What do you eat?

Riverside · 07-14-2004, 09:07 PM

Hi fellow thin cysters!

I know we have talked at various times about the lack of literature for thin cysters and how diet changes can not help us have regular cycles like our fluffier friends. Research shows that at least half PCOS women are "thin" or normal weight but they do not know why we are thin. Particularly here in the States where more and more people are overweight the number may be even more skewed.

Are you naturally thin or do you work at it? This may mean that you watch what you eat or work out on regular basis. Or, can you truly eat whatever you want?

Also, have ever tried to alter you diet and have favorable results in terms of your cycle length, PCOS symptoms, etc.?

I am normal weight - 5'4" about 121 lbs. and I do watch what I eat and walk and do yoga regularly. Oh, and I am 34 yo- yikes!

Julie v · 07-15-2004, 09:48 AM

Hi,
I am thin as well, 5'4"- 107lbs. I have been thin all my life. I do work out, but don't really monitor my diet, but eat healthy I'd say 75% of the time.
I'm on metformin ER, and it does seem to get me to ovulate although not regularly. Before metformin I would have maybe one natural cycle a year. I have tried low carb, but only lasted at the most 2 weeks, so I don't know if it would help the cycles. My Doctor says it wouldn't.
Julie v.

Riverside · 07-15-2004, 10:09 AM

There is a new study out and the result was that low-carb does not help PCOS. The study did show that losing weight helped but it did not matter if that was through low-carb diet or low-fat diet. Same results.

I have thought about trying to loose 10 lbs. and seeing if that helps. I am now on clomid (TTC) so any of my own experiments would not be too accurate but maybe worth a shot.

Julie, how much Met do you take? When did you start?

Candace · 07-15-2004, 11:04 PM

I had been thin all my life until I had children. That seemed to make my hormones go crazy. I am now almost 38. I am thin again but I have to work at it, exercise and eat very healthy. No sugar! BLAH! Anyway, overall, I have always watched my food intake and tried to control my weight with diet.

I take Metformin ER to help with the insulin resistance problems (now that I am older, I have severe insulin issues), and Yasmin to keep my ovaries shut down. I am a new person with this combination although, it has taken a total of almost four years to get my symptoms under control. It has been well worth the journey I can say....!(I take my meds EVERYDAY without fail!)

Candace

Perpetua · 07-16-2004, 12:04 PM

I have also wondered about the 'naturally thin' PCOSrs & the ones who have to work at it. There has to be something else going on in the naturally thin cysters b/c PCOS doesn't make sense otherwise. From what I've read it's harder for us to get healthy, not easier.

I have weighed between 120 & 130 since I was 12yo (now 24) Doesn't matter what I eat or how much I excersize - it doesn't change my weight.

Since being on the Met I have lost like 3 lbs, but no more.

My endocrinologist said I don't need to low-carb or avoid sugar, but just eat a well-rounded diet. I try to eat whole wheat/grain instead of white but other than that nothing too drastic.

Julie v · 07-19-2004, 09:38 AM

Riverside,
I started taking glucaphage 1000mg in Nov 2002. I took that for about a year, then my insurance switched me to metformin er (same drug, generic). I upped my dose to 1500mg about 7.5 months ago. I did get pregnant without fertility drugs the first month of 1500mg, but m/c at 12 weeks. It has taken 3 months past my d/c to start ovulating on my own, but I truly believe metformin at 1500mg is working. BTW, I never ovulate with clomid.
Good luck to you,
Julie v.

moonshadow · 07-19-2004, 01:46 PM

until my thyroid decided to malfunction at age 19, i ate whatever i felt like, in whatever amounts i wanted too. that being said, i was raised vegetarian and have been vegan since about hte age of 15. still, i ate plenty of junk! after my thyroid died (or at least its communication system), i ballooned up to 165 lbs. it's taken a few years of thyroid meds, but i'm down to feeling slim again, and eating pretty much what i want, without weight gain. until i got pg, i was still losing weight. i'm fairly sure i had pcos the whole time, too, at least, i never had a regular cycle, and after about a year of af starting, it only showed up a couple times a year, qualifying in the amenorrhea catagory.

what do i eat? lots of whole grains, more fruits and veggies than a lot of people, but still, not enough by what i think i should be eating. crisps, chips, lots of soups. i like salty things, and love bread. can't stand white bread though. yuck! except sourdough, which i can't get over here. so bread is generally granary style (whole wheat with bits). lots of legumes, and some fake meaty things, for convenience.

gotta go! shops are closing soon, and we're out of veggies (how appropriate...)

hannah

Riverside · 07-28-2004, 02:05 PM

Brenda - I agree. I am wondering what the difference is. I can go on vacation and eat a ton and am scared to step on the scale when I return but when I do, it turns out that I lost weight or didn't gain any. I then eat healthy for awhile and no weight loss.
It makes not make sense.

I am a veggie (with a little seafood & cheese) and so I mostly eat carbs (whole wheat, legumes, veggies) but, I am thinking about getting really strict and reduce some of the whole grains and see what happens.

I wish there was more research on thin PCOS. Maybe we can do our own.

Everyone keep responding!! What do you eat and do you watch what you eat to stay thin/normal weight? Has a diet change or medicine helped?

CBCB · 07-30-2004, 01:17 PM

Hi, I am new to this site and was just diagnosed w/ mild pcos this past April. I then started Met and am up to 1500mg. I have never had a weight problem. I am 5'5" and weigh about 115 at the moment. I know that the met is working because my acne cleared up, but I don't know that it has helped my cycles. I have always been irregular but do ovulate as I have been pg 4 times all m/cs. I got the IR diet book and as I was reading it realized that I really don't eat that badly. Since I don't really have to lose weight I don't have to watch my carbs-I love bread and potatoes, but I have started to try to limit them recently. I also don't exercise regularly but I am trying to motivate myself to start for my health. I feel so lazy.

nikkisix · 07-30-2004, 04:42 PM

I have always had to watch what I eat... I'm 5'6" and currently 113, which I believe is due to the met. I had been between the 118-130 range for the last 7 years, and my heaviest was 145

Obviously not a naturally thin cyster, I do a lot of hiking(I live in beautiful BC after all!!), running and housework! I swim with my stepson as well.
I love all carbs, and am a slave to the spud! But I eat tons of fruit, and drink as much water as possible a day (usually about 2 litres-from morning to night). I really found that slicing lemon and adding it to my water helped regulate me (tmi) and it made the water a little more exciting.

It's weird how there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the weight loss.

Nicole

EmilyE · 07-31-2004, 01:13 AM

I have been following the IR diet for almost two months. I don't know that it's helped my cycles, but in those two months my acne has DRAMATICALLY improved. I also have a whole lot more energy and don't feel like I need to sleep 11 hours a night.

I'm 5'7" and 130ish.

bloo · 07-31-2004, 05:55 PM

http://www.kup.at/journals/fertilitaet/index.html

Journal fuÌˆr FertilitaÌˆt und Reproduktion 2002; 12 (1): 17-22

i downloaded this issue of an austrian fertility magazine and found a passage about obesity vs. normal bmi in pco, iÂ´m sparing you the german, the text says:

ovaries have insuline-sensitive postreceptors. if the receptors' insulinesignaltransduction is completely blocked or disturbed, the bmi is normal, if it is only partially blocked, those women develop obesity.

the reason why some cysters are not really thin, but have normal weight when they watch their diet seems to be, their postreceptor's insulinesignaltransduction is almost blocked, but not completely.

very hard to understand, i admit ...

the text also says, those thin cysters usually have normal levels of insuline and adrogenes as well.

i myself have a bmi of 22, but have to exercise and watch my diet, whereas a friend of mine is extremely tall and thin and only suffers from acne on her back

seems like there is a bandwidth of symptoms from thin to obese.

Candace · 07-31-2004, 09:46 PM

My insulin at the fasting level is normal however with glucose couldn't be. Not sure what it is but sugar does a "number" on me! I am thin, have never had a real weight problem until a few years back when suddenly i was gaining rapidly. I am thin again, with diet and exercise. I wonder why I started gaining without any changes....wierd. My weight fluctuates extreme too, which I hate! I have to be really careful how I eat and what I eat.

sarahr · 08-01-2004, 12:46 AM

I think it's really difficult to objectively assess our eating/exercise patterns - what's 'normal' to one person may seem extreme to another! I have a bmi of 20 (low normal) and my weight has never fluctuated much in either direction. I was a little heavier for a few years when I did minimal exercise, but I've never been either really thin or overweight. I exercise nearly every day for at least 30 mins and that seems to keep my weight stable.

I'm vegetarian and I try to eat low-GI, relatively small meals and mix proteins and carbs at every meal just because that's what makes me feel good physically... but if someone offers me some cake or cookies I won't say no! I feel more in tune with my body than I've been in the past, as I now find I can't handle alcohol or more than small amounts of junk food - it makes me feel ill the next day. Generally I feel better than I've ever done - could be eating well or exercising sensibly (as opposed to training 3 hours a day like I did in college, or being a couch potato!)... kind of ironic, seeing as my reproductive system is so messed up!

I've heard that giving up dairy can improve symptoms... but I'm worried that as a vegetarian that could leave me nutritionally deficient. Anyone know anything about this?

Anyone found a dietary 'magic bullet' which gets you to o?

Frustrating how there seems to be no patterns to our weight/exercising/eating habits... pcos is such a complicated condition!

Sarah

ERICKA77 · 08-04-2004, 04:41 PM

I'm 5'6 125 pds. I'm naturally thin. I was around 115 pds for years, until I got married. So I've been at this weight for a couple of years. I eat all the time. Whatever and whenever. I don't exercise. But I need to. Just been lazy lately.
I'm on Metformin, and of course that is a major factor in itself on the weight. That stuff wouldn't let me gain a pound if I wanted to.