PCOS Weight Loss Stories! Success stories, and before, during and after pics! - Page 3

Alliance · 07-18-2003, 01:08 AM

boodles77,
Great Job!!!

kristal · 07-18-2003, 07:42 AM

hello..
how nice to see all these succes stories,..
the last time i posted here(see above,the before and after pics)..i told you i had lost 74 lbs..at this moment i have lost 85 lbs.
and am still doing great,..
i even had my period last week for the first time in 3 years,maybe that has something to do with my weightloss,..i am looking good and feeling great,i have also taken a greater interest in my appearance,buying clothes using make- up and nailpolish,..that sort of thing,..i know ,i should have done that when i was fatter too but it s just so much fun now,...feeling more of a woman,..my husbands is so proud,though he has always supported me,and never complained about my weight...it just makes me feel so good!
love from holland kristal

Khristy · 07-30-2003, 11:42 AM

I am usually a lurker sister, but wanted you to know I am a "loser" too. Since Jan 2003, I have shed 53 lbs by low-carbing and have another 70 or so to go. No specific method, just keeping the carb counts under 20 or so. All your stories are so inspiring, and I wanted to encourage you all the keep up the good work.

272/219/150

christyz · 07-30-2003, 01:42 PM

When I was at my heaviest, I had a dream that I was thin, and I remember feeling so joyful and relieved during that dream. When I woke up, I was devastated...I was still in my old body. So a part of me has had incredible struggles to convince myself that the last year of my life hasn't been a dream.

My PCOS story begins at age 13, but the nightmare I went through with 6 Dr's and hormones is too long to convey here. To make a long story short, my symptoms became horrible after discontinuing the pill after 18 months to ttc. By the grace of God, I became pregnant with my daughter without meds, but 2 years after her birth, when my Dh and I tried to concieve another child, I was hormonally sicker than I had ever been. I was completely amenorrhic, absolutely exhausted, acne worse than in my adoescence and was told by a string of Dr's that i was, as one worded it, was just "not a very ambitious young lady".

In the fall of 1998, the OB that delivered my daughter came out of retirement and I immediately booked an appt with him. He ran my prolactin and an HSG, and put me on provera & clomid, and within a month of my HSG, I was pregnant. After my baby boy's birth, my periods came back right away and I felt better than I had in years. I assumed that whatever I had been afflicted with had fixed itself with the birth of my baby boy. Little did I know.

At my one yr OB appt in July 2001, I tearfully told my Dr I was running, gaining massive amounts of weight , my skin was breaking out worse than when i was 12 and I was mortified and embarrassed by my beard. I was back without periods again and exhausted. At that appt I was 186 pounds...I had gained 51 pounds since my wedding in 1993. My OB took one look at my symptoms and said "have you ever heard of PCOS"? I told him I had, but that I was told I didn't have it by my last OB. He looked back in my chart and said "Well, funny, but you have never had the proper tests for it". He ran a battery of tests and within the next 2 weeks, I got the answer to my prayers..a diagnosis. My Free androgen, which was normally up to 8.5 in a menstruating woman, was 21 and my testosterone was high. I was immediately put on 1500 mg of Met.

My first year on Met was extremely disappointing. I took my dose faithfully, but was very ill with side effects. I didn't make the diet connection that first year and I think I made things worse for myself side effects wise by continuing to eat too much carb/sweets. I was relieved to work at home those days, because there was no way I could have left the house with the explosive diahrrea I had that year. I kept up my running and managed to find a route that included businesses who had easily accessible bathrooms and who didn't ask dumb questions when I raced in and used their bathrooms without buying anything! LOL

At my 2002 check up, my OB was perplexed. My labs had improved, but they were still over double normal, and the drug should have regulated things by now if it was going to. I convinced my Dr to give me another 6 mos on met while i waited to see an endo and he agreed. While waiting for the endo, my Met miracle began. My patience and running were rewarded...my FAI took a 5 point drop and my weight started to decrease dramatically. My face previously round, began emerging as my old face...i had cheekbones!

