I am really depressed and wondering why I am doing this. It is hard to stick to this WOE when you have other family in the house but I am really determined to lose weight this time. I have been soooo... good, but over the past couple of days, I seem to have put on a couple of pounds again. I haven't cheated, I've been really good and calculating my foods in fitday.com - so where am I going wrong.

Is it possible that the PCOS is affecting my weight loss?

I get so disheartened when I read people having lost more than a stone in their first month and now I am back up to 187.5 (3 lbs up from tuesday), just 6.5 in total in a month.

I am trying to drink more water and get some exercise in but surely the food alone wouldn't put on weight if I am being good. Is it possible I am not taking in enough carbs?

I need help, before I give up

Hello EwenJ. You've lost 10 pounds in less than 1 month. Congratulations, and when did that last happen? Please be prepared to be very patient with your body. For you, losing weight is almost a side effect of low carbing. You are really (I hope) more interested in getting you PCOS back in normal range.

Insulin is a 'master hormone' which is much more influential in the body than we realize. PCOS is suspected of being a 'disease of insulin resistance' more than anything else. And that's also true of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Please resist the temptation to compare your own loss to anyone else. A person who has not insulin resistance will certainly lose faster than you do. But it may take time to get your body's chemistry back in balance. You may have more water weight fluctuation than a person without PCOS.

For your family, prepare LC meals but add a starch such as potatoes, rice or bread for the rest of them, and dessert if they want. YOU fill up on salad and LC veggies and MEAT! (Or its equivalent.) You won't be hungry or feel deprived if you eat the LC things.

It is really difficult to put up with the body's resistance, but it is certainly worth it in the end. Please visit the PCOS section of this board for support from people who have been where you are.

Hugs.

Hello Ewen...It could be PCOS affecting your weight loss... I would recommend picking up a good book on the subject, "It's My Ovaries Stupid! I got my copy from the library... It is excellent... Here is a link for some information out of the book.... http://www.soulcysters.net/showthre...17&pagenumber=2

Also, I found out by reading that too low carbs can also increase depression.... Check out a book called Natural Prozac and Potatoes Not Prozac... They are also good books that will educate you on eating properly with depression.... You can still do low carb, but you need some complex carbs.... I have a baked sweet potatoe...no fat or protein in it one hour before bed time... It has really helped me...it actually feels like a sedative... Also, I have added good carbs back to my diet....WHOLE WHEAT 100% BREAD...maybe one slice with a meal... All Bran cereal with my meals...

Also.... Check out the the book The Insulin Resistance Diet...... There are lots of people at the Soulcyster's web site that are on it... Also, they have a lot of information regarding the diet there... That is actually the one that I am on... Trust me...I was on Atkins and Protein Power...and feel much better on this... I only allow myself 2 servings of carbs per day....one for breakfast and the potatoe 1 - 1 1/2 hours before bedtime...actually they say 3 hours after your last meal you should eat the potatoe...

Also...off the subject...the people at the site are very very supportive.... I lost 5 pounds after my first week and had been in a 6 week stall on Protein Power...

Hope this information has helped you...

TJ

i also have PCOS. i have read that we have a major increase in the amounts of our insulin that makes our bodies ticked off at our own insulin so therefor refuses to use its own and then becomes type 2 diabetic. but anyways insulin is what is knowen as " the hormone that makes us hold onto fat" insulin likes to keep and hold onto fat. darn that blasted insulin anyways!
the weight loss is slow slow slow for me too.dont give up. i also get frustrated because it takes so much time but at least we are lossing something and that is better then nothing.

Okay, first off, relax! You're going to drive yourself crazy if you keep this up. The best thing is to NOT weight yourself every single day. Weigh yourself once a week and that's it.

If you absolutely MUST weight yourself everyday, take each day's reading with a grain of salt. Write down each day's weight and at the end of the week average it out. THAT should be your weekly weight. Don't compare weights day to day, compare them week to week. Anything less than a day will render your weightloss patterns incomprehendable. I don't know if you have this problem, but I gain 5 pounds around ovulation then lose it a few days later and gain another 5 pounds around AF and lose that about a week later. That's why day to day measurements aren't good. It's too hard to tell what's waterweight and what's true weight. If you look and my monthly averages, I'm definitely losing but day to day I could be 5 pounds off.

6.5 pounds in a month? That is still VERY VERY good. I lose a pound every week or so and haven't lost anything in about a month. Don't listen to other people's weightloss stories. The ones that lose fast are quickest to brag but the ones like me who lose very slowly just keep our mouth shut.

PCOS will affect your weightloss, which is why I lose so slowly. But the best remedy for PCOS is lowcarb, so you're already doing the best you can. Just keep up what you're doing and try not to be so focused on your weight everyday.