PCOS Weight Loss Stories! Success stories, and before, during and after pics! - Page 7

Vanessa · 05-12-2004, 07:14 PM

I also have another question for you zeozot. Where in your monthly cycle are you because you could very well be bloating- the mid-section that is so tight in your pants is where you would be most likely to have the bloating. I know that when I have PMS (and sometimes it starts a week to a week and a half before AF is due) I get a lot of bloat- sometimes 4 pounds! I also have a good friend who is a cyster and she can bloat 6-8 pounds so that may be the problem with you. I also wanted to just suggest that perhaps you move the majority of your caloric intake to earlier in the day as it sounds like you are eating more in the evening than in the rest of the day. That way you are eating at the time that you are most active and your body can use what you are taking in rather than just storing it while you rest and sleep. I found that this really helped me in my weight loss. Please don't give up- it can be immensely frustrating at times but you will feel so much better once you succeed. Also I am sure you know this but not eating will just cause your metabolism to slow down so it isn't really the way to go

. Good luck to you and keep coming here for all the support you need!

theherbs4 · 05-13-2004, 04:42 PM

I am 32 years old and have suffered from the condition known as PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) since I was 19. This meant that I was totally unable to control my weight and seemed to go from a size 12 to 24 within a very short period of time. My hair started to get very thin and fall out. I was constantly tired all the time and found myself having to have a sleep during the day just to keep going. I did not have a regular menstrual cycle and would sometimes go months without having a cycle at all!! I would constantly be in pain and was bloated (looking about 6 months pregnant) and uncomfortable all the time and my mood swings were unbearable for the whole family!!!

As I am sure you can imagine this had a massive impact on my life. I had to give up horse riding (which I loved & owned my own horse), I had no self-confidence and would not go out at all. Even trying to buy things like clothes became a major issue.

I had tried practically every ‘diet’ that was going and even some that people had never even heard of and had probably just been ‘made-up’ out of sheer desperation. Nothing seemed to work to any degree or length of time. Unfortunately, the only way to try and control this condition, because of it being mainly hormone related, is to lose weight which to me seemed a completely impossible task.

I started on the Herbalife products (F1, F2, F3 & Thermo) at the beginning of January 2002 and was fairly sceptical as nothing had worked previously. Within 3 days I started to feel better and my husband noticed a change in my mood swings. Within my first 15 days I lost 19lbs and 13 inches and as you can imagine I WAS DELIGHTED.

I also suffered from horrendous back pain following a major car crash which sometimes resulted in my legs going numb and I was unable to walk or stand for any length of time. For this I was on massive amounts of pain killers and having to have steroid injections into my spine. I stopped taking prescription pain killers within 2 weeks of taking Herbalife products. I am now able to get out of bed and stand up straight immediately rather than half an hour later!!!

I have now been on the products for 12 months and in total have lost 85lbs and 72 inches and have dropped 6 dress sizes. My energy levels have gone through the roof and I have so many more hours in my day now to spend with my two young children. My hair has also started to improve and thicken up and my cycle has completely returned (better than ever before). I no longer suffer from mood swings, PMT, pain or bloatedness.

I would go as far as to say that these products have given me back my life and have had a dramatic impact on my family life. The even more amazing news is that after 11 years I now have my horse back and have started riding again without the fear that he will collapse beneath me!!!

I hope that this inspires those who suffer with this condition that with proper management this CAN BE CONTROLLED AND NOT CONTROLLING!

Good luck to everyone!

shoma32 · 06-17-2004, 10:32 PM

I was diagnoised in Jan 2004 with PCOS. I weighed 212lbs.
I started Metformin modified my carb intake.
Now on Jun 17th,... I weigh 157lbs!!!

daughty · 06-18-2004, 04:29 AM

Shoma that's great! Congratulations on your weight loss!

Smeggle · 08-19-2004, 03:02 AM

Well guys here it is. After a break from a horrid weight gain, for me anyway. I was 186 pounds starting in May- I now weigh a 153 pounds and am feeling great! I still have more to lose, I'd like to be a 135, but I'm working on it. Unfortunately that weight loss would be more if I could just get a handle on my binge eating. Lately I've been binging and fasting, I know symptomatic of bulemia like, but I'm gaining control. I've started eating healthy about a week ago and lost a half a pound. I'm looking for some motivation, but I'm proud of myself nonetheless because I haven't binged in about a week. Plus, I've been exercising, and have gained a great deal of muscle mass in my arms for some reason, not sure if PCO related or not. But since my arms look nice, I don't care. Anyway, just thought I'd share some success.

AmericanWoman · 09-14-2004, 09:45 PM

I have lost about 47 lbs. since 09/11/01 (I started my weight loss right at the terrible time ironically...never forget that date)...and even though it is taking me 3 thousand zillion years, I am much happier.

My face for some reason is a lot less round suddenly. My feet still hurt and so I need to get down to my goal weight. I will by golly.

I am glad I can hide my fat though under clothes.

My blood work (cholestrol & FSH) is coming back better and better. I am totally ovulating...which is nice to know since one doctor thought back in 2001 I was NOT ovulating...and I was hung up on someday flying to China or Russia to adopt since I so want kidlets somedays (God would have to get me married first).

All I can say is that I have no choice in my life but to keep moving forward.

How do you eat an elephant? just one bite at a time!