My endo was a complete JERK with bedside manner and ignorance to match and threatened to pull me off Met since I wasn't ttc, but I had already seen enough of a difference in my life that I just calmly thanked him for his opinion and went back to my family Dr. My family Dr was incredibly supportive of my continuing Met now that he could see it was working, and the last year of my life, my quality of life has been transformed. I added the IR diet, began exercizing 4 to 6 times per week and have lost a total of 41 pounds.

When I read other women's stories, 41 pounds sounds so pathetic but when I consider that was 20% of my body weight, it's rather incredible to me. I have gone from a size 16/18 to a size 8...I haven't been a size 8 since my wedding. I've gotten hipbones and collarbones back and it still boggles my mind when I walk past the mirror. I gon in to the bathroom several times a day, just to make sure what is happening to me is real. My periods are like clockwork, and for the first time, my hormone labs are now totally normal. I have the energy to race after my kids, rollerblade 30 Km a week, do weight work and energy left over to live my life. My husband and I are making plans to hike and run and do things I never dreamed would be possible for me. My diet has been the most incredible change in the last 6 months...the IR diet has been another strong miracle in my life. I still get to enjoy the things i love, but i link and balance them with protien and enjoy moderate amounts. I know I can eat like this forever, it keeps my weight stable and it improved my hormone labs drastically the last 6 months. I might not be dreaming after all!

The people around me are shocked at the difference in my appearance. I think the one it's been the most strange thing for, is my Dad. I see my parents once or twice a week, and every time we are together he shakes his head and says how "slender" I am. My Dad has never been a gushy guy, but he told me in the only way he knows how last night that he was proud of me, and I feel like my old self again, not this balooning stranger.

I would be amiss if I didn't mention a very vital part of my success...my husband. While I did this for *me*, there was not one minute in the time I was overweight, where he made me feel anything less than beloved and sexy. He was my number one advocate and truly loved me no matter what my body looked like. That incredible un-conditional love is what I wish every person on earth could have. It gave me the freedom to do whatever i needed to do to make myself well and gave me the strength to stand up to the myriad of medical "professionals" who dismissed my problems as just being fat. My husband has been very vocal about how proud he is of me, but that unconditonal acceptance was the most incredible gift. I have a few people in my life that have been supportive blessings, but he tops the list.

So that's my story. It was not an overnight thing..it was slow and steady over the last 18-24 months. But the more I read, the more I know that's the way weight stays off for life. I feel like I am where my body wants to be, and I'm happy here. I'd like to see my last 7 pounds come off, but right now the only budging seems to be inches. If it doesn't, I am content...I feel like I have already had my victory over this nasty syndrome.

My advice to anyone reading this is to be your own advocate and READ like you're going for your doctorate. My last specialist gave me lines to dismiss and discredit me, and now that I know what I know about PCOS, I know some of his info was complete caca and I challenged him with studies and facts. The appt ended with him asking me specific questions about PCOS and IR! (Uh..didn't you go to Med school,. buddy?!) While I'm disappointed this guy doesn't do his own homework, I left that appt feeling empowered, and I encourage each of you to be as wise as you can. Nothing knocks the wind out of a dismissive Dr than knowing your stuff.

Thanks for listening to my rant/sermon and best of health and joy to all the cysters on this forum. If me, the sedentary, carb queen extraordinaire can become a health freak, anyone can! And it didn't even hurt!

**edited to add: I hit my goal weight of 138 pounds Fall/2003, & as of Feb '04 I weight 132 pounds..total lost: 54 pounds.

**

**Edited April 7, 2006 - Maintining my loss for 2+ years! My story has been told in the Dec '05 "First for Women Magazine' and in an upcoming June '06 edition of "Homemaker's" magazine. PCOS is managed, and don't let anybody tell you any different! **

Tas · 08-03-2003, 09:37 AM

Hi there. I finally made it over here

About 15 years ago, after having my first child, I first had irregular cycles. However, it was not until early this year, when I went to the doctor, yet again, about my irregular cycle and was finally diagnosed with PCOS. A couple of days before that, I started taking Black Cohosh in the hope that that would help - and it has. I am now very regular and o' every cycle. I have also been taking biotin and silica to help my hair that was falling out. I tried Saw Palmetto for the hair as well, but didn't like the side effects. Apart from the initial nausea that didn't last very long, I had a lot of cramping with the next AF and the luteal phase was a lot longer than it had been, so I stopped taking it. My hair is now thickening up and healthier than it's been for a long time.

