PCOS - Your thoughs, advice, stories...

Hello all..

I am 11 months post op and 5 months post op to fix a defective port. I am getting very frustrated as I have not seen the results I expected. (Down 34 pounds) While I understand that we cannot compare ourselves to others, it is rather difficult to find the appropriate support group when, after a few months, all the members have surpassed my "success". I have had a slow time of weight loss. I am exercising 4 hours per week and restricting my diet to 1200 calories a day with portion control and strict food journaling. All of this has produced minimal results. I have been dianosed with PCOS and have talked to several post ops that have similar stories. Wehn I discuss this with my physician and nutritionist, they insist that I must be overeating...which is not the case. the PSOS patients I talked to claim that I will never see the standard results of the surgery...I was a little put off by this. I didn't come all this way to find that I can never achieve my weight loss goals not matter what tools I use or how hard I work.

Are there any ladies out there with this condition that can offer me any advice or some uplifting stories?

While I am no lady, I do like to play one at home .. I mean .. oooppss … never mind :D !!

 

All joking aside, I hate to sound like a broken records, but here are some questions I have for you

 

(1) Are you getting in all your protein (60 to 80 grams)?

(2) Are you drinking all your liquids (at least 64 ounces; non-carbonated; decaffeinated)?

(3) Are you keeping a journal of what you are eating, and when?

(4) Are you exercising?
(5) Do you go to support groups?

 

Here are my ‘stock’ answers

 

(01) A close friend, who is a Certified Fitness Trainer, about losing weight. He gave me some information I found interesting, and thought I’d pass it along.

 

The first thing he said is “You have to EAT in order to lose weight". He further explained, this does not mean to OVEREAT, but eat sensible portions.

 

He explained the body is a marvelous machine, and it will protect itself. If one doesn’t eat enough, the body’s metabolism will slow down - in order to keep itself functioning. If a person intake is less then what it expels, the body will start to “store" food. If a person stay on this type of eating regiment over a prolonged period, the body starts to “eat itself" - which is extremely unhealthy and could be fatal.

 

According to my friend, the first thing the body will first start to “eat away" at is all the stored sugars in the body. After that has been depleted, the body then attacks all the (both good and bad) carbohydrates and fats. Finally the body starts to “digest" the proteins in the body. The proteins are mostly stored in muscle. One of the most important muscles our body has is the HEART. That’s why many anorexia patients die of heart problems - basically the body ate it away. 

 

He said don’t worry if you’re losing right away. He said as long as we follow the guidelines our Doctors/Nutritionist has set for us, we will lose weight. The body sometimes takes a while before it “resets" itself.

 

(02) A friend of mine had WLS. While she’s been successful on her lost, she’s a little upset she hasn’t lost the same amount of weight as others have. I explained to her to stop comparing her success to others. Just as long as she is losing is the true measure of success.

 

Some of us (me include) believe scales should be used only for fish or piano ... However, many others like to weight themselves regularly. They feel it helps keep them on track.

 

Many compare their lost to someone else’s, and get discouraged. The amount of weight lost is affected by many factors. Everyone loses weight at different rates. It has to do with age, gender, one’s weight, exercise, etc.. A 10 pound lost to one person could be as affected as a 40 pound lost to another. Think of it this way: If a 400-pound person loses 40 pounds; a 300-pound person loses 30 pounds, a 200-pound person loses 20 pounds, and a 100-pound person loses 10 pounds – the 400-pound person didn’t necessarily lose more weight then the others. All three lost 10% of their body weight. 

 

And sometimes it is not the number of pounds that someone loses in a specified period of time that is important. Remember, if you are toning up muscle – your weight loss may seem to have slowed (or stopped), when in fact you are replacing fat with muscle. Muscle is heavier then fat. Someone weighing 200 pounds with a body fat percentage of 25 is carrying around 50 pounds of extra fat. That same person weighing 200 pounds with 10 percent body fat would be carrying only 20 pounds of fat. So it’s not the number that is important.

 

Remember there are other “scales" you can use to monitor your success: your constant hunger reduction (eliminated); reduced clothing size; increase energy; re-familiarizing yourself to body-parts unseen for years (errr… toes) ; “common" activity becoming easier (walking, climbing steps), just feeling good about yourself; sleeping better (reduced snoring); the mirror; better medical exam results (lower cholesterol and/or blood pressure); etc.

 

Be proud of your lost. No matter how small it may seem. Remember, it’s better to lose not a pound than to GAIN a pound.

 

 

(03) In the beginning don’t be too concerned/worry about “calories, fats, sugars, carbs, etc". Make sure you are getting your 60 to 80 grams of protein. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO WEIGHT LOSS. In the future you can worry about all those other things, but for now - WORRY ABOUT THE PROTEIN. Now don’t get me wrong - I don’t want you to eat a bag of chips, or whole cake or drink tons of ice cream shakes in order to get protein in. You need to use some common sense :) !!

 

Last year when I first had the operation I noticed if I ate 4 ounces of protein I didn’t feel full - however if I ate 6 ounces I did. I spoke to my Doctor about it. FOR ME he said that those “numbers" are somewhat guidelines. He went on to explain there are some folks who feel full on 2 ounces of protein while some need 6 or 8. He also explained that the calories intake should not be too much of a concern in the beginning. The way he explained it to me was: Prior the operation I may have been taken 3,000 calories per day. After the operation, with the amount of food I was taking in - I may have been taking in 1700 calories. While that’s 500 calories more then the recommended daily allotment - it was actually 1300 calories less then what I normally took in. So not only was I losing weight, but was also feel full. We need to worry about calories when out weight slows downs/stops or starts going up. ADVICE WARNING: TALK TO THE DOCTOR BEFORE INCREASING YOUR INTAKE.