Having a hard time losing weight :(

[Rosa]

Hello,

I was diagnosed w/ PCOS at the age of 20, and been on Zovia ever since.

I've been trying to LC for 4 months but have only lost 10 lbs. Also, my hair is still thinning and falling out. I have read PP but am not really following it. I have reduced my carbs and calories from 55g, 2200 to 35g, 1900. I'm beginning to lose some weight again (1lb per week?), but not at the same rate as other people are. My friend started at the same time with Atkins and has already lost about 37lbs!!!!

I try to eat mostly green veggies (Broccoli, Celery, Snow Peas, Green Beans, and Green Bell Peppers) with sour cream and lean meats (Chicken breasts, Turkey, Fish) usually w/ a little bit of mayonaise.

I can handle the 1900 calories but I'm having a very hard time sticking to the 35 grams of carbs!! That's why I don't think I would be a good candidate for Atkins. I'm ALWAYS craving sugar and I cannot simply live on meat alone. The atkins bars do cure the sugar crave BUT they have a lot of soy.

I'm not sure if the PCOS, my will power, or a combination of both that's slowing my progress. :(

Anybody else having the same problem?
Rosa.

[Yarok]

I am having great success with atkins. I have only been on it for a week, but I have aleady lost 6lbs! I am not a big meat fan, but am finding it OK. I thought I would never be able to live w/out carbs, but I am doing it and all of my cravings have gone away (i was craving chocolate etc like mad before). So give it a go! I think you need to clear out your system like Dr Atkins suggests, then you will probably lose the cravings......Good Luck!

[kath310]

Rosa,

Personally, I never thought I could give up carbs. I'm Italian...it's literally in my blood to eat pasta, Italian bread, and pastries!!

I've been on Atkins since 1/11 and have not had a craving for "processed carbs" since! I'm in shock!! :) I'll admit I craved chocolate for 2 days during pms this month, but I stayed lc and had a chocolate mousse from a recipe I found here on the board. (pm me if you want the recipe). I started the program by telling myself I was only going to do it for the 2 week induction phase, just to see if it was the program for me and if I could be successful at it.

If you don't want to do Atkins (and it is *YOUR* choice), I would suggest maybe increasing your water intake (I can tell on the days when I don't get all my water that I just don't feel right) and adding to your green veggies some leafy ones: spinach and lettuces.

I'm sorry, but I don't know what Zovia is (is it a bc?) ....I'm on bc (ortho-tricyclen) ....maybe you could ask your doctor about changing your bc? (If that's what it is)

I've seen on other boards where people have mentioned that eating the Atkins bars has stalled their weight loss. I think it has to do with the glycerin in the bar? I don't eat them, I can only pass on what I've read.

But PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not compare your weight loss with your friend's. I know it's difficult to see her lose faster, but everyone's body is different. I went to Weight Watchers with a friend last year and literally watched her melt before my eyes while I gained....following program!

Good luck in whatever you choose and please keep us posted!! I know you can do this! You have a drive in you to do this, or you wouldn't be on this board looking for help, right?

[leasmom]

If you were to stick to Atkins you would lose your carb craving...maybe you should try it. I too didn't think I could stick to it but I'm dropping alot of weight and feeling good. I used to consider myself weightloss-resistant but that's no longer the case...good luck and think about giving Atkins another look!!!

[MsTwacky]

Rosa,

Don't feel so bad, although I am on Atkins Induction-I have LC on and off for it seems like forever. My body is not just insulin resistant...it is weight loss resistant I think.

I eat under 20 carbs a day, I take Metformin 3X's a day, I have to make myself eat over 1300 calories a day and yet I haven't lost one pound in the 13 days that I have been on Induction.

My theory is that I have starved/binged for such a long time and abused my body even with LC. When I started the Met I also did the fat fast. I lost about 12 lbs and moved into induction and lost 5 more. I started to eat LC junk and stalled. Eventually the LC junk brought back cravings and I started to cheat on the weekends. Needless to say I would go up and down the same 5 lbs. Until finally I decided to go back on induction and be very strict.

That was almost 2 weeks ago and I haven't moved on the scale!!!!!!!!!

So you are not alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :( I think my body is still holding on preparing for the next time I am gonna not feed it for awhile.

[mitzy39]

I have had PCOS for 25 years and I also did atkins and ended up stalling. Every time I did a little cheat like had too many green beans or something small like that I would gain by the next day and not just a little gain either. I lost only 14 pounds in 4 months. I decided to gradually up my carbs while making sure I wasn't eating the bad ones. I ate whole grains and veggies. I added beans to my diet and gained a couple of ounds back. Then I went on the phase one of the South Beach Diet and the pounds have started to fall off again. I think that I just got too sensitized to carbs and now I have to be very careful to only eat whole grains and unsaturated fats. The hardest part of this switch was to stop counting carbs. I was shocked at how many carbs I was eating and I was still losing weight. You may want to try this. I found that my blood sugar was dropping too low for me on Atkins. It may be something to try, but please stick with what ever you do. I know how easy it is to get discouraged when you aren't losing as much as everyone around you. It's the classic case or the Tortise and the Hare. Stick with it.

[Mia-Chloe]

I think most people with pcos will admit they have a harder time losing weight than others, so its not fair to yourself to compare your weight loss with people who don't have pcos. The nature of the syndrome makes weight loss painfully slow (due to insulin resistence) but it is possible. And believe me, I know how frustrating it is. I also have pcos and have only lost 2.5 lbs in a month.

After moping on this board for a while, some people suggested a couple things to me and I will share them with you. :) Firstly, try starting a journal and documenting every thing you eat (even the smallest mouthful of something naughty can slow you down for a week). Also, try low impact exercise several times a week and see if that helps. Another person mentioned water and for some miraculous reason, water does make you lose weight faster. Some people have said that when they drink cups and cups of water, the next day they will lose a couple pounds. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but it's worth trying it every day, I think. :)

Good luck to ya!