My change in diet started a couple of years ago when my kids were having behaviour problems. First I cut out colours and preservatives from the food we were eating and there was some improvement. Then I put the boys on an elimination diet to see if they were reacting to anything else. They didn't come good from anything that was taken out, but I realised they were not doing well on all the simple carbs that were left. I then came across Dr Kathleen DesMaisons program Radiant Recovery, which is about healing the biochemistry that makes us moody/depressed from eating simple carbs or 'whites'. So we started eating 'browns' instead of whites and enough regular protein. We also kept colours and preservatives to a minimum. The kids improved and I felt heaps better as well, and certainly not stressed all the time like I was. I then found my way here and started reading about low-carbing.

I've had a bit of a struggle sticking to a low carb diet, but I'm getting there. Getting to 10kg off is a big incentive now to keep going. My biggest problem is being tempted by the things I cook for the kids. Even though they are on low sugars, they still have quite a bit of wholemeal pasta and bread, brown rice and potatoes with the skins on. I'm doing pretty well at the moment though.

I'm not following any particular plan, just avoiding sugars and starchy foods (grains, potatoes, etc). I also can't have dairy except yoghurt. I make sure I have plenty of greens with lunch and dinner. I use the formula I learnt from the Radiant Recovery program for the amount of protein I need at each meal (1/6 of your weight in pounds or 1/3 your weight in kgs is the number of grams of protein). But I don't really count anymore, I just know how big a piece I need. I don't count carbs, just avoid the things I mentioned above. And I don't avoid fat (only trans fats) since I learnt that the right fats are so very important for our health.

A typical (good) day would be:

Breakfast -
3 eggs, 1/2 c blueberries with 1/2 cup yoghurt and 1 tbs ground flaxseeds

Lunch -
Red meat, chicken or fish with salad and low sugar dressing.

Dinner -
Red meat, chicken or fish with cooked veggies, maybe stir-fry.

Snacks -
Meat and veg' soup. Celery with peanut butter.

Drinks -
Water, fruit/herb teas, decaf coffee.

I'm also trying to get some regular exercise as well.

Alliance · 08-03-2003, 07:10 PM

Christy,
What an inspiration you are!!! You look incredible. My ask what kind of tests did your doctor run on you?

Keep it up!!!

christyz · 08-03-2003, 10:27 PM

Hi Alliance...thanks so much.

I still walk in front of the mirror and surprise myself.

Do you mean what tests he ran to diagnose me, or what i have annually in terms of bloodwork?

Alliance · 08-03-2003, 11:37 PM

Christy,
Yes...to both your questions...please!

Thank you,

christyz · 08-04-2003, 12:04 PM

PCOS manifests itself differently in every woman, but i was diagnosed when my testosterone came back at 4.1 (normal Canadian value range for pre menopause female is .7 - 3.1) and my free anrogen was a 21 (normal is 8.5 or lower).

Twice annually I have my kidney and liver functions done, my fasting glucose, FSH/LH, testosterone, free androgen, cholestoral workup, iron & TIBC.

Hope it helps.

Alliance · 08-04-2003, 09:44 PM

Thanks Christy...it did help me out..

taah · 09-14-2003, 05:13 AM

This is my PCOS and Weightloss story together. I wrote it after I was dx and then have updated it.

