new to forum, my story

[lauralynn]

Hi! I am new to this web site/forum. Just wanted to share my quick story. I was a classic PCOS - overweight, acne, infertile, grossly irregular menstruation, mild hirsutism, etc. My doctor basically told me that PCOS is just something you live with...never mentioned meds (metformin,etc), diet, or any other possible treatment. Meanwhile, a relative told me about Protein Power (Eades). I started on it just hoping to lose some weight. At that point, I had no clue that it could help my PCOS. But after being on Protein Power just a few short months...not only did I lose weight but my acne went away and my menstrual periods became regular and normal !! I was thrilled and still am!! I have just been doing Protein Power "maitenance" for a couple years now. And I have maintained (kept off) most of my original weight loss. However, I should lose more weight. I still should lose about 15 more pounds to be my healthy weight. So, I have now started back into "phase one " of Protein Power.

It is hard (after being used to the freedom of maintenance) to be in strict phase one. I also hope it works!! One reason I went into "maintenance" is that I plateued with the weight loss. I stoped losing weight and got discouraged... so I just sordof gave up! Now I want to try again and want to lose 15 pounds! Anyone else have "plateau" problems?? I tried everything back then but could not seem to get over the plateau. ( I tried going back into strict phase one, excercised more - but it did not work.)

Anyhow...I am very wordy. Sorry about that. I wish everyone success with weight loss and eliminating PCOS symptoms. Laura

[tamarian]

Welcome aboard Lauralynn!

It's wonderful to see how many of us have in one way or another benefit health-wise from our LC lifestyle.

Plateaus are normal and shouldn't worry you. They occure for many of us in cycles, and then things procede as they used to. Once you are near your goal, weight loss will slow down a bit, but does not stop. As long as you are not counteracting you metabolism by under-eating.

Wa'il

[Spring]

I think you did really well to keep the weight off that you lost the first time. You kinda gave up on the last 10 or 15 lbs. but you didn't go back to "stuffing" carbs and gain the weight back.
My daughter has pcos and is 5' tall. She weighed 159 when she started Atkins a couple of months ago. She dropped down really quickly to 151, then went back up to 154 and stalled out for a month. She was so discouraged. But, she didn't give up and in the last week has lost 5 more pounds. She had to slow down on her cheese consumption for the weightloss to begin again. She is happy and encouraged again. She has tons more energy and exercises more because she has enough energy to do it.
She had not had a period in a year before she started Atkins...she will soon be 18. After being on Atkins for a month she had a short, light period, but none so far this month. I am hoping that her system will straighten out more, the longer she is on the low carb diet. Did you use Met or anything? She is not on any meds and really wants to just correct her metabolism with diet if possible. The first Dr. she went to just put her on the pill...it made her periods regular, but she gained even more weight. Have your periods become more normal without the pill or Met?
Once again, I congratulate you for keeping most of the weight that you lost off....that is not easy when you are discouraged. I wish you good luck and patience going for those last few pounds. If it takes a year to get it off, that's still getting it off. Just don't get discouraged and hang in there.

[lauralynn]

Hi! Thanks for welcoming me! Yes, the low carb diet alone corrected/normalized my menstrual periods. I have never been on metformin, the pill, etc. All may not be as fortunate as me....BUT, Tell your daughter to hang in there. It has been awhile (a couple years) since I originally lost (and kept off) my weight.....But if I remember right , it took a few months (2 or 3) for my periods to become regular and normal. So you are right - hopefully the longer your daughter stickes with it, the more her menstruation will normalize.
Laura

[Spring]

Thank you for answering my question. I am so tickled! I think this will work for her. She has had a hard time loosing the weight, but she has stuck with it. That little period she had gave me hope and now you have reinforced that hope. I can tell her that it helped you and that will give her more encouragement to stick with it.
I wish you the best of luck in loosing your last few pounds....you are great!

[Akiwican]

Hi Lauralynn

Thats great that you had an improvement in your acne and periods! I have noticed an improvement in those areas too. Did you notice any difference with the hirsutism? I have a mild problem with that also, so just wondering if I may expect to see any improvement there.

:wave: Akiwican

[Spring]

I'm not lauralynn, but I can tell you that my daughter had hair on her stomach and it is going away. She was really thrilled about that. She is blonde, so the problem isn't as bad for her as for darker haired women, but she hated that hair.

[lauralynn]

Hi Akiwican! Well, I only had fairly mild hirsutism to begin with. After following Protein Power, my hirsutism did not really improve - BUT it didn't get worse either. It has stabalized I guess. I am thankful for that! Laura