Newly diagnosed

[Andiej88]

Hi all. Well my GP has just diagnosed me with PCOS and told me i need to lose weight. Ive tried to lose weight but really struggle. Any ideas would be appraciated x

[Hols969]

Low GI and cut out all white carbs and as much sugar as poss as they make the pcos symptoms much worse (there is sugar in everything so dont buy processed, or low fat actually as they tend to have more sugar than you realise). I am full fat on everything and add my own sugar if need be. We do need to eat considerably less as if we ate the recommended daily amount we would still put on 2lb a month so over a stone a year, which is maddening.

I really like the 5:2 diet as it is cheap and easy, once you get your head around it and it has totally changed how I feel about hunger. So I really quite like it, I tend to lose 1-2 lb a week on it (you do need to be relatively good most of the time though because we need to eat less).

Are you on the combined contraceptive as this can help you lose weight a bit easier as your body is less pcos too.

[Andiej88 in reply to Hols969]

No i have the mirena coil fitted. Gp wouldnt give me the combined pill as i am overweight which annoys me as i was over weight before and thry gave it me for 14 years due to bad PMT.

thank you i will look at the 5:2 diet xx

[Allyson1 in reply to Hols969]

How do you feel about metformin + limited carbs?

[Andiej88 in reply to Allyson1]

Im willing to try xx

[Hols969]

Meformin is not licenced for PCOS ladies unless you are insulin resistant so make sure they test if you are prior to being given it as not all pcos ladies are IR as their are concerns as to the long term effects of metformin when you are not IR.

[Andiej88 in reply to Hols969]

Ok thank you. Xx

[cannong]

Hi Andiej88,

I've had success with a mixture of Low GI calorie control in the past but always tend to reach a plateau and get stuck. I had a fertility appointment recently and asked the Dr about how best to lose weight with PCOS. He said that when you have PCOS, your metabolism is too efficient for it's own good. So whatever type of diet you do - calorie control, slimming world etc, your metabolism will adapt so although you might have some initial success, it might not be successful long term. That explains why I've plateaued so many times. He suggested instead to work on my metabolism by making sure I do regular exercise, and reversing how I eat. So having a big breakfast, smaller lunch and even smaller dinner. I've been doing that for a few weeks and it's working well.

I tend to have around 700 cals for breakfast, 400-500 for lunch and 300 for dinner.

I thought breakfast would be a struggle but I have it in courses. So when I'm getting ready in the morning I have an apple sliced up with peanut butter on it. Then a bowl of all bran with raisons. Then I take a full fat yoghurt to work and have that with homemade breakfast bar - you can find low gi recipes online. I use half the sugar that's in the recipe.

Hope that's helpful but it really is a minefield and finding something that works for you can be difficult. I hope you find a solution soon. Good luck. xxx

[Andiej88 in reply to cannong]

Thank you i will try that xx

[cannong]

I forgot to say yesterday. When I was on the pill, losing weight was so much easier, I lost 4 stone on slimming world. But when I tried slimming world when I wasn't on the pill, I lost 1 pound in 6 weeks and then gave up cause I was so frustrated. Now I understand why but at the time I was tearing my hair out cause I was following it to the letter and it had worked before. The group leader just used to say "if you follow the plan it will work". So essentially she thought I was lying. It's so hard to work out how your body works and reacts to various things, and what works for you might not for someone else. We have to be strong willed us PCOS women! xx