PCOS STORY>>>> SEC EDITION
My struggle began years ago. I am 26yrs old, I was recently dx with PCOS. I have had symptoms since I was 13 and been trying to convince doctors for years but no one wanted to listen to me. I started gaining weight as a teenager and no matter what I did I could not seem to lose the weight. I was very active and did not eat that much but I kept gaining weight. I also started getting hair on my chin then on my neck and sideburns and finally had to begin shaving, then it was showing on my stomach. I started getting skin tags all over my body and dark patches on my thighs, I was not having periods, and I was not feeling very much like a woman. I knew something was wrong but didn't know what. Every time I went to a doctor I was always told to lose weight. I tried and I told them to please tell me how, I tried everything they said and nothing worked, but they basically called me a liar, said I was eating to much. There was one point in time when I actually stopped eating because of this and became very sick and weak but it was the only way I could lose any weight. All of this caused me to fall into a deep depression and stay there most of my life, I married when I was sixteen and ended up in divorce 8yrs later was never happy in that marriage, just thought I could not get anyone else. I was on a path to destruction, my syptoms kept getting worse and nothing was helping. Every so often I would get the courage up to try a new doc but then the same thing would happen, they would just tell me I was to fat and to lose weight and I would cry, the last one yelled at me to stop crying, and then abusively gave me a pap smear and hurt me so bad I left and never went back. I went on a down spiral and I was seeing a thearpist at that time. I wanted to commit suicide. I felt it was all hopeless and I was tired of dealing with it all and tired of the pain. I finally met a man that changed my life and has been a life saver for me. He showed me I am worth saving and that I am a beautiful person, although, I must admit, this was a very tough task he undertook. I did not want to accept what he was telling me for a long time, but he was patient with me and loved me enough to keep trying. I am so thankful he did. He is very supportive for me and told me if we had to travel the world we would find a doctor to listen to me. We were married sept 14, 01. He saved my life. I finally did find a doctor that listened and dx me with PCOS and we are now working to get this under control. I have suffered through two miscarriages and years of infertility. I am currently not ovualting and wonder if I will ever concieve a child, I however , have come to terms with this and know that no matter what happens I still have a wonderful life ahead of me. I struggle with all the problems and issues of PCOS everyday, but I know that I will overcome this. I have started the Insulin Resistance Diet, for the first time in my life I have lost weight and am keeping it off. I have lost over 30lbs in 3mths and feel so much better. I am getting healthier and starting to enjoy life more. I had scheduled the gastric bypass in July, I felt that was my last option on losing weight. However, after being dx with PCOS and IR and understand more about my condition, I decided to try the Insulin Resistance Diet. I gave myself one last chance out of surgery. I told myself that if I had lost any weight between April and July that I would continue on the diet and not do the surgery. I was only talking maybe 10lbs at the time, never did I expect to see such great results. I have more energy now more than ever, I am losing weight, I am not as angry or depressed. I plan to keep this up for the rest of my life and continue to reach my goal. I believe the greatest thing that has helped me has been to let go of the guilt and to realize this is a medical condition. Now that I know what needs to be done to help myself, I am doing it. I have no reason to feel guilt or shame, and I refuse to let anyone make me feel that way, including myself. I am researching all my options to see what is best for me. Atleast I know I am not crazy anymore. I am sure alot of you can relate to my story, that is why I want to be able to share this so other women will know they are not alone. Lets keep the awareness alive. I want other women to learn to accept themselves as they are, love yourselfs and have confidence to do anything you wish. I finally realized this and now I am so much happier and feel like so much has been lifted from my shoulders. I have gained confidence in myself to finally attend the University of Alabama Birmingham. I will be Majoring in Criminal Justice with a minor in Chemistry and then on to a Masters in Forensics. I know I will be successful in anything I do. I have fought the battle with PCOS for years and its has not beaten me , I refuse to give up. I deserve more out of life than just mere existince.

TERRA

Update...Since writing this story, I have lost 166lbs in 2yrs. I lost about 150lbs in one year on the IR DIET. Then in Oct. 2002 I went off track for some reason. I knew it worked but for some reason I just stopped caring. From Oct.2002 till Aug 2003 I had only lost 10lbs because I was not careful anymore. I went back on the IR DIET on Aug 27, 2003 and I just weighed yesterday and I have lost 10.5lbs since restarting. So I have actually now lost 170.5lbs. The 166 was before my weigh in yesterday. I am not through yet. I was a very large woman and it will take some time before things are right again. I have started excersising more and going to the gym. I know this is the way I have to eat for the rest of my life if I want to have a life. If I can do this anyone can.

