Any PCOS Ladies out there

[SianGreshon]

Hi Everyone

I have just bought the fitbit charge. I have lost 48 pounds so far with over 100 to go.The weight lost so far has been from diet alone. Looking to connect with ladies with PCOS as well as I dont know anyone else who has it. Losing weight has been a real struggle and I am on Orlistat and metformin from the Dr's. Wondering if anyone also needs a buddy for daily exercise challenges. At my biggest I was 24 st 9 and I am now down to 22st 2. Would love to hear other peoples stories who have pcos and any tips you may have  to help lose weight. Me and my partner want to start a family but the specialist has told me I cant right now and last visit in Dec told me I had to lose wieght or they would refer me for the gastric bypass so im doing as much as i can to lose as much as possible before i go back in august. xxx

[ANNEE]

Hi

You are doing so well,I live on Guernsey

I go up and down with weight and want to maintain the weight with a healthy life style

My main activity is walking my Lab he is called Jack.

It does help to write down everything we put in our mouths,I think a good thing to do is when you pick up the food (be it healthy or not)wait one minute then decide if you need to eat this usually the things like choc,biscuits and crisps is uusually no I dont !

Good luck you are doing so well

kind regards

Annee

[Kryssy90]

im in the same boat with you! i was diagnosed with PCOS a few weeks ago. my doctor told me the same thing. i wont get pregnant unless i lose some weight. so that same day i got my fitbit and started my lifestyle change. in 2 weeks i have lost 9 pounds withabout 32 to go! my doctor wont put me on medication yet becasue she wants me to lose weight before getting pregnant. and the meds tend to help you get pregnant. so, 32 pounds away from my next step! its hard losing with PCOS because of the hormone issues it can cause. all we can do is keep going! i hope you reach your goal! feel free to add me 🙂 

[sm27]

I was just recently diagnosed this year. I have had my fitbit a while but just also recently got back into using it religiously. I'm on metformin 2000mg/d but i find it has made me so sick i am only doing 1000mg/d. I am actually thin but I do need to lose about 12 lbs due to being sedentary and have outrageous sugar cravings. Good luck to you!

[NR82]

Hi all, I also have PCOS and although I am not classed as overweight also have a real big urge for sweet things which obviously isn't good for me! Have used my fitness pal for a while and got a Fitbit recently so I could monitor my steps. I've bought the I Quit Sugar books to inspire me but anything you've tried to kick the sugar would be appreciated!

[SianGreshon]

Thanks everyone. It is coming off slowly. Too slowly for my liking.its nice to know other women are out there so I'm not alone. Gonna start upping my steps. I typed my weight wrong on my original post. I should have put 21 st 2. I'm now 20st 8 so only lost 6 pounds in two months. Feel free to add me would be go to encourage each other into walking more x

[MRose]

For the ladies who have not found it yet, there are several Fitbit PCOS groups in the Activity Groups section, two of which are PCOS Women and PCOS Fitbit Users.

I feel bad that most of my posts on here are "my experience with this" and "my experience with that..." type of posts, but PCOS is something with which I have been living for much longer than I like to admit! There are three huge things to remember:

1) Find a good doctor that you fully trust and with whom you feel comfortable. Do your research! Ask around! I cannot count the number of doctors I've seen, and it took a while to find a good doctor, but I've been with her for years now and it's literally changed my life. Don't just take their word as gold; do your own research. Doctors are there to help you reach your goals, but your health is your responsibility. Try looking here, or ask around with people you trust!

2) Get moving! Get eating well! Food is medicine and your body was made to move. There is no magic pill or cream, and if there is, it's too good to be true. You didn't get sick overnight, and it will take time to make your body well again. But,

3) Know that you can totally do this! It's hard. It takes a while. You might lose weight a little slower than your running. But you know what? You can totally do this! I changed my diet to remove refined carbs almost entirely, and the first month was brutal with the sugar cravings and the mental draws, but after that it was so much better! Some days it was hard to get moving, but when I did, the difference was palpable! In the first couple of years, I lost about 75 lb and my symptoms are now mild. That was something I couldn't say for years before! It took a while but it was worth every second! So never forget, you can do this!

[HelenaFitbit]

Great tips @MRose! While I do not have PCOS, I have endometriosis; so I need to follow up on my plan 

[sm27]

I'm not sure how to deal with the sweet cravings either. I feel like everyday is a struggle and others just say "just dont eat it, or just dont buy it" but i find myself day dreaming about candy! 😞 I did do a week long detox which was extremely difficult. I didn't eat/drink any refined sugar and I lost 6 lbs in that one week. But then I gained it back when I started on the sugar again lol

[MRose]

Hey @sm27! The sweet cravings are legitimate and the struggle is real! The way our bodies react to refined sugars (or more, how we react when we don't have it)  is indeed an addition (some suggest that it's more addictive than cocaine, although that seems a bit extreme :-p). Saying "just don't eat it" is essentially telling you to go cold-turkey, and that's incredibly difficult.

What kind of substitutions have you made? Our brains aren't wired to work very well with the "break a habit" mentality; rather, you have to replace it. When a good friend of mine stopped smoking, she carried a cigarette pack full of straws so she had something to hold until she was a little farther down the path.

Try going to something like fruit salads as snacks/desserts, and keep it around all the time! When that BAD craving hits (and while you're "detoxing," it will hit!) go straight for the strawberries! Slice an apple into smaller cubes so it takes you a bit longer to eat it and keep it in a plastic baggy. Do this long enough for the cravings to get a bit better (probably around a month or so), and then re-evaluate. It's not easy but you can do it!