredibly hard because of how your body can no longer process food like it normally did especially sugars. I've read that it is incredibly difficult to lose weight, and I know women who struggle with this.

Also your body may not be processing sugars correctly which is why PCOS often relates with type 2 diabetes. I have a friend who has both and lost over 50 pounds by cutting out all refined sugar, watching her fat intake and working out.

I did the same and I've lost 60 pounds so far, and I feel so much better for it. Not sure if it'd help but have you talked to your doctor about your concerns?