Sorry this is so long, I am sure I told you more than you ever wanted to know.

Tas · 09-14-2003, 07:12 AM

Congratulations

170.5!!!!!!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to go.

Thanks for sharing your story.

Maddy · 09-14-2003, 09:20 AM

I am completely speechless at that weight loss. You must feel fantastic!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Thank you so much for posting your story. It is really motivating to be able to read others' success stories. It shows it can be done!

170.5lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pleasantlyblew · 09-14-2003, 08:08 PM

Terra,

I am overwhelmed by your wonderful inspirational story. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.

I have just come back from a two week holiday in France with my family. I had a great time (my first holiday in over 5 years) and I am scared to step on the scales. I just know I have gained weight. I have been low carbing for 7 months now and have never felt better. But over in France it was really difficult to get the type of foods I am used to eating (even in the supermarkets) so I figured it wouldn't hurt to abandon the low carb WOE for a fortnight. How wrong could I be lol? Within days I began to feel really exhausted and kept falling asleep. After a week I felt lousy and my anxiety began creeping back and I felt bloated and emotional. I then stopped having desserts with my meals, opting for cheese instead but I have still been having alcohol and lots of coffee, which I don't usually have.

If ever I needed any more proof that low carbing is the best way for me, then here it is! Most people would feel liberated to be able to 'come off' their diet for 2 weeks but for me I have been counting the days until I can get back to my usual eating habits and exercise regime! I know I can get this weight off again but feel frustrated that I have probably gained about 10 pounds that took me months to lose in the first place. But as bad as it made me feel, I must admit I absolutely LOVED the French pear tarts, chocolate brioche, creme brulee etc, etc, etc...

Oh well, back to the Gym tomorrow!

Nikki x

Vanessa · 09-20-2003, 02:11 AM

Well I never thought I would be posting in this section but here I am and I am so happy! Here is my story of weight loss success:
I believe I have had PCOS since I was 16 but didn’t know what it was. I started gaining weight and got facial hair. I thought the weight gain was from stopping taking gym class in school and thought the facial hair was just inherited from my mother. I had always been skinny up to this point but by the time I graduated high school I was 140 pounds at 5’5”. I had also stopped having my period for 6 months and my mother took my to my first gyno appointment a few months after graduation. I was told that I was anemic and was told to take iron and was given Provera to start my period. Shortly after this I got a job where I had to walk quite a distance from where I parked my car to work. I began to lose weight and started watching how much I ate and ended up going down to 115 pounds shortly after I turned 19.
I met my DH to be a few months later and we dated for 2 years. Right before we got married I went on BCP’s as we didn’t want children right away. I started to gain weight and within less than a year I had gone back up to 140 pounds again. I decided that the pill wasn’t working for me with all the weight gain and I went off it, only to become pregnant with my first daughter! During my pregnancy I gained the recommended 25 pounds and after the birth of my daughter my weight quickly went back down to 140 pounds. I breastfed my daughter for 7 months and my weight remained fairly stable but when I stopped breastfeeding I went back on a different BCP as I found out that I had developed a latex allergy and couldn’t use condoms, etc. Up went the weight again!
When my daughter was a year and a half we decided to try for another baby so I went off the pill and got pregnant right away. I was 150 pounds. I only gained 3 pounds during that pregnancy and once my second daughter was born my weight went down to 140 pounds again. I breastfed her for 14 months and again my weight stayed stable. As soon as I stopped, however, my weight went up again. I gained 10 pounds in a week! I was so upset but had no idea why this was happening. I was back on the BCP’s at this point and stayed on them until my second daughter was 2 years old and then went off them to get pregnant with my son.
When I went into the doctor’s office for my first prenatal visit I got weighed and I was 164 pounds! How humiliating! I only gained 3 pounds during this pregnancy as well and after I had my son my weight went down to 150 pounds. I had a tubal ligation before I left the hospital and didn’t go back on BCP’s and my period never came back. When my son was 19 months old I ended up going to a new gyno and he diagnosed me with PCOS. He put me back on BCP’s to give me periods and also Spiro to lessen the facial hair. I had to go off the BCP’s after only 2 months due to really bad depression but stayed on the Spiro for 1 ½ years, all to no avail. I went back to the gyno, who had told me to lose a bit of weight to help with symptoms, and told him that I was going to go off the Spiro and lose weight to try to make my body healthy. I was so discouraged though that I asked him if there was anything that he could give me to help with the process as I had tried low carbing and Metformin and it just didn’t work for me. He told me that the only thing he has seen really helping his patients was Weight Watchers. I went home and found out the cost of the program and realized that I couldn’t afford it. I was talking to a friend who is also a cyster, and she told me she had done WW before and had all the points info so we decided to do it together and not go to meetings. This way we had somebody to be accountable to which is so important in successful weight loss as you can’t just cheat and get away with it. I also found that actually writing down what you eat helps because then you can’t pretend that the little snack or extra cookie didn’t happen. It helps to keep track of how much and what you are eating so that you can see trends in your weight loss and if what you are eating is helping or hindering the process.
It took me another few months to get to the point where I was determined enough to actually start the program. When I hit 170 pounds I finally realized that I had to bite the bullet and get going on losing weight. Before I started actually restricting points I just spent a couple of days recording how many points I was consuming eating the way I was used to. I was shocked at how many points I was eating even though I wasn’t eating a lot of food. It was all about what I was eating and not so much how much. I also prepared for success by stocking my cupboards and fridge with healthy low point foods so that I didn’t get discouraged that I had nothing to eat since what I was used to eating was so high in points I would have used my daily points quota up half way through lunch! I did have to learn portion control and I found that a kitchen scale was absolutely invaluable in this. I also realized how many points/calories I was consuming in drinks and switched to fat free creamer and artificial sweetener in my coffee. I also switched to diet pop and Crystal Light. After a while I started taking calcium supplements instead of drinking milk as I wanted to save up my points for food. I also stopped eating breakfast as I found I was hungrier by lunch time if I ate breakfast. I have never been a snacker so that wasn’t an issue for me. I started making healthier dinners without potatoes, pasta or rice. I also found that all the processed and convenience foods we have been told as a society are so desirable are what is making us fat so I stopped buying them and now stick to simple fresh or frozen veggies and lean meats. Lunch is usually vegetables as soup or salad, and fruit. Occasionally I will have whole wheat crackers with cheese or peanut butter. I made sure that I saved up enough points during the day so that I could still have a reasonable desert so that I never felt deprived. I found that if I was sensible in all the other things that I ate, I could still have treats that I enjoy. You just can’t eat poorly all day and then have treats as well.
When I started this diet, I was absolutely convinced that I wasn’t going to succeed as I never had before. I was also in too much pain with plantar fasciitis and sciatica to do any kind of strenuous exercise so I figured I was doomed to be fat forever. In spite of my skepticism, the weight started to come off. It was coming off at 1.5-2 pounds per week, with the occasional plateau. When plateaus happened I really had to lean on my friend for encouragement so I didn’t give up and I did the same for her. When I had lost 20 pounds my period started coming on its own and has been showing up regularly ever since! My testosterone level has dropped from 4.3 to 1.5(although this has killed my libido so now I look good but don’t want sex lol). My facial hair has not improved nor has my hair loss but I am giving it time. My plantar fasciitis and sciatica are asymptomatic now and I have so much more energy! I have totally changed the way I eat and it is something I can keep doing for the rest of my life, unlike diets that provide food for you and don’t teach you the right way to eat in the real world. I have learned moderation and that if you want your cake and eat it too you also have to eat your veggies and lean meats! It has taken me 10 months to lose 50 pounds and has been a real struggle at times, but it is all worth it in the end when I feel so much healthier and I look at myself in the mirror and can’t believe the body I see is mine! I finally found the real me under all that fat and I am not going to allow myself to get lost again! The pictures I am attaching are from my 10th anniversary on August 29, 2002 and then my 11th anniversary on August 29, 2003. Thanks to all my cysters for their support and encouragement and your success stories that motivated me!