Hi, I am excited to find this site. I have PCOS and I am insulin-resistant. I have been on Atkins for 2 1/2 years. I have not lost any weight on the program, but my cholesterol has gone down to normal and my triglicerides and blood sugar are normal now also. I have been as close to 20 gms of carbs a day as I can maintain. I do not go into ketosis, even on a pure protein diet. I am starting to gain weight and I am concerned. I do use low-carb products like Atkins bars. Does anyone have any ideas about how I can either lose weight, or stop gaining. My doctor has been putting me on diatetic medications, one after another, to try and find one that will help me lose weight. So far none have worked. If anyone has any help, please tell me. Thanks.

Have you incorporated an exercise program? Are you drinking lots of water? Maybe try carb cycling.

Atkins isn't a high-protein diet - it's a high-fat diet. Can you please humour me and put your foods into www.fitday.com and tell me how it breaks down? Drop a line in my journal to tell me how it turned out if I miss your reply here. Let's see what we can do to get this thing moving.

there is a carb cycling thread in the general low carb section if you are interested. i wasn't losing and decided to try it & have had some success.

it's also possible atkins isn't the right diet for you, if your metabolism is compromised, which it sounds like it may be, the best thing for you might be to up your carbs some, doing more exercise(particularly lifting weights) and take certain supplements to begin to turn around the insulin resistence.


also it's possible the medications could be contributing to your stalling.

it's great that your cholesterol has gotten better, that's a big deal.

Thanks for your input, everyone. I have read the Atkins books and I am doing it "right". My problem is that I cannot get into ketosis. It is a symptom of glucose intolerance. About carb cycling. I am afraid that if I increase my carb intake, my sugar will go up, and in 8 days I could gain 10 lbs, rather than 0 lbs. How much excercise is enough, without being all consuming? If PCOS's excercise too much, because of steroid production, we build too much muscle mass.

I'm sorry - this must be terribly frustrating.

How high are your fats? To go into ketosis, most people have to keep fats at about 65% to 75% of total calories. Have you checked your macronutrients yet on www.fitday.com? Many people have trouble with this if their proteins are too high relative to fats. Your percentages should look something like 70% cals from fat, 25% cals from protein, 5% cals from carb.

Thanks again,
I have gotten several responses that reference fat/protein ratio. I was not taking this into account. I will try to adjust my ratios and let you know after some time how it is working

Hello there

I have had the same problem. I am not taking meds but do take kelp for my metabolism and chromium for IR but still have a very very hard time losing weight.

I tried Atkins and lost 7lbs in the first two weeks and then nothing. I tried a more moderate carb diet and gained a huge amount of weight very quickly - I even tried the high fat diet and still couldn't lose.

The only thing I have found has helped me is a tweaked version of carb cycling. Have you heard of Stillmans? It's a bit extreme but it is basically low carb and lowered fat - If I eat as per Stillmans for three days and then eat whatever I like on day four (to stop my metabolism dropping) I can lose weight.

I am finding it difficult to keep going though - it's pretty tough.

Hello everyone! Its my first day here and I hope you all can give me the strength to get thru my new journey. I was Dx'd at 19 with PCOS and given glucophage....which didnt work. Here I am 14yrs later with Fortamet and a diabetic diet. I did Atkins for 30 days no cheating and couldnt get to ketosis. Soooo doc says this medicine along with diet and exercise I should drop 50lbs like fast!!! Keepin fingers crossed I wish everyone luck and success on their journeys as well and hope I will find all the strength I might need here with many new possible friends!!!!

If you are doing Atkins and not losing weight, I'd suggest doing a detoxification programtargeting all internal organs but especially the liver.

I've helped many people start losing weight on Atkins by doing a three week detox protocol. I use supplements to speed the process but you can do a detos using raw and steamed vegetables (The green and cruciferous vegetables) for 4-6 weeks.

Does anyone lose weight eating the Atkins bars? Well, I know men can get away with it but I've never talked to a woman losing weight on Atkins that can stay in ketosis after eating sugar alcohols.

I'm interested to find out more, like what suppliments you have to take or veggies....? I am interested in doing this because like this lady, I am very slow to lose weight because of my insulin resistance & PCOS.

Any advice would be greatfully recieved.

Many thanks!
Emma xx

This is the best site. Hearing from all of you has helped me a lot. Just knowing I'm not alone helps.

Last week I started, just to see what would happen, counting my calories on the atkins program. I decided to eat 1200 calories a day. I added a little grapefruit or orange to the atkins program. Those are the only changes I made. In the week I have lost 5 pounds. I know that this might be water weight, tho I have still been drinking a lot. I will keep you up to date on whether this program works. My goal is to be able to lose weight without increasing either my blood sugar or my cholesterol. I'll let you know.

Arlene,
I have three children, at a young age of 31 I had a complete hysterectomy due to this disease.
I have been trying for a long time to loose weight.
Reading some of your questions has helped me out I was not taking the fat protein ratio into acount either but now I am.
great help from the entire sight.

in response to the atkins bars. i rarely eat a bar but i do have atkins shakes EVERYDAY and everyone says dont do that its bad for you and yadda yadda. Well i have lost wt i havent updated my profile but have lost about 10lbs in 2-3 weeks. even when i have had a bar it didnt stall me. so there will always be controversy on the "quick meal" atkins products, but for me they work. good luck