I gots 67 more bites to go!

janiev · 09-15-2004, 05:43 PM

I am going to jump on the bandwagon too. I was diagnosed with PCOS in March, 2003 by an endicronologist. I was put on 1500 mgs of Metformin and told to come back in six months. Through internet research and mostly this site, I learned what an impact weight had on my PCOS symptoms. I had been overweight my entire life. I began dieting (Atkins) in June, 2003 and have gone from 229 pounds to 153 pounds with a healthy BMI of 23! I am 5 feet 9 inches tall. Although i would still like to lose about 10 more pounds I am not obsessed about it and just follow a low carb lifestyle. I started charting my temps shortly after being diagnosed and it looks like i may have finally started ovulating. Also, my periods which were never regular, have been regular for the last couple of months.

jaydabare · 09-30-2004, 12:56 PM

HELLO ALL....IVE JUST BEEN DIAGNOSED AND I NEED TO LOSE ABOUT 50 POUNDS AND IM ANXIOUSLY AWAITING TO START THIS. IVE TRIED EVERY DIET AND EXERCISE AND EVEN JOINED CURVES BUT I COULDNT LOSE A POUND BUT NOW I KNOW WHY..PCOS..CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHERE I CAN FIND A COMPLETE LIST FOR THE IR DIET THAT I CAN PRINT OUT AND FOLLOW WITH A VARIETY OF OPTIONS..I WOULD SOOOO GREATLY APPRECIATE IT. THANKS SO MUCH

RamblinRose · 10-21-2004, 11:24 PM

Jaybare - I don't think there is a list that you can print out (I could be wrong though) I think you need to buy the book, but you could post this on the main diet/exercise page and maybe someone will be able to list something for you, but as far as I know there are no lists like you mentioned, except in the book. The book is definitely worth the $12 or $14 though. Good luck!

Maddy · 10-25-2004, 03:45 PM

Jay

there is stacks of info on the IR diet in the diet info sticky at the top of the page. It is the last post in the thread!

goddess819 · 02-01-2005, 03:40 PM

Here's my story...

I was a little chunky as a kid...never skinny...but not really fat either. After I got my first car I went from around 160 to 170...not bad...but then I went off of bcps and jumped to 250 lbs in a year. This weight just didn't want to come off. I tried Rx diet drugs, Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, Dexatrim, Atkins, IR diet, South Beach, PCOS diet, no red meat, grapefruit juice, low calorie (1000), low fat (under 30g)...you name it I just about tried it. Finally after being on Metformin for 4+ years and becoming diabetic, after being on high blood pressure meds for 4+ years and after being on a CPAP machine for severe sleep apnea for 3+ years and STILL not able to maintain any weight loss...I opted for RNY Gastric Bypass surgery. I had surgery on 8/3/04 and have lost 100 lbs. I have gone from a size 24/26 to an 8/10 and since my surgery my diabetes is gone, my sleep apnea is gone, my PCOS is better and my high blood pressure is almost gone. This surgery has saved my life...and I would do it again in a heart beat.

Kristy
254/154/140
RNY 8/3/04

If you are interested in gastric bypass surgery...I will answer any and all questions to the best of my ability! Just ask...

Taisiya · 02-11-2005, 07:21 PM

I have a question for all of the wonderful women on this thread that have had such great success.

Was the weight loss slow? My weight loss seems to be so slooooooooooooooooooooooow. I eat about 1000-1200 calories a day, I don't eat any sugar or flour or grains.

My carbs come from fruit and veggies and I eat moderate amounts of protein.

I have lost 40 lbs in about 1 year and 4 months. But jeez I think that is really slow. I have about 40 more to go!!

cixelsyd · 02-25-2005, 02:46 PM

Hi Maddy! I'm tooting my own horn, but I've lost 20.5 lbs!

joseph77 · 03-03-2005, 01:05 PM

These stories all sound so inspirational but what if you are still not losing weight despite all of this? My daughter (17) has been struggling with this for 2 years. Tried all kinds of diets like ww(gained weight), low carb, etc. She has been working with a personal trainer, nutritionist and still nothing. She had Metformin for 6 months and no changes. Now she is on bcp, to give her AF and we have an appointment with a Gyno in April. Like Christy, the endo we saw was useless and dismissed us with the old "lose weight" thing. I'm not sure what else anyone can suggest but anything would be appreciated. Was 6 months long enought for Met? Should she get back on it with the pill? I want to be prepared when I go to the Gyno because I find the only way to get help with this is to be knowledgeable. As we all know there are a great deal of uninformed doctors out there. Thanks for any advice

joseph77

CookieMonster · 03-03-2005, 08:52 PM

I may get slammed for saying this joseph but I would bet your daughter wasn't do low carb as strictly as she needed to or it wouldve worked. A lot of people say flippantly that they tried low carb or atkins but they are eating all kinds of things they cant. I had a HARD time losing weight too and I had to cut out things that normal people dont like FRUIT AND VEGETABLE. She may have to eat ONLY animal protein - meat, chicken, fish with a bit of lettuce and a little fat like 1 tblspn of dressing. For some people you have to watch FAT and eat almost zero carbs. FAIR? NO WAY. but this may be her only way if she doesnt want gastric bypass. I lost 170 pounds with this method. Email me anytime for more tips :-)
Cookie ----from 28 to size 6!!!!