Hi,
I have read all her book, there never was a mention of PCOS or that she recommends ketosis. She does have a small paragraph for Steven Leventhol syndrome(hope i got the spelling right) which is the same as PCOS but she does not say anthing about Ketosis.

Can anyone clarify? Also I think I fall into te insulin resistent/ adrenal burout category. Given that ketosis is actually not good for me since I need carbs to not overload my adrenals. So what would one recommend for this? This is with SP2

But now considering according to SP1 which is simpler,if I wlak about an hour a day making the total number of hours of activity to 5 hr/week does that mean I am mederately active? Due to burnt out adrenals I walk slowly so that cover about 3.4 miles/ her. so Which category am I?

One other thing I cannot sleep at night if I eat very less carb like say 20 grams. I have to self medicate somehow... dont know how. If eat more I dont follow the diet right.....it is a little confusing.

Hi! I'm not following Schwarzbein's plan, although I just finished reading her book. I felt bad that no one else had responded to your question. I can't really advise you about the eating plan, but thought I'd offer you a link to the PCOS forum. I checked there just now and didn't see that you had posted there yet. You might want to check it out:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=46

Best wishes to you!

Hi there,
if you have PCOS symptoms then you are insulin resistent according to diane. And if you have burnt out adrenals then I recommend reading the transition and starting from the insulin resistent, with burn out adrenal glands category. You are right, you may need to self-medicate, whether with coffee, exercise, cigarettes or extra carbs.
I myself now have full blown adrenal burn out as tested by saliva, I also have PCOS and have been suffering from it since I was 19. I have quit coffee, but not cigarettes as I feel I am using them self-medicating purposes. Are you on any medication? the pill? Metformin?
I think you should trust your body and self-medicate as you need. I totally believe in what she writes as does my naturopath. But it will take time, sometimes months to years to fully recover to insulin sensitive with healthy adrenals.
stacey

Hi! Good to see another Schwarzbein person. I've read SP2, but honestly, I stick with SP1, more or less.

If you're walking slowly for 5 hours per week, somewhat/moderately active is probably the right category. Each week, I ride a vigorous "hills" program on a stationary bike for a total of 120 minutes, take an hour-long martial arts class (which is killer), and walk and lift weights another 2-3 hours, and consider myself moderately active. If I fit in another hour of walking or biking in the nice weather, maybe "active" would be more appropriate.

I don't measure whether I'm in ketosis or not. I assume that I often am, because the amount of carbs I eat doesn't give my body the full amount of glucose it needs. From what I can figure out, the doc wrote SP2 because a lot of people were taking SP1 and cutting carbs far lower than she had intended; down to Atkins induction levels and below. While those levels and constant ketosis may be healthy and beneficial for many, she thinks they can put too much strain on the adrenals. My completely personal opinion is that she backpedaled too much with SP2.

I still drink coffee, though I'm trying to gradually lower the amount.

I was diagnosed with PCOS about a dozen years ago and was on Metformin from 2006 until I weaned myself off of it in January. This week I had the first set of medication-free blood glucose tests I've had since eating LC and ditching my drugs, and my numbers were normal (lower than on Metformin, in fact). They could still improve significantly, though, and I hope that they will as I continue eating nutritious foods in the right proportions.

Thanks for asking this question. It made me pick up my copy of SP1 again and page through it, and I realize that I've really let my carb count get low (from an average of 62 total grams -- including non-starchy veg and fiber -- in January to about 40 grams now). I'm going to adjust that.

Kaisal,
Thanks for the post . I did check the PCOS forum. Somehow I felt that there are two polarized people on the forum. those who will follow atkins or soemthing very similar very low carb eating and the other peopel who have success with taking drugs metformin, glucophage, yasmin etc etc.

I want to make a life style change and keep it that way for the rest of my life so after reading a lot of books .I decided on TSP since it is the most balanced way of eating.


Stacey,
I go to a naturopath too. She is not keen on advising about what i should eat but she has helped me with medication etc.
But I feel lifestyle changes has to be a part of this things and came to TSP. i dont take any synthetic tablets at all. My self medication has been eating a little bit more carbs in the night so I can sleep. I am a vegetarian, never drank coffee or tea or alcohol ever in my life. Years of dieting and excercising has brought me to insuline resistent / adrenal burnout stage.All the while I was thinking I was doing goog for myself. It is awful but I am determined to change it.

LOKarbKay,
I agree with you that SP1 is much better and SP2 is more confusing. I mean she says dont eat saturated fat. How shall i fit in low carb vegetarian with low fat?
If it was PCOS alone I would probably choose atkins but I am too tired from Adrenal fatigue, I have progressed from my lowest low but I am not healed yet. Before going to my naturopath I was 165lbs on 5 5'' and I thought I had just 20 lbs to loose but the harmone replacement thing she gave made me go to 180lbs now I did feel less fatigues but my pcos symptoms to act up with the increase in weight. I do everything in the books but still dont see the light at the end of the tunnel.

PCOS can be a tricky problem. Control the insulin resistance then you might get the whole hormone thing to bounce back.

I didn't care for her 2nd book, too complicated for the average person, but I like the information. I stick to book one because to me it is easier to figure out. I dont' want to have to do a bunch of tests to figure out how to eat.

There is evidence that these meds help with PCOS, and truthfully the biggest difference I have found between Atkins and SP is the how we count carbs, she doesn't do the net carb thing, I found that if I ate the highes fiber carbs, I was basically doing atkins while doing SP. Hope that makes sense. IT is amazing what a bit of perspective can do when you really think about it.