Hi

[Joanna1807]

Hey just starting my weightloss journey, I have suspected pcos and need to loose weight. Any advice would be appreciated

[Activity2004 Visitor]

Hi Joanna1807 ,

Have you tried a lower fat/carb. diet for the PCOS? If you eat a low fat/carb. diet, some of the PCOS symptoms may decrease or go away completely. What has your doctor told you? With the carbs., you need to eat some to keep the brain and the rest of the body functioning correctly. Very low carbs. makes a person not able to function the way they should sometimes depending on the person.

[Joanna1807 in reply to Activity2004]

Tbh my doctor has been no help at all, they said loose 6 stone and itay help your symptoms (excess hair, spots, no period, excess weighy) but never gave any advice on how to loose weight.

[Activity2004 Visitor in reply to Joanna1807]

The extra hair growth-- ask for a cream that will make the hair lighter. It may cost something for the cream, but it'll be less noticable.

Weight-- eat a low fat diet and count the carbs.. If you're having pain in the stomach area, there's too many carbs.. Just eat fewer, but not less that it'll make you have hypoglycimia (low blood sugar). Do you like taking walks? Exercise also can help with the weight and PCOS issues.

[Joanna1807 in reply to Activity2004]

Thanks for advise

[Activity2004 Visitor in reply to Joanna1807]

You're welcome!

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to Joanna1807]

In my experience, GPs are not the best to advise on weight loss, I was told by at least 2 GPs "1000 calories a day" which dieticians now agree is too low for sustained weight loss😕 You will get good advice on here, 😊 (IMO better)

Many follow the NHS 12 week plan, check out the Newbies pinned post with links to checking your BMR and suggested target calorie range, or if you prefer, I count portions 😊 Look up the British Heart Foundation "facts not fads" eating plan. Both are generous enough to prevent hunger and deprivation, massively important for long term success 😊

Carrying excess fat plays havoc with our hormones, so this would hopefully help your other issues 😊

Best wishes 😊

Ps good advice about walking 😊 I'm waiting for a hysterectomy and walking really helps my pain and discomfort

[Joanna1807 in reply to IndigoBlue61]

Thanks

[Mama_Duck_14]

There is a bc pill my GP put me on it helps with symptoms of pcos just not the weightloss it is called Ortho tri cyclen lo. It also helps with infertility after I stopped taking it I ended up pregnant. I only wanted one kid that is why I am not taking it again because I am a very forgetful person and the doctors refuse to tie my tubes. It was a good bc it regulated me within a week and I did see improvement with skin issues, worth a try!!

[Penel]

Hi Joanna

There have been several posts on here about PCOS, if you want to see them use the small search box on the right top of this page.

You need to keep your glucose/insulin levels under control as much as you can. Cut out sugar and 'white' carbs, keep any carbs you eat high fibre and low GI. Some people find they need to cut down on dairy as well. Eat good quality protein, healthy fats and lots of veg.

Have a look at the "Welcome Newbies" post under the pinned posts for an introduction to this site and the 12 week plan, which is a good place to start for tips on healthy eating. As well as the 12 week plan, have a look at Michael Mosely's "Blood Sugar Diet" for useful advice.

[Purple_faced_woman]

Hi Joanna,

I am currently doing the Michael Mosely's 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet as mentioned by Penel above, which I am finding surprisingly do-able. It has a selection of recipes which I am working my way through, finding the ones I and my husband like. I am a type 2 diabetic; my husband lives off sweets and chocolate and crisps and is very smugly not actually suffering from anything despite being pretty overweight. However, there are plenty of recipes that he likes too (eg, spicy chicken with lentils, steak with creme fraiche & peppercorn sauce, cheesy baked beans, lamb koftas, fish baked in the oven, etc), so we can have an evening meal together which makes life a lot easier.

It is 800 calories a day which is very low and assumes that you will drink only water or coffee and tea with minimal to no milk. However, I am including other things - coffee with milk, occasional snacks of cold meat, or a small amount of nuts, etc which ramp up the calories to anywhere between 900 and 1300 a day, although I try to keep to the bottom end of this.

The huge advantages of this diet are you lose weight and visceral fat (which can be measured by how your waist measurement shrinks) really fast, and that you have "real" and tasty food, and that your blood sugar becomes more controlled. I have done a fasting blood sugar test everyday since I started 3 weeks ago - initially it was quite variable but always in the high 7s (7.2mmol for a fasting blood test is the highest it should be for a controlled diabetic, 5.5 the highest it should be for a non-diabetic); this week all my readings have been in the mid-6s and a couple have been in the mid-5s. My weight has dropped from 107.3 kg to 102.9 kg - just over 5 kg. I am a little disappointed that my waist measurement has only dropped from 40" to 39.5", but I hope that this will improve in time.

This may or may not be a useful diet for you (Dr Moseley suggests for some people just having 2 days a week on the 800 cals and the rest being sensible provides enough of a boost).

Good luck with whatever you do. I'm sure you will succeed.

[Joanna1807]

Thank you for all the replies, I have had a look at recipes on this site but have yet to look at the 12 week plan, I have changed white food with wholemeal/Brown and I am adding more veg to meals, cut out processed meat and lowered my intake of red meat, I find it hard to make food that my husband will eat.