Hello Ladies!
I usually post over at the TTC 6+ months board, but I was recently diagnosed with PCOS and am finally out of my depressed hole that I was in. Now I'm trying to research some weight loss programs or to find some helpful suggestions on how to go about this. I stay pretty active and work a lot so I don't think exercise will be a problem. I just need some structure. I would like to lose at least 40 lbs for right now. That is my goal. I have taken the progesterone my doc gave me and it seems like AF is trying to start. And PMS has definetly shown her ugly face as well.
But anyway, my doc said that the progesterone plus my active weight loss will help me greatly. So does anyone have any good advice for me?? I haven't asked my doc about metformin yet, I've read that the weight in my mid section may be hard to get off if I have insulin resistance. I don't know if I do or not. I don't know if I should just try losing weight first and see what happens or ask to get tested to see if i should be on metformin. So many questions! Sorry!

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me (25) husband (27) ttc #1
Diagnosed with PCOS on 4/30/08

I also have PCOS, and I've struggled with my weight over the years. I can do diets like Weight Watchers and stick to the plan and either not lose weight or gain on them, and I get frustrated. I think when I do Weight Watchers, I probably pick either too many carbs, or because I'm vegetarian, I end up trying to "fill up" with food just to hit my points for the day. For me, what really works is the South Beach Diet, or on Weight Watchers, they have the core/no counting plan. The key for me is staying away from most carbs, and especially when I do the carb/sugar detox of south beach, it really kick starts my system. I tried it because I had read that a lot of people with PCOS do better on a lower carb diet (because the carbs/sugars can raise your insulin and aggravate the weight problem and the PCOS problem). I picked South Beach over Atkins because it is a much healthier diet plan - lean meats, pretty much all vegetables are allowed, beans and other legumes are considered "good" carbs, cheese is also allowed, and after the first 2 weeks you can have fruit, too. I found the first 2-3 days on South Beach the hardest . . . but once I got beyond that, the weight was melting off, I really wasn't hungry, and I was really motivated to keep going because the results were showing. I found I did even better when I exercised, too. Good luck on your journey!

PCOS is really not such a devastating diagnosis. It is the most treatable fertility issue, and it can be improved with diet, and medicines like metformin can prevent the other health risks associated with PCOS. I've known I had PCOS since I was 12, so it was never a devastating diagnosis for me. I've had no side effects, I have been on metformin for more than 10 years and my blood work is always good. I've managed most of my life to avoid true obesity (I am thinner when on birth control pills, though, and I've been up to 35 lbs overweight). And, I am pregnant right now! Ironically, our struggle was never me or the PCOS . . . it was DH's swimmers that were our biggest challenge in getting pregnant. Funny how things work out.

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I also have PCOS, was diagnosed with it since 3/04 and what I find that works the best is "The Insulin Resistant Diet" by Cheryle Hart. You can find it in just about any bookstore and its like a miracle diet. And you can eat whatever you want, its just a way of balancing what you eat. For example, if you want ice cream go ahead and have it but balance it with a protein. It seems to be taking about 3-6lbs off per month.

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