Pcos and need to get my weight down.

[Kirstymarie123]

Anyone suffering pcos and managed to loose weight.

Any tips on what to do ? How to loose weight ?

Ive been put on orilistat but to scared to take it !

Any help appreciated

[EllaMidlands]

Hi,

I don't know what PCOS is so I did google it. Have you been prescribed orlistat because you urgently need to lose weight. I have taken it years ago, side effects aren't pleasant but you do lose weight albeit temporarily if you stop using it and Keep eating. I wouldn't be scared if taking it as long as you have access to toilet but it can be sudden and feisty. I am losing weight now by following low carb diet and it eating anything processed apart from a bit of milk in my tea and some natural yogurt for calcium. I eat lots of veg, some fruit and meat/ fish. You don't need orlistat as you still have to change what you eat.

Good luck, feel free to pm if you want detail on side effects.

[Activity2004 Visitor in reply to EllaMidlands]

Poly Cistic Ovarian Syndrome= PCOS.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Have you tried this community, as they may have some tips for you?

healthunlocked.com/verity-pcos

[lucigret]

Hello Kirstymarie123 , my daughter-in-law suffers from PCOS. She was about 1 1/2 stone overweight when she was diagnosed at the age of 22. Her Doctor told her to try and loose some weight just by eating sensibly and exercising. She has lost 2 stone by adjusting her portion sizes, and stopping the snacking and also going to the gym or exercising 3 to 4 times a week. She eats a very healthy diet but still allows herself treats, just not as often as she did. She is now 27 and 6 months pregnant. As you can imagine she/we are all thrilled as she was told it would probably be really hard for to conceive. Try not to find the whole subject to daunting and take a bit of time to read the link moreless has given you, also look at the NHS 12 week plan. Read all the advise people give you and then you can make a more informed choice of how you are going to achieve your goal. I have never used orlistat, the side effects sound horrible and I agree with Ella, if you need to change the way you eat in the long run, then start changing them now and avoid the orlistat. Keep posting on here if you need support. We are a friendly bunch. Wishing you success in your weight loss journey💐😊

[Hidden]

Hi Kirsty Marie,

I have PCOS (and an underactive thyroid) and I have managed to lose 1st 9lbs over about 4 months. It's not always easy and I have found the less sugar I eat and alcohol I consume, the more successful I am. I wasn't a big drinker anyway, but I ate more sugar than I really should. That's about 12.8% of my overall body weight and someone told me that losing 10% of your body weight could be really beneficial for symptoms.

My weight loss is starting to really slow down now, so I am really digging in for the long haul. This is when it gets really hard for me, so I'm determined not to give up this time.

I've never tried Orlistat personally, but I think if you eat too much fat, it can be rather unpleasant, from what I've heard. If you do take it, you'll need to be careful.

[MrNiceGuy]

Hello Kirsty and welcome to the forum.

It’s little wonder that you’re incredibly apprehensive over beginning to take Orlistat, since some of the side effects aren’t pretty.

When my wife was diagnosed with PCOS a few years back, she was prescribed Orlistat. While she was taking it, we determined that an excess of fat her diet, regardless of whether it was healthy/unhealthy, simply exacerbated the side effects of the medication.

However, by reducing fat consumption to around 30% of daily intake, thus, ensuring that it was obtained from avocados, fish, olive oil, seeds, flaxseed and nuts, for example, she fared far better while taking the medication.

In addition to reducing her calorie intake, while increasing consumption of complex carbohydrates, such as oats, lentils, quinoa, bulgar-wheat and beans (the ones in water, not tomato sauce) and eliminating refined sources (cakes/sweets/pastries and white varieties of potato, rice, bread and pasta), she enjoyed weight loss.

With regard to vegetables, she only consumes non-starchy varieties, since they’re considerably lower upon the glycemic index of foods. Her consumption of fruit is also measured due to its fructose content.

She also increased frequency of exercise, encouraging the regular depletion of glycogen (stored energy) from the muscles. Some years since her diagnosis, it’s something that she’s continued to undertake, at various intensities, since she recognises how important exercise is for improving insulin sensitivity (crucial for management of symptoms associated with PCOS).

As others have rightly stated, the most important thing you can do is to reduce consumption of sugar/refined carbohydrate to a minimum.

With PCOS, excess glucose in the bloodstream not only increases insulin secretion, its secretion stimulates the production of androgens (testosterone) within the body, further exacerbating associated symptoms (particularly the ability to lose weight). As such, I’m sure you can appreciate why the elimination of sugar remains paramount.

Nonetheless, through portion control/calorie reduction, consumption of diet that’s higher in fibre and the uptake of regular exercise (the more strenuous the better), you can succeed.

[Activity2004 Visitor in reply to MrNiceGuy]

Some of the same advice goes for if the person is a diabetic, as well, MrNiceGuy.😀

[MrNiceGuy]

Indeed it does.

[Activity2004 Visitor in reply to MrNiceGuy]

Sent a quick message. Please